Phone Calls From a Rock Star (32 page)

I stormed out of the Center and made my way
back to my room, ignoring the curious gazes of my classmates. I
threw my books to my bed and paced the small room, anger swirling
in my mind.

My phone rang and I checked the number. It
was Seth and I let him go to voice mail. I was in no mood to
talk.

The door flew open and admitted Annie,
Cammy, Karen and Zach.

“
I’m fine, honest,” I said
before any of them could speak. I stopped pacing and rubbed my
temples, cell phone still in hand. “I’ll call Jake in a few
minutes, and he’ll explain it all.” I looked at Annie, her face
covered with doubt. “Right?”

Before she could answer, my phone rang
again.

It was Jake.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“
Ignore it, Iz. You know
better than to believe any of that crap,” was the first thing out
of his mouth.

“
Hi to you, too,” I bit
out, frost clinging to my voice.

“
Let’s go hang out in
Cammy’s room,” Annie suggested. I could have kissed her.

Jake sighed, the exhaustion still very
evident in his voice. “I’m really sorry, Iz. I just didn’t want you
to get the wrong idea.”

I waited until the door
shut completely before answering. “What is going on? Are you home?
Are you in L.A.? Are you staying with
her
?

“
Slow down, okay?” His
voice bordered on nervous anxiety. “No, I’m not home. I’m still in
L.A. but I’m staying in my condo near the studio. Monique is not
staying here. She’s at home where she’s been all week.”

I took a deep, shaky breath, hoping to suck
back my tears.

“
Just tell me the truth.
Why are you there? Why are you not telling me everything? What are
you doing with your ex-girlfriend? And why do I have to see all
this on TV before you even tell me?” I took a quick breath, trying
to slow my frantic mind. “I do trust you, Jake - I truly do. But
it’s getting harder and harder with you being all the way over
there and me being stuck here and not knowing what the hell is
going on!”

He inhaled deeply; I had a suspicion he was
smoking a cigarette. He cleared his throat. “Monique called me
earlier this week. She’s been having problems with her boyfriend.
He’s an alcoholic, and I helped her get him in rehab back in
November. He’s been out for a while now, but he went on a drinking
binge and beat her up. She asked me to help her get a restraining
order on him and keep the whole incident quiet and out of the
papers.”

I believed him—I really, truly did—but it
hurt, selfishly so, that he rushed to her aid. I knew it was
childish and just downright stupid to feel that way, but I did. A
couple tears slid down my face.

“
Do you still love her?” I
whispered.

“
What? Do I love her? No,
Iz. Not at all,” the pitch of his voice rose steadily. He was near
panic. “She’s my friend and I care about what happens to her, but I
don’t love her, Iz. I promise you that.”

I sniffed, slightly appeased. “Why did you
two break up?”

“
Are you crying?” he asked,
astonished.

“
No,” I lied. “Now answer
me, please.”

He released a long breath and I could almost
picture him running his hands through his hair. “I explained to you
about the physical part – how our relationship seemed based solely
on that. She started seeing other guys behind my back and so I
tried to get back at her, and I dated other women. Not smart, I
know. Plus, I got caught by the tabloids and was labeled the bad
boy.”

That didn’t reassure me in the least. Not a
bit.

And he realized that. “Iz,
I was young and stupid. I promise you…no, I
swear
to you that you’re the only
one, and I’d never do something like that to you. Ever. I love
you.”

“
I know,” I relented. I
squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to staunch the tear flow. “I just
wish you were here.”

“
I’ll be home this weekend
and I’ll drive down to see you,” he said.

“
No, you’ll be too tired.
Just wait till next weekend.” I didn’t want to wait that long to
see him but I also didn’t want him falling asleep at the wheel
driving down here to soothe my silly insecurities.

“
We’ll talk about it when I
get back to Chicago,” he decided. His voice gentled. “Are you okay?
Has anyone been hassling you?”

“
Only the tabloids,” I
mumbled.

He chuckled softly. “I love you, Iz. Get
some rest and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“
I love you.” I dropped the
phone on my bed and then stumbled to the bathroom to wash my face.
When I finished, I snatched my phone from my bed and ran to Cammy’s
room.

“
Are you okay?” Annie asked
as she hugged me.

I nodded, freeing myself from her arms. As I
explained the latest, a wave of exhaustion swept over my body and
made me long for my bed. I headed for the door when my phone rang
again. I frowned at the strange number and Annie snatched it from
my hand.

“
Hello?” she barked as her
brows knitted together. “Do you know a Greta?”

I smiled as I reached for the phone. “Hey,
Greta! How are you?”

“
I should be asking you,”
she said. “I saw that awful report on
Entertainment This Week
. I cannot
stand Monique. Anyway, Dad and I were worried so I thought I’d call
and check on you. Are you okay?”

“
I’m fine, thanks. Thank
your dad for me, too.”

“
Oh I will,” she said.
“Listen, if you need to get off campus for a while, Dad said you
could come here. I know you can go home, but I remember you saying
how busy your parents were.”

“
Thanks, Greta.” Her offer
sounded like Heaven, but I also knew Jake was right. “I’m going to
stick around here. The school won’t allow reporters on campus so I
don’t have to worry about it. I’m not going to run from
them.”

“
Good for you,” she said.
“Give me a call if you need anything or if you just want to
talk.”

“
I will,” I said as my
heart filled with appreciation. “Thanks a lot, Greta. Take
care.”

Squeezing my phone in my hand, I announced I
was going to bed.

***

I woke up Saturday morning, one week before
Jake’s birthday and the start of our spring break, disappointed and
a little hurt. I hadn’t heard from him at all since that awful
Thursday night.

I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling and
trying to sort my feelings when Annie strolled in, fresh from Admin
with her mail. Cammy was hot on her heels and I had a horrifying
feeling I wasn’t going to like anything they had to say to me.

“
What?” I asked, returning
my gaze to the warped ceiling tiles.

Annie sat at the foot of my bed and
carefully set a magazine on my stomach. I snatched it and threw the
blankets back, swinging my legs to the floor.

“
Not again!” I exclaimed,
glaring at the cover of the latest
Star
Gazer
. There were four photos on the cover
and one of them was of Jake shielding Monique as they walked into a
building. ‘What is Bad Boy Jake Up to Now?’ the headline
blared.

I threw the magazine to the floor and headed
to the bathroom. I slammed the door but couldn’t shut out Annie’s
voice. “You should at least read the article. You need to see what
they’re saying about you.”

Ignoring her, I stared at my reflection in
the mirror. I was a mess: Dark circles under my eyes, hair limp,
face splotchy. It reminded me of the horrible weeks after Christmas
break. I was sensing a trend. After splashing cold water on my
face, I returned to an anxious Annie and a nervous Cammy. I took
the magazine from Annie’s hand and sat on my bed. I flipped through
the pages until I found the article.

IS JAKE FORSAKING SWEET ISABELLA?

Jake Johnson, lead singer for the group
Controlled Environment, was spotted last week in L.A. escorting
French actress and former love, Monique DuVois all over town.
Witnesses say Jake accompanied Monique to an L.A. County courthouse
and although courthouse officials were mum on what the couple was
doing there, many speculate they were applying for a marriage
license.

“
This is utter trash. Where
do they come up with it?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.
I sighed and continued reading.

Meanwhile, Jake’s latest love, Isabella
Ames, is finishing high school at an elite boarding school in
Central Indiana. A representative for Miss Ames refused to comment
at this time on whether or not the couple is still together or if
they broke it off so Jake could pursue Monique once again.

The rest of the story highlighted Jake’s
relationship with Monique, and I couldn’t stomach it. I shut the
magazine and carefully handed it back to Annie.

“
I think I’ll shower and
then we can go in town and grab some junk food.”

After my shower and several phone calls,
mostly from my dad and none from Jake, we grabbed our jackets and
headed to Annie’s car. I wanted a cheeseburger and fries in the
worst way. And a chocolate shake.

I wasn’t prepared for what awaited us in the
parking lot. A small group of people huddled around the edges of
the lot and pointed at me when we emerged through the gates. A
couple cameras clicked as someone called my name.

“
Isabella! I’m Candi Smith,
reporter for the
Star
Gazer
. I wonder if I could have a second
of your time,” a thin, blonde woman wearing entirely too much
mascara called.

I gaped at her, a little shocked. Although
Jake sort of prepared me for this, I still wasn’t expecting it.
“No, absolutely not. Leave me alone.”

They all converged on us, snapping pictures
and barking out questions. Annie grabbed my arm and shoved me in
the back seat of her car. She and Cammy scrambled inside and fired
up the engine. Annie nearly took a few out as she peeled out of the
parking lot.

I scrunched down in the back seat, trying to
fight the tears in my eyes. What was wrong with these people? What
did they want from me? What did they care if Jake and I were
together or not?

“
Call Jake, Bella,” Annie
ordered, eyeing me in her rear view mirror. “Call him right
now.”

I nodded and dug my phone out of my pocket.
I hit his number but it went straight to voice mail.

“
Jake, call me back
immediately, please,” I begged, tears finally escaping. After my
leaving my plea, I curled up in the seat. “Take me to Burger
Kastle, please.”

Annie parked in a reporter-free lot, and I
began to relax. My shoulders ached from constant tension and I
rubbed at them, trying to loosen the knot while we placed our
orders.

Two girls behind the counter eyed us,
whispering quietly to each other. They assembled our order and the
bolder one carried our tray to the counter. I reached for it, a
‘thank you’ on my lips, when she spoke.

“
You’re Jake Johnson’s
girlfriend, aren’t you?” she asked, eyes accusing.

“
So what if she is?” Annie
asked, stepping up to the counter. “What’s it to you?”

The girl looked straight at me as she
responded. “I think it is total crap that some stuck up boarding
school girl lands him when there are nice, normal girls around who
would be much better for him.”

I snorted - I couldn’t help it. It just came
out. And I suppose it sounded as though I was looking down on her
but in all actuality, I wasn’t. I knew I was no better than her.
But the way she said it—normal? I’m not normal? So maybe I ramble
and blurt things out at inappropriate times, but that didn’t make
me abnormal, did it?

The Burger Kastle girl took
my snort entirely the wrong way. She lifted the lid off one of the
cups and tossed the shake in my face. The strawberry one. I
hate
strawberry
milkshakes. Annie scrambled over the counter but Cammy grabbed her
before she could get too far. I stood there, frozen, almost
literally, strawberry ice cream dripping off my chin. An older man
in line behind us grabbed a gob of napkins from the holder on the
counter and offered them to me. I tried to thank him but when I
opened my mouth, strawberry shake ran in it. And I hate strawberry
shakes.

The manager appeared, purple-faced, as
Annie, Cammy and the two workers yelled out their stories.
Thankfully, the people in line with us corroborated our story and
the manager ordered the two workers to the back room. He apologized
profusely to me and offered our meal on the house but I had no
appetite. I continued to dab strawberry shake off my face as I
walked numbly out the door. I dropped the whole sticky clump of
napkins in a trash can and headed to Annie’s car. Once we climbed
in, she turned to me, sorrow mixed with anger in her pretty eyes,
and asked where I wanted to go.

“
Take me home,” I mumbled,
dry-eyed for once. “Just take me home.”

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to
find my house empty. I called my dad’s cell phone, and he told me
they were in New York at a convention. I sobbed my story to him and
he threatened to sue the restaurant. That cheered me, making me
feel that there were some good people on my side and ready to
fight—but I told him not to do it. It wasn’t the restaurant’s fault
that my face was plastered all over tabloids, and it wasn’t the
restaurant’s fault that Jake had such…loyal…fans. I assured him I
was okay and told him I was just going to hang out at home with
Annie and Cammy and return to school the next day.