Distance

chapter two

Present Day
New York, New York
Selena's POV

I breathed in the city air, watching the people walk down the street. I couldn't help but wonder how so many people could be living their lives in one city, how all of us were here in this moment at once.

I was used to living in a touristy place, but it was hard to tell anyone apart in the chaos of New York City.

It was my first month in the city, and I was on my way to the magazine I work at as a fashion consultant. COUTURE was currently one of the well-known magazines in the fashion industry.

I looked up at the skyline, taking in the skyscrapers and city buildings. I noticed something new every day, and today I happened to catch sight of Madison Square Garden's advertising billboard. I read the words and instantly felt the wind knocked out of me.

SATURDAY

CARTER MONTEZ PERFORMING LIVE AT 8 pm

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE

Thoughts of my used-to-be-best-friend flooded my mind, and I could almost see his smiling face. Of course, he looked different now; his once kind eyes seemed to be empty, his smiles weren't authentic and he was always posing, putting up a facade so his fans and the media would see him in a particular way.

The dazzling, charming Carter that I knew and loved hadn't spoken to me in over three years, and I hadn't seen him in four. We stopped talking just after he'd gotten his big break. He left the band that made him who he was, for his own personal gain. He abandoned his old social media, phone number and cut ties with anyone he used to know. That wasn't the man I knew, nor cared to know.

However, I'd gotten tickets to his show. My best friend, Bethany, absolutely insisted that we go, and I quote, "experience the dream boat and life-altering deity that is Carter Montez!" It also helped that she was the celebrity journalist at the magazine, and Carter was a fashion icon. She insisted I tag along; and insisted on backstage passes.

I agreed to go as long as she agreed to pay my expenses.

I didn't need anything like this in my life—I was finally where I wanted, experiencing my dream and working for a magazine I would've never imagined working for in a million years—and I wasn't about to ruin it just to talk to someone who's forgotten I exist.

I admit that when Carter left, I hurt more than I expected to. My feelings towards Carter weren't something I happily thought about, but I realized in his absence that he meant more to me than I thought he did.

Of course we talked less and less over the years, and I did fly out to see one or two of his shows. But each time he was more distant, and eventually he just had no time for me anymore. The last time I saw him, I stayed in LA for three days, and he only had time for a short dinner with me—which seemed forced and surprisingly business-like.

I didn't blame him. Big things were happening in his life, and the best thing that had happened to me at that point in time was a summer internship at a local boutique. However, I was hurt and surprised when he hadn't reached out again. I know a phone works both ways, but if you were me and felt like a constant bother, you wouldn't reach out either.

As I approached my workplace, my mind was elsewhere. I swiped my identification badge and got on the elevator, Bethany joining me seconds after.

"Are you excited for tomorrow night?" she asked me with a grin, barely able to contain her excitement. I knew Beth was excited for more reasons than a good experience for an article. She had the biggest crush on Carter, and she didn't know that he and I grew up as best friends. She knew we were from the same island off the coast of Florida and I told her we had classes together but that was it.