AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And where is there?” I choke up with emotion.
“That’s a surprise, Strawberry. You’ll find out soon, though. But first, the confession booth with the ugly fur chair.”
I huff out a laugh as he leads me to the chair. I can’t even feel the chair as I sink down in it and am assaulted by the blinding lights.
“So, what do you think the surprise is tonight?”
I smile, smoothing my skirt. “Well, whatever it is, it better be life-altering with how they’re treating it.” I laugh but no one else does. The room descends into silence before the person quietly murmurs,“That will be all, Rayne.”
* * *
My hand tightens around Tucker's arm as he leads me up to an old building. Delicate crown molding and symbols carved into the structure, the white paint faded with weather, but it only adds to the charm. Lights flash around us as reporters shout our names, some hanging over the bodyguards’ shoulders, others trying to climb past the ropes.
Following Tucker's lead, I smile at nowhere in particular as we continue walking up the steps. It is overwhelming, the screaming, the blinding flash of the lights, strangers screaming my name. My entire body is shaking before we make it inside. My heart is pounding out of my chest, beads of sweat drips between my breasts.
The room opens into a ballroom, eggshell marble with swirls of gold on the floor. Engaged columns surround the outside of the dance floor. High arches painted with gold tips. The ceiling a mural of dragons, one black and one gold, entwined with one another. A long glass table takes up the expanse of the front of the ballroom.It is massive, holding thirty-one wingback chairs. Many are filled with people I don’t recognize. Some I do. Politicians, actors, and tycoons.
“Tuck…” I whisper.
He squeezes my hand as he pulls out my seat. Kissing me on the forehead, he whispers, “I’m sorry.”
Taking a seat, my heart pounds as I look to my lap. I can feel eyes on me, but Tucker has me more nervous than I already was.
“Welcome, Rayne.”
Looking up, I make eye contact with eyes like my best friend’s. Except they are hard and cold, making my spine tingle.“Johnathan Ashford, speaker of United States House of Representatives. Nice to meet you.”
“I…” He smirks at my lack of words. The woman beside him looks at me with sympathetic eyes. I guess that is Tucker's mom.
A hand touches my shoulder as the seat beside me is pulled out. “Rayne, very nice to see you again.” Raiden folds himself into the chair beside me, throwing a look of pure rage at Johnathan.
Looking around, I see all my castmates sitting with older versions of themselves. My eyes connect with Branson’s, and he holds my stare. I want to demand someone tell me what is going on. Why am I sitting next to Raiden and not Branson? Why am I even here? My chest aches as my soul tries to claw itself out of my skin. My mind is blurring with static as my ears echo white noise.
A hand grabs mine under the table and I look at Raiden. “You’ve got to breathe.”
I let out the breath I was holding as the other chair beside me pulls out. A woman with light hair pulled back into an elegant bun smiles down at me. Sparkling gray eyes that watch me with delight. Matilda Prescott. I watched her in so many old movies when I was a child. She presents elegance and grace as she holds out her hand.A warm aura shining from her.
“Hello, sweetheart. My name is Matilda, your mother.”
Everything stops.
Chapter 20
@RayneMarshall: “It’s funny how when your world stops, everything around you keeps moving.”
Rayne
The world stops around me as I stare into gray eyes that are so familiar but also unrecognizable at the same time.
Happiness and longing rush over me before I’m drowning in hurt, confusion, and anger. My mind goes into overdrive as I try to piece her words together. The true meaning of them. They seem to fumble around, breaking off into other sentences before slowly piecing themselves back together.
The sound of Briggs's voice yelling, “Cut,” has me snapping out of it. There is something about being in shock. You feel every emotion as one as they claw their way through your heart, wrapping a noose around your mind, until it pops, spilling at your feet in a mess.
I laugh. Not quietly, not subtly, or even sanely. The laugh tumbles out in hard waves that makes my stomach hurt and my eyes water.
Matilda frowns, lowering her hand as her eyebrows bunch in concern. “What is so funny, Rayne?”
Clutching my chest, I try to rein in the craziness that is spilling from me. “It’s just that… you really had me there. As if you’re really my mom. I mean, it’s very sick of you all to play such a joke on me, but I understand the need for drama for the show.”
