Fireworks 1 and 2

Jungle: Chapter Eighty-Four

    Oliver was quiet on the other end of the line.

    "I just couldn't," Drake repeated. Even now, he had the most gruesome visuals in his mind, visuals of what could have happened to Mia, had Trevor taken him out the picture as planned.

    "All right," Oliver said softly after a deep sigh. "Don't worry. We can handle this. Leave it up to me. In the meantime, what are you going to do about the rest of the tour?"

    Drake's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, what am I going to do with the rest of the tour?" he asked, collapsing on the bed.

    "I mean...are you going to finish out the rest of the tour?"

    The thought hadn't even occurred to Drake to back out of the rest of his tour. Canceling tour shows were a guaranteed way of losing fans. They spent hard-earned money and scheduled vacation time to come see your show. Their excitement built up to an all-time high. Letting down his fans hadn't really seemed like an option, despite the fact that he could really use some time away from the spotlight right now. "Like I have a choice?"

    "You do have a choice," Oliver told him. "You always have a choice."

    "I'd be letting fans down."

    "I'm sure they'd understand."

    "Some would," Drake said. "Others wouldn't. No matter what, I'm expected to make my appearances. You know how that goes."

    Oliver grew quiet. "What does Mia have to say about pushing forward with the tour?"

    "I haven't discussed it with her yet," Drake said, glancing towards the bathroom door again. He couldn't hear any running water or any sounds from within.

    "True. She's dealing with a lot right now. So are you. Trust me, I hate talking business with everything you both are going to. When it comes to the tour, though, we do need to determine soother rather than later whether you'll be pulling out of the rest of your tour stops. If you will be pulling out, then we need to get all of our ducks in a row as to the explanation we give to the press. We can talk about all of this tomorrow, though. I just wanted to check in with both of you, make sure you're both okay."

    Drake fidgeted with the edges of his iPhone as his eyes lingered on the closed bathroom door. "We're not okay, but we will be," he said, borrowing his girlfriend's words. "She's trying to be strong enough for the both of us. She's a tough little soldier, I'll tell you that much."

                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, Mia stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror over the sink. Dried tear tracks marked both of her cheeks. Upon returning to their hotel room, she'd had to use the bathroom. But the minute she'd sat down on the toilet, flashbacks from earlier that evening had come rushing back. She'd leapt up from the toilet, had washed her hands at the sink, and remained standing there while staring at her reflection.

    After drying her hands, she touched her cheek while staring at her face in the mirror. What is it about me? What is it about me that would make Trevor crazy enough to come after me the way he did? He was a professional football player, at the top of his game. There are so many women in this world, and he could have had just about any one of them. Why me? Why would he be obsessed with me?

    She traced fingers across her eyebrows and over the crests of her cheekbones, then lowered her hands and gripped the edge of the sink as waves of nausea rolled over. She rocked back and forth on her heels with her eyes closed. I don't know how I'm supposed to get past this, she thought. Aubrey and I are expected to go on tour. I'm expected to walk onto a stage and perform in front of tens of thousands of people who know that I was attacked.