AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh god, Oliver!” I cringe. “You saw it?!”
I haven’t even seen it. Fuck. I can only imagine what is on there.
“Just bits, Eden. I had to for legal reasons. I’m your manager, darling, I’ve known you since you were … uh … what do you Americans call it? A tween.”
“That doesn’t make it any better.”
I wince and quickly turn to the search engine on my laptop and idly scroll through my social media feed, anticipating a disaster.
“I deserve an explanation from them,” I insist, focusing my attention back on the discussion. “They’re purposely avoiding me, and my phone calls are diverted to voicemail. This isn’t fair, Oliver. They treat me like garbage, and I’m taking all of their slack.”
Truth is, I’d like to curl up and cry it out, except I feel angry and confused.
My brain is one seriously bewildered mush of confusion as I try to puzzle all the blank bits together.
“Luv, let’s talk again in a couple of days. I’ll be in LA next week, and we’ll chat then. Chin up, darling. This will pass.”
I end the call with Oliver, remain sitting on the bar stool, and lean my elbows over the counter, holding my head in my hands, trying to come to terms with this nightmare.
Fuck. This is so fucking crazy.
My fingers comb through my head slowly as I raise my head and open my eyes, only to be diverted to the laptop screen. I click on a link, and my world suddenly shifts.
A disturbing sense of unease settles in as the screen unveils a shocking revelation. Staring back at me is a video thumbnail that freezes the air in my lungs. My heart pounds erratically as I recognize my own face, an unwitting protagonist in an illicit video.
Dread courses through my veins, and a cold sweat forms on my brow as I hesitate before clicking play. The room falls silent, and the screen's glow illuminates the darkened kitchen.
I press play, and the video, a violation of my privacy, unfolds before my eyes, exposing an intimate moment I never intended to share with the world. Each passing second intensifies the humiliation, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable.
My mind races with disbelief and horror as I grapple with the violation of what’s happened to me. It’s not just this video.
Fear consumes me with a steadfast sense of terror.
I know something terrible happened to me between the missing days that I cannot recall.
In a desperate attempt to regain control, my trembling hands fumble for the mouse, desperately trying to close the window and erase the haunting images.
It’s not just this video that’s launched me into a horrifying realization.
A knot tightens in my stomach as I struggle to piece together the fragments of my memory. The unsettling feeling gnaws at me, a silent scream echoing in the recesses of my mind.
My gaze darts around this room, searching for clues, but every detail seems to blur into a disturbing haze.
I dash over to the drawer where Catalina keeps everything organized. I take out the purple leather holder where I keep mypassport, among other private documents. The silence is broken only by the rhythmic pounding of my heart, which trembles with an underlying sense of dread.
I open it to find my passport’s not here.
The mere act of standing feels like navigating through a thick fog. As I stumble forward, an indistinct darkness seems to shadow my every step. Whispers of doubt and fear echo in my mind, painting an ominous picture I can’t quite grasp.
Haunted by an unexplained sense of impending doom, my mind is playing tricks on me.
Maybe Catalina, just misplaced my passport.
Yeah, that must be it.
Except I can almost taste the metallic tang of anxiety as I grapple with the notion that something sinister lurks just beyond the edges of my consciousness. A shiver crawls down my spine, and an invisible weight presses upon my chest, making each breath a struggle.
The lingering feeling that something terrible happened to me.
