I Like the Remix

Once the tears had stopped and the numb feeling had settled in, Raelyn skated around the park randomly. She pulled off a few tricks in her half-conscious state of mind, but ended up falling when she tried something a little more advanced. She’d caught the attention of some of the other skaters when she just stayed down. “Hey, you okay? Did you break something? We can take you to the ER if you need it.” Came a concerned voice.

“I’m okay.” She muttered quietly as she forced herself up, ignoring the sting in her scraped up right palm. “Just a little out of practice.” Raelyn shrugged it off, she should have reacted differently to having the wind knocked out of her from the fall. But it had felt like the wind had already been knocked out of her from earlier. She grabbed her skateboard and walked slowly back over to the bench she had been sitting on. She slumped down on it and pulled her knees back to her chest, hoping it would help her feel whole again.

A couple of hours later, Tori walked up to her looking concerned. “I called your phone and your mom answered it all freaked out, wanting to know when you were coming to get your car and your purse.” She took a seat next to her and frowned at her appearance. “What happened?”

“I was stupid and paid the price for it. I let myself get too close to someone, and then had them ripped away from me.” Her voice came out soft and when she looked over at Tori, her best friend pulled her into a tight hug.

“You want me to track him down and hurt him for you?” Tori whispered, only half joking.

Raelyn shook her head and then buried her face in Tori’s shoulder. She tightened her arms around Tori when she went to move slightly. “I don’t blame Matt, he’s just trying to do what’s best for his family. And one of us would have eventually had to sacrifice something anyways.” She mumbled quietly. “But knowing that doesn’t take the pain away. And I really don’t want my family seeing me like this.”

“Well you’re in luck. You take my Uber home, and hand over your keys since I know you wouldn’t leave them in your purse around your family.” Tori stated with a small smile. “I’ll pick up your purse, phone and car. I’ll go pick up some ice cream and liquor and we’ll have some girl time.”

“Thanks, Tori.” Raelyn spoke quietly and let the redhead lead her out of the skatepark to the waiting car. Raelyn handed over the keys to her Corolla and slid into the backseat of the stranger’s car. She stared out at the night sky absently as the car pulled away, not missing Tori’s concerned eyes staring intently at her.

---

Victoria made her way towards Raelyn’s childhood home. She stopped at her friend’s car and unlocked the doors to toss the skateboard in the backseat. She looked up at the front door and let out a heavy sigh. After squaring her shoulders and telling herself that she wasn’t going to give in to any of their questions, she walked up to the front door and knocked twice. She glared at Zacky when he answered the door. “I’m here for Raelyn’s things.”

“Where is my baby?!” Victoria raised her eyebrow at Carrie Benson. The woman who had made Raelyn loathe family gatherings was acting concerned.

“Raelyn is at home, she had to meet with our boss to talk about her next shoot. She asked me to come get her things.” Victoria answered calmly. “And before you say anything else, I’d like you to take a look at who her emergency contact on her phone is.”

Carrie gave her a dark look and hit the button on the lock screen to get to emergency contacts and glared back at the redhead. “Why would she put you? It’s not like hospitals would give you any information.”

“Well she sure as hell didn’t want you showing up. She asked me to come get her things, so that’s what I’m doing. If you don’t feel like handing them over, I’ll just let Raelyn know and she’ll have the police come arrest you for possessing stolen belongings.” Victoria warned, a small smile coming to her face at the horrified look on Carrie’s face as she looked around the room.

“Fine. You tell her I want to hear from her within the next couple of days.” Carrie relented, still frustrated with the situation. Tori shrugged as she walked forward and held out her hand for Tori’s cellphone. She frowned when she realized there was a voicemail from Matt, and a few text messages. Unfortunately for Tori, Raelyn knew her family too well and made sure the previews were turned off for the lock screen. “Her purse is sitting over there.” Carrie stated dismissively, seemingly going back to not caring.

Victoria walked over to where Zack and his older sister were standing and grabbed her friend’s purse. “I hope you all have a nice evening.” She stated politely as she went to the door, hitting the auto start on her best friend’s keys. “Sorry if her car blocked any of you in. She doesn’t trust most people with her car.” With that said, she walked out the door and headed for the store to pick up some ice cream and liquor.

---

Raelyn laid on the couch, an ice pack laying on her stomach where the bruise from falling had formed, staring up at the ceiling. Everytime she closed her eyes, memories would come racing back and would have her on the edge of sobbing again. At least now she could cry without worrying that her makeup would be ruined, she rolled her eyes at her bitter thoughts. Maybe she was a glutton for punishment she decided as she closed her eyes willingly.

It was an awesome day out and Raelyn was somewhat bummed that she had to spend it at work… Which ended up in a studio since it was for a music video. But at least she wasn’t the only model that had been recruited. She glanced over at the twins, Annamarie and Ginamarie Russo, and then around at what they had set up for the music video. The instruments were all set out, there were machines set around to add flames here and there.

There were screens set up behind the instruments. The director had explained the concept and had the girls doing things to make it seem like they were indulging in the seven deadly sins. They were on a break and she was sitting on the floor glancing towards the window. “What are you doing spending your break in here, when it’s so beautiful outside?” Came an accented voice, she glanced to the left and was met with dark jeans.

“I’m afraid if I go outside, I won’t come back in.” Raelyn admitted as she looked up and met the blue eyes of Matt Tuck.

He chuckled at her response. “Well, I’ll tell you what… I’ll walk out there with you. They need me… So we should be okay.” He grinned at the way her eyes lit up. “I’m Matt by the way.”

“Raelyn.” She stated. She went to push herself up, but paused when he offered her his hand. She smiled and took his hand without any hesitation and followed him out one of the doors and into the sunlight.

She wiped at her eyes. She hadn’t actually been put in the music video, but it had been an awesome early experience. She also had been thankful for the fact that she still got paid even though they didn’t end up using the footage they shot of her. They hadn’t talked about much, just sat out in the sunlight. She had called Victoria to talk for a few minutes and he had called his girlfriend to talk to her and make sure she was doing well since she was pregnant. They had exchanged phone numbers.

They had become good friends. The texted back and forth frequently, sometimes about the stupidest things. He’d sent her a picture of Evann when he was born, and the proud looking parents. One of the more amazing facts, Charlotte had been totally okay with them texting. He had even texted and talked to her about when they started having problems.

“She means the world to me, and I don’t want to hurt her… But I just don’t feel the same way about her anymore.” Matt explained over the phone as he stared out the kitchen window to the backyard where Charlotte was playing with Evann and talking to one of her friends. “I think she feels it too.” He frowned slightly at the exasperated look on her face as she gestured with her hand to her friend.

“I know it’s going to be difficult, but you guys need to talk it out. Figure everything out, all cards on the table and make a decision. You have to do what’s best for the two of you while keeping Evann in mind.” Raelyn reasoned as she stared up at the ceiling of her room. She spared a glance at the closed door as she heard Tori’s mom lecturing her about coming home past curfew.

“You’re right. I just don’t want to hurt her.” Matt sighed, he ran a hand through his hair as he turned his back to the window and leaned against the counter.

“It’s just going to hurt you both if you both don’t want this anymore though. Leslie was in a relationship like that… Neither one spoke up and they both were miserable. Thankfully, Les finally spoke up so that she wouldn’t end up cheating on him.” Raelyn stated, remembering Leslie coming to her in tears when she had almost cheated on her boyfriend of two years. “Yes, Charlotte may end up sad. But in the end, if you guys don’t talk when you feel like this… You’re really just leading her on… You know?” Raelyn asked as she tried to word it right without offending anyone.

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Rae.” Matt sighed. The two women walked in, her friend saying goodbye. “I’ll call you later, I need to do this.”

“Good luck, Tuck. I’ll talk to you later.” Raelyn bid him farewell and the two hung up. Matt looking at Charlotte with conflict written across his face.

“Can we talk?”

She frowned slightly at that memory. Was she being hypocritical for being upset that the same situation may have replayed itself? She stared at the ceiling fan and followed one of the blades with her eyes until she started to get dizzy. She closed her eyes and fell into the next memory.

She had been told she’d been requested for a music video with a few of the other girls. She had been late, so she wasn’t told about who the band was. Raelyn walked into the studio with the girls and the director went on to lay down ground rules so that the models didn’t turn into fangirls. It was a warning Raelyn had grown used to. Any time they worked with anyone remotely famous, they would come out and give a warning and give them the chance to leave before the famous people came in. She had zoned out when they went on their rant and missed the name of the band, yet again.

“Okay guys, come on in.” The director called. Raelyn looked up as the members of Bullet for My Valentine walked in, Matt bringing up the end. A small smile came to her face upon seeing a familiar face.

“You seem surprised… You weren’t paying any attention were you?” He questioned, a challenging look in his eyes as he resisted the urge to laugh as she shook her head.

“I tend to zone out when I’ve heard the same warning over and over again.” Raelyn admitted with a sheepish smile, totally unaware of the looks she was getting from her coworkers for apparently knowing the band. “So am I actually going to be in this music video?” She teased.

“Well, that is the plan. Hopefully you don’t screw it up too bad.” He returned with a smirk, chuckling when she rolled her eyes. “Let’s get to it.” He told the director with an excited smile.

But it had been what came after the shoot that she held close to her heart.

Her coworkers were still a little crabby that Matt had paid so much attention to her, but Raelyn turned a blind eye. The girls had all made their way back to the two cars they had come in, and Raelyn had been happy she had driven herself to the shoot as she watched the girls get into the cars and start driving away. She knew the real reason they were mad was because the band had treated them the same way every other famous person usually treated the models… They had been polite but never really started a conversation with them or actually talked to them.

“You’ve gotten some ink since I last saw you.” Matt commented as he walked over to where her car had been parked.

“Yeah, I’ve wanted to get the flowers finished for awhile. I’m just happy they were able to get the color I was looking for.” Raelyn stated excitedly. “What about you, have you added any new ink since I’ve seen you?” She questioned looking to his arms immediately.

“Nah, nothing you haven’t seen.” He grinned as her eyes came back to his. “So, I’ve been considering asking you something for awhile now.” He admitted as he leaned back against her car and looked up at the setting sun.

“Oh?” She questioned, her head tilted to the side. She found herself trying to figure it out as she waited for him to ask her his question.

“I know it might be hard with our schedules, but I was wondering if you would want to go out sometime?” He asked, turning to look at her for the last part. He gave her an easygoing smile and she had to make sure she had heard him right.

“Like on a date?” He laughed and nodded. “You’re being serious?” She asked again, slightly suspicious.

“I wouldn’t joke about this.” Matt promised as he moved so he was standing in front of her and could look her in the eyes. “Please?”

“Yes. I’ll go out with you.” She stated after a moment of consideration. “But if it goes bad, no awkward shit… We go back to being friends. Deal?”

Matt grinned as he offered his right hand, “Deal.”