Prologue
646 Words
The name spelled out in neon: Hadley King. I know it sounds all fancy, but unfortunately, my early life was anything but that. I was abandoned as a baby, with no idea who my real parents are. Found by the back door of a Burger King in New York, that's how I got my last name; someone apparently found it funny or cute.
I grew up in foster homes. I guess they weren't the really bad ones. I mean, we weren’t abused or beaten, but they weren't really good either, more like we kids were a meal ticket... an easy way to earn money. Love and affection were not part of the deal.
I guess I wasn't a bad kid or anything. I did okay in school and didn’t get into serious trouble. I mostly focused on my music... for as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a star, a somebody... to be remembered.
About three years ago, when I had just turned sixteen, TV started running these promotions. They wanted contestants for a new singing competition, one that was bigger than anything ever seen before... a worldwide show with some of the biggest stars as mentors and judges... think American Idol and X-Factor, but much bigger and going live in over 30 countries every Saturday.
So, I auditioned and got through to the TV auditions. I was so happy when I made it to the live shows. I was assigned Calix Davis as my mentor and manager; it turns out he had asked for me after watching me perform, recognizing what I am.
Because my secret is that I am part siren, something I had no idea about before I met Calix. He is an incubus and knew right away about my heritage.
He was thirty and rather handsome, and he had worked with some of the biggest names in the business. I was elated to be working with him. However, my admiration didn’t last long.
Basically, he told me that if he was to do his best for me, I had to do my best for him… or in other words, he told me to get on my knees and blow him or I would blow my career.
I was young, naive, and wanted it so badly, and I had no one to turn to for help. I thought it was the norm and at least he was relatively young and handsome. I could have ended up with a lot worse than him.
I also believed he understood me on a new level, telling me everything about the supernatural world, or what I didn't already know. I always thought it was just a silly conspiracy theory, that people claiming they saw a mermaid or werewolf were either drunk or crazy… turns out, they're not. Werewolves are even out in the open now, somewhat accepted by society.
And I won, the whole thing. It's been ten months since the finale, and I've just turned nineteen. I am, without bragging, the biggest pop star in the world, selling millions of albums and sweeping every award show this year... and yet, I feel like a lost little girl most of the time.
The funny thing is... if 'funny' is the right word... while Calix has his way with me in private, he has crafted my public image to be the innocent girl-next-door... sitting there in interviews, claiming to be a virgin, saving myself for the right man, while at the same time struggling not to laugh at the absurdity.
So here I am, being paraded around in Lolita-style clothes, that weird mix of innocent and... well, s*x dolls, which particularly seems to appeal to the Asian market. People either love or hate my look. To be honest, I don't care for it much. Personally, I'm more of a leggings and sweater kind of girl.
- Writer
