London Rising (Wild Hearts Book 1)

Chapter Five*

"London is extraordinarily talented. She has the potential to be one of the greats and I want to help her get there. She's very sweet and any guy would be lucky to date her. But to set the record straight, no, I am not in a relationship with Miss Trellis."

-Official statement made by Damon Keller during an interview with Talk Show Host, James Frey.

CHAPTER FIVE

Participating in and filming a nationally televised singing competition is kind of weird. The timing, for example, is wonky. One thing they don't tell you when you're watching shows like this- the performances are pre-recorded and the eliminations are filmed the next day. So basically we have performances on Fridays and Elims on Saturdays and that show will air on Wednesday of the next week. Another thing? While voting is technically prompted, encouraged and even expected, the only performances that are voted on by anyone other than the judges are the Battle Rounds and the Final Four. Another aspect of Rising Star is that we're always being filmed for videos and updates to be accessed on the Star Network App- this is an ingenious way to showcase each personality and share what the daily life in the contestant house is like.

It's a tradition for everyone to come together for a final meal the night before recording the Elims, so I'm in my room video chatting with my sister as I wait patiently for the food to arrive. I look up from my phone when Nadia enters the room.

"The food just got here." She pushes her unruly hair out of her face and I smile.

"Finally! I'm starving. Want to meet my sister?" Nadia shrugs.

"Sure." Nadia leaves the door open and makes her way over to my bed, sitting next to me and tilting her head to see the screen. "Holy shit! You're twins?!" I laugh and so does Mila. "Why didn't you tell me you were twins!" I point at my bedside table.

"I assumed you knew. I don't keep a framed picture of myself on my bedside table." although to be fair, I could and no one would know. The picture is of Mila, our cat Penelope, and our parents. Nadia just gapes at Mila.

"I can't see any differences. Like, at all." she says, sounding astonished and I shake my head at the girl.

"That tends to happen with identical twins." Mila says, amused, and Nadia shakes her head.

"She even sounds like you!" I laugh again.

"Okay, we're going to go eat dinner. Love you. Text me after your appointment tomorrow." Mila grins at me.

"Yes, mom. I'm going to go get Chinese with dad, you've got me craving orange chicken." I shake my head and blow her a kiss.

The kitchen, living, and dining areas fit all of us. I don't understand how, but it does. So, twenty minutes later, Nadia and I are happily eating chow mein and sipping ice water at the island when Caroline walks over to us.

"Hey, London, do you mind if we have a word?" I put my cup down and nod.

"Of course," I respond, and stand up, following Caroline outside.

She leads me to the patio furniture after making sure the French doors were closed behind us.

"I'm going to come off strong, but I just want to warn you. The press aren't accepting that you and Damon aren't together. They have no proof aside from an innocent car ride, so on their part it is mostly wishful thinking. I just want you to be careful. Don't speak to the press, don't post online-"

"Damon already talked to me about it. I've got it. I'm not going to blab to the stalkers. Not that there is anything to blab, but still."

"Good. With that being said, you're going to be in the spotlight a lot more than contestants usually are, so I want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to or if you need advice, don't hesitate to call me." She hands me a sheet of paper with a phone number and an email address. I take it while I think about my next question. I bite my lip.

"Is he okay? I mean, truly? I know it's probably not my business, but he just seems so, I don't know, sad? Broken, maybe. I only ask because- actually I'm not sure why, but I guess it's important that I know he's okay." Caroline smiles sadly.

"The past few years have been rough and right now he's not in a great place, but he will be okay. He's strong." I nod and she stands up, smiling.

"You ready to go back in?" she asks and I shake my head no.

"I think I'm going to stay out here for a little bit longer." she nods and makes her way inside. I look out at the pool, losing myself to my thoughts.

By the time I go back in, Nadia is talking and laughing with a few other contestants and I'm no longer in the mood to socialize, so I go upstairs and grab my song book before making my way down to the studio, where I'm hoping I'll be alone for a few hours.

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