Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter 10

Carly sat alone at the Lynch’s kitchen table the next morning watching as Stormie perfected her bacon and cheese omelet. The band, minus Ross, had all left early that morning for rehearsals. Ross had been called in for a meeting with Disney, as expected. He would be joining the band later. Carly kept her eyes on the table in front of her. She was nervous for Ross. She had no idea what kind of meeting he was walking in to, but she knew it couldn’t be good. Disney had high standards for the image they portrayed, especially when it came to their younger stars. “I’m so worried about Ross.” Carly said quietly as Stormie placed her breakfast before her on the table. Stormie walked back over and picked up her own plate before sitting down across from her at the table. “I wouldn’t worry too much. Ross can handle himself. Besides, it’s not like this is a regular occurrence for him. He made a mistake. As long as he goes into the meeting with an apologetic attitude he’ll be fine.” She assured her. Carly nodded as she began eating her breakfast. Ross came walking slowly through the kitchen a few minutes later. “Well, I’m off.” He said flatly. Stormie nodded in his direction as he snatched his car keys off of the hook next to the door. “Drive safe.” She called. Carly turned around as Ross threw the front door open. “Good luck.” She said kindly. Ross muttered a barely audible ‘thanks’ before stepping out and shutting the door roughly behind him. Carly turnedaround and kept her eyes on her plate. She was a bit hurt by Ross’s attitude since the night before. She understood the stress he was under; she was under a fair amount herself. It seemed like every time they were close to putting the situation behind them and actually becoming friends, something else happened. “Stormie, you still here?” A familiar female voice called from the living room. Stormie quickly stood and placed her plate in the sink. “In here, Kristen!” she called back. A few moments later Kristen came walking into the room. “Morning! How did everything go last night?” she asked as she sat down at the table. Carly frowned and kept her eyes focused on her plate. The corners of Kristen’s mouth turned down into a frown as well. “That bad?” she asked sympathetically. Stormie nodded as she started making an omelet for her future daughter-in-law. “It’s everywhere. Every news channel, every magazine, every online news site. Fortunately they haven’t been able to identify exactly who Ross’s new ‘wife’ is.” Kristen nodded silently and turned back to face Carly. “Don’t worry about it, Carly. It’ll all blow over soon enough. They’ll find some other story to run endlessly and the whole Vegas thing will be completely forgotten.” She smiled reassuringly at her. Carly couldn’t help but smile in return. Out of all the people both in and associated with the Lynch family that she’d met since June, she felt most relaxed around Kristen. She noticed a sparkly addition to Kristen’s left hand that hadn’t been there the evening before. “Is that your engagement ring?” she asked curiously. Kristen nodded, beaming, and extended her left hand. “It is. I just got it back yesterday but I forgot to put it on before I left. Riker got it one size too big so it had to be resized.” Carly felt her jaw drop slightly as she admired the way the diamond shone in the light. It was one of the most breathtaking rings she’d ever seen. “Wow.” She said simply. Stormie grinned as she laid a plate in front of Kristen on the table. “Isn’t it gorgeous? Riker did a good job, huh?” Carly nodded wordlessly. “An amazing job.” She looked back up at Kristen. “How did he propose?” she questioned. Kristen leaned forward eagerly. “Onstage actually. They had a concert the night of my birthday. Every year, on any of our birthdays, they drag us out onstage and sing to us. Well after they sang Ryland brought out this cute little birthday cupcake and the ring was on top.” Carly beamed. “That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard!” she gushed. Stormie nodded enthusiastically. “Isn’t it? I have no idea how Riker kept it a secret from all of us for so long.” Carly cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “You didn’t know?” she questioned. Stormie shook her head. “Rydel & I didn’t know. Riker told Mark, obviously. And the boys went with him to pick out the ring. But they completely left us in the dark.” She pouted playfully. Carly giggled and looked back over at Kristen. “So do you know when you’re going to have the wedding?” she asked curiously. She nodded. “Sometime between December and February. We don’t want a long engagement & I’ve always wanted a winter wedding.” “I keep telling her she should have it at the end of December. A Christmas/New Years themed wedding would be absolutely beautiful.” Stormie interjected. Carly nodded. “I agree. December, definitely.” Kristen smiled. “We’ll see. We’re actually going to meet with a wedding planner later this week. Carly, you should come with us! It’s just going to be the girls, Riker’s not coming this time. And you haven’t really gotten to spend much time with Kaeley yet so it’ll be a good chance for you to get to know her!” she offered. Carly nodded excitedly. “Yeah, absolutely! Sounds like fun.” Stormie came to stand next to the two girls. “And don’t forget the engagement party in a couple of weeks.” she reminded her. Kristen nodded as she chewed a mouthful of omelet. Just then Carly heard the faint noise of her phone ringing from upstairs. She recognized it to be her mother’s ringtone. “I’ll be right back.” She quickly excused herself and jogged upstairs. She snatched her phone off of the charger just as it began its final ring. “Hello?” she answered breathlessly. “Carly Rayne Jackson.” Her mother began. She groaned internally. Her parents. She had completely forgotten about them. They had no idea about the Vegas situation. “What possessed you to take a trip to LAS VEGAS with that heathen of a roommate of yours?!” her mother snapped. She shook her head instinctively, although she knew her mother couldn’t see the gesture. “Mom, calm down. It was a mistake-” “A MISTAKE. YOU’RE DARN RIGHT IT WAS A MISTAKE! CARLY, WHAT’S GOTTEN INTO YOU? GOING OFF AND PARTYING IN VEGAS WITH STRANGE MEN? AND THEN MARRYING ONE OF THEM??”“Mom-” she tried again. “DON’T INTERRUPT ME. I KNEW IT WAS A BAD IDEA FOR YOU TO GO OUT TO CALIFORNIA. IT’S ALL OVER THE NEWS! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PHONECALLS I’VE GOTTEN IN THE PAST 24 HOURS?! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY.” Carly felt tears begin to sting the corners of her eyes. She hated the thought of disappointing her family, especially her mother. “Mom, I’m sorry.” She said quietly. “Sorry doesn’t cut it, Carly.” She heard the line go dead. She tossed her phone angrily to the other side of the room and laid face down on the bed, allowing the tears to come. They soaked through Rydel’s silky pillowcase, more than likely leaving mascara stains as well. She heard someone step into the room a few minutes later. “Carly, are you ok?” Kristen asked quietly. Carly shook her head as she sat up. “No, I’m not. My mom figured it’d be a good time to call and tell me what a disappointment I am. Like I don’t have enough to deal with right now.” She said quietly. Kristen shook her head as she sat down on the bed next to her. “You shouldn’t have let her talk to you like that.” She said firmly. Carly shook her head again. “What am I supposed to do? She’s my mother.” Kristen nodded. “Yeah, but you’re twenty-one years old, Carly. You’re responsible for your own life now. Not them. Yes, you and Ross screwed up. But you’re taking responsibility for it and trying to fix the situation. You have to stand up for yourself. Do you think my mother was particularly thrilled that I’m getting married at nineteen? Not at all. But I’m responsible for my own life choices now. And she doesn’t have to like them, but she needs to respect them. Same with your mom.” She finished quietly. Carly nodded and smiled over at Kristen. “What about your dad?” she asked curiously. Kristen laughed. “Oh he loves Riker. If he’d had things his way we probably would have gotten married when I first brought him home years ago.” She joked. Carly laughed as well. The two girls sat in silence for several minutes. “They’ve always had such high expectations for me.” She said quietly. “You don’t know how many nights in high school I stayed home to study instead of going out with my friends just so I wouldn’t disappoint them.” Kristen rested a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. “Carly, I don’t know you all that well yet. But I know you well enough to say that you aren’t a disappointment. You got a full ride scholarship to one of the biggest schools in the country and next year you’ll be going, on another full scholarship, to one of the most prestigious law schools in the country. Probably in the world, truthfully. One small mistake doesn’t change any of that.” Carly nodded thoughtfully. “Are you sure you’re only nineteen?” She asked after a few moments. Kristen giggled and nodded. “Pretty sure. Now come on, I’m kind of feeling some cupcakes right now.” She stood and extended her hand towards Carly to help her up as well. She turned and began walking towards the staircase. “Hey, Kristen?” Carly called after her. She turned around and looked at Carly expectantly. “Thanks.” She said quietly. Kristen smiled kindly at her before continuing down the stairs.

**

“We’re home!” Rocky called as he stepped into the house later that evening. He and the others came strolling into the kitchen. Cupcakes and cookies of all kinds were scattered over the countertops and the tables. Riker’s jaw dropped. “I think I may have just died and gone to heaven.” He whispered. Kristen giggled as she handed him a red velvet cupcake. “Carly & I were in a bit of a baking mood.” She explained. Stormie looked around at her children filing into the kitchen. “Where’s Ross?” she questioned. Rocky shrugged. “I don’t know. He never showed up for rehearsal. And he isn’t answering his phone. He must still be at the office.” Carly felt her stomach drop. If Ross really had been with the Disney execs all day, that couldn’t be good. She remembered back to the tell-all article Joe Jonas had released shortly after the Jonas breakup; he’d mentioned Vanessa Hudgens being on a lock-down of sorts all day after her picture scandal in 2007. She wondered if the same thing had happened to Ross.

A few hours later all of the Lynches, minus Ross, plus Carly and Kristen all sat around the living room. Riker had suggested an impromptu movie night. Carly couldn’t focus on the movie playing on the screen; she was too worried about Ross. “It’s almost 9:00. I’m starting to get worried.” Stormie spoke up. Riker nodded. “I am too. It’s not like Ross to not check in.” he commented. Just then the front door went flying open. It shut moments later with a loud bang. “Ross?” Stormie called. She got up and followed the noise of the footsteps walking into the kitchen. Carly quickly followed, as did Riker. Ross was standing by the fridge rummaging for something to eat. She could tell by the lines furrowing on his brow that he’d had a rough day. “Sweetheart?” Stormie began hesitantly. Ross stood and slammed the refrigerator door shut. “After being yelled at for three hours by various large men in business suits, I was informed that I am now on probation.” He began snappily. Carly stayed behind Stormie. “What does that mean?” she asked hesitantly. Ross glared incredulously at her. “What do you think it means?? It means probation. It means one more wrong move, and I’m gone. Done. I’ll be released from my contract immediately. The band would lose all promotion through the channel as well.” Riker shook his head. “This is all my fault. I should never have taken you to Vegas.” He said apologetically. Carly kept her eyes on the floor. She couldn’t help but feel as though the entire situation was her fault, although she knew it wasn’t. Ross turned and began walking towards the staircase. “It’s a little late for apologies.” He called bitterly over his shoulder as he stomped up to his room. Riker turned and placed his hands on either of Carly’s shoulders once he’d gone. “Hey.” He said quietly. She looked up slowly at him, feeling as though she were on the verge of tears once again. “It’s not your fault. And don’t take anything personally; he’s had a rough day.” He reminded her. She nodded slowly. “I know.” She whispered.