The Lies Inbetween

Chapter 4

I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep; however, it seemed like only minutes before I was awakened by a girl crouched beside me, gently shaking my arm. 'Excuse me, miss,' she whispered, and I abruptly jumped up into a seated position, despite my tiredness. Rubbing my eyes sleepily with my left hand, I took a minute to recall where I was, but then I remembered, and I felt my heart miss a beat. I looked the girl in her eyes- it was Sophie Carter. It was certainly a strange feeling seeing her in person, as I had spent hours watching every interview I could find of her at 2 am. 

'Sophie- um... it's lovely to finally meet you!' I said, stammering. I cringed at myself internally. Why couldn't I act like a normal person for once? I didn't want to seem starstruck, but I had no idea how I was supposed to say anything without making a complete fool of myself. 

'What's your name?' she asked, seating herself next to me on the sofa, then turning towards me. I didn't dare move a muscle. 'I'm Mia,' I replied, staring bashfully at the floor. I wondered if I looked okay- I assumed I probably didn't, as I could feel both of my french braids starting to become loose. Carefully, I undid both of them, then ran my fingers through my hair- trying to do so effortlessly. However, my hand got stuck on a knot, and I blushed, embarrassed. 

'Are you okay?' she asked, moving in closer. 'I saw what happened with your boyfriend, and I'm so so sorry I couldn't do more to help.' I nodded, trying my best to look less pathetic than I had been acting for the last ten minutes. 'I'm sorry for causing a scene...' I trailed off. I had been distracted by a sudden pang of dizziness. I weakened backwards into the sofa. If I managed to make it through this entire conversation without fainting, I would be very impressed, I thought to myself.

Sophie looked very concerned, then responded, 'No, no, it's not your fault! I think you have a concussion- I'm going to get you some ice for your head.' She stood up and walked towards the fridge and grabbed a bag of frozen peas and a towel. I was half-convinced I must be dreaming- this all seemed so surreal. The fact that this was probably the end of Jake and I was almost too much for my mind to fathom. 

As Sophie gently held the towel to my forehead, my thoughts suddenly came rushing back to me, and I began to panic. I had no idea where I would go now, as all my belongings were in Jake's apartment. I would ask Amy, but I figured she would be at the hospital for a while, and I hadn't spoken to any of my family members since they disowned me a couple of years back.

As though she had read my mind, Sophie asked tentatively, 'Do you have a place to stay tonight?' I swallowed. I felt so utterly helpless and irritated at myself, despite the fact I had done nothing wrong. 'Not exactly...' I replied. The room had grown uncomfortably warm, so I pulled at my sweater and scratched my neck awkwardly. I realised that I had been pulling at one of the pillow tassels so intensely it had become loose, so I shoved it in my pocket, my cheeks glowing bright red.

We were soon interrupted by what I assumed must be Sophie's management team. There were six tall men in black suits wearing sunglasses who were muttering fiercely into their walkie-talkies. They gestured for Sophie to come with them, then turned back sharply around the corridor. She turned back at me and smiled. 'You're staying with me.' she announced, and with that, grabbed my arm and lifted me from the couch.

I giggled nervously, then followed her out of the green room. Staying with her could be fun, and I thought to myself at least I would be safe. I had no idea where we were heading as we walked under scaffolding over on the arena's left side. To say that it was noisy would have been very much an understatement. The corridor was packed to the brim of important looking people yelling orders at each other. The echoes of the stage equipment rattling as the crew dismantled it rang boisterously in the background, causing my head to start ringing again.