Cut!

Take 25 - Tell Me a Lie - Part 5

 A/N: Please comment as you read, or after. Or just comment. It helps me in ways I can't possibly explain.

She picked up on the third ring.

“Hello?” she said, sounding tired.

“Sorry,” I said. “Did I wake you up?”

“No, no. It’s fine.” I hear her rustle something. “I was asleep on the couch, so it’s probably a good thing you woke me up. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

I found it quite astonishing that all through my time in this business, people had been asking me if I was okay almost every day. At first it had been Marcus, but as time grew, it seemed like everyone wanted to know how I was feeling.

It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the concern, but at some point it started to come off as repetitive.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Just wanted to check in. That’s all.”

“How’s living with a pop sensation going?” she asked.

“It has its ups and downs.” I leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “The rest of the band has arrived.”

“Oh, how are they? Are they cute?” Ludmilla giggled.

I rolled my eyes. “I suppose so… they’re all friendly.” I bit my lip. “One of them knows my secret.”

Ludmilla gasped. “Fuck. What? Why? How? Oh, we’re in deep trouble. I need to contact the investor, he’s been coming around here to check on me and—“

“Relax,” I said, interrupting her. “He’s not going to tell—he promised not to.”

“Who? Harry?” Ludmilla asked. “I guess it’s getting serious between you too.”

“No, and yes,” I said. Sighing, I tried to elaborate. “Harry doesn’t know. It’s Louis. He knew me from before all this, and he recognized me. And I’ve agreed to date Harry.”

“What?” Ludmilla screeched. “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Slow down, and start at the beginning.”

I told her everything. As I walked down memory lane, I told her about all the times Harry had been there for me when I needed it. I explained that I didn’t intend for any of this to happen and that I’d tried my best to keep my feelings in check.

“But I fell for him,” I said. “I fell hard.”

Ludmilla was quiet, and for a moment, I was worried she might have fallen asleep on me. At least, she sighed. “I’m happy for you, Cami. I really am. You deserve someone nice. Just…” She paused.

“Just…?”

“Just be careful, okay? It’s not easy having a relationship in this business. Every problem seems to become the world’s problems, and it’s hard to find a moment to just… solve it.”

“Harry’s not like that,” I said. “He has this plan…”

“What plan?”

“Well…” I tried to find the right words. “I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet. But there’s been going a lot of rumors since I began posing as you. I’ve been linked to two members of one direction so far.”

“I saw.” Ludmilla laughed. “I found them utterly ridiculous. Like, they’re basically re-using old stuff, and this time, I’m not even present: that shows how credible they are.”

“You’re not mad?” I frowned.

“The media stirs up shit all the time, Cami. You learn to live with it.”