Damage Control

chapter 13

“Why the hell did you answer no when I asked if you had any form of social media?” Joe yelled as soon as the hotel room door opened.

I smiled brightly at Hadyn’s manager. “It’s wonderful to see you, Alexa! Hi, Joe, it’s nice to see you too,” I chirped. Joe sighed as I brushed past him into Hadyn’s hotel room, which was more of an apartment than a hotel room. I spun around and saw Joe turn red. “Hey, Alexa. Would you like a cup of coffee?” I continued. “Of course, Joe! Coffee would be lovely.”

Joe shut the door too loudly. “I’m not amused by your attitude, Alexandra.”

“Well, it’s too early for you to be yelling at me,” I fired back, turning around and strolling through the suite.

I found the kitchen where a pot of coffee was already ready. There were white mugs set out as well as caramel flavored creamer, which still had the Whole Foods price sticker still on it.

“Hi, Lex,” Hadyn greeted me, pressing a kiss onto the top of my head.

I stared pointedly at Joe. “See? That’s a greeting.”

He glared back, evidently not amused. “You lied to me.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I haven’t used it in months. The app was deleted off my phone and I forgot about it, alright?”

Joe shook his head and I decided to go ahead and pour myself a cup because quite frankly, he was annoying me and it was too early for me to feel any type of emotion.

“Not to mention, you have photos of a boyfriend on there,” he continued.

“Hadyn has photos of Macy on his i********:!” I retorted.

“It’s-“

“Different,” I finished for him, taking a cup of the scalding hot deliciousness. “I know. I’ll delete the photos right now.”

Joe pulled out his laptop and sighed. “Not only are you putting your past life on display, you’re also putting your friend’s lives out there.”

That I had not thought about. I had pictures of Cal, but I also had photos of Brit and other people like Ricky and Kyle and Noelle and Allie and Cody and Marla. While some of them may love the attention, I knew that others wouldn’t.

“You’re going to delete all controversial posts, got it?” Joe said.

I looked at Hadyn for support, but he seemed suddenly interested in the hardwood floor. Sighing, I pulled out my phone and walked to Joe opening up i********:.

Ten minutes and a few spastic arguments later, I only had 3 posts on my page. One was a candid senior portrait of me wearing my favorite white flowy dress in front of a lilac bush, one was of me in front of a ferris wheel that Cal had taken, and the last one was of me in front of two burgers eating a french fry, which Cal had also taken.

All photos that featured anyone else were deleted. Joe had only wanted photos of Cal and I deleted, but I decided to spare my old friends and delete everything. I was left feeling a little empty; all my memories were gone. I remembered the little stories behind each photo and suddenly they were ripped away. Of course, I could always rely on my own brain, but there was something different about a photo.

I’m sure Hadyn’s fangirls also had a field day after those photos were deleted. But nothing on the internet was ever gone forever. I’m sure there were screenshots somewhere, or the original photos in someone’s camera roll, which was both daunting and reassuring.

Joe had left after more lectures about me being honest and how my attitude was going to land Hadyn in a lot of trouble. But his words went in through one ear and out the other, which made the encounter pass quicker.

“Your manager is a ray of sunshine,” I told Hadyn after Joe left.

He chuckled, resting his feet on top of the coffee table. We were sitting on his couch with the flat television playing a Friends rerun. “He knows what he’s doing,” Hadyn replied. “And him being an ass just shows that he cares.”

I shrugged. Pulling out my phone, I went onto Hadyn’s i********: and pulled up the photo he had taken of me. I clicked on the comments and was about to read the first one when Hadyn’s palm covered my screen. “Excuse you,” I said. “Your sweat is going to make my screen gross.”

“Rule number one about being in the spotlight: never read the comments,” Hadyn responded, locking my phone back up.

“Like you’ve never read comments,” I retorted, making an attempt for my cell phone. He had it reached out on the opposite side, so I would’ve had to crawl onto his lap for it.

He sighed. “And I always end up wanting to punch something after.”

I sat back. “You should see someone about that.”

Hadyn laughed and rolled his eyes. “I am,” he said, his voice still playful. “Anyways, I was thinking. What are you doing for the holidays?”

His question made my mind go blank. Financially, I had told my parents that I couldn’t make it back home for the holidays. Our break was pretty long, about 3 weeks, but I planned on working. But after Hadyn had paid off my tuition, I had money to spend. I could go home.

My parents didn’t know that the tuition was paid. In fact, I hardly spoke to them nowadays. They both worked two jobs to make ends meet back home, I wondered if they even spoke to each other.

“Working,” I finally answered.

He smiled at me and I knew he was about to propose something. “Why don’t you fly out to LA with me?”

I snorted. “I may have some extra cash right now, but I definitely don’t have enough to pay for LA.”

“That’s all covered,” he insisted. “The show wants me to come back for the LA convention and for a few interviews. Now, I don’t have to go. I’m fine staying here with you, but I’m running out of clothes.”

Pressing my lips together, I laced my fingers and rested them on my lap. “I don’t know. I’ve never been that far away from home.”

“Just think about it, Lex. You don’t have to answer now,” he said.

“Okay,” I responded. “I’ll think about it.”

I went home about an hour later. I had a shift at the bookshop anyway that I needed to get to.

As my luck would have it, Darius was also working.

“I know you’re mad,” I said to him as soon as I walked in.

Shrugging off my coat, I popped it onto the coat rack and logged in my arrival.

Darius shook his head. “I’m not mad. I’m just a little confused. And curious.”

I gave him a grateful smile. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

A million questions later, we were about to close. The shift was relatively easy, we had a new shipment come in and the only difficult part of the day was figuring out a new space for them.

The bell above the door rang, signaling that we had a customer. Darius and I locked eyes and we both internally groaned at whoever had the audacity to come in right before we were closing.

“Welcome to-“ I began, but paused when I realized who it was.

Hadyn rubbed his gloved hands together and breathed into them. “It’s so cold out there,” he exhaled. “I could never live in New York.”

“What’re you doing here?” I asked.

He grinned at me. “Picking you up, obviously. We’re going out.”

I laughed at that. “I’m going home and watching TV, bud.”

Darius cleared his throat and I was pulled out of our conversation. “Oh, Hadyn. This is my coworker, Darius.”

Hadyn gave him a polite smile. “I assume you know who I am,” he told Darius.

I raised my brow at his cocky remark, but bit my tongue.

“Yeah, you’re the guy from the vampire show. I’d say I’m a fan, but truthfully I’ve never seen it,” Darius replied.

Hadyn shrugged. “It’s not for everyone.”

“It’s for 12 year old girls just starting puberty,” I coughed. With wide, innocent eyes I looked at Hadyn. “Oh, did someone say anything?”

He rolled his eyes. “Very mature, Lex.”

I laced my fingers together and leaned my chin against them. “Would you mind closing?” I asked Darius.

Darius sighed. “Go,” he said, not unkindly. “Have fun.”

“You’re the best!” I exclaimed.

Hadyn gave Darius a polite nod and helped me put on my coat.

“Where are we going?” I asked him, once we were outside.

Currently, we were walking through the alley by the bookshop underneath a few lights that were attached to the building. It was snowing again, so there was a fine powdering on the ground and flurries in the air.

Hadyn paused right before we were about to enter the main street. He pulled a silver flask out of his coat pocket and handed it to me.

“Oh, it’s that kind of a night?” I grinned, untwisting the cap. A whiff of cinnamon hit me in the face and I recognized the scent of Fireball. One of my favorites.

“It’s always that kind of a night,” Hadyn responded.

I took a swig and felt warmness spread through my chest and stomach.

We held gloved hands and shared the flask while strolling through the empty streets. Cars, of course, whizzed by us, but after a few hours the quantity became less. It was maybe a car or two every half hour.

Even the homeless people that usually populated empty doorways and alleys had taken shelter somewhere else. Hadyn and I were completely alone.

We finished his flask, feeling warm and flushed despite the negative degree weather and snowfall.

“Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock,” I sang, spinning myself in front of Hadyn and laughing.

However, the sidewalk was more icy than I had anticipated, so I stumbled. Hadyn, of course, caught me with ease.

“Thank you,” I told him, my breath fanning his face in a cloud.

“You’re welcome,” he responded. Our coats made everything bulkier, but we managed to be as close as possible. I was clutching his forearms and he had his arms around my waist.

His eyes were darker underneath the night sky and streetlights. His cheeks were also flushed pink from the mixture of alcohol and cool air.

Before I knew it, he was leaning in and soon his velvet lips were moving against mine.

Our lips moved together in perfect harmony; the sensation was heavenly.

“Hey don’t!” I protested when he pulled away.

Hadyn laughed and glanced at the empty streets in front of us. “I’d rather not take chances and have someone call the cops on us.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s New York, Michaels. I hardly think we call the cops for break-ins.”

“Damn. I’m dating a tough guy.”

I smiled and pressed a quick kiss on his lips. “Yes, you are.”