But now it’s just me. The room is beautiful. All colors—turquoise and fuchsia and sea foam green. It looks like the inside of a kaleidoscope, and I feel the pull to call Cassandra like gravity. Cassandra loves colors so much, she’s constantly making up her own. I see some pumpkin pie pillows and pick up the phone. One nice thing about being a celebrity? You don’t have to worry about international rates.
“Hey, stranger,” she says. “Where in the world are you?”
“Tokyo,” I say.
“No way! How are you? Are the boys there with you? What is going on—tell me everything!”
I know Cassandra wasn’t the leak, she would never do that, but I still feel myself begin to lie. To my best friend. “They’re fine,” I say. “We’re good.”
“That’s such a relief,” she says. “Because the stories are…”
“Just stories,” I say. “Everything is okay.”
“Okay,” Cassandra says. Her voice has gotten quieter. I can almost hear her picking her nails. “How is everything else?”
“Good,” I say. I know she registers the false cheerfulness in my tone.
“Tokyo, huh?” she says.
“Yeah, crazy.”
“Well, have fun, I guess.”
“Thanks,” I say.
We hang up, and I feel worse than I did before I called. Stupid. I push it out of my head. We have two hours until we have to go to the convention center, and I need to shower. Someone for hair and makeup will be here any minute. But I feel like I’m still sleep-adjacent. I haven’t yet recovered from the flight and the weirdness of being across the world with the two of them. I face-plant into the bed. Just five minutes, and then I’ll get up.
A knock at the door jolts me upright. I wipe the drool off my face and glance at the clock—I’ve been out for thirty minutes. I get up and shuffle to the door, expecting to see hair and makeup with their bags of goodies, but instead it’s just Jessica. Freshly showered, cell phone in hand.
I wipe my eyes. “Am I late?” I say.
Jessica laughs. “I know I’m not always the most welcome sight, but jeez, Paige. I was just coming to see if you needed anything.”
I shake my head. “I’m all good.”
“Cool. Hair and makeup are on their way up.” She eyes me. “You may want to hop in the shower.”
“See?” I say. “Late.”
Jessica holds up her hands. “It was just a suggestion!”
She turns to leave when I stop her. “Hey,” I say. “Could you do me a favor?”
“Of course,” Jessica says.
“Could you keep Rainer company?”
She looks at her phone. I see her bite her bottom lip. I always forget she’s twenty-three. She seems so young sometimes, so sweet and naïve.
“I…”
I shake my head. “I know he’s going through a lot right now, and Sandy isn’t here. And…” I let my voice trail off. “He likes you,” I say. “I saw you hanging out on the plane. You can get through to him in a way I just… I can’t right now. It would mean a lot to me.”
Jessica nods. “Of course,” she says. “Maybe he wants to come with me to make sure the Evian bottles are packed in the van. Nonstop drama and intrigue.”
“I think a little non-drama would be good for him,” I say.
“A little non-drama would be good for you all,” Jessica says.
