Page 37 of Not My Fault

“Okay,” Gus and I say in unison.

The doctor leaves, and they send Viv in with my approval. She stops when she realizes Gus is here and then smiles.

“You have no idea how good this will look for the press.” Viv smiles proudly and pulls out her phone to start typing.

“What?” Gus’s jaw ticks.

“There’s a photo of you getting into the ambulance with Emily that is going viral. Someone from TMZ was there because of the concert and caught everything,” Viv explains.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gus scoffs and I look at them, confused.

“What?” Viv breaks contact with her phone for a split second to look at Gus.

“You walk in and the first thing you say is how good this will look for the press? I found her passed out in her dressing room. Not a simple ‘I’m relieved you’re okay’? I don’t understand how you can work for someone and not give a damn about who she is as a human being,” Gus lets out angrily and storms out of the room. My jaw drops. I know Viv is bad but I’ve never had anyone stand up for me like that. I’m so used to Viv but that doesn’t mean it’s okay.

“You’ve got to control her. There’s no way this will end well if she doesn’t rein herself in.” Viv scoffs, going back to her phone.

I feel the blood rise to my head. “They. They are not a she.” I growl. “I want you to go, and if you see Gus, please send them back in.”

“Fine.” Viv leaves with a roll of her eyes.

EIGHTEEN

Gus

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you okay?” Georgie stops me in my tracks.

“Sorry, I just… Viv just pissed me off and I needed to get out of there before I said something worse.” I sigh. Georgie raises an eyebrow, and I explain what happened. It isn’t like she’s going to have a different reaction than I had.

“But E is okay? I was so worried.” Georgie breathes a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, she just has to take it easy for a few days.”

“I’ll be around tomorrow, but shit, I have work on Monday. I’m starting a new project, and I really can’t afford to call out. Maybe I’ll call her mom to come in.” Georgie starts thinking.

“I can stay with her,” I say.

“Oh, duh, I didn’t think of that. Don’t you have work?”

“I do, but I co-own the studio. I can afford a few days off. I can come by Monday morning with breakfast,” I suggest.

“That would be perfect.” She smiles.

Viv passes us by and we glare at her as she walks by. We both head into Emily’s room and she smiles when she sees us. I’m glad to see her smiling. I didn’t know it, but finding someonepassed out might be the scariest thing I’ve ever felt. I went back to talk to her, thinking maybe now was the time to tell her about my feelings. But when I opened the door, she was on the floor between the bathroom and dressing room. I rushed to her and when she didn’t answer, I called for help and 911. Viv freaked out when she ran in, but she never once asked about her. She was freaking out to an assistant about what this was going to look like.

“The doctor said I can come home tonight; they’re going to get the paperwork done.” Emily smiles.

“I’ll be home to take care of you tomorrow all day, and Gus is going to stay with you when I’m at work this week,” Georgie tells her.

“I don’t need a babysitter. I’m totally fine.” Emily laughs.

“Yes, you do. You passed out and were all alone. If Gus didn’t find you today, it could’ve been really bad. So you’re going to let us stay with you,” Georgie says firmly, as a parent would tell a child.

“It was really terrifying finding you like that,” I say quietly.

She sighs. “Fine, if you guys want to spend all your time with me like some kind of stalkers, who am I to judge?” We both start laughing at her joke.

After filling out a boatload of paperwork, Georgie and Emily load into her car and head for home. I promise to check in with them tomorrow, and Georgie says she’ll send their information over. I head home for the night and only relax the moment my head hits the pillow. I had too much on my mind, so I’m glad to get some sleep.

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