Page 83 of Bae

Clearly not anymore.

Maybe I should have brought Trent along…

“Rimmel!”

I snapped out of it, and my body went rigid. Like a cannon, I shot forward, plowing right between two paparazzo, and managed to squeeze through. I stumbled out of the crowd and ran to my Range Rover, unlocking the doors and leaping inside.

Once there, I hit the locks immediately and collapsed against the leather with a heave. My body was shaking, my chest squeezed with panic, and my mouth had gone dry. After a few short seconds, I placed my bag in the passenger seat, trying to ignore the flashes and knocks on the windows.

They were all tinted, so I had some privacy. Except of course the windshield.

Once I had my keys in hand, I started to turn toward the wheel. A loud thump sounded in front of me. I shrieked and spun, gripped the steering wheel. The man with the greasy man bun was lying across the hood, taking pictures through the windshield!

He seriously needed to get a life.

I had a moment’s thought to call the police. I even looked down at the phone in my lap. But that would require sitting here longer.

I wanted to go home.

The Rover started up with ease, and I glared at the man on the hood. With an evil little thought, I turned on the windshield wipers and held down the button for the washer fluid. It sprayed everywhere, including on the man and his camera.

He gave a shout and leapt back. Actually, he slipped off the hood and hit the pavement.

Gee, I hoped he wasn’t hurt.

Not.

I gunned the engine, still sitting in the same spot, and threw the car into reverse. The man who fell off the car stood with an angry look on his face.

“You broke my camera, you bitch!”

No. You broke it. You asshole!

I resisted the urge to stick out my tongue. Instead, I started backing up. The movement of my car forced some of the paps to move. It took me a little longer than usual to back up, but I did, and once I was clear of the spot, I laid on the horn aggressively to give fair warning to everyone in my way.

Before hitting the gas, I glanced around for greasy man bun, but he was gone.

Probably gone home to lick his wounds about his camera.

“Buh-bye,” I said and drove forward. A quick glance in my rearview showed some of the people rushing for their cars.

I sighed. I hoped that didn’t mean they’d be following me.

Guess I’d have to put off getting my vitamins. I think that bothered me more than anything. What kind of life would I be bringing a baby into if I couldn’t even safely and peacefully go to the store for vitamins when I needed them?

What if I’d had a baby with me tonight? What would I have done?

Horror assaulted me. Horror and dread. Doubts assailed me. Was I doing this for all the wrong reasons? Would it be better if I didn’t have another child? Any baby of ours would be relentlessly pursued. I couldn’t even protect myself. How would I protect an innocent child?

You couldn’t before…

A sob formed in my throat; my vision went a little blurry with unshed tears.

Bright headlights shone into my rearview mirror, and I winced, averting my gaze. I blinked and glanced up, looking to find a car right on my bumper.

The wheel jerked in my hands. In surprise, I tore my eyes away and back to the road. Once I was straight, I glanced back up to see if I could tell who it was chasing me.

Another car swerved alongside mine, and my head whipped around. Because this one was right beside me, I could see into the car better. It was one of the vultures, the one who nearly knocked me down with the help of greasy man bun.

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