Page 86 of Gabriel's Album

Ariana picks up the phone that’s still ringing and answers it before I can stop her.

“Hello?” she says as I open my laptop.

There’s a pause for a second, and I click open the browser.

“Who’s this? You called me, not the other way around.”

To her credit, Ariana keeps her composure and has the forethought not to give her name. I type ‘Cruise Control Daily Mail’ into my browser.

“He’s not available right now. Can I give him a message?” Ariana says in a cool tone.

The top search result screams, ‘MY NIGHT WITH CRUISE CONTROL,’ and I’m horrified as I click on it.

I hear Ariana say tersely, “No comment.”

She puts the phone back on the hook as the screen in front of me displays theDaily Mailarticle.

“Fuck,” I breathe out as I begin taking it in. “You probably shouldn’t have answered that.”

“Why?” Ariana asks me.

In answer, I spin my laptop to face her. Ariana’s mouth falls open into a shocked ‘O’ as she reads the heading. She covers her mouth with her hand, and I move around to stand next to her so I can read the rest of the article with her. It’s an in-depth account of our night from an exclusive interview theDaily Mailhas done with Stacey.

The first two paragraphs explain how she met Sebastian and me in the lobby, and how she and Sebastian supposedly had sex between what she inaccurately described as our soundcheck and the awards.

She’s also gone into detail about my formerly secret relationship with Ariana, including her breakdown over not walking in with me, and Stacey has made it sound as though it happened right in the middle of the red carpet.

One tiny bright side is that apparently Heather told her that Ariana’s name was ‘Ariel,’ and that’s the name they’ve used for her throughout the article. Unsurprisingly, Heather is viewed in a very negative light. Stacey has made out as though she thinks she’s hot shit because she’s been our friend for so long, and as though Heather has some real disdain for the fans.

There’s no mention of Sebastian ditching her because she was a bitch. Instead, she’s acting as though we were too awful to be around, and she couldn’t stand accompanying us to the after-party after the way we’d all treated her.

“Shit,” Ariana says quietly.

“Yeah, Cooper’s going to lose his mind,” I cringe as I grab a pair of jeans and pull them on.

I pick up my phone and see multiple missed notifications. I hit the call back button on a message from Cooper, then walk into the living area to talk to him. He answers almost immediately, and my heart pounds in my chest when he does.

“Gabriel, about fucking time you called.”

“Sorry. I only just woke up, and someone called me for a comment,” I say.

“Tell me you weren’t stupid enough to make any comment,” he bites out.

There’s a knock on the door, and I walk over to let the room service in while I say, “No, we both said we had no comment when we spoke to them.”

“So, she spoke to them too?” I can practically see the scowl on his face when he asks the question.

I frown as I tip the hotel employee and say coldly to Cooper, “Arianaspoke to them, yes. She didn’t know it was a reporter, and she said she didn’t have any comment.”

There’s tense silence for a few seconds before Cooper heaves a big sigh and growls, “Either way, we’re having a meeting at Sierra’s offices to figure out our official position. Get your ass there with Sebastian as soon as you can.”

“You haven’t spoken to him?” I’m surprised by this.

“Yes, I have. He was going to come get you if you didn’t answer your phone soon.”

“I see. Well, I’ll see you soon, I guess.”

I walk back into the bedroom to see Ariana standing in front of the laptop where I left her. She doesn’t notice me enter the room, and I move to stand behind her, reading the screen over her shoulder. She’s reading the comments on the article, and I cringe when I see what they say.

---