The Mistake [Completed]

Chapter Thirty-Three

Early the next morning before the sun had even risen from behind the mountains Brett and Leigh were in a taxi heading to the airport. The roads were practically empty and only a few early risers were up and about walking down the streets. The morning atmosphere in Los Angeles was tranquil and it seemed as if they had stepped into another world entirely. The mass of people constantly walking the streets during the day were now replaced by only a few cars and the odd person on their way to work. If there was one thing Leigh had to chose that she would miss about Los Angeles this would have been it. The city had two completely different personalities and she loved one just as much as she loved the other and it was about the only thing she would miss, well aside from her father who lived there too.

She wished she could have had more time in LA and by that she meant more free time to do as she wished. Seeing her father and making sure he was doing okay after the divorce was crucial but she would have to do that over video chat as time was of the essence. There was so much that needed to be done when she got back to Oak View and at the top of her list tied with speaking to Maggie was contacting a friend of hers from New York and have her publish the truth to her website. She had no doubt in her mind that this friend would say yes as she too had been through a lot in her life to end up where she was now but still, it was a scary thought laying out the truth and past to the entire world subjecting yourself to judgement and rumour but it was something that couldn't be avoided.

The taxi pulled up outside of the airport and before Leigh's foot could even connect with the ground a camera were already pointed in her direction and the sounds of multiple shutters clicking was a big indication to just how closely her life was being monitored. There was no way of the paparazzi knowing where they would be and at what time so she was suspected that they had camped at the airport from the moment Leanne announced that Leigh was missing- two pitched tents in their background solidified that idea.

As much as she didn't want to add to the media frenzy surrounding Leanne's controversial show there was no avoiding it now that she had escaped. The media would follow her closely- as they always did when there was a story burning to be told and the only thing Leigh could do was use it to her advantage. There were two options to be considered. One was that they could lead the media on a wild chase throughout different states keeping the attention focused on her and away from 'Life With The Danvers' but then that would mean that she was just as bad as the woman who gave birth to her. The other option- the one which was more her style- was head back to Oak View before Leanne could release the video of Maggie to the entire world and warn her. It seemed pointless now, the reason why she had agreed to go back to Los Angeles but at the time she felt as though it was her only option. It had only been a few days but in that short time her mindset and thought process had become so much clearer that she was almost a completely different person to the one she was before she left. She'd cowered and hid each time Leanne approached not wanting a confrontation but as it is with anything if one doesn't stand up to bullies then nothing can ever change.

So there she was hiding her face from the camera with her hat and rushing into the airport with Brett hot on her trail heading to the check-in desk. They brought the tickets as quickly as they could- each fumbling with their passports as the cameras watched their moves intently. What they were recording wasn't a story and it was only as the couple passed through the point where only passengers could enter that she realised who the men were. They didn't ask questions as the paparazzi usually did and they kept back at a respectful distance- they weren't the media, that she was sure of. The men were part of the film crew for 'Life With The Danvers' and by tomorrow their departure would be front and centre of each gossip magazine with a headline spun by her manipulative mother. She began to wonder whether her mother had instructed Robert to befriend Brett and had planned her escape all along to add a little drama to the show and that possibility was becoming more and more likely as people began to take photographs of her. They made their way to the departure lounge- even though their flight wasn't for another hour- because they needed peace and quiet away from other passengers who were snapping shots of them at every turn they made.