Celebrity Crush

December 18, 2009

The last week of school before Christmas break flew by. With all of the work and tests that had to be taken it just flew by. Before I knew it, I was walking out of the school on Friday afternoon and not looking back. Kimi was at my side talking on the phone to Annie. It seemed like everyone was going somewhere for the holidays.

Sine Kimi had went with her father for Thanksgiving she was going with her mom for Christmas and New Year’s. I figured they were only going a couple towns over to Kimi's grandmothers. That woman had a heart a heart of gold underneath.

Annie was going with her mother and grandmother to the mountains for Christmas. She would be going to the city for New Years with a bunch of friends. I envied her to an extent. My mom would never let me go to the city with friends, she wouldn't trust them. With Ben still on the loose I didn't really blame her for how careful she was of me.

Suddenly my phone started ringing. I chuckled and pulled it from my pocket. An unknown number greeted me and for a second my heart dropped. What if it's Ben? How would he get my number?

I sighed and continued walking to my jeep with Kimi following me. She was so into her conversation with Annie she hadn't noticed my sudden depressed mood. I tossed my backpack in the jeep and opened my phone.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Is this Laura?”

The male voice sounded familiar but not in the way I thought.

“Yeah this is her. Who is this?”

“Well I don't know if you remember me or not from the plane. It's Gabe, Gabe Collins.”

Suddenly the image of the boy that had helped my nerves on the plane came to my mind. A smile came to my lips.

“Oh I remember you. What happened to you calling me back? Keeping in touch?”

I heard him chuckle, “Well I'm calling now, right? I was just bored and everything, wanted someone to talk to. SO what are you doing?”

Kimi started eying me on the phone and I turned my head away from her. She was still talking to Annie anyway.

“Oh nothing really, I just got out of school. I don't think I told you I was senior in high school.”

“Oh that's not a big deal. I'm a freshman in college right now of course.”

“Yeah well where are you going for the holidays?”

He sighed, “Well my dad wants me to spend Christmas with him and for New Year's he's going to the city for a while and I'm tagging along. My mom was busy this year anyway with the kids so I couldn't go there. I called you because I knew we wouldn't have another chance meeting. What about the boyfriend?”

My bottom lip pulled back and I frowned, “It's complicated.”

I heard him chuckled, “Un-complicate it.”

I sighed, “Yeah well it's not as easy as it sounds.”

I heard him chuckle again so I questioned him, “What about you? You have to have some kind of girl in your life.”

It was quiet until I heard him mumble, “All the girls in my life are taken. At least the ones I like are.”

My heart clenched at this revelation. I felt really bad for him. Why did Robert have to come into my life? Why did he have to take my heart before I met this great guy? Then my heart was telling me that if Robert hadn't come into my life I probably would have never met Gabe in the first place.

I heard footsteps coming closer and Kimi was staring at me. She was off the phone tapping her foot in front of me.

“Listen Gabe I have to go, my friend, Kimi is here and she is trying to get me off the phone.”

I heard him give a defeated fake sigh, “Well if you have to go. Don't forget to call me though. Let's keep in touch.”

“Will do Gabe, bye.”

I flipped the phone shut and gave Kimi and uneasy smile.

“Who's Gabe, Laura?”

I sighed, “Just some guy I met on the place to grandmas. We exchanged numbers and with all the ciaos that has been going on I forgot that I had his number. He was just calling because he knew we wouldn't chance meeting again this time. He's going to the city for New Years and I would guess that he's in some other state with his dad.”

She shook her head, “How do you do it? One time these guys talk to you and their hooked. I mean seriously it's not fair to the rest of us. You have Robert just keep him and leave the rest for the rest of us women.”

She had a smile on her face the entire time. I just rolled my eyes.

“Well Kimi we are both leaving tomorrow so I think we should go to our own houses for now.”

She nodded and came toward me. She hugged me tightly, “I'm going to miss you Laura.”

Most of the time I come back for New Year’s but not this time. Robert convinced mom to let me come with them to New York for New Years. I have never been and this is the perfect time to go.

“Just bring me back some souvenirs would ya?”

I chuckled and nodded, “Of course Kimi.”

She faked a tear and hugged me again, “Well see ya girl. Be careful.”

She pulled away and walked toward her car, “You too Kimi. Try not to give your mom a hard OK?”

She laughed, “I'll try!”

I shook my head at her and climbed in my jeep heading home.

**

December 19, 2009

I yawned again as I sat at the table eating my breakfast. Mom had gotten us up early because apparently the place she and Robert used when traveling was leaving early. It was around 7:30 am. I wasn't in the mood to leave so early.

According to mom the place was leaving at nine sharp. It would take us a good thirty minutes to get to the airport. Then another thirty to forty minutes to get through security. I hated flying with mom because private planes security was even worse than that of a normal plane.

Mom had cooked my breakfast this morning so I didn't have to cook it myself. She was changing little by little or maybe she felt sorry for me losing one of my friends to a guy she used to date. Some psycho that she didn't know was infatuated with me.

I was already dressed and cutting up the pancakes on my plate while the TV the hung from the ceiling stared back at me. It was playing back the weather report for today. The plane had to leave earlier than planned because of some rain that was coming in the later around the schedule time for us to leave.

Mom came into the kitchen, suddenly, straight toward the coffee machine. She was trying to put in an earring into right ear. She was dressed for the day. She was even wearing flats instead of heels in-case it was raining at grandmas.

“Mom do you need any help?”

She looked over at me and shook her head. She pulled her hand away from her ear and I saw she had snapped it in place. I looked down at my plate to see I had finished my food.

“Thanks for breakfast mom. It was good.”

She smiled and chuckled, “Thank Robert. I had to take a shower when I got up. He's the one that woke us both. I guess he had been awake for a while or something.”

I nodded but didn't comment. Robert had been in my room last night and we talked. Mom had been asleep for an hour when he came into my room. I guessed that he probably had only gotten a few hours’ sleep at the most.

I placed my plate in the sink and walked out the room. Robert was in the foyer placing our bags by the door.

“Thanks for breakfast.”

He jumped and turned to look at me.

“She told you?”

I nodded, “Yeah I thanked her and she told me to thank you.”

Robert shrugged, “Well I wasn't sleeping very well. I saw the message on your mom's phone pretty early and got her up to shower. I knew you wouldn't need much time since you showered last night but I cooked you breakfast and let you sleep a little longer.”

I walked up to Robert. There was one thing we did talk about last night. Alex's sudden death had made me realize that I should take this chance. Alex was the type to go out and make things happen for him. I was going to follow his example. Nothing would happen to me if I didn't try and not be scared of the world and what could happen to me.

I could still hear mom in the kitchen so I knew I was free for a few minutes. Robert turned around and looked at me and I reached on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. Just the feel of his lips on mine was what I needed. A simple peck.

I pulled away before it could get carried away. Mom was walking right this way and I turned on my heel.

“I'll be right back down. I have to get my bag with my phone and iPod.”

I took the steps two at a time going to my room. My heart was pounding with the idea of getting caught. My cheeks were red from the sudden boldness that had come over me.

I walked into my room and found my gray bag on my bed. I checked to make sure everything was inside and then pulled it across me. I caught sight of my reflection as I pasted the mirror on my dresser. My hair was now scattered from my fingers as I ran up the stairs. My lips were a little abused, a little too light and my eyes were blazed.

I found some lip gloss and spread it across my lips. Once my hair was brushed back and my heart beat returned to normal I left my room going back downstairs. Mom was pulling on a tan coat as Robert pulled the door opened.

“Now Laura you remember that the SUV will be flown to New York, right? I will need it for stuff. At your grandma's there will be a car renting service that we are going to use. Oh and grandma called, she said that we will be the only one's staying at the house with her. Karen and Jack decided to stay at home for the holidays. They'll be over from time to time and not to mention Karen will be over to cook for the annual Christmas party.”

I grinned and clapped my hands. I loved grandma's annual Christmas party. She would hold a huge party at the local hotel party room. There would be so many people there from around town, not to mention the guests from the hotel were invited as well.

I loved dressed up for the party and just spending time with my family. This year maybe I'll get a kiss underneath the mistletoe. That is if I can sneak Robert away from mom long enough.

Robert started grabbing bags and carrying them to the SUV. I grabbed a few least heavy ones and followed him to the SUV. Mom was messing around with her phone, I guess talking to the plane people or something.

Robert jumped as I placed a bag in the trunk. I giggled, “Thought I could give you some help.”

He shook his head, “That wasn't very nice Laura.”

I shrugged, “Life's not fair.”

He narrowed his eyes and then we heard mom flats crunching the grass as she walked to the SUV.

“Come on guys we have to go now. Otherwise it'll be tomorrow before we leave.”

I nodded and Robert went to get the rest of the bags. Mom walked around the SUV pressing the button to unlock the doors. She climbed into the passenger seat while I climbed into the backseat. I buckled my belt and pulled out a book from my bag. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief was staring back at me.

I pulled the cover back and the book open to the second chapter where my book mark lay. I started reading just as Robert slammed the trunk closed. I looked up as he locked the front door and came to the SUV. He climbed into the drive side and then we were off. I couldn't wait to get to grandmas.

**

I'll say it again, I hated private plane security. It took forty-five minutes to get through the security. It probably wouldn't have caused such a problem if there weren’t fans of Robert's in the security. I really wondered how long it would take for mom's real identity to get out. I mean really so far it's been a miracle no one has found it yet. I was of course given a disguise so that no one knew who I was or the fact that mom had a kid.

I walked out of the airport across the black top toward the plane. I just wanted to get away from them. It reminded me that no matter what happened the world would never knew who I really was to Robert. Whenever the media did find out I would just be the girlfriend's young daughter and nothing more.

The world would never know how much I was in love with him. She would be on the cover of magazines with him. She would be the one to flaunt her love for him all over the world while I sat in the shadows and watched. I would be in the shadows watching the man I love, love another while the world ogled. I just wanted to get on the plane stuff my ears with music and get lost in a book. Things happened differently in books but this was the real world. I would get no happy ending.

The doors to the plane opened and I saw the same people I saw every year. Mom would always let me fly with her for Christmas so I already knew the people that flew the plane. The woman at the top of the stairs was smiling down at me.

“Aloha, Laura.”

She was from Hawaii. I loved her black hair and her laid back attitude. Hilary was her name and she was gorgeous. I could already guess that mom wasn't so keen on her around Robert.

I walked up the stairs toward her and she enveloped me in a hug.

“How are you?”

I smiled, “I'm great Hilary. I just want to read and listen to music.”

She sighed, “Security.”

I sighed along with her, “Isn't it always?”

She smiled and moved to the side for me come on board. I found a seat away from the other two seats that mom and Robert would use. I buckled myself in a pulled out my iPod and book.

“Laura your mother is coming.”

I rolled my eyes leaving the ear pieces out of my ears. She hated when I did this, she would come in talking and then get mad when I didn't answer back because of the music. I heard the stairs move from the outside and then mom's voice coming in.

“I swear I thought the security bay had been notified of Robert coming. I'm so sorry Laura. I didn't mean for this to happen. I just hope that they don't go spilling to the tabloids or our entire holiday is ruined.”

Then I heard Robert's huff as he came into the plane.

“That was horrible Molly. We aren't coming back through here again if they are still here.”

Mom sighed, “I know Rob. I thought they had been informed. Everywhere we've been so far was updated. They got special workers.”

I rolled my eyes, “Maybe they weren't informed on the new schedule? Remember that we are leaving early because of the weather?”

Mom nodded, “That's probably it then.”

Mom and Robert had already taken their seats and were buckling in. I pushed in the ear pieces as the door was shut closed. I turned up the music as loud as I could and got lost in the story of Percy Jackson.

Hopefully my nerves against flying will tone down some.