Celebrity Status (currently being revised to 1st person) Walk of Fame-- Book 1

Chapter Seven

"Swallowed whole by misery,  

I'll close my eyes and drown, 

You were the best part of me,  

And now I'm here face-down."                                  

  - Bach's Revenge debut album, track 5

Charlie spent the day with Mitch. He'd insisted on bringing a picnic lunch and they'd spent  hours in the heat of the sun, kissing mostly. Admittedly, it was a pleasant distraction, but by  the time she got home, she was exhausted from pretending everything was okay. She went to  her room and flung herself face-down on the bed to let a muffled scream in her pillow. 

Why did Sebastian have to go and screw everything up? He was gone. As if someone  had come and swept him away in the darkness of night. Devin was right, she should've gone  and talked to him. Prolonging it was only like pulling a band-aid off in minute long intervals. 

When Sebastian's ringtone played on her phone, she thought she was imagining  things but when the music didn't stop, she yanked the phone out of her pocket. 

"Hello." Her voice sounded pathetically eager. 

"Hey Charlie," he said flatly. 

Charlie, not Bella. 

"Sebastian!" She knew she sounded pitiful, but she couldn't help herself. 

"I, um. Listen, do you think you can take your car or get a ride with Tally to school  

tomorrow?" 

Her heart dropped. "Yeah, okay." 

"Cool." This Sebastian was foreign to her. Cold and removed. 

"You don't want to drive me anymore?" 

"That's not it," he said unconvincingly, "It's just for the next little while, I have to be available, until we go to LA to record. I can't worry about being responsible for other people,  and I know you depend on me for a ride, so I thought maybe I should let you know." 

Her eyes burned. She tried to keep her voice steady as she asked, "Seabass, are you  dumping me?" 

The silence on the other end prickled at her skin. It was more than enough for a  sufficient answer. She wanted to yell at him, tell him how unfair he was being, how utterly  awful everything was, but she couldn't. 

He cleared his throat, as if he needed all this time to collect himself. "I'm not dumping  you. I think maybe I need a break for a while." 

He was dumping her. "You're breaking up with me," she declared. 

"That's kind of hard to do without ever really having you," he said miserably. 

"But you did," she objected. "You do. You're my best friend." 

"And you're mine. Look, I'm sorry okay? I don't want to upset you, I just need to stay  away for a while. Please." 

"But--" 

"Charlie, please, at least give me that." 

She searched every corner of her brain for a response but found nothing. He'd said he  loved her and the only thing he wanted in return was for her to love him back. She'd told  him she didn't. What else could she expect him to do?