‘Can it!’ Amy cut him off. The man’s mouth fell open in shock. ‘This mess is your crew’s fault. How could you have let that video get played? You will just have to deal for a little longer.’
Ivy was impressed. Amy really had Jackson’s best interests at heart.
Jackson knelt down beside Olivia.
‘You should go,’ Olivia told him.
‘I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re all right,’ he said gently.
Ivy could see that it was making things worse for Olivia to be ruining Jackson’s evening. ‘I’m here,’ she said. ‘I’ll make sure Olivia’s OK.’
Jackson hesitated.
‘Really,’ Olivia said. ‘Go.’
Jackson got to his feet and turned. The stage manager looked about to weep with relief. He started gabbling into his walkie-talkie, ‘We are go!’ and he practically dragged Jackson away.
In the moment of silence, Amy emptied her little bag out on to the counter. Make-up remover, tissues, mascara, lipstick and blusher clattered on to the laminate surface.
‘What happens next is entirely up to you, sweetie,’ she said quietly. ‘Whatever you choose won’t be easy, but it’s my job to give you the tools you need, if you decide to stay.’
‘Thank you, Amy,’ Olivia said, sniffling. ‘You’re a good friend.’
Ivy was still clutching Olivia’s handbag when it started chirping. Olivia shook her head, and Ivy knew her sister didn’t want to deal with it right now.
‘You take care of it,’ Olivia said.
There were already three text messages. One was from their dad, so Ivy quickly texted him their location and to say things were OK. The next was from Camilla, so Ivy sent another reassuring note, but the third was from Charlotte Brown.
Ivy frowned. Oh no, she didn’t! Ivy guessed that Charlotte couldn’t resist the chance to gloat. But when she opened the text, it was a link to a video with a short message from Charlotte: ‘That was so un-cool. Get her back.’
Ivy stepped out of the dressing room to watch the video. What she saw made her gasp and then smile.
The truth is out there, Ivy thought. Justice can be done.
She popped her head into Olivia’s dressing room. ‘I’ll be right back.’
Ivy headed straight to the bank of monitors, and to the engineer who was about to lose his job, if Amy had anything to do with it.
‘Hey.’ She pointed at him and hoped her face showed that he was in no position to refuse. ‘I’ve got a deal for you . . .’
Olivia looked at herself in the mirror.
She was alone, for the moment. Ivy had rushed off and Amy had gone to give her some space. Her face was streaked with mascara tears and her hair stuck out in all directions from her bun.
She looked as though she’d just starred in some action movie, not as if she was lined up to appear in a glamorous awards show.
‘Can I do this?’ she said to herself.
She had two choices: stay and face the booing crowds, or go back home and live quietly, without all the pressure.
She took Amy’s make-up remover and started wiping away her ruined eye shadow. As she worked, she remembered what it felt like when Harker had first chosen her for Eternal Sunset. It was the best feeling. And getting interviewed by Chuck was one of the highlights of her year. Singing ‘Wacky Walrus’ with Ivy in that studio felt like she’d come home.
But every time she saw Jessica with Jackson, it felt miserable. The premiere when she couldn’t walk in with Jackson, and being spied on by paparazzi – all of those things were less than perfect.
‘It’s just not worth it,’ Olivia said out loud.
It didn’t matter whether or not the world knew about her relationship. She understood what she and Jackson were all about. She could go back home to Franklin Grove and be happy. She had cheerleading; she had her friends and she still had the best boyfriend in the world.