Page 170 of Fame & Chaos

“What? No!”

Laughing wildly, she races toward the door before I can stop her.

“Kenzi, stop!”

But she’s too fast.

“I’m her lesbian lover!” she announces proudly while yanking open the front door. Then she freezes. “Oh.” She steps back slowly, eyes wide.

“What? What is it?” I ask, instantly tense.

She looks at me with panic all over her face. “Indi, don’t come over here.”

“Kenz?”

She starts trying to close the door, but I rush forward and catch it before she can.

Two photographers stand outside my house.

The second they spot me, camera flashes explode.

“Indica! Is it true you broke Caleb’s heart and already moved on with a woman?”

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” one of them yells at Kenzi.

“Shit. Sorry, Indi. I didn’t know,” Kenzi mutters.

“No, you’ve got it all wrong,” I say desperately as the cameras continue flashing. “I’m not the one who broke Caleb and me up. He’s the one who did everything wrong! Stop writing about me and my past. You have no right to talk about me. Please leave me alone and get off my property.”

“Indica, are you officially coming out?”

“What? No! I’m not a lesbian. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a lesbian, obviously. Oh, for God’s sake, why do I even have to explain this? Get the hell off my property!”

“Did you know you broke Caleb’s heart so badly he’s considering quitting music altogether?”

“What?”

“Okay, enough!” Kenzi snaps, stepping in front of me. “Indi is not a lesbian, Caleb broke her heart, and none of us give a crap if he keeps singing or not. The guy’s a creep, and you vultures need to leave her alone. Now fuck off before we call the police!” She grabs my arm and yanks me back inside before slamming the door shut.

I wrap my arms around myself, trying desperately not to cry again.

“Indi?”

I look at her helplessly. “He can’t give up on Staked.”

“He won’t,” she says firmly. “They’re saying that to get a reaction out of you. That’s what these people do. They twist everything until the story becomes bigger than reality.” Walking over to the window, she yanks the curtains shut.

“How did they even find where I live?” I whisper.

“They knew your full name. It probably wasn’t hard to look up once people became interested enough.”

“Jesus, Kenzi. When did my life become such a disaster?”

She snorts softly. “Easy. The second, you defended a scrawny little boy getting bullied at school.”

Despite myself, I huff out a laugh. I can still picture Caleb back then. Tiny, frail, and sickly looking even as a kid, though none of us realized how serious it would eventually become. Nothing like the broad, strong man he is now.

“Ah, fuck you, Caleb!” I yell suddenly.