The Love Illusion

Chapter 9 - The Incident

Crowds start to form around us as people start noticing.
Cameras begin flashing and more and more people begin to form around Nathaniel.
Before I know it, they've made a ring around him.
"Hey!" I call out, "Nathaniel!"
I can't see him over the crowd so I begin to push my way through.
A girl with shimmering blonde hair pushes me out the way,
"We all want to meet him, wait for your turn!"
She looks me up and down before rolling her emerald eyes.
An older man emerges from behind me and starts pushing through. I see him as he yanks Nathaniel up from off the ground and pushes aside the roaring crowd.
Nathaniel looks in a state, he struggles to walk as the man drags him across the floor.
The crowd runs after them, spiking the attention of other shoppers who begin taking photos.
I race the the front, dropping my bags on the ground and racing towards Nathaniel.
They both step outside. I run as fast as I can.
The door they leave through starts to close.
Breaking into the natural daylight, my eyes squint a little.
The doors behind me close, locking the swarm of excitable girls.
I reach Nathaniel and call his name.
"I'm going to have to ask you to step back." says the man, staring down at me with grey eyes.
"No, it's ok. I'm with hi-"
Stepping towards Nathaniel, the man slaps me across the face.
I fall to the ground, holding my face.
"Ricky, what the hell?!"
Nathaniel shoves him off and helps me up.
"Seames, who is this? Oh God, no - it's not... A girl. "
"No!" We both chorus.
"This is Mollie Hague, she is my new assistant."
"Yep." I say, knowing I'm going to have to go with this for a while. A limo pulls up at the side of us.
"Ok, then well. Get in the car."
"Ricky, aren't you going to apologise?" Nathaniel snaps.
Ricky looks at him with glaring eyes.
"Don't you dare talk back to me, Seames."
He pulls the door open and Nathaniel and I scramble in.
Ricky closes the door with so much might, that the sound is deafening.

I look around in the limo, seeing cabinets labelled drinks and snacks. With two leather seats laid slightly back.
"There's so much space in here!" I exclaim.
Nathaniel smiles at me half-heartedly.
I sit down in the seat next to him. He doesn't say much.
There's a loud bang as Ricky sits down in the front.
He presses a button that winds the window down separating the front seats from the back.
He stares at me with taping eyes before telling the driver to take us to the hotel.
...
Closing the door to Nathaniel's room, I see him as he sits on the bed with his hand in his hands.
"Are you ok?" I ask, sitting myself down beside him. He turns his head away from me.
"You know you can talk to me."
He looks up at me, his eyes pricked with tears.
"It happens a lot, doesn't it?"
"It never stops. I just want to be normal for once. I want to be able to go shopping or have coffee without constantly being harassed, having photos taken of me."
"I know, it's ok."
Slowly, I wrap my arms around him. At first he hesitates but then he relaxes.
"I don't want to go back tomorrow."
Then, it hits me, he's going home.
"Don't go. I only have a month left of senior year, then I'm done. We could do it you know, travel the world, run away from everything!"
"I can't. My parents signed a contract - I'm stuck with Ricky for the next three years. He owns me."
I look down.
"It was stupid anyway."
"No, it wasn't."
"I'll wait for you." I whisper.
"No, I'm not letting you ruin your life waiting for me. You are so much more than a princess waiting to be saved and taken away by me, Mollie you are so independent. You can do anything. If you think for one second that I'm going to let you waste the next three years of your life working in a Starbucks drive through then you need to seriously rethink things."
I smile.
"Go with someone else. Travel the world, see things you never thought possible. Don't wait for me - I'm not worth it."
"Nathaniel, what about you?"
"I'll be fine." he says with an uneasy tone.
"You'll be stuck with Ricky for the rest of your time."
He nods, "I know."
I stand up, "I should go, my mom's probably worrying about me."
"Ok," he says standing up.
I pick up my bag and start heading out the door.
"Mollie!" Nathaniel shouts. I turn around as he walks over to me. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Having someone who truly cares about me."
I nod, "Goodbye Nathaniel Seames."
"Goodbye Mollie Hague."