“Babe, Mike got a call from Amber that some local wedding magazine wants to do an exclusive on us.” Declan shouts to me.
“No, not interested.”
“Me neither but wanted to ask.”
I order the pizzas and my mom continues to take notes on all that needs to be done. We go over a preliminary guest list, and David tells us a few people he would like to invite. If everyone accepts, there will be around forty people.
When most of our guests leave and it’s just Declan and the band hanging out, I crawl in bed with my eReader. I laugh at the fact that, in the end, Declan got his wish. We are getting married before I graduate.
Chapter 39
AT 40
When I get to class on Monday, people already in the room, stop what they are doing and stare at me. Kyle has saved me a seat again, and when I sit, Brent sits on my other side. Classmates I’ve never spoken to come over and try to talk to me. I don’t want to be a bitch, but it makes me uncomfortable when they ask personal details about Declan or the wedding planning. One girl even tells me her and her friends set up a fan site for Sayge and she would like me to do an interview. I politely decline, and tell her I can’t legally speak about the band and I can pass her information along to their representative. It’s a lie but, I don’t want to be involved with any other media presence.
Some people think they are being sly, but I hear the clicks of the camera phones going off around me. I guess my days of sweat pants and messy buns are over. It sucks, but there’s no way I want pictures circulating of me looking like I just popped out of bed.
I sigh with relief when the professor comes in and starts class. At the end of the lecture, she calls me out and asks me to stay behind. Brent, Kyle, and Mari give me worried looks.
“Miss Hayes, I am aware of your situation and wanted you to know about our policies at Vanderbilt. Your education and safety are important to us. We protect both equally. If you ever in any way feel threatened or harassed, it is your responsibility to tell an administrator. We will take the appropriate measures.”
“Yes, ma’am.” My dad was right.
“Very good that is all I wanted to tell you. Congratulations.” She smiles at me and grabs her bag.
I leave the room trying to remember if she’s ever spoken personally to me. I’m not watching where I’m going when I run into someone. Trying to catch myself before I fall, I brace on his arms.
“Whoa there. You’re going to have to stop trying to run me over.” Brent laughs at me.
“Sorry, I was preoccupied.”
“Everything okay?”
I nod and tell him what our professor told me. Someone takes a picture of us, and I realize he is still holding me. I send Declan a quick text to explain in case the picture gets uploaded to the internet.
In each of my classes, people ask about Sayge. I try to be polite but vague with my answers. Everyone that talks to me complements the band and their success.
This goes on for a week before things go back to normal. I still have people talking to me but generally, it’s in greeting or reference to school. I haven’t felt threatened in any way. Even when Declan drops me off or picks me up, people respect our privacy.
I’m on my way to the library to meet our group because we have to come up with a business plan tonight. After we create the outline and assign areas of research, we pack up to leave. I notice a few girls crowded in a corner watching us. Brent and Kyle notice too and insist on walking Mari and me to our cars. When I leave the parking garage, there is a black SUV close behind me.
The whole way home the SUV follows me, and I get an uneasy feeling. Then I recognize one of the girls from the library in the passenger seat. I don’t want then to know where I live, so I call Robbie and go to his place. He meets me at the door wearing nothing but running shorts and a worried expression.
When I get to his door, the SUV passes by but very slowly. Camera’s flash at us and I groan. This should be interesting.
“RJ, what the fuck was that about?”
“I had a feeling they were following me home.” I tell him about seeing them in the library and then tailing me. His face goes tight, but he doesn’t say anything.
I call Declan when we get inside, but his phone goes to voicemail. Robbie goes to shower, and I take out my laptop to work. The first thing I do is look to see if there are any new pictures on the social media sites. I’m not surprised to find a picture of me walking into Robbie’s house with him half dressed. The caption is unflattering, and I flag it for inappropriate content. Not sure how long or if will be removed, but it’s worth a shot.
A text comes through, and I’m surprised to see it’s from Ember.
E: Isn’t that Robbie? Don’t these people have a life??
Me: Yep, I came over after I figured out I was being followed. I actually thought things were back to normal.
E: let me know if there’s anything I can do.