Chapter Seven

Only choice is an oxymoron, strangely that's what I ponder as I follow Kyler back into the shark infested waters. How can something be a choice yet resemble a noose hanging over your head? Whoever coined the term really missed the mark on this one. I don't feel like I'm choosing anything as I let Kyler take charge and lay down the law in front of his manager and publicist, both of whom look like they wished I'd crawl right back into the country bumpkin I crawled out of.

Too bad folks, I'm trusting the two timing, cheating, lying son of a former supermodel on this one. These are his people, this is his world and a teeny tiny piece of me still thinks he's more reliable than the corporate slaves he's brought with him.

"So here's the game plan Julie, we're going to have to axe the previous game plan." Kyler's voice is firm and confident. It's not a suggestion, clearly an order from someone used to making his own rules and I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. Kyler Blackwell possesses an aura of power and absolute confidence that teenage boys very rarely have. In fact even as I refer to him as a boy in my head I know I'm very, very wrong. I might still be a girl who enjoys the occasional Disney Karaoke night at DeeDee's but he's all man. I should have picked it up the night at his house, the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, the way he moved and...the way he touched me. He didn't fumble once, no nerves, nothing that would speak of inexperience. Now that I know who his girlfriend is, I don't have to think a lot about how much more experienced he is compared to me.

I'd laugh if the atmosphere weren't so tense.

"With all due respect Mr. Blackwell, I've looked at every way this can be spun and have arrived at the conclusion that the only way to get the media off your back is..."

"Harrison, with due respect we're going to have find another way out of this."

Julie pinches her nose, muttering something about brats and throws a rather withering look my way. I shuffle behind Kyler because frankly I've had my ego bruised enough for the day and she looks like she's about to be vicious.

"Please do tell Kyler, what is the genius out of the box idea that you've come up that won't make it look like you cheated on America's sweetheart? Teenage girls everywhere hate your guts right now and do you know what their weapon of choice is?"

I think we both shake our heads.

"The goddamn Internet Kyler! They won't let you live this one down, they'll harass you and troll you and you'll be reduced to nothing but a hashtag before your movie even begins filming. Do you think the producers will want to work with you in that kind of environment? Let me spell it out for you, NO. Everyone thinks Alyssa's the victim here, she's the one who got her heat broken and suddenly everyone loves her but you..."

"I want to issue an apology, I want to tell the fans exactly what happened and..."

"Kyler you know you can't. Don't be stupid, you've signed a contract."

A contract that stops him from apologising? Huh, Hollywood is strange.

"I won't be doing anything that violates it. Alyssa and I haven't been seen together in weeks. Everyone's already speculating whether we're together or not and between that and everything going on in my life...of course I was seeking solace in my childhood sweetheart. We were close friends when we were younger and things couldn't develop because I moved away but me being back here meant that we rekindled our relationship. It won't be considered cheating because Alyssa and I never confirmed anything, isn't this the tension and realness in our relationship that the studio wanted? It could completely work."

Three sets of eyes now look at Kyler in a similar what-the-hell-are-smoking kind of way. I press my hands to my temples. "I think you need to rest Kyler. Clearly the lack of sleep is making you delusional."

"I would agree with Ellie here." Julie adds with just the right amount of condescension.

"My name is Ella."

"Isn't that what I just said?"

If I definitely did not know that I couldn't face a lawsuit right now on top of being homeless I'd definitely take a swing at her.

"Behave Julie and Ella," he turned to me and unleashed the full force of his eyes on me. For a second, with his attention solely on me I was transported to being back there in the water with him, ready to spill my guts to him all over again. He should bottle this particular power of his and sell it,that's how good he is.

"Please, trust me. I know this sounds crazy and I know that I've caused enough trouble in your life as it is but please give me a chance to fix this okay?"

"It's my only choice right?" I roll my eyes at him and there's the barest hint of a smile on his face.

Note to self Ella, stay away from the Hollywood heart throb.

***

I leave Kyler and his team in the living room as they plan their next battle strategy. In my heart I know Kyler will look out for my best interest. Call me a fool but when he asked me to trust him, I did. There's no excuse for infidelity or for tricking someone into thinking you're available when you're not. No one will hold him accountable as much as they will me and that makes me so angry so I clean even more. By the time I'm done cursing the entire patriarchy, the kitchen is cleaner and possibly more sterilised than an operating room. I frown at my reflection on the island, suddenly feeling self conscious about how much of a mess I truly looked like. My hair was in desperate need of a brush and without even a hint of makeup on, I looked probably around twelve. My cheeks were flushed due to heat and I was sweaty in places I really shouldn't be because of how hard I'd gone at the floors.

Oh well, I should look after this house while I still can. The thought made me said and I returned to scrubbing the stovetops with even more vigour.

Between bouts of cleaning, I heard the crisis management cell that was Kyler Blackwell and his manage and publicist arguing about several things. I tried not to eavesdrop too much but occasionally when my name would pop up, I paid a little more attention since I hardly trusted Julie or Harrison to look out for my best interests.

Kyler would though, right?

I didn't want to wake up tomorrow with the title home wrecker permanently affixed to my name. I didn't want to start what was supposed to be the best year of high school only to be looked down upon by my peers. We're teenagers, the internet is basically our only religion. If something's been posted or tweeted or regrammed enough, then surely it must be true?

Wrong.

"Uh, I think the stove's clean enough."

His voice still gave me the chills and I hated it. I hated that I was still undeniably attracted to him and that just the smooth timbre of his voice made me light up inside. I took advantage of the fact that he couldn't see my face and willed the blush on my face to go away. He couldn't know that he still affected me like that.

He was a cheater and as a rule I tended to hate their guts so why wasn't I instantly repelled by him?

Tossing the sponge aside, I straightened my back and took off my rubber gloves. He had to be kicking himself right about now. He screwed things up with a Sports Illustrated cover model because of me and here I was in all my sweaty glory. I pushed a strand of hair that was stuck to my forehead because of said sweat and tried not to fidget under his scrutinised gaze. I didn't want or need to look good when he was there.

It didn't matter.

He was taken.

Still I wished more than anything I could quickly go shower and wear that cute skirt that made my legs look like they went of for miles. Stupid yes but hey, I never said I was a saint.

"You guys done taking over my house?" I had to have the upper hand here even if I was massively pretending and had no idea how to deal with any of this.

He moves into the kitchen, closer to me and looks at all my cleaning supplies with amusement. "You've been busy."

I shrugged, "I'm not sure if you've ever held a mop in your life but you're missing out. It's extremely therapeutic. Want to try it out in my bathroom?"

He grimaced, maybe asking him to clean my bathroom was a step too far. "I don't know how much you've found out about me but you of all people should know that not everything you read on the internet is true."

"So your parents aren't billionaires?"

He scratched the back of his neck in discomfort "We had chores, me and siblings. We were made to clean and cook and run errands. I'm not some spoilt little rich kid."

"Are you telling me or yourself?" I was being a bitch but I knew the stark difference between our realities. He was made to do those things for fun, how cute that Hollywood royalty practices doing 'normal' things to keep them humble. The rest of us did it because we had no other option and because were it left up to the absentminded parents, the house would be filthy and stinking in two days stat.

Okay so maybe this was more about me than it was about him.

"Ella..." Kyler tilted his head as if trying to study me.

I wasn't the enchanted starry eyed girl he had met a day ago. I wasn't following him down darkened hallways, flirting with him, completely taken by the sexy stranger. I was the internet's resident whore and couldn't pick up my phone without getting death threats from all over the world. Ah the joys of the world wide web, when trolls from one side of the world go to bed, the others were just getting started.

"I know you must hate me right now, I know what it feels like to be part of a social media shit show, to have everyone shoving their opinions and judgements down your throat. Trust me I know and I want to help you because I know how to."

It's quiet outside so I don't know if his team is still here with their ears pressed against the doors trying to listen in. Julie didn't seem in favour of doing anything that would even remotely portray me in good light. I knew she wanted me to throw me under the bus and take all the blame but some reason Kyler didn't want that to happen.

"Are we back the whole childhood sweethearts thing? It's not going to work." I pushed away from the counter and walked past him, starting to put my cleaning supplies away.

"Nothing would corroborate your story. You haven't even lived in Arlington for long enough for people to buy that we were ever friends, they'll talk."

Kyler shrugged. "I was home-schooled for most of my life. I don't really have many friends of my own outside of Mason's group or kids I met on set and who grew up in the industry. None of those people will talk. If I went out and said I'd known you all my life, nobody would argue."

He seemed confident in his plan but since I knew very little of it I had no idea what to think of it but what I did know was that this wasn't a rabbit hole I wanted to fall down in.

"How would that help me and why would anyone you're working with support you on this?"

He didn't answer me immediately and I took the time to study his posture, how stiff is shoulders were with tension and how is entire body was coiled tight. I had also noticed the distance he kept the entire day and a teeny tiny part of me was sad that I'd never feel the magic I felt with him that night again. He was taken, his life was too complicated and he was nothing but trouble.

Kyler helped me put everything away, my question still remaining unanswered. Then when he noticed from our spot in the kitchen where I had been putting the billionaire to work that Julie and Harrison had slipped out for a while he came closer to me than he had the whole day.

"This will be good for everyone, the idea that you and me have been together all along will work for the fans. Even Julie's starting to see it so I know I'm on the right track."

I laugh and moved away from him so that we were leaning on opposite walls.

"Did you forget you broke someone's heart? Will she be okay with it?"

I hated the fact that I was suddenly so attuned to his moods and that I could immediately tell that bringing up Alyssa Hargrove turned his warm expression cold and his eyes that had previously been looking at me with kindness subjected me to their full icy potential.

"Alyssa is...it's tough to explain but believe when I say this is what she wants as well."

"She wants you to tell people that you're with me and not her?"

"She wants the spotlight however she gets it so take from that what you will. She hates the fact that the media talks more about me than they do her so I bet you she'll loving every bit of the attention and sympathy she's getting right now."

"And you want her to keep getting it?" I was extremely confused.

He shrugged again, "She won't not when people see the other side of things." He walked towards me again and I noticed that Kyler James Blackwell liked to be near me when he spoke, like the distance made it hard to get his point across.

"When they see something purer, with more heart than all of LA, I'm sure they'll forget all about Alyssa."

That was a movie worthy line from the movie star and such was his exit. He left me a shaky mess when we heard Julie and Harrison return and as I touched my heated cheek I realised that I had never quite managed to truly hate him. I'd held on to the belief that the guy I met the other night was who Kyler really was and now a part of me was screaming, pushing at me to trust those instincts.

Down the rabbit whole I go.