Page 30 of Behind the Scenes

As she frantically worked to straighten the wig and find her glasses, the blond said, “Holy shit! You’re Alexis Marchand.”

Everything began to spin out of control around her, and there on the wide open beach, she felt like the world was closing in on her. She put her head down and begged Lauren to make them go away.

“Leave her alone! Go away!” she shouted at the two of them.

“Can we get your autograph? We’re huge fans. Just one autograph. And a picture. Nobody’s going to believe we met you on the beach today if we don’t get a pic,” one of them said right next to Alexis’s ear.

“Leave me alone!” she screamed, pushing her hands out to make him go away.

Other people began to stop nearby and watch as the guys began to complain. Grabbing her hands, the dark haired one held her wrists tightly. “Don’t be a bitch. We just want a picture and your autograph. You’re not too good for that, are you?”

Then the other one began taunting her. “Chaz, I think she thinks she’s too good to be seen with us. A big Hollywood actress too good to be hanging out with guys like us. Is that how it is?”

Alexis squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, hoping they’d just go away. All she wanted to do was have a nice day at the beach with Lauren. She just wanted to eat some fudge and feel the sand between her toes. She never wanted to make anyone angry. She never wanted to even have anyone notice her.

Why couldn’t they understand that? Why wouldn’t they just go away and leave her be?

“Go away! We’re not bothering anyone. Why won’t you just leave us alone?” Lauren screamed.

“All we want is for her to not act like a stuck up bitch. Who does she think she is?” one of them snapped.

His words echoed in her head.Bitch. Who does she think she is?

With her face buried in her knees, she prayed to God for someone to make them stop. She wasn’t a bitch. She would never treat someone like they were treating her. Why didn’t they understand she was a human being just like them?

Was it too much to ask for the world to understand she had feelings too?

Tears welled in her eyes as she rocked back and forth silently begging for it all to be over. Then she heard a third male voice and every muscle in her body tensed as she waited in terror for something to happen.

“Get away from her! Get the hell out of here!” the man bellowed.

She knew that voice. Looking up, she watched Hunter chase the two men off and then get rid of all the onlookers who had begun to gather around them. Embarrassed, she covered her face with her hands to avoid facing him.

This wasn’t what she wanted to happen.

“We’re going. Now,” he said sternly.

Leaning over, Lauren whispered in Alexis’s ear, “It’s okay. Hunter’s here. He made those guys go away. We’re okay.”

As she rubbed her back to make her feel better, she didn’t know the truth, but Alexis did. Nothing was okay. All she’d wanted was a day away and to enjoy the sun at the beach for just a few hours with her best friend. She couldn’t even have that now.

Chapter Ten

Alexis sat huddledover on the sand hiding her face as Lauren stood looking at Hunter with pure guilt in her eyes. She should feel guilty. An entire household had been sent into a tailspin because the two of them wanted to act like teenage runaways.

“Lauren, get her bag and start walking toward the car.”

“Where is it?”

He pointed toward the street a block away and said nothing more to her. Everything he wanted to say wouldn’t have been helpful at that moment anyway.

She ran off, and he crouched down in front of Alexis, who still hadn’t said a word to him. She looked so frail, so broken sitting there hugging her knees to her chest, her face hidden so he couldn’t see if she was crying.

“Alexis, we need to go,” he said as gently as his mood would allow. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here.”

Scooping her up in his arms, he walked toward the steps nearby as he saw a few people point at them. Even with that brown wig, he would have known it was her, so it didn’t surprise him strangers did too. Her face was too recognizable.

She curled up in his arms and hid her face in his shoulder as he walked silently across the Boardwalk and down the other set of stairs. Her body trembled against his chest, and every so often she let out a quiet sob. Other than that, she didn’t make a move to fight him, something he was genuinely thankful for.

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