MERCEDES | SEBASTIAN STAN

TWENTY

⚠️TRIGGER WARNING : MENTIONS OF ABUSE⚠️

STAGE

020.
❝It must have been awful.❞

━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━

Mercedes kept zoning out, all she kept thinking about was the article and how they wanted her to come forward.

She didn't know if she would be able to do that. If she did, then the whole world would know that she was Lexus. She didn't know if she could cope with that.

"What about you Mercedes?" The interviewer questioned, snapping the brunette back into reality.

The girl snapped her head in the man's direction. Her heart was racing as she tried to remember what they were talking about. But truthfully, she had no idea.

"What was your favourite part about filming?" Sebastian could tell that she was struggling, so he decided to whisper the question in her ear.

She gave him a thankful smile before holding up the microphone and saying,

"Being surrounded by the most amazing and caring people. Working along side Fleur every day was incredible." Mercedes plastered a smile on her face as she concluded.

The interviewer smiled thankfully and continued to ask questions.

Mercedes zoned out once again. Her fingers began to fiddle with Sebastian's ring on her thumb. She wanted to so desperately get out of there, just return to bed and stay there all day. Where she knew that she was safe.

She looked out at all the people in front of her, all of them loved her. They all supported her unconditionally. The last thing she wanted to do, was let them down. So, she stayed, even though she knew she would regret it.

The girl closed her eyes for a brief second and remember that man that took her from her family. Her younger brother, Bentley, was only 4 at the time and her younger sister, Astra, was barely even 3. So they didn't remember the events as clearly as Mercedes or her older brother Cruz, who was 12 at the time.

She remembered the way the man locked in a dark room for days on end, she could hear the screams and cries of the children, begging for their mothers and fathers.

They all wanted to go home. She just wanted to go home. She remembered the way the man beat them into silence, he would hit them all until they didn't make a sound.

She remembered the horrible stench. It still made her eyes water at times just at the memory.

Mercedes felt a stray tear roll down her face, which she quickly wiped away. She didn't want anyone to see. If they saw her upset, all kinds of rumours would be spread.

Shakily, she reached across for Sebastian's hand. Sebastian linked their hands together without saying another word.

Hushed whispers from the fans filled the room. All probably assuming that they were dating or at least had a fling. But what they didn't know was how much Mercedes was truly hurting.

"I was just wondering how often you guys keep up with the news tabloids. I know that you guys are on social media a lot, with the exception of Anthony." The girl paused. "But do you ever hear any stories about yourself?"

"I think as actors we have to pay attention to it but also dismiss the tabloids. Sometimes they come up with crazy rumours and other times they're correct." Anthony began. "But you do have to pay attention in case you have to shut down some of those crazy rumours."

The interviewer laughed before saying,

"The tabloids are going crazy right now, how do you cope with that?"

"They are, why?" Sebastian questioned curiously, leaning forward ever so slightly as he did so.

"Well, there's the Myanmar protestors that were killed, there's everything with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as well as the little girl that went missing 18 years ago." The interviewer explained a few of the major headlines from today.

Mercedes stiffened at the mention of Lexus, which didn't go unnoticed by Fleur.

"I think we all have to be very mature about the tabloids and what rumours come along with them." Fleur said quickly, trying to change the subject so that her best friend didn't panic too much.

"Wait-What little girl?" Sebastian questioned, not fully remembering the story.

"Lexus Coleman." The girl who asked the question spoke up. "She was 10 at the time and was kidnapped from Disneyland, Florida."

Mercedes' breath hitched and she felt like her chest was caving in. She held Sebastian's hand tighter.

"The poor girl was missing for four months, kept in terrible conditions. Beaten up badly, barely fed and she saw the death of other children. It must have been awful." The girl continued.

Mercedes felt sick to her stomach. She knew that she'd have to stay. She just had to wait until the next question. The brunette closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

All she could see was his face, the cold dark brown eyes, his rough looking stubble and his eye bags. Whenever he smiled or laughed, the corners of his eyes would crease.

"They want her to step forward, so she can help identify the other children who were taken. They're reopening the case. I think she should. I think she's being selfish if she doesn't."

"Excuse me." Mercedes whispered as she slowly stood up. Her legs felt so weak, she felt like she was going to vomit. "I'm going to go and smoke."

Is that really what people thought of her? That she was selfish if she didn't speak to the police?

Sebastian knew what that meant. He knew that she was upset. And he didn't like that. He tried to reach out for her, but before he could get a chance to she quickly rushed off stage without another word. She couldn't stay there. She couldn't listen to it anymore.

Sebastian wanted to run after her, but Fleur shook her head. She knew better than that. She knew to just let Mercedes have her time alone. She liked it that way. Especially on days like today.

She liked to just lay in bed and staring at the ceiling. She liked to just drift off to another place rather than thinking about those four moths.