“Are you ready?” Cole asked, stretching out his hand to help me from the car.
I took his hand, letting him guide me out, and froze for a moment as my eyes swept over the red carpet stretched out before us. For an instant, the sixteen-year-old me—the one who ran away eight years ago —tugged at my mind, urging me to run.
But then I looked at Cole’s encouraging smile, steady and reassuring, and I felt my resolve harden. I reached into my bag, pulled out my phone, and hit send on the video, the one Cole, Natalie, and Penelope had helped me craft earlier. Tonight, everything had to be precise.
It was a video of me getting ready for the event, with Penelope asking me a few questions along the way. As we stepped onto the red carpet, the cameras exploded, flashes lighting up the night. Reporter
