Jaded (Rock Star Trilogy) - By Mercy Amare Page 0,24

discomfort.

I roll my eyes. “I know that. I'm just being cautious.”

“I'm surprised you came here without your bodyguard.”

“Ha ha,” I said, not finding his statement funny at all. “You think I like having a bodyguard? I'd like to go out in public without the risk of getting mauled by fans.”

“Really, Scarlett, are you surprised that you showed up at Hope, Florida and people freaked out? Our town is small. 20 thousand people. It's not like we have celebrities walking around here everyday.”

“You didn't seem surprised,” I comment.

“That's because I don't see you as a rock star.”

“You and Ethan seem to be the only ones.”

“Maybe we know what it's like to be treated like an outsider.”

I sigh. “What do you mean by that? What happened to you? And why does Mona hate you and Ethan?”

“I don't want to talk about it, Scar.” I can hear the sadness in his voice. “But I promise, someday, I will tell you. Just... not yet.”

“Ok.”

I knew that it was the end of the conversation for now. I was dying to know what happened, but I wasn't going to push him. Everybody has secrets. Like me, trying to find Stacy. Nobody but me and Andrew knows.

My mind went to our conversation earlier. He said he had good and bad news. What could he not tell me over the phone? I feel my stomach clinch up.

What if she's dead?

No. No. She's NOT dead. I could not think that. Stacy was very much alive. If she wasn't, he wouldn't have said he had “good” news. Because finding my sister dead would not be good news.

I push it to the back of my mind. I would know soon enough what the news was. Early tomorrow, Andrew would be at my home. Until then, I would enjoy my first date with Stephan.

We go a little out of town, and down a few back roads. Finally we park on the side of the street. There are probably about 40 cars all parked along the side of this random back road. A lot of nice cars are out here, some not so nice. Everybody is crowded along the side of the street.

I look for the track.

“Where do you race?” I ask.

Stephan points at the road in front of us.

“But this is a public street. Isn't this... illegal?”

“Are you scared?”

I shake my head quickly, and I realize that I'm not. In fact, I'm kind of excited.

Plus, it's not like this is the first illegal thing I've done.

Stephan and me walk up to a group of people. I recognize some of them from Tuesday. Ginny and Britney are both there, along with the brunette girl who waved the flag. I never actually got to meet her.

“Scarlett!” Ginny is excited to see me. She looks nice. He once orange hair is now blonde, which I must admit fits her much better.

“Hey, Ginny. Love the hair,” I comment. She smiles.

“Wait... Scarlett?” the flag girl says. “As in Scarlett Ryan?”

Stephan puts his arm protectively around me. “Yes she is Scarlett Ryan, but shut up, Zoe. Seriously, don't draw attention to her.”

“Are you trying to tell me that the Scarlett Ryan is hanging out with you,” she half laughs. “What the hell are you even doing in Hope, Florida?”

I want to slap this girl. I don't like her. I grab Stephan's hand, and see her flinch. I finally get it. She likes him.

“And Stephan, what are you thinking? Bringing her here. If we get caught out here, we are all in deep shit. She's just going to draw attention,” she rolls her eyes.

I look at Stephan, who now looks mad. “If you have a problem with Scarlett being here, then maybe you should leave.”

Stephan pulls me closer, and I shoot her a smile that says fuck off, bitch. He's mine. And then we leave his friends behind.

“So, is it always this crazy?” I ask.

He nods. “Yeah. And Zoe is a little... dramatic. She can't stand it unless there is some kind of fight.”

“I noticed. What a bitch.”

“Stephan, Scarlett!” I hear a voice behind us. We turn around to see Ginny and Britney walking up to us.

“Forget, Zoe. She's a major drama queen,” Brit said, basically saying the same thing Stephan did. “Hang with us tonight.”

I smile, because I'm genuinely happy to hang out with them. They seemed to like me when we first met, before they knew who I was. It's a good feeling. “Ok.”

Britney leaned closer. “By the way, I'm sorry about what I said... About not