Midnight Blues // Jake Kiszka

ten

The room was silent, all eyes on me. I didn't have a clue as to what I could say that would ease both mine and their minds. 

"Well, shit." Danny chimed in, tearing through the silence. 

"To say the least." Sam said. 

I did the only thing that felt right in that moment-- I sobbed. Uncontrollably. I knew that Jita had all the leverage to ruin the boys' careers and if it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have been so vindictive in the first place. My eyes met Jake's and he had a look that I couldn't really distinguish. It was something between pity and uncertainty. I had received the look so many times throughout my life that the minute that look became plastered on his face, rage ignited my core and I couldn't contain it anymore. The tears were welling in my eyes and I needed to get out. 

I ran out of the door, the voices of the boys calling my name out behind me. I couldn't turn back now, but there were voices I didn't recognize calling out my name. It took a second before my brain clicked--paparazzi. My feet moved fast against the wind, breaking into a sprint in a matter of seconds. I didn't know where to go, all I knew is I needed to get away from the hotel and fast. 

I ran towards some small boutique, which seemed to be an optimal place to find a disguise. I shuffled between the racks of clothes that were squished into the small space. I grabbed the first hat that I saw and some glasses. I didn't know what else to look for that wasn't a stereotypical disguise. I went straight to the cashier, hoping she hadn't read any tabloids and didn't recognize me. Luckily, she seemed more upset with the world and like she wouldn't have been reading the tabloids, especially staying up to date with them. 

 I took the pieces of clothing and put them on, hoping they would do their part to make me blend into the crowd. I walked calmly and swiftly to the nearest coffee shop, not sure where else to go. Unlike the boys, I knew nobody in the city and I couldn't escape into another little bubble of reality when it came down to it. I sat down at a table in a corner of the shop, hoping the bustle would conceal me. The barista brought my coffee to the table and I thanked him. I had distracted myself with some book that I had bought on for my phone way back when the light was dimmed a bit.

"Excuse me?" a small voice sounded in front of me. 

I looked up, my heart beating fast. The girl was young, maybe in middle school. 

"You're Jake's  girlfriend right?" 

I wasn't sure what to say to that. That was the reality that I had wished for, but it was not reality. No tabloid I had seen had painted me as anything other than Josh's girlfriend, a cheater, or a skank. 

I shook my head no and gave her a smile. She must have sensed something off about my answer because she responded with: "Can you please let him know I say hello, and that I'm doing much better, and that I miss him?" 

"I don't--" 

"I know who you are. Just please tell him. My name is Claire." 

I nodded. 

***

The sun had sunk into the horizon, the stars starting to pepper the sky above as it turned a dark obsidian color. I walked back toward the hotel, tired from the tears staining my face and making my eyes sink back into my skull. I couldn't find the energy to want to argue with the boys, but I knew it was coming. I knew that the gig was up and I knew that I would go back to my crappy life of switching between waitressing jobs and dealing with the scum that came in late night to stare at my boobs. 

I inserted the key card into the door, and turned the handle only to enter a dark room. 

"Hello?" I said into the darkness

There was no response. I was both anxious and relieved. I wasn't sure if they had just up and left and decided to ditch me in a city that I knew nothing about and knew no one. I wouldn't have been surprised. I came between the twins of all people. I sighed and turned the lights on and crashed on the couch. Tears flooded my eyes and the sobs became uncontrollable. My legs came into my chest not long afterwards. 

"Freya?" Josh's voice came from the direction of the door. 

I quickly wiped my tears with the back of my sleeves and got up to face him. 

"Huh?" I said, putting a smile on that was clearly fake. 

"Can you come with me?" He said. 

His tone was straight edge, and I knew that I was in for either getting fired, getting yelled at or both. I got up off of the couch and walked toward him like a zombie. He draped his arm around me and pulled the door closed behind us. He said absolutely nothing as we walked. I had dissociated by this point, trying to numb myself to the fact that I screwed everything up. He kissed the top of my head and handed me a key card to the room that we now stood outside of. 

I opened the door and was again met with darkness. 

"Hello?" I asked 

"Freya?" Jake said. 

"Jake?" 

I flipped the light on and saw him kneeling on the floor, his hands and feet were bound. I ran toward him, panicking, trying to undo the knots. 

"Move and he gets it bitch." 

Jita moved out from the shadows and stood in front of me, behind Jake, knife in hand. 

***

A/N: sorry for taking so long with this update guys! It's been insane. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :)