If I Stay {Fillie}

Miss Millie Mars

"Breaking news: Finn Wolfhard has been released from prison by none other than Millie Bobby Brown, the teenage girl we all saw open Calpurnia's concert Monday night in Vancouver, Canada. Brown used her own money to bail out Wolfhard, and the two of them left the Vancouver Police Department together Thursday evening. Brown has not been seen since, but multiple people spotted Wolfhard at the Vancouver airport yesterday afternoon. Here's a video Jacob Sartorius posted on his Twitter just hours ago on the incident."

The blond news woman on the TV in the mansion's living room disappeared and was replaced by a grainy video. Jacob Sartorius sat in a black leather chair in front of a desk, clothed in a white sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his large brown hair. He looked very upset.

Finn laughed loudly beside Maddie, shaking his head humorously. "Son of a bitch hates his life right now."

Finn, Millie, Maddie, Lilia, Caleb, Gaten, and around ten maids stood crowded in the room, the enormous flatscreen on the wall switched to the news channel. Chief Powell had let slip to Jacob what had happened, and apparently had told him all of the other information the news woman had mentioned.

The video began with Jacob sighing dramatically and swallowing before he spoke. "Wolfhard should still be in prison. He held me hostage and kept me from performing, and he replaced me with that Millie bitch. I think he even wanted to hurt me. He has no right to be out. It's unjust!" He slammed a hand aggressively on the desk, and the video ended abruptly.

The screen transitioned back to the news anchor, who seemed unsettled by the footage. "It's true that Wolfhard detained Sartorius against his will," she said timidly to the camera. "But is this celebrity that we all love and respect really a criminal? Can he be trusted at all? Tune in tomorrow for more on the subject."

Lilia switched off the television and turned toward the large group of people crowded in the space. "All right, back to work, ladies," she ordered, addressing the maids. "Show's over." They nodded and silently went about their work, muttering to each other quietly.

When it was just the others left, Lilia began to pace, eyes closed, rubbing her temples with her forefingers and middle fingers. "I warned him this would happen," she whispered, almost inaudibly, more to herself than anyone else.

Finn leaned forward. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I warned you this would happen!" she shouted, spinning to face her boss. "I told you to let Jacob out of that dressing room and let him do what he was supposed to do, but you insisted on her—" She pointed an accusing finger at Millie, who shrank back as if she had been kicked. "—doing it instead! And I let you! I fucking let you!"

The stylist threw her foot into the leg of one of the plush chairs, hard, but she didn't show any signs of pain. "Now people think you're a criminal who needs to be locked up, thanks to Jacob! How is Calpurnia supposed to be able to perform shows if nobody trusts you? I'll be surprised if your career doesn't fall apart after this." She shoved past Caleb and stomped angrily up the stairs. A door could be heard slamming faintly a moment later.

Caleb exhaled deeply, attempting to calm his temper. "She's right, you know," he grumbled to Finn. "You're gonna need to do a lot more than help a girl with cancer to fix this."

Millie flinched behind him, but no one noticed. The girl with cancer he helped was me.

The dark-skinned agent climbed the stairs next, with Gaten not far behind. Finn's driver seemed not to care much for chastising his boss for his mistakes; he left that to his coworkers.

Maddie watched them go before placing a calming hand on Finn's shoulder. "I know you can figure this out," she murmured softly, giving him a small squeeze of comfort. "I can help you."