Page 29 of Dare to Rock
Avery pulled in deep breaths, trying to calm down and not end up having a panic attack.
“Let me see that.” Ella took Avery’s phone and stared at the screen. “Well, shit.”
“No wonder everyone’s been calling me.” Her siblings would see this article and know she’d immediately stress.
She was going to have to reassure them she was okay, even if her heart was racing, her hands were shaking, and she still had flashing spots in front of her eyes.
“This is from this morning. I didn’t even see anyone watching us.” Where had they been? How had she not known her photo had been taken? “How did they know to wait outside his building?” she asked Ella.
“I’m sure that’s standard operating procedure for the paparazzi,” her friend said, her hand still on Avery’s back.
How did Grey live like this? she wondered.
“How are you holding up?” Ella asked, concerned.
Avery swallowed hard. “Not well. I’m going to be a public pariah. The woman who broke up America’s favorite band.” She shivered at the very idea of that kind of awful publicity.
The fact that it was all lies didn’t matter. People believed what they read, she thought. And worse, the drama probably wasn’t over. This kind of publicity was part of Grey’s life. If their relationship continued, she’d be continually sucked into the drama and made the focus of media scrutiny, she thought, a sudden headache building behind her eyes.
“Hey. One problem at a time, right? Let’s get through this situation before we worry about what happens next. Come on. Let’s get you home.”
“Good idea.” She had a sudden yearning for the quiet of her apartment, where she could relax and think things through. Avery rose to her feet and Ella followed. “I’ll be fine,” she said out loud, trying to convince herself. And she was, until she arrived at her apartment complex to find reporters waiting outside her building.
“Holy shit,” Ella muttered. “We’re going to make a run for it, okay?”
Stunned, Avery nodded.
They shouted questions at her as she and Ella rushed toward the entrance.
“Avery, how’s it feel to break up one of the biggest bands in the country?”
“Avery, any regrets about taking Grey away from the band and dragging him to Miami?”
“Avery, anything to say to the disappointed fans?”
Past memories mixed with the present. The men with cameras closed in on her as she made her way to the entrance. Ella grabbed the handle and pushed Avery inside, slamming the door shut behind her.
Avery breathed out a harsh breath.
“Assholes,” Ella muttered.
“Let’s get upstairs.”
Ella grabbed her hand, and they ran for the elevator.
A few minutes later, Avery was safely inside her apartment. Her heart pounded and sweat dripped off her body. She ducked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face and cooled herself off. Calming down didn’t happen as easily, and she barely refrained from throwing up.
She didn’t know how to process what had just happened. Her worst nightmares about Grey had come to pass, and she didn’t know how to handle it.
***
After taking Avery home, Grey worked out in the gym of his building, opting for a hardcore treadmill run instead of going outside and dealing with fans stopping him along the way. Sweating and tired, he walked back into his apartment and picked up his cell to check messages. He wondered if Avery’s meeting had been successful, but he hadn’t heard from her. But he did have a shit ton of alerts.
He glanced at Lola’s text first.Read and call me ASAP.He clicked the accompanying link, took one look at the photo from the local morning paper of Avery and him, and his blood pressure soared through the roof.
“Fuck!” He barely stopped himself from throwing his phone into the nearest wall. Just when things were falling into place with Avery, this happened. Publicity she didn’t want with a negative spin guaranteed to cause her trouble and pain.
His blood boiling, he scrolled through the rest of his texts, including one from Simon with a thumbs-up, way-to-go message.All publicity is good publicity.