Page 91 of Fame And Secrets
I shielded my face. Heat radiated from the bulbs close to my skin. Disoriented, I tried to move forward as the pack of photographers traveled with me. I inhaled deeply, desperate to smell normal LA clouded air. Anything but the Aqua Velva I feared was behind me.
Just as the familiar beginnings of a panic attack took hold, a hand grabbed my arm and jerked me to the side. “While I know this is Hollywood, please let me remind you of basic human rights.” Eliza pulled me behind her. “Phoebe has nothing to say to you. You all need to move before I get back into the car and move you myself.”
She pulled me through the sea of cameras and arms, her face twisted in anger. Dazed, I allowed her to lead me through the parking deck to the Infiniti. As she reached for the passenger side door, a reckless body slid in between it and flashed a series of rapid shots. With a muttered curse, Eliza forced the handle open with a momentum that sent the photographer and his camera flying face first toward the curb.
“Son, let me give you some advice. When a woman tells you she’s going to do something, she means it. Stay away from my family. And that includes my daughter-in-law.”
Avoiding my eyes, she gently pushed me into the car. Throwing the gear shift into drive, she peeled away with a lead foot that’d give any race car driver pedal envy. Obviously, she had no intention of acknowledging the elephant in the car, so with an unsure voice, I broke the silence.
“You knew?”
Manicured hands gripped the steering wheel. “Of course I knew. I may be many things, but oblivious isn’t one of them.”
Guilt stabbed me. “How long?”
Finally turning, she raised an eyebrow. “You might as well have ‘I have a secret’ written all over your forehead.”
“Oh.” I had no other words.
She flipped the turn signal to merge onto 134-East. “Besides, I gathered laundry in your room, and you left your rings sitting on the dresser. Seeing them only confirmed my suspicions.”
“We wanted to tell you before it was printed by some trash magazine, I’m sorry.”
I was sorry. Everything spiraled out of control.
Letting her bottom lip fall in a characteristic movement I’d seen many times in her eldest son, she blew out a soft breath. “The last thing that you need is to hold all of this stress inside. I’m worried about you. You just look…off.”
“I’m fine, Eliza.”
With a small shake of her head, she snuck a sideways glance before turning her eyes back toward the road. “So you keep saying.” After a small pause, she turned and faced me after exiting the freeway. “I don’t know everything about you, Phoebe. But I know your childhood wasn’t ideal. I’m here if you need to unload.”
Emotion welled up in my eyes, and I faced the window. Bringing a hand up, I swiped at the corners of my eyes. My chest burned with regret, knowing no amount of apologizing would make up for opening her family to a killer.