Famous

17

"What do you mean the paparazzi?" I asked, my breath getting hitched in my throat. My eyes began to water and I didn't dare look behind me. His eyes were still frozen on the people behind me. I could hear voices muffled by the thick windows at the front of the restaurant. Thank god for the double glazed windows, keeping out the rows of men.

"God... I'm so sorry... I can't believe this is happening again..." he quietly said. I tried to reply, but I was stopped. Tristan quickly stood up, and pulled my arm up. His grip on my arm was strong, but I wouldn't dare let him know he was slightly hurting me. I quickly grabbed my phone and purse, making sure I didn't leave them behind. Tristan eyes glistened in the light of the restaurant and he looked around as the waiter quickly approached us. We were quickly pushed behind a velvet curtain into a back room of the restaurant. Tristan pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly dialed a number, raising the phone up to his ear. I wanted to ask who on earth he would be calling at this moment but I felt like I shouldn't be speaking. I felt like I had no right to speak to him.

"Hey... yeah... yeah... um Kristy's... Okay... yep... thanks," he said between pauses into the phone. He quickly hung up and pushed it back into his jean pocket.

"Who was that?" I asked shyly. I felt nervous for some reason, like something was about to happen.

"Nothing, don't worry." The tone of his voice made me feel like I was with a totally different person. Maybe this whole night was just a mistake.

The room we stood in was small and cold. The lights were off, the only light in the room was coming from underneath the velvet curtain. I could feel the walls on either side of my shoulders and Tristan was leaning his back on the wall, so the room was very small. The walls felt like they were made of metal and sent shivers down my spine whenever I touched them. Beside Tristan was the door, but in the darkness it was impossible to see where or how it opened.

"Tristan..." I briefly whispered, but he stopped me. I wanted to calm him down, or at least calm myself down. I was afraid of the men outside. Afraid of what they could do.

I could feel Tristan's eyes staring at me in the dark. I couldn't tell for sure, but I knew he was. A text came through on his phone and he shuffled around so he could reach it. He read it quickly before firmly saying, "Okay let's go." I was so cold I was shivering, and I was a bit upset he didn't notice. I couldn't tell what mood he was in, whether he was happy, sad or angry. I just couldn't tell with him.

His fingers shuffled over the round door handle that must have been digging into his skin as he knelt against it before. Light suddenly filled the small metal room and I looked around inside. It was the size of a toilet cubicle, but empty. The walls were metal, just like I had thought.

Tristan led the way out, and I noticed it was raining. Heavily. I took one last look at the small room before I shut the door, Tristan already walking ahead of me. I wondered what was going through his mind. Was it the same thing as what ran through mine? This was all just a big mistake.

He stopped after a few metres where the pavement turned into the road. I still shuffled behind him, trying to not get wet in the rain, but clearly that was impossible. The rain was heaving down over the both of us and we just stood there. Doing nothing at all. Just as I thought this couldn't possibly get any worse – the ground started rumbling. I began to think it was an earthquake but I jumped to conclusions. A shiny black limo pulled up directly in front of us both. It had driven down a short alleyway and somehow made its way down the narrow road to us. For the first time tonight, Tristan opened the door for himself and jumped in first. I got in straight behind him and quickly shut the door to avoid getting any wetter than I wanted to be. The limo was warm and quiet which made me nervous. A lot of things seemed to make me nervous tonight. The limo driver smiled at Tristan in the mirror and then slide across a dark window that made it completely private for us if he wanted to talk – but I doubt he would talk to me. The windows all around us were blacked out so we could slightly see out, but nobody could see in. The limo began moving and I felt Tristan take a deep breath in beside me. I wondered what I should say to him. I wondered if I should let him down, or let him let me down. I honestly didn't know which one I wanted more.