Page 14 of Love Rescheduled

Tara came to join me. She, too, was throwing Josh dirty looks.

“She’s lying,” Josh said, as serious as could be.

“You pr—” Tara started to call him her favorite word, prick, when Mikey jumped into the fray. “Hey, folks, I think there’s been a big misunderstanding here. Natalie and Tara, why don’t you come with me?”

Whispers in the crowd began. “Natalie? As in his ex-girlfriend?”

I was beyond loathing Josh now. I abhorred him, which was the strongest way to express hate in the English language, according to my thesaurus, which I always kept handy.

Mikey gently took my arm. “Come on, honey. Let’s go backstage.”

I blindly let him guide me. I couldn’t breathe and was sure to pass out at any moment. I’d rather it not be in front of a crowd—or Josh’s watchful eye. The traitor. If I didn’t have an aneurysm, I was so getting over him. He wouldn’t be hindering any future relationships of mine. That was if I could bring myself to have one. I might have to go into hiding after this. If I wasn’t mistaken, some flashes had gone off in the crowd. If this didn’t make the rounds on social media, it would be a miracle.

I wasn’t sure how we got backstage, but Jolene was to me in seconds, throwing her arms around me. “Nat, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he was going to be here tonight. I swear.” She let go of me.

“It’s my fault,” Mikey chimed in. “He called me this morning to see if he could stop by. How could I refuse? He’s made this place what it is today. And I knew you were coming, but I thought, hell, maybe it would be good for you to see each other again.”

He was dead wrong, but I was too numb to say anything. All my planning and careful life construction could never have prepared me for this. I was going to need to schedule a breakdown in the very near future.

“I THINK SHE’S GONE CATATONIC,” Tara worried, waving her hand in front of my face.

I blinked and blinked, wishing I could blink out of existence. How could this have happened to me? I was a nice enough girl who baked holiday treats for neighbors, and every Sunday I took dinner to Hal and Stu. All I wanted out of life was to live in my cozy little cocoon of comfort and safety. Was that too much to ask for? I’d had my fill of awful and humiliating situations. Josh, more than anyone, knew that. Only he knew that once when my mother was drunk, she’d told me she wished she never had me. Or that I always spelled the first word wrong on purpose in any spelling bee they forced me to do in elementary school, even though I knew every word, just so I didn’t have to be in front of anyone. And I had only ever shared the talent show incident with him.

So, for him to create more humiliation in my life hurt all the more.

Josh obviously didn’t care. In the background, the crowd was laughing hysterically at his jokes, which I still wasn’t comprehending. I was doing my best to tune him out. I longed to leave, but I looked at Tara and Jolene, who stared at me, deep concern etched into their features. They were my people, my rocks. I asked myself what they would do in my situation. Besides maiming Josh, they would do the hard thing and stay and support me. I knew that’s what I had to do. I would stay and cheer on my best friend. All from the safety of backstage. I wasn’t stepping one foot out into the main area until every person was gone, including the waitstaff.

Jolene placed her hands on my shoulders and gave me a little shake. “Come on, Nat. Snap out of it. You got this. At least breathe.”

On her cue, I took in a big gulp of air and let it out.

“There you go.” Jolene grinned. She looked stunning. Her amazing dark curls framed her beautiful face. Her aqua eyes were screaming that this was her night. That made me come to my senses. I didn’t want anything else to detract from her big moment.

“I’m fine,” I lied for a good cause.

“No, you’re not, but good try.” Jolene gave me a squeeze. She was right—I was so not all right.

To make matters worse, Zac, Josh’s best friend, entered the picture. He was in the wings, closer to the stage. I wasn’t surprised to see him. He and Josh had been best friends since high school. They got into all sorts of mischief together. Zac was still Josh’s right-hand man. He filmed and edited all of Josh’s videos. He even appeared in several of them and frequently talked off camera, asking Josh questions or giving fake advice.

As he walked toward me, sneering, I could mentally hear “Toccata in D Minor” going off in my head. It went well with the horror film I was currently starring in.

Zac was on the shorter side and overly buff, in my opinion. The guy was constantly lifting weights. His spiky golden hair was reminiscent of a caricature, which was fitting, since he was about as mature as most cartoon characters. There was no love lost between us. We got along well enough for Josh’s benefit, but I always felt like Zac was using Josh—riding his coattails, even.

Zac was shaking his head, his beady eyes focused on me. “What are you doing here?”

“Watch yourself,” Tara warned him.

Zac didn’t intimidate me. I knew he never liked me. He was always team Camila. Zac thought I was a bore. He wasn’t wrong. Boring was safe. Look what happened to me trying to get out of my comfort zone tonight.

“I’m here to support my best friend, much like you,” I threw back at him.

He shrugged as if it wasn’t a good enough explanation for him.

I didn’t care what he thought.

“Stay away from Josh. You really messed with his head,” he spewed. “And the last thing he needs right now is for you to screw up what could be the biggest deal of his career.”

What did he mean, I messed with his head? I never toyed with Josh. And why would he think I would screw up whatever deal he was talking about? I only ever wanted the best for Josh. It’s why I had walked away. Besides, I had no power over him. We hadn’t even seen each other in three years. I didn’t get to question Zac, as Josh was taking his bow from the sound of it. It was time for me to focus on Jolene and forget I would more than likely come face-to-face with my ex, whom I abhorred.

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