Page 70 of Show Me How to Heal
“If you say so. I actually haven’t really talked to the guy.”
“Yeah… he’s private.” If the whole thing going on in front of my shop was an indication, he was private for a good reason. Fuck. I was already exhausted by those people, and it’d only been a day. He’d had to endure this for months. Years. Had it always been this bad?
There were so many questions I didn’t have the answer to.
Maybe if I’d listened to him.
No.
Nope.
Not today.
“And rightly so,” Mason said. “I mean, I’d looked him up months ago, and man, let me tell you, it was brutal. Like a witch hunt. The media was speculating a lot, while many people on social media took photos of him. Most didn’t even have a bad intention, but to me, it looked like he couldn’t take a single step without being photographed. Like, there were pictures and short videos of him in the supermarket, struggling to push his cart, jumping on one leg and stuff.”
I swallowed. I hadn’t seen that. In fact, I hadn’t looked at anything online after I’d seen the picture of us kissing blasted all over, making sure it hadn’t been some freaky kind of mix-up.
“I… actually, yeah, I’d like to go home,” I said. Everything to get away from it all.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, as did the following morning. My parents spent some time with me, asking a couple of questions about Luke but thankfully stopping after realizing it hit a sore spot. Corey came over, saying hi to my parents and helping me get ready for my big evening.
Because today wasn’t just me opening up the shop like any regular day. Today was an exclusive event. Invite-only. All my close friends, my family, a few bloggers and influencers, a couple of followers who’d won invitations, and, lastly, I’d even sold a few.
I’d been so excited, but on the drive over, I couldn’t muster any excitement. There was a Luke shaped hole in my day. He should have been by my side, meeting my parents, getting ready with me. We’d wanted to go on a nice walk with Sammy, visiting the dog park to tire Sammy out before leaving him at my house for the evening.
We’d wanted to come back there after the event, having our own private after party.
Now, I was doing it all alone, just going through the motions.
Driving to the shop, talking to the caterers and waiters and waitresses for the evening, giving out instructions for the security team — man was I glad I had them, since there were paparazzi camping out in front of my shop again — adding the final finishing touches before waiting for the guests to arrive.
Greeting everyone, making photos, shooting short videos, giving interviews.
Smile, laugh, hold a speech, smile some more.
Give a toast, thank everyone for coming, giving special thanks to family and friends. My throat constricted as I was talking, thinking about the real hero who wasn’t even here today. I thanked him nonetheless, choosing my words carefully, knowing all too well that my dear influencer buddies were either live streaming the speech or probably uploading it later. Hell, Corey was filming me. I needed to be careful what I said because everyone knew who I was talking about. Not some anonymous employee but a world renown ex-soccer player.
People congratulated me left and right, smiling, complimenting my shop, my soaps, my products.
A selfie here, a selfie there.
Comments about Luke.
At some point, I just couldn’t keep pretending everything was okay. Smiling hurt. Every question about Luke’s whereabouts hurt. For all I knew, he could well be on his way back to Germany now that he’d been found. My stomach recoiled at the idea.
Still smiling, I excused myself from a conversation, hurrying into the back area, running right into the storage room, and closing the door behind me.
“Need a break, too?” a voice asked, startling me so bad I jumped a couple of feet in the air. My heart was thundering in my chest, my hands grabbing the front of my button down before my brain finally provided me with the information whose voice it was.
“Addy?” I squinted. It was pitch black in the room, no light shining at all.
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
“What the actual fuck are you doing in my storage room? In the dark?”
“The same thing as you, I guess. Hiding.” He let out a bitter laugh.
“Why?” I wracked my brain, trying to figure out whether I’d seen him this evening at all but coming up empty. The whole party was foggy. Apart from my parents, Corey, and Avery and Mason, I had no idea who was there.
