Page 51 of The Gift
“Looks like.”
“That is all kinds of crap. Honestly, this is insane. Donnie is going to have a coronary and the D-imbos are going to be hysterical. They kind of like you, you get that, right? Jesus, this is turning into a nightmare. We’ve put filming and the crew on two-day lockdown. All staff are required to work from home or have some time off so we can think clearly and regroup in a couple of days. Anyway, not your fault. Don’t for a second think that. I’ll book you a suite at The Sebel, on Donnie, of course.”
I look at Ashton, wondering if maybe that’s a good idea, but the look on his face is easy to decipher. Or maybe I’m getting better at reading the A-team, now they’re being more obvious.
“No, it’s okay. Honestly.”
“Come stay with me, then.”
Carmen presses on, and god love her for it, but she’s not sitting next to the quiet Alpha of the A-team. He squeezes my hand without looking at me. His focus on driving gives me that opportunity to have another look at where I want to go.
“No. I’m fine.”
“You’re not staying in your apartment until I can arrange like ten bodyguards or some shit. This is insane. Right?”
I pull my hand out of Ashton’s. “Carmen, slow down. I really am fine. I’m going to stay with the A-team for the night and then we can figure out what we do tomorrow.”
“Exposé has the detectives that handled the last stalker nightmare all updated. They’re worried, but you know these things take time to establish what’s a hoax and what’s not, so be aware. Please.”
I swing around to watch his face, expecting a different reaction. There’s a pause followed by a gasp.
“The A-team? Like, are you serious? You’re going to stay with the A-team? Now I’m jealous, nothing will get you there! You better not dibs the whole lot of them as your security. Although you were smutty dancing with Reno, so you’re probably fine with him watching you. You know, I think I might start chasing alpha ass again, because I need to hit that shit up. They are fine with a capital F. Actually, I could drop in casual like for dinner and maybe, whoops, trip up and fall into one of their beds, preferably when one of them is nakered.” She rolls the r, like a hussy.
Ashton laughs without making a sound, his eyes are glittering as they keep coming back to mine. Triple checking that we’re both listening to the same conversation.
“Oh my god! Would you stop! You’re like full crazy-chick mode right now.”
“Hello, I was worried about my favourite girl, now I’m envious. Drive safe, I’ll phone the A-team now and let them know I’m on my way, because you know my name was mentioned too, right. I might shave my coochie first though. As long as you’re safe. Do you think I’ve got time to shave?”
“Carmen, what the hell! Go have a drink or something,” I splutter in between shaking her out of my head. Even nuts, she’s chased a lot of my worries away, filled in gaps, leaving me feeling lighter. In turn, making it feel more right that I’ve decided to stay with the A-team, and not hibernating away from the world in an expensively beautiful suite.
She hangs up, and I am left looking at Ashton with my mouth hanging open in shock. Less than a second later, Ashton’s phone rings, and he answers without cracking a smirk, picking up my hand again, kissing it briefly.
“Hey, Carmen, I have to tell you straight up I’m in the car with Bailey. And look, you’re a gorgeous woman, but I’m not sure any of us have the steel balls you need.”
Her laughter echoes through the car, and Ashton moves the phone so I can hear her, not even apologising as she lays down the rules.
Henley
Her place looks deceptively untouched. Although, in a way, what the person or persons have done is so much more malicious than if they’d smashed their way through each room.
Koda’s mood matches my own, and together we inspect her place from top to bottom. We walk through, scrutinizing everything. Some of it is like you would imagine, the slick styling matches Bailey to a tee, but it is surface level. And much like when you look at Bailey, well when I do, I have this surety that what she shows is the tip of the iceberg.
“Why now? Everything is happening today for some reason. Why? I can’t explain it,” I say for the twentieth time since we opened the door.
Koda ignores me which is a good thing.
“She doesn’t want anyone to see this,” Koda says as he squats down in the back of her closet.
Really, if she had guests over, even someone in her bedroom, which I don’t want to even think about, they’d never get a glimpse of the real her. But in the tiny hidden space, all the signs are hard to miss.
The small door she’s constructed opens up to her nest. She’s even managed to lower the roof, making it feel super cosy. And inside her hidden oasis is everything she’s amassed to appease her true self. Every inch of it smells like Bailey. I finally figure out that she scents like summer peaches—so sweet and juicy.
Her tiny slice of heaven is full of the cutest things ever, and I can understand why she wouldn’t want anyone to see this, but at the same time, I wish she would let herself be this. Sweet tiny fairy lights are woven into the billowing pastel material that hangs from the low ceiling. Silky soft ribbons and bows also hang, and they move gently, trailing over a pale pink blanket that looks pure Angora—the colour matches the dozens and dozens of pillows carefully placed. Along one side are a series of pale pink cardboard boxes. If they were closed, the small hand drawn labels would help her find whatever she was looking for, but now each of them are ripped open, spilling all their treasures for the world to see. Fluffy socks in soft colours mixed with lacy lingerie made from more ribbons, massage oils are upended along with bottles of lubrication and energy drinks.
And the most humiliating thing they did to her was bring her box of vibrators, dildos, knot simulators to the forefront, lid off. And yeah, the evil fuckers lifted every one of her toys out, to stage everything strategically in her nest.
You could easily assume there are now photos floating around somewhere, but there’s been no threats received by the station, no communication to Bailey’s emails, nothing left in her home suggesting this is the start of something.
