Expect the Unexpected

    Cheering. Lights shining. Heavy breathing. The sound of her heart trying to beat out of her chest; these were all the things she took in as she was on the stage before a large crowd. Her arm shifted back and forth, her body swayed around the stage and her gaze skimmed over the crowd, only making out faint shadows against the beating light. Turning her attention to the man to her left who held a guitar and played fast to meet her violin with every beat, a smile came across her face as she stepped towards him. To the crowd it looked as though the two were challenging one another as they faced off. The sound of their string instruments filled the air around them and with a sudden turn of her body the female moved forward and picked up the pace, the melody dropping low and slow. In response the guitarist eased up on his pace and the two synchronized.     The young woman on stage moved with the music, long strands of dirty blond hair flowed behind her in waves as her outfit flowed around her. Wearing a black and gold corset that hugged her hourglass body figure, a black skirt was attached to it that flared down and out around her knees. It looked as though she had come out of a book almost with her appearance and her bright green eyes shined brightly, playfully.     As the pace fell low the young woman’s body hunched forward a little, working with what she could while playing the violin, swaying her body to the left before standing back up. Between playing the instrument and throwing a little ballet to the entertainment the crowd was soaking it up. Suddenly the music began to fade and the lights dimmed around the two on stage before the pace suddenly picked up loud and clear, the lights flashing bright as the two were suddenly face to face with their instruments  and bodies a foot apart. The crowd cheered loudly as the female leaned forward to the man causing him to lean back then he leaned forward just as a sudden shot rang out.     It all happened so slow it seemed; the entire crowd fell into silence as though expecting it all to be an act. In front of the young woman stared at her partner as blood splattered across her face and his entire form collapsed at her feet. Screams rang out all around her while she stood there frozen in place.     “Clarissa, get off stage! Now!” A voice screamed in her ear piece and her body trembled as she stared down at the limp body before turning on the heels of her converse and bolted off to the right. There she saw the staff urging her over before her agent placed a jacket over her head and rushed her off to the side as the chaos out in the audience got out of control.     Security was yelling for people to not run, giving directions to the closest exit. Clarissa on the other hand was in a state of shock. “Lawrence...if he hadn’t leaned towards me when he did...I-I would have been the one shot… Lawrence is dead because of me…” Her voice was small and her agent tightened his hold on her as he called to security to help guide her to the back exit.     Everything around Clarissa was a blur; one moment she was backstage hearing the crowd going crazy and the next she was in the silence of her limo. “Marcus, did anyone else get shot? Did any other shots go off?” The voice was barely a whisper as she lifted her head up to see Marcus sitting across from her with a grim look on his face. His brown and gray hair was a mess around his face from running his hands through it. He turned his brown eyes in her direction and shook his head before his eyes widened at the sight of her.     There was blood splattered across her face; leaning over he opened a small cabinet that had tissues and he pulled them out before reaching under the seat for a water bottle. Once his hand found one he pulled it out and got some tissues wet before reaching across to rub the blood off her face.     Clarissa began to breathe a little heavier as she realized what he was doing; she had Lawrence’s blood on her. Slowly she began to hyperventilate, her chest tightening and the world spinning around her.     “Stay with me now, deep breaths. We are going to get you to the hotel and I am sure the cops will be meeting us there later to ask questions, I need you to not faint.” His tone was careful as he watched the young woman before him try to gather herself. A curse came from his lips as his leg began to bounce up and down. Holding out the bottle of water to the young star, he watched as she took it with a shaky hand before chugging down the liquid. Marcus could pull off charming, confidence and guidance for those on stage but comforting was something he wasn’t well skilled in. So the two simply sat in silence as the limo drove to the hotel.     Three hours later Clarissa was sitting on the queen size bed in her hotel room with two officers and her agent standing around her. The first thing she had done when she had arrived was take a very long and hot shower, had scrubbed her face and every inch of her skin thoroughly to where she almost felt raw. After that she had changed into a pair of black sweat pants and a gray tee shirt with her damp hair tied back into a long braid that went to her waist. For two hours she had obsessed over watching the news and the next hour being questioned by the two men in uniform while her agent was close by to make sure nothing was taken the wrong way.     “Alright, thank you for your statement Miss Holden, again we are sorry to have to bother you after such a traumatic event. Sadly we now need to move on to further questioning; do you have any idea who would want to shoot you or your partner?” Taking a deep breath the man speaking to her with a shaved head leaned forward, “I am afraid to tell you this but we are pretty sure you were meant to be shot. It seemed like you had the right time to lean back and avoid the shot. Which also can put you into suspicion that you may have planned to have your partner shot. I do not mean to upset you but I am simply giving it to you as others may see it.”     Marcus stepped forward with a curse said under his breath, “excuse me but she would never be capable of such actions! Hell the girl doesn’t even have time to plot such a thing with how busy she always is anyways. We don’t need you people coming in here accusing her of anything!”     The second officer stepped around to face Marcus with steady green eyes, “sir he isn’t accusing her but explaining to her what others may think. Yes it may be a far-fetched scenario but it’s better to warn her now before the media plasters it all over. Honestly we are pretty sure it was she who was the main target, which comes down to the point; she may want to cancel the rest of her tour.” Looking at the entertainer this time.     Leaning forward, Clarissa had her hands planted on her knees as she was hunched forward with a small shake to her shoulders. Being told she was a victim then possibly a suspect was one of the least comforting thing’s to hear and she looked up at the officers for a moment. All eyes were on her and she had a big choice to make.     The first officer spoke up again, “Miss we have no suspects like we said. Maybe you can tell us if there were anyone who may want to harm you? The person was obviously a professional, to shoot like they did was a surprise and we can only guess that they were close within the crowd.”      Frowning, the young woman shook her head back and forth but then paused with a frown. Lifting her head up she glanced over to Marcus, “Clayton...he wouldn’t go this far though.”     The second officer raised an eyebrow as he wrote down the name on his notepad, “who is this Clayton ma’am, why would you mention him?”     Clarissa’s hands balled up into two tight fists, “he’s my ex but we’ve been broken up for a year. He is prior military and knows his way around a gun, he had a wide variety. He was mad over the break-up but I wouldn’t think he’d go to this extent.”     “Well we don’t know who's been sending you those obsessive letters either, it could have been him. They were typed to hide their handwriting,” Marcus said as he rubbed his chin before glancing at the troubled officers.     “Letters? Have you reported them?” The first one asked with his arms crossed over his chest and when he saw Clarissa shake her head no he sighed, “alright we will go and do what we can, check out your ex and see what we can find. Miss please just stay low for awhile,” the officer looked at her with a frown.     Shaking her head back and forth, Clarissa glanced towards the television that was on mute. “If I hide it just shows I am letting this person get to me or acting like I am a victim that will then send rumors that I am trying to act innocent then they will try to turn it on me to look like the suspect. If I go on stage the same could happen but...I can’t sit around, I need to be distracted.”     Both officers glanced at one another before they shook their heads, the second one snapped the notepad shut and slipped it into his back pocket as he spoke. “At least hire some extra security or maybe even a bodyguard. We will be in touch, if you think of anything that could help please give us a call.” Holding out a card to the young woman he met her gaze as she took it as though waiting for confirmation.     Giving the man a slight nod of her head, she accepted the card, casting a glance to it before looking at them both. “I will, thank you.” Her voice dropped a little and she looked back down as Marcus began to escort the two men out of the room. It wasn’t till she heard a click from the door when she looked back up to see Marcus leaning against the door with his phone pulled out.     “A bodyguard isn’t a bad idea, I have a buddy who runs his own business and he owes me a favor anyways. Honestly, I wouldn’t trust anyone else with guarding you. Vincent is a good guy, a little rough around the edges but he was special forces once upon a time.” A sigh came from Marcus’s lips as he sent the text message before pushing himself from the door and looking over to her.     Clarissa gave a disapproving look before shaking her head back and forth, “instead of just deciding on your own who is going to protect me, how about you share some details for me to decide.”     Lifting a hand up, Marcus rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced off to the side where the window was. “I can’t exactly say too much, he doesn’t like people knowing his business. All I can say is that he is stubborn, gets the job done, a rich prick who doesn’t even need to be working yet does and the chances of you two getting along are little to none. That is if he even agrees to do this favor, don’t worry about it for now. Just try to catch some sleep and we will talk more tomorrow.”      Staring at her agent for a moment longer she nodded her head and stood up, “fine. No final decisions till tomorrow.” Using the firmest tone she could muster, her shoulder’s dropped and she hugged Marcus tightly.     Marcus wrapped his arms around the girl to hug her carefully before stepping back and ruffling her hair. “Good night, your parent’s would be proud of how strong you are being through all this.” With an assuring smile he finally turned and left Clarissa. He remained still outside the door until he heard the assuring click and chain of the locks put in place before he looked back down to his phone to see a response. Letting out a sigh he went ahead and hit the call button as he walked down the hall to his room.