The Haven High Book Series (Wattys2017)

Chapter 16

Kelly woke on Tuesday morning to the bright sun streaming through her bedroom window. It just happened to land on a pristine carpet. All remnants of Donnie's visit had been cleared away. Nothing remained of him, but his scent that still lingered in the air. She could still smell the faint hint of his Italian cologne in her adjacent bathroom.

Ever since he'd been given the protection charm he'd been couch surfing with various friends and she missed him terribly. There she said it. She never had a sibling or even a close friend. Are you kidding: sleepovers were a no go in her household.

She missed out on the normal childhood experiences of staying up late with a friends and talking all night, building forts with sheets and whispering with flashlights in their hands so they could still see well into the wee hours of the morning.

Her anger floated to the surface. The anger she normally kept buried deep inside flared up, and she squelched it back down. One day she'd have to let it go, but not today. Today she needed to . . . oh sweet baby Jesus . . . she spotted the time on the clock . . . if she didn't get out of bed now she'd have to go to school without her face on, and the likelihood of that was slim to none.

She bound out of bed to race to the shower, but before she could even made it there the bedside phone began to ring. She was tempted to let it go to voice mail, but the only one who ever called her private line was the only person she couldn't ignore.

So she dove back across the room and snatched it up in her hand, "Hey Penelope, What's up?"

"As of yesterday I would have said definitely not your career, but things are looking up child." Her rep's sarcastic drawl drifted across the line.

Kelly rolled her eyes. Yeah things had been quiet on the modeling front lately and that was mostly due to her recent distraction. She usually did a great deal of self promotion on her end. Her agency was great, but they had hundreds of clients. They didn't focus their energy entirely on her. So some self-promoting was necessary. But the last few weeks she'd had a bit of a dry spell. Usually she booked two to four shoots a month. And now that she thought about it there hadn't been anything so far for the month of October.

She was shocked she hadn't even noticed. Her career came first -- always had -- always would.

Her rep's voice broke her from her revelry, "Kelly sugah are you still there?"

Wow! Where was her head these days? "Yes I'm here sorry. Things have been hectic. Family issues."

It was the only excuse she could think of at short notice.

"Kelly it's not like you to let any distractions get in the way. Are you all right, Sugah?"

Kelly sighed and looked at the clock before saying," Is there a point to this call Pelly, I'm going to be late for school." Kelly's rep was the only one in the industry that knew her true age. Everyone else thought she was years older.