The Lost Girl (7 page)

Jarvis and Becca were the last ones to arrive. She took a quick glance at me on the couch and was already dialing on her phone, calling downstairs for a paramedic to come up here as well.

Tristan was broadcasting so many emotions, it made me wince from the intensity of them. Fear, worry, nervousness, one flooding after the other in an emotional tidal wave.

“Why is there so much blood?” he asked Josh quietly while he helped put pressure on the shirt against my head.

I wasn’t sure if I could handle any more feelings today. I’d had enough. My body couldn’t take anything else and my head was pounding so hard, I thought it would split open any second now.

Tristan was holding my hand, trying to reassure me that everything was really all right.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” I told him with a weak smile.

He laughed lightly, his voice still coming out a little tense. “Only you, Joey, would try to calm me down when
you’re
the one injured here. That’s my job, you know,” he scoffed playfully, making everybody laugh.

The mood in the room relaxed considerably after that. Tiffany, Seth and Sammy huddled closer to get a look at me, while Jackie and Harry remained a little behind.

I closed my eyes and sighed, focusing on the feeling of Tristan’s fingers on the palm of my hand. His touch always made me feel better, like an instant balsam of relief.

Jarvis was quietly reporting back to Big Johnson at the back of the room. “It’s a hell of a mess downstairs. There were a few people hurt in the crush, but paramedics are already taking care of it. Tristan had the guy firmly secured by the time I got to him. The police have taken him off for questioning.”

“He didn’t hurt you, right?” I asked Tristan, checking to see if he was injured.

“I’m fine. The guy struggled a little at first, but he stopped when the bookstore security guards arrived and took him off my hands,” Tristan said softly, but then his eyes took on a dangerous glint. “If I’d known he had done
this
to you, though …”

“Actually … he didn’t quite do this to me. It was an accident. I tripped and fell on that damned glass table,” I confessed, embarrassed by my clumsiness.

“All I saw was the guy going for you, and I leapt at him,” Tristan continued. “Then all hell broke loose!”

I glanced around the room and caught a glimpse of Jackie, at Harry’s side, staring at me. Her eyes flashed with disapproval at the way I was still leaning into Josh.

What the hell was that girl’s problem? Why couldn’t she give me a freaking break, for once in my life? Was she jealous of Josh now too? I couldn’t go near any of the boys, was that it?

A paramedic entered the room, which distracted me from my silent rage. He gave a quick look around and walked straight towards the couch. I guess the sight of a girl covered in blood did flash “emergency” signals.

“Okay. Let’s get a look at you, love,” he said, putting his medical bag on the floor and opening it up. “You can let her go now,” he told Josh, as he pulled on surgical gloves.

I nodded and Josh reluctantly let go of me, and scuttled to the other side of the couch. Tristan took the seat next to me, his hand still securely clutched around mine.

“It’s quite common for cuts to the head to bleed a lot, but it seems yours is not too deep,” the paramedic said, inspecting the laceration on my head. “I just need to clean this up and you won’t even need stitches.”

Tristan let out a sigh of relief. He squeezed my hand lightly for support while the paramedic expertly patted bandages and antiseptics over my wound. After a little while the man finished working on me, gave me a painkiller for my headache and hurried off to help other people in need downstairs.

The building was swarming with paparazzi by the time we got out. Becca stayed behind to announce we were all okay and unharmed, and the boys and I, along with Tiff and Jackie, slumped in the back of the chauffered SUV as we were driven quietly home.

I went straight to Tristan’s room when we got back, after reassuring everybody
for the hundredth time
that I really was all right. I didn’t want to be around Jackie a second longer than was necessary or I would be the one blowing up this time.

Harry had been acting really weird since we left the bookstore, and I wasn’t sure why. But I wasn’t in any condition to analyze anything at the moment; I just wanted to go to bed and rest for a little bit.

A soft, yellow light drifted through the window blinds,
giving a cozy warmth to the room. I heard Tristan coming into the bedroom to check up on me. He pulled a warm blanket over my shoulders, kissing me tenderly on the forehead before silently walking away to let me sleep in peace.

I woke up with a start when I heard the door open and someone walk inside. I blinked sleepily at a dark shape sitting next to me, and felt a hand resting lightly on my shoulder. For a second I started to panic, fear climbing up my chest because of this strange shadow looming over me, but at the sound of Tristan’s voice, washing over me soothingly, all of my fears disappeared as quickly as they came.

“Hey, sorry to wake you, Buttons. How are you feeling?” he asked. The room was dark. Was it night-time already?

“I’m fine. Hmm … How long I have been sleeping?” I asked groggily.

“A few hours.” He cupped my face in his hands and gave me a soft kiss. “I’m waking you up because Becca just arrived with some news about what happened at the bookstore. I thought you might like to hear it.”

“Yeah, I want to know. Thanks,” I said grabbing his hand, letting him help me stand up.

Everybody was waiting in the living room. Becca was instructing Big Johnson and his cousin to put the gifts they’d managed to recover from the signing on the dinner table. Tiffany was also there, but Jackie was nowhere to be found, which meant she had already left,
thank the gods
.

“Hey, Joey,” Becca greeted me with a concerned expression. She checked me from head to toe, to certify that I was really okay before speaking again. “You can
go through the gift pile when you feel like it; I know how much it cheers you up, reading the fan letters,” she said with a comforting smile.

I sat at the end of the couch; Tristan hunched down on the floor, sitting between my legs, and Becca started telling us the news.

“So, the kid that attacked Joey today has a mental health problem and had been without medication for a while,” she began. “The kid was in a catatonic state so his mom was brought to the police station to answer some questions. She said he sometimes fakes taking his pills, which aggravates his condition.

“Usually when he’s not on his medication, he starts to harbour some crazy conspiracy theories, and she said that he had been fixated on the band for a while now, listening to your albums all the time. But she thought he just enjoyed the music; she never imagined he had something like this planned. The kid was diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia when he was just twelve. It’s very sad.

“He’s back on his medication now,” Becca said to calm everybody down. “He won’t be bothering you guys again.” Then she smiled a big smile. “On the bright side, all your fans are all right; no one was seriously hurt in the commotion.”

“Yeah, the TV has been broadcasting the incident non-stop today,” Seth said.

Apparently, someone had recorded the exact moment when Josh had picked me up, bridal style, and rushed to the elevators with me in his arms, and now the scene was being replayed all over the internet with
The Bodyguard
theme song in the background. Funny.

Sam started to sing “I Will Always Love You” to Josh,
with a hand over his heart; at his side, Seth tried to French kiss him.

“And, Joey, call your mother,” Becca shouted over the ruckus of the boys. “She’s been freaking out all afternoon trying to reach you.”

Later, as I made my way to the phone, I walked past the pile of gifts on the dining-room table. A white flower amongst the wrappings caught my eye. I walked closer, curiosity getting the best of me.

It was a white lily. With the same black ribbon as before, and another little note tied to it.

I spent that night tossing and turning, thinking about that damned note on the flower. I hadn’t told anyone about it, especially not my mother earlier on the phone. She was already worrying enough over the news coverage of the bookstore incident. But I knew the boys would say I was overreacting or being silly, so I kept it to myself, at least for a while.

The message was like the first; another creepy love declaration:

Lovely Gray
,

I hope you liked my other token of affection.

I wonder what it would feel like to have you all to myself.

You’re always surrounded by your boys. It is hard not to feel jealous.

It pains me so much having to share you
…

So many people stand between us.

But I will prevail over them all
,

And I’ll never give up on you.

From your true and faithful

Secret Admirer.

I’d always received fan letters; sometimes they were a bit on the kinky side, but this was different. Too personal for my taste, and with a creepy edge.

Could these lilies have been sent by the crazy boy from the bookstore? The two notes had a romantic slant to them, whereas the boy had no romantic feelings in his head – at least, not at the time I was looking.

After a turbulent night, I got up early the next day because I felt too jittery to stay in bed any longer.

The sun was shining brightly in the living room, and just for a moment it made me completely forget about creepy notes and Crazy Boy; my head didn’t even hurt any more. I sat on the couch and rested my head carefully on the cushions, appreciating how the morning light was bathing me in its warmth.

The boys were soon up and bustling around the house, preparing things for the barbecue we had planned to cook in the back garden, to kick off our official summer break. Every now and then one of the boys would again whistle
The Bodyguard
theme song to Josh, enjoying teasing him. Tiffany made an appearance in the garden wearing a lovely pair of light-blue shorts and a yellow, flowery, short-sleeved shirt that complemented her blonde curls perfectly. Later, Amanda also arrived, dressed in a colorful summer dress, quickly followed by Jamie with a couple of his friends. The day was especially warm and sunny, and it was nice to have everyone there. I spent time laughing and chatting with the boys, the memory of broken glass and eerie omens left completely behind.

As I left the group to get another drink, Harry approached, eyeing me cautiously. He was still acting a little weird. It seemed as if he was debating what to say; he bit his lower lip on the spot where his lip-ring used to be, which is something he always did when he was anxious. It was his nervous tick. The silence stretched out for a few seconds before he finally spoke.

“Hey, how are you doing?” he asked, watching me, worried. “Your head okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Stop worrying, I’m really okay, dude.” I tried to put on a brave face to reassure him, make him stop worrying about me.

“I’m so sorry, Joey,” he murmured quietly, gazing at me.

“What for, Harry? It was not your fault.”

“No, I mean, yesterday … after you got hurt.”

“Sorry about yesterday? Why?”

He glanced down quickly, like he was ashamed. “After they brought us upstairs, and you were hurt … I kept away from you. I didn’t want to upset Jackie, because she gets so jealous. I didn’t want her to make a scene; you had already been through so much. So I stayed at the back,” he explained. “But I shouldn’t have done that. I should’ve been there for you, by your side. No matter what Jackie thought. I’m really sorry.”

“Harry, come on. You don’t need to be sorry, I understand.”

“But … am I forgiven? For being a crappy friend yesterday?” he asked, his emerald eyes brimming a little.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Harry.” I squeezed him in a tight hug. “You know I love you, Harry Bear.”

I felt a hundred times better after clarifying things with Harry. I knew then that it was going to be a good day.
We had no work, no crowds of eager fans, no worries, no thinking about creepy letters – or at least I was going to try not to think about them – and Harry and I were okay again. Nothing could put a dampener on my spirits today.

Tristan was in charge of grilling the steaks while Seth and Sam were in charge of eating as many ribs as they possibly could. Seth vowed to only stop eating after he exploded.

Amanda, beautiful as always, chatted amiably with Tiffany while holding firmly on to her plate of salad. Her long, slim, beauty queen silhouette got plenty of admiring looks as she ambled around the garden.

“Hey, Joey. Having fun?” Tiffany stopped to chat, smiling as she saw how much I was enjoying the free day out with friends. She had been pampering me all day long, still worried about my head and making sure I was feeling all right whenever she bumped into me in the garden. The sight of all the blood yesterday had scared her half to death.

“Yeah, loads. Today is such a perfect day,” I declared, beaming widely.

“Yeah, you look really happy today,” she mused.

“I’m just relieved that everything turned out okay, and you guys weren’t hurt. I was so worried in that room while I was waiting for Jarvis to get you guys upstairs!” I confessed.

“I’m glad everybody is okay,” she told me, giving my arm a reassuring squeeze. “I was pretty nervous too. But that’s in the past. What matters is that you’re happy now. We can all see it, it’s like you have a bright halo around you. It makes everyone drift towards you, like moths to a flame,” she confessed with a smile.

“Come on, Tiff. You’re joking, right? I don’t have any halo or whatever. I’m just
me
!” I laughed at her.

“You don’t see how all the boys chase after you all the
time? It’s like they can’t stand being away from you for too long!” she said, amused. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s your thing. You’re a
charmer
. And the best thing is that you don’t even know you’re doing it, which makes it even more special.”