Chapter 18

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The pavement burned. The Los Angeles heat beat down on the sidewalk, baking into my running shoes as I sprinted along the cracked cement. The sun singed the small weeds that had managed to wriggle through the cracks in the sidewalk, making them wilt. I was itching to move this morning. Thoughts of the night before burning my cheeks and making my mind spin as the buildings around me blurred.

Beads of sweat trailed down my temples as thoughts trailed back to what I learned. I had seen Tate's girlfriend somewhere before and I wasn't able to put my finger on it when she was standing at my door, looking like she wanted to be anywhere else. Same girl, same. 

But after staring at where she and Tate had disappeared around the corner of the hallway, for what felt like an eternity, I did what any girl did when she wanted more information about a boy and his potential girlfriend. I searched the internet. Enter spy mode. 

Sitting on the couch, ice pack on one hand, I typed Tate's name into Google as fast as one hand could manage. And after the slow clack of the keys, there he was. He was plastered all over the gossip columns, smiling brightly in some photos, laughing without a care in others, and even making funny faces at paparazzi cameras in a few. 

I was surprised to find him so fast. I assumed I'd have to dig deep into several pages of other Tate Dalton's before landing on him. I had no idea that he was so popular in celebrity circles. Who are you, Tate Dalton? Why does everyone know you?

Then I spotted a picture with the girl from the night before and suddenly remembered why she had looked so familiar. "Laliana Summers," I blurted out loud to no one. It felt like a lightbulb popped to life above my head.

Laliana was a popular author known for her Seapunk Princess trilogy. I hadn't read her books, but the story of her getting stalked was all over the news for weeks. And somehow, Tate had become popular because of it. 

Scrolling further, I spotted an article by XOXO Daily Gossip called...

Scrolling further, I spotted an article by XOXO Daily Gossip called

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My hand hovered over the link to the article. I really shouldn't click on this... It's just gonna be full of made-up theories and lies... and it's too neon pink to be taken seriously... 

But my hand moved on its own, clicking on the article, flinging me head first into the rabbit hole of pictures, words, and an unnecessary amount of neon pink hearts, that painted a picture of Laliana Summers' journey from book to movie and the guys that followed her there.

A picture of Laliana standing in between Tate and someone else filled the banner of the article. That must be Aiden, I thought, taking in the guy to her right.

I could see the resemblance between the two Dalton Boys. Where Aiden had black hair and sharp blue eyes, Tate had dark brown hair and deep green eyes. They had similar builds. But where Tate was sunshine and smiles, Aiden was stone-cold expressions that could turn those sunshine expressions right back into a pile of ice.

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