Behind The Scenes

[Chapter Twenty Two]

Chapter 22

I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to think. All I could do was stare, wide eyed and daunted, at the pages laid out before me.

While all the headlines were similar, every paper seemed to have their own source for photos. There were snapshots of us from the red carpet, which were to be expected, however, the photos of us from the past couple of months had the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. I gulped, my eyes scanning the various pictures. One was of us walking down the street hand in hand, another of us talking as I worked the counter at the café, and one picture had been submitted by someone at the basketball game when we'd had our first kiss.

One paper, however, had managed to capture the two of us at the resort in Seattle over the weekend. The blown up spread showed us joking around in the trails, including a rather embarrassing picture of Ryan pushing me up against the trunk of a tree, his hands on my ass as we clung to each other in a private moment of passion.

It was mortifying to say the least.

I knew that there was a possibility of me being a topic of interest following the premiere of Knights of Fury, but I never thought it would escalate to this extent.

I wasn't important. I wasn't newsworthy. I was normal, and now my life was plastered across the pages of a paper for everyone to see.

My mind was whirling a mile a minute and I felt like hyperventilating when my heart began to contract at a faster pace.

When Colette's hand touched my shoulder gently, I realized that I had zoned out of my surroundings, having been solely focused on the tabloids. I came back to, only to realize that the line of customers had tripled in just a few minutes. The newcomers at the back were whispering amongst one another, casting their gazes through the swarm of people in front of them, who all seemed to be recording the scene with their phones.

I was the center of attention, and I didn't know what to do.

"I think you should head home until this all dies down," Colette said quietly, casting me a sympathetic gaze as I turned to face her. Apprehension masked my face, as I didn't want to leave her to deal with the crowd alone, but she saw right through it. "I can take care of this, and my parents are on their way to help out. Now go."

Watching as the crowd slowly began to scrutinize me, I gulped, nodding my head before retreating to the back room. Sinking back against the wall, I waited to make sure that no one had followed me, and was able to finally release the breath that I'd been holding. The hazy storm in my mind was beginning to clear, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Those stories had cut their way through the tougher skin that I'd believed to build, and I hadn't even been able to read the articles, simply browse the headlines.

Before I could stop myself, I found myself pulling my phone from my pocket and dialing a familiar number.

He picked up on the second ring.

"Zoe?"

"Ryan," I said shakily, "Can you pick me up?"

"Pick you up? Where are you?" he asked, his voice laced with concern and curiosity. "I thought you had to work this afternoon."

"I'm at work. I just, I didn't think that it'd be this bad, and there are so many people," I rambled, not able to form a full sentence. I clenched my eyes shut. "Have you seen any of the papers today?"

I heard him cuss under his breath, and I figured that he'd worked out what was going on. "My manager mentioned a few stories, but I didn't think it was that big of a deal since the premiere was on Friday," he admitted. Even through the phone line, I could make out his stress and frustration. "How many people are there?"