Page 119 of Undone By The Mountain Daddies

They’re asking me questions, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. There’s too much commotion. Snapping cameras. People talking loudly.

I hear my own pulse thumping in my ears, drowning out the rest of it. It’s like I’m back on the red carpet again. I feel myself slipping back into that role, back into what everyone expects me to do.

It feels like there are strings pulling at the corners of my mouth, tugging at my lips. My initial reaction is to flash an agreeable smile. Hide behind the mask. I want to roll back my shoulders, pin them behind me and straighten my posture so they don’t capture my double chin or belly rolls.

I breathe deeply through my chest, centering myself. I exhale through the noise, through the cameras, and come into my body.

And that’s when I see Grammy’s kind smile.

Twirling through the tiny kitchen.

The innocence in Henry’s eyes when he looks up at me.

The warmth in my chest when I’m drinking coffee and eating warm buttered bread with my men.

Real smiles.

No makeup. Hair back in a ponytail.

Losing myself in dance.

The wind blowing through my hair.

The smell of pine wood.

“Sienna?” asks some man, requiring an answer from me. Like his entire paycheck depends on it.

“What?”

“Will you still have time to film the sequel after rehab?”

“Rehab?” I repeat. “What? No! That’s not why⁠—”

“It’s okay, Sienna. You don’t need to hide anymore.”

God, these people are complete morons.

“Your drug relapse," chimes in another. “Holden Gray has just spoken out to clear some things up for you.”

“Holden said what?!”

My heart beats rapidly in my throat. Clear some things up for me? Is that what he’s calling it?

The man turns to another guy. “She hasn’t seen it. Show her.”

“Show me what?” I fold my arms across my chest as people whisper and gasp around me.

The interviewer pulls up a video on his phone and flips the screen so I can see it. And of course, while I’m watching Holden talk confidently into the three mics in front of him, my reaction is being recorded.

“...I especially don’t like the way people are spreading rumors when Sienna hasn’t been here to defend herself and speak out about them.”

“So why are you choosing to speak out for her?” asks the interviewer.

I watch the video intently. According to the time in the corner of the screen, this was recorded live only a few minutes ago.

“Give me that.” I steal the phone from my interviewer’s hand and turn the device horizontally, expanding the screen. And when I do that, the cameras get closer, desperate to film my reaction.

“Because Sienna is a sweet girl. As most of you know, we dated a couple of years ago.”