Untouchable ~ A Jared Leto/MARS Fanfiction

Chapter Twelve

Constance strolls out on the deck at precisely the same moment I let out a huge, jaw-cracking yawn without bothering to cover my mouth. With only the dogs for company, why would I? But my mouth quickly snaps shut as Jared's mother comes into my peripheral view. I hadn't even heard the sliding glass door open, which tells me just how deep in thought I've been.

"Tired?" Constance inquires as she settles into the other Adirondack chair, and sets her cup of herbal tea on the glass top table between us. Polly immediately gets up and nudges her mistress's hand for a petting.

"A little," I reply, and then indicate my tea. "This is really good."

Constance smiles as she pets the dog. "Okay, that's enough, Pol." She looks at me. "A friend of mine makes herbal teas. Meaning, she grows them, harvests them, and blends them. This blend is for soothing frayed nerves, and after today, I think we both could use it."

"Yeah," I say and sigh, remembering the chaos we encountered when we left the hospital earlier this evening. "Jared warned me that the paparazzi had been tipped off, but I really wasn't prepared for how aggressive they can be. I'm glad you were there to run that gauntlet and steer them off. I don't think anyone got any pictures of or even noticed me or Shelby."

Constance tosses her truly beautiful mane of silver hair over her shoulder. "The paparazzi are one of the not-so-pleasant aspects of having a celebrity child. I've never quite gotten used to it, not the way Jared and Shannon have." She indicates her house and the backyard in front of us. "I try to live very simply, very quietly. In fact, I never was on the public's radar until Jared took me to the Oscars as his date." Her usually animated face is a little sober. "Eventually the media will notice you, Lanie. They'll notice you with him and they'll ask questions about you to everyone known to be associated with him. They'll ask you questions, too, if they can get close enough.

"Videos and photos will go online, and people will speculate about who you are. Some people won't be kind. Some will say truly horrible things." She picks up her cup and takes a sip. "My best advice is to not be like the others. My advice is to ignore it all."

I look down at my hands in my lap. "By others, you mean girlfriends, right?"

"Girlfriends, assistants, colleagues, friends. Anyone of the opposite sex that Jared's ever been seen and photographed with is immediately fair game. Some are hurt by the negativity. Some thrive on the attention, believing that adage about any publicity being good publicity. Some go out of their way to get it." There's a pause as Constance drinks her tea. "I know you're not of the latter type, Lanie. I hope you'll have thick enough skin to not be of the former, either, that you'll remember not to take it personally, and not to engage in their nonsense."

"Well, you're right about one thing. I don't want attention. None. And the last thing I'd do is engage in any of that stuff. I mean, the last thing in the world I want is publicity, for my name or Shelby's to go out into the media. For obvious reasons."

"Good girl." Constance smiles again, and then abruptly changes the subject. "Has Jared told you much about his childhood?"

I shrug. "Not a whole lot. He did say he lost his dad at a young age."

Constance nods. "Yes. Tony passed away when Jared was eight. He left when the boys were still babies, and so they never really knew each other. Those were some tough years. We were very poor, and I was very young. We lived with my parents for a time, shuffled from one place to another. I actually was a bit of a nomadic type, a hippie in those days, you know. Lived in a commune, and I took the boys to Haiti for a couple of years where I worked as a medical volunteer."