“I’m ready to go,” I said when the makeup artist was done.
Midnight waved the comment away. “Let Cookie finish those nails.”
“I’m not going to a ball, Midnight. I’m trying to get Gio out of there.”
“And so, you let Midnight do what he do. Trust me on this. It’s all about looks. This is all a mirage anyway. But listen,” he leaned my way, but not too uncomfortable for me, “you have to live life like you write a song. Be creative. Pick the line that’s your favorite and make that the chorus that others sing, when they see you.”
“What?”
“Basically, let Cookie finish those nails.”
I smiled for the first time since everything had happened. “Fine.”
He rose and brushed down his jacket. “Everything will be fine. The world will see that cute and innocent face of yours. They’ll hear about this tragic story, and if they have a heart, they’ll feel for you. They’ll demand that Gio should be freed. Artists and celebrity camera whores will jump on their social media, pretending to care and demanding Gio’s release.”
“And he’ll be free?” I whispered.
“And he’ll be free.”
Cookie finished, and they wheeled me to the elevator and then to the car. Everything reminded me of Gio, even the damn wheelchair that they moved me around in. Hadn’t I just been in one days ago with Gio? He’d taken care of me that day, and now I had to do everything to take care of him.
It must’ve taken another hour to get to the jail. The sun had set. News vans lined the way to the front gate. Midnight hadn’t been overexaggerating. Hundreds of people chanted and held candles outside. There were so many signs.
“We love you Gio!”
“Free Gio!”
“GioKnights forever!”
“Jason is watching. He loves you.”
I breathed in and out and got inspired by all the love his fans had shown him. Did he know how much all of us worried and cared?
I can do this. I can do this.
Midnight had already ordered his people to make a small press area by the front of the county jail. Lights and microphones jutted in the air right in front of a podium. When I saw that, anxiety shivered through me. I wasn’t used to being on television, confessing something so godawful in front of thousands of people.
But Gio needed to be released and I had to have him next to me. I didn’t feel safe without his arms.
I can do this. I can do this.
We parked. Midnight helped me out. I walked to the podium by myself, covered in a wool coat. Midnight thought a fur would be too pompous. I wore a pair of jeans, a yellow sweater, and a matching cap. Apparently, red would’ve made me seem too seductive and whoreish. Black would’ve made me look like a villain. Green said I was money hungry. Midnight stressed that the yellow would give me a bright sunshine look in the midst of this news frenzied storm.
I can do this. I can do this.
As I made it to the podium, every big network stood in front of me, men and women of different races. CNN to MTV. BBC News to ABC. My stomach grumbled. I gripped the podium so I wouldn’t lose my balance. The crowd hushed. Many of the GioKnights came over to where the press stood and watched, whispering to each other.
I leaned into the microphone. “Hello.”
The sounds screeched. I leaned back, cleared my throat, and tried again. “Hello. My name is Simone. I was contracted by Giovanni Ferraro, who you all know as Gio. I came to him with the purpose of writing songs for his albums.”
Everyone hung on edge, dissecting my every word. The lights felt like they were burning my skin and coming close enough to blind me.
I blinked and focused in front of me, not on any person’s face, making them a blurry existence. “I ended up falling in love with Gio, and I believe he feels the same way.”
Cold vapor blew from my lips. Shock went through the crowd. Others murmured a few things.
“My manager Ru came down to Gio’s house under the pretense that he was protecting my career, but that was not his intention. I now know my manager had feelings for me, but these didn’t deal with love. They were the types of feelings that a very sick man has.”
Suddenly, I began to shake but I wasn’t cold. A vision of Ru on top of me flashed in my head. I gasped and then the vision left, and the audience appeared. Many wore a shocked expression.
Jesus. Can’t you do this right? Just tell them. Tell them how Gio saved you.
“Newspapers are saying that this was a love affair between three people. I’m here to set the record straight.” Ru’s face flashed in my head again. I blinked it away. “I did not have any relationship with Ru besides a business one. And make no mistake about what occurred days ago. He hit me. He sexually assaulted me. And when I tried to escape, he drugged me. He had me on the bed. He tried to rape me, and would have, if not for Gio coming to my rescue.”