Chapter 14;
Tallie p.o.v
We were now back at Eric's flat. We had come back after a fairly uneventful rest of the stuio session.
After recording all the vocals, I had just sat and watched him. I still couldn't believe that he wanted me on a song with him!
He had invited a few people back to his flat with us - Json and Jason Gill. One of them had stopped on the way over to get petrol though, and had managed to spot a magazine with Eric on the cover - I think it was Json.
He gave it to me to read whilst him, Jason and Eric were playing fifa. I gladly accepted as I wasn't in the mood for video games today.
I idly flicked through the magazine whilst I sat at the livingroom table, surprised to see the article at the back. My surprise was only heightened when I actually saw the pictures.
There was a full page of me and Eric. In one picture, we were just walking through the street, hand in hand.
In another, we were in his car as he dropped me off after Friday's party and to my alarm, one of just me on my way to the shops the other day.
Neither of us had ever noticed any press and it scared me more than I had thought it would.
The caption read "Saade and his mystery women shown on several occasions - is she 'the one' or just another of his flings? We give this one a week at most!"
I was shocked. I mean, I knew to expect this, but not already! Suddenly, my feeling of excitement and happiness about earlier were erased.
"Umm Eric?" I said quietly as I got up from the table and walked over to where he and the others were sat on the sofa, lightly touching his arm.
He hadn't looked at me yet, concentrating on the game. "Yeah?" I didn't reply, so he tried again.
"Tallie? Are you ok?" He had paused the game, turned to face me and was now looking at me, concern etched on his face.
"Tallie?" He asked again - he had to, I couldn't respond, only look down at the magazine.
He slowly got up and took it from my hands when he reached me. I just stood there, absolutely frozen solid, unable to even hand it to him.
I saw him reading, then rereading it. "It's ... it's not that big of a deal." I could tell that he was trying to calm me down, to downplay the situation.
"How can you say that?" I asked quietly, not in control of my voice any longer. I could see Jason and Json already looked severely uncomfortable.
"Tallie, they'll forget about us soon enough. They always do and next week, it'll be someone else - trust me." He tried to smile, but it faltered.
Suddenly, something in my head snapped. "They think that I'm just another one of your whores!" I shouted.
He actually flinched, but I was too damn angry to care.
Json and Jason got out of thier seats and made thier way out of the room. They gave thier excuses, said goodbye and left. I knew Eric was waiting until they had left before he replied.
"But I know you're not. You know that I l-"
"Don't you dare say that word!" I cut him off, hating but unable to stop the horrendous words that were escaping my lips.
"Everyone else thinks I'm some 'fling' that won't last more than a week!" It seemed to be him that was frozen to the spot now.
"I ... What do you want me to say? That you are just another fling, a whore? Because you know damn well that I won't!" He didn't shout it, but it wasn't exactly quiet.
He had come right up to me now, so that I could easily hear his heavy breathing.
"We both know that you'll get bored of me like you did with the others! And I don't blame you - I'm not a singer, a model, even remotely famous like them - not interesting enough!"
"Do you have a point, or are you just hurling abuse at me?" He asked shortly.
"My point is that you weren't ashamed to be seen in public with them!"
I knew I was being completely irrational, but I was so angry and the worst part is that I didn't know why.
"Ashamed?" He asked quietly.
"We've been best friends for years and there isn't 1 photo of us together. You never let me come over if the press are anywhere near and if we do go out somewhere, you hide me if they turn up!" I knew as soon as I had said it that I was being irrational.
"Don't be stupid - it's because I was protecting you!" He shouted, exasperated as his arms flapped about a bit.
I seemed to have lost all control over my emotions and my body. "Oh, I'm stupid now, am I?" I laughed cruelly.
"You know damn well that's not what I meant."
"Just take me home. Now!" I shouted.
"I can't - you know the press are still there!" he reminded me. Damn it - I was stuck here. I groaned and started to pace angrily.
"Would you just calm down? We need to talk about this." He tried to reason with me, but my brain didn't want to listen to him.
"No - just piss off!" I shouted as I stormed off, having no idea where I was going.
"Tallie! Where are you going?!" he grabbed for me, trying to stop me leaving but I moved too quickly and his hand missed my arm.
My phone buzzed just as I left the living room. It made me stop and read the message in the middle of the hallway. It was Dean.
"Shagging a celebrity? Good way to get famous, golddigger!" What good timing that man had(!)
"Tallie!" I threw my phone across the room, almost hitting Eric who was just coming out of the livingroom - the phone missed missed his head by millimetres.
"Go away!" I sobbed. "Go find someone else to be with!" I screamed at him.
I found myself in the spare room as I slammed the door shut behind me, leaning against it as I fell to the floor sobbing uncontrollably.
