Cut!

Take 20 - Little White Lies

A/N: Please comment as you read. I sincerely need it.

Everything moved in a sort of blur. I wrapped my arms around my body and hugged myself close while trying to process everything. Staring out of the window in the lobby, I didn’t see the beautiful city of Milan. Instead, I only saw the blue and red lights from the several police cars. This evening had already lasted long enough. I’d been asking questions, along with taken through the room to check if something had been stolen.

Out of my peripheral vision, I could see the hotel manager in a heated discussion with Steven. I knew that I probably should go over there and figure out what was going on. But honestly, that was the furthest thing from my mind. I was drained in ways I didn’t even know existed.

“Are you okay?” Zayn’s voice came from behind me.

I turned my head and looked at him over my shoulder. He was standing with a worried look on his face, his hands in his pockets. Nodding slightly, I turned back to the window.

“Look, Cami.” He walked over beside me. “If I’d known…” he trailed off.

I knew what he was going to say. If he’d known that someone would break into my room, then he wouldn’t have set me up with Harry. I couldn’t even be mad at that—I had fun before I came back. However, I couldn’t find my voice. I couldn’t explain that I wasn’t mad at Zayn. I couldn’t communicate my feelings at all.

In fact, just the task of getting my thoughts in order seemed daunting.

“This is outrageous!” Steven yelled, his voice echoing through the entire lobby. “What is this? To me, it seems like this hotel is run by first graders.”

Turning around, I saw him yelling at the poor hotel manager. I couldn’t blame the man for looking terrified. In my opinion, Steven looked like he was ready to pounce on the guy.

“You should probably go over there,” Zayn said,

I glanced at him and nodded. I knew I had to.

The alcohol from before had completely left my system—that’s what happens when you stand around a lobby for a couple of hours. As I crossed the room, I was painfully aware of the flashes from the reporters outside.

I wondered what tomorrow’s headlines would be. Would they tell the story about Ludmilla Hanson being robbed? Or would they all say how I deserved it? How my sister deserved this blatant disrespect of privacy?

Possibly both.

As I came closer to Steven and the manager, I began to hear more than just one side of the conversation.

“I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Sayven. Trust that the police will work to figure out who the culprit was.” He averted his eyes. “Unfortunately, there aren’t much else we can do. The entire hotel is booked, except for the regular rooms. And none of those have vacancy for long.”

Steven clenched his fists and spoke through gritted teeth. “So your response to your hotel’s crappy security is to give the girl another crappy room to make up for your mistake? This is absolutely horrendous.”

I placed my hand on Steven’s shoulder. It ached slightly to speak, but I managed to get a simple sentence out, “It’s okay.”

He looked at me with crazy eyes. “No,” he blurted. “It’s not okay. It’s not good enough.”

The manager made a little flick with his hand and a security guard stepped over to us. “Sir,” he said to Steven. “I’m going to have to ask you to calm down, or you will be removed from the premises.”