Jimmy’s eyes were on his phone, skimming whatever story had been published, then he glanced up at the three of us on stage.
‘Is this true?’ he asked. I could barely hear him over the noise of the crowd.
‘Is what true?’ I called back, but I couldn’t hear anything over the intense din. I felt Katy cling to my arm. ‘Jimmy? What is it?’ I said, stepping towards the edge of the stage to be near him.
‘Jimmy?’ Fee insisted.
I watched his hands flop to his side. She grabbed hold of his phone and lifted it, her eyes scanning the article.
‘Did you know?’ he repeated to me.
I reached the edge of the stage, the light blinding me.
‘Know what?’ I cried, panic building up. What was going on?
‘Did you know Katy was sleeping with my best friend? My brother-in-law?’
Absolute darkness slammed into me.
How the fuck did he know?
Next to Jimmy, Travis stared at his phone, looking like the world was crashing down upon his head.
‘Did you know, Ella?’ he asked me again.
I nodded. ‘I knew.’ It was all I could say. I couldn’t lie. But I wanted to tell him that it was much more complicated than he might be thinking right now.
‘Jimmy, we need to talk.’ Travis tugged at his arm.
Fee was surrounded by people rushing to her side, shielding her from the press, who had suddenly turned full-on paparazzi. I noticed Britney clinging to her, drawing her beady eyes off us like we were the fucking issue. Everything had happened so quickly. We were stuck.
‘Jimmy, it was a mistake,’ Travis called out, forcing Jimmy’s shoulders around to look at him. ‘She was just a silly girl. I got carried away .?.?.’
Then – punch. Jimmy struck Travis straight in the face. Someone screamed. Shit, I could feel my heart race.
‘Stop it!’ I called out. ‘Jimmy, no!’ I dived off stage and pushed my way over to him. His breathing was frantic. Travis lay flat out on his back, blood streaming from his nose.
Jimmy turned to me, his eyes glossy with tears. ‘Is this article true? You girls sleep your way to the top? Is that what this is?’ His head was darting between Travis and Fee and the press pack, who were lapping up the drama. Security was scrambling through the crowd. Phone screens darted in our direction, soaking up the scandal playing out in front of their eyes.
‘Of course not! Why would you say that?’ I felt a combination of anger and sadness fall over me. ‘Someone has planned this to take us all down.’ I knew as I said it that I sounded insane. ‘Jimmy .?.?.’ I clung to his arm.
He shrugged me off. ‘Don’t fucking touch me, Ella.’
I felt my knees wobble. Around me, the influencers were TikToking the whole ordeal. A flood of New York accents surrounded me, making me feel like I was stuck in the middle of a teenage rom-com gone very, very wrong.
I turned to Katy and Zola, who were being grabbed and heckled as they came off stage, and I raced back over to them to try and protect them from the press.
‘How long has your affair been going on with Travis Mason?’ one man asked.
‘Are you two in love?’ another called out.
‘Move!’ I shouted. ‘Fucking leave her alone!’ I pushed my way towards my friend. Then, like an angel appearing by my side, I felt a tap on the shoulder.
‘This way,’ Brooke said calmly. ‘Follow me.’
The three of us were escorted under a small archway into another room. We closed the courtyard door, pushing out the pack of journalists desperate for the tea. As soon as we were alone, Katy crumbled, sobbing on our shoulders.
‘Stay here for as long as you have to,’ Brooke offered, giving us a reassuring smile.
