You Can't Choose Your Family ➸ Demi Lovato

{Chapter 22}

I'm currently passed out on Demi's shoulder in the back seat of the Max's car. I'd given up trying to keep my eyes open. I was exhausted.

And this time I wasn't mentally tired of having to live with myself, something I'd been constantly dealing with lately. I was genuinely happy and the good type of exhausted, you know when you've just had a really really great day? That kind of exhausted.

No, I wasn't fixed. I'm still practically as far from it as I was before I came to L.A.. But I had had a great day, filled with laughter and love.

Demi and Marissa had cleared most of the food off my plate after my breakdown. They had only left two slices of apple. It took me about half an hour but I made myself eat both of the pieces. They both tried not to make a big fuss out of my 'achievement' but I could tell they were pleased that I'd actually eaten something.

Then Max arrived and we all climbed into the back of his SUV and headed for the mall. Demi, being Demi pulled out her phone and demanded we took a selfie. She tilted her head and pouted whilst Marissa decided to kiss my cheek as I smiled awkwardly. As I've mentioned before, I am so not photogenic.

Demi and Marissa spent a few moments examining the photo, deciding whether it was 'gram worthy' or not. They came to the consensus it was so it was posted on both of their instagrams, both with very cute captions which made me smile:

'@ddlovato: bad bitchez be rollin'🚙🚨 @marissa_callahan @saskiajackson15'

'@marissa_callahan: surrounded by so much love today😇 #blessed @saskiajackson15 @ddlovato'

I laughed at the difference in their captions and liked both photos. My notifications presently started to blow up. In the fifteen minutes it took to get to the mall from when they posted that photo I had gained a little under 1300 followers, most of them Demi fan accounts. The only 3 posts I had, the one of Maddie and I cuddled up together on the bench at Pacific Park, the video of Demi singing on the dinner table to Kelly Clarkson at Thanksgiving and then a photo of the sunset from outside my house in Albuquerque a few days ago [A/N: see photo attached for Saskia's post], well they all had over 7,000 likes which was absolutely mental.

When the car stopped and we got out the, we found ourselves in this abandoned car parking area. There were only like two other vehicles in here...

"I thought we were going to the mall?" I voiced my confusion. Demi laughed,

"We're here. We're using the back entrance unless you want to get trampled by crowds." She said sarcastically, but not in an unkind way.

"Ah okay. I forgot you're famous." I replied truthfully. Demi's so normal. All other celebrities seem so fake and self-orientated that I'd forgotten Demi was one of them.

"You're so cute." She pulled me into a side hug, squeezing my waist. I blushed and pretended to be interested in the tarmac flooring. I'm so bad with compliments that I just try and avert having to accept them.

Before I knew it Demi had my hand and was pulling me towards an elevator at the end of the remote parking lot.

When inside the elevator Max turned to us.

"I don't think the word's got out that you're here but people are bound to notice you at some point. So if people start crowding you-"

"Yeh, yeh I know. Come straight back here. Don't stop." Demi waved her hand in dismissal at Max. She'd obviously been told this too many times for her liking.

A few seconds later the elevator pinged and the doors opened to reveal the ground floor of the mall. Demi hurriedly pushed her shades from her head down onto her nose and straightened her beanie.