The Journalist and Her Actor

Chapter 9

The world tends to slow down whenever you need it to speed up. Traffic becomes a sea of red break lights when you need open lanes, the people around you move at a snails pace when you need them to be in a hurry, and everyone around you seems to be in a state of oblivious ecstasy, lost to the world, when your own world is falling apart. 

That was how I felt as I tried to find a way to get out of the glamorous three story home and to the hospital to find Carter. I didn't know where my ride was. Laliana and Aiden were lost in the crowd, and I was left in a state of near panic, scrambling for the front door, all rational thought gone. 

I pushed past bodies, completely ignoring several offered drinks from white clad waiters, and stumbled into the open air, body trembling with fear and anxiety. 

Please be okay, Carter.

Pulling out my phone, I pulled up the Uber and Lyft apps and quickly discovered that it would take twenty minutes for a car to arrive. 

"Yeah, we don't tend to let driving services near our house," someone said behind me. 

I turned to find Lavender standing nearby, watching me with an unreadable expression. "We have a deal with Los Angeles that both Uber and Lyft can't get within a mile of this house." She glanced around at the large property that was made up of gardens, a pool, a horse riding trail, horse stable, and a drive way that was currently packed with cars. 

Lavender took in my expression as my eyes fell on the driveway that was stacked five deep with cars. "I would take you to wherever you are clearly trying to escape to but... My car is in the garage, and well, these cars kind of ruin any escape attempt I could offer."

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to breathe. "Is there any other way out of here?"

She raised a brow. "Not much for parties?" 

"It isn't a judgement. I just—" my voice cracked, and I shut my mouth, unable to finish. 

Lavender's expression changed, and I could see the wheels turning as she fell into 'fix it mode.'

She pointed to a sleek deep red car at the bottom of the driveway. "That's your best bet." She rolled her eyes. "The owner is always the last one to arrive, so it's easy for them to escape. The owner is also always easy to spot."

I nodded, bracing myself to socialize with a complete stranger and ask them to leave a party they just got to, only to drive across town to the hospital while making painful small talk. "Okay. Yeah, that would be great. Thanks. Who is it?" 

Lavender's neutral expression changed, her lips pursing into a scowl.  "Luke Walker." 

"Yes?" 

We both turned around to find Luke leaning against a glass wall at the base of the house, nearby, tucked away in shadows. I couldn't tell if he was there to avoid all the people inside, or if he just liked being creepy in shadows. 

Lavender gave me a pitying look, as if to say, 'good luck with that,' before she walked off, leaving me alone with Luke. 

Sighing, I turned to fully face him, my expression determined. "I need a ride." 

Luke shoved his hands into his pockets, watching Lavender vanish back into the house before turning to look back at me. "Nope."

He turned to leave but froze as I reached out and placed my hand on his forearm, attempting to pull him to a stop, but struggling when I couldn't wrap my fingers around his arm. Stupid big muscles... 

"Look," I said, forcing my voice to stay even. "The person I love most in the world needs me right now." I swallowed, shutting my eyes for a moment to push images of Carter away. "And that means I need a ride from you. So for the next hour, can you pretend you don't hate me?"