Page 34 of Head Over Wheels

As I enter the event, I scan the room quickly for my friends. They’re together at a table near the wall. The room is decorated with white linens and fresh flowers, and their scent perfumes the air, making me long for spring. When I get to the table, Lisa pats the chair beside her, and I sink into it.

“Where’s Jeff? I thought you were having coffee.” Tara peers past me, looking for him.

Right. They don’t know what happened yet. The last thing I want to do right now is tell everyone about it and become the centre of attention again. Maybe I can keep it under wraps until later.

“I left him at the cafe.” It’s technically not a lie, and the look on my face must show that I’m not open to talking about it because no one asks any more questions.

We chat about the club last night and how everyone is tired today but sad that the weekend is over. Then I hear a chorus of pings, and all around me, people are picking up their phones.

“Um, Ella? Is there anything you want to tell us about this morning?” Lisa looks at me over the top of her pink iPhone.

I feel my cheeks flush. “No? What do you mean?” There’s a buzz in the room now, everyone gossiping about whatever they’re looking at on their phones.

She grabs my hand and squeezes it gently. “I’m going to show you this, and if you want to leave or need anything, just let us know. We’ve got you.”

Now my stomach is curling into a knot. Lisa turns her phone toward me and clicks open the Instagram post. With a quick check to the bottom left of the window, I see that it’s a post from TMZ, the celebrity gossip site.

The headline reads ‘Elevate instructor saves new girlfriend from stalker,’ and I don’t even want to look at the accompanying picture. I take it in as slowly as possible, thinking that if I don’t see it then it can’t be real. There’s Jace looming over Jeff, who is holding his jaw looking like a guy who just got punched. My stomach sinks. It’s out there now, and everyone will know.

Lisa and Tara are staring at me with matching raised eyebrows. Lisa speaks first. “Ella, was this after your coffee date? What happened? Were you there?”

Tara jumps in. “Do you want to leave?”

I look around and realize that no one is looking at me. They’re all looking at their phones and gossiping about the article. Thank goodness, no one caught a picture of me so I’m anonymous for now. I tackle Tara’s question first. “I’m okay to stay. I think if we leave now, it will just draw more attention to me.”

They nod, waiting for me to say more. Another ping emanates from Lisa’s phone. She looks down and begins playing with an image, zooming in.

“What is it now, Lisa? What’s the picture of?” I bite my lip.

“It’s a picture of Jace’s mystery girlfriend, but it’s from farther away than the other shots, and I’m checking to see if when zoomed in it looks like you.” She looks up at me. “It is you, right?”

I nod, no point in trying to hide it from my friends. “Yep, coffee was pretty eventful. Can you tell it’s me from the picture?”

I lean over to see it more closely. It must have been taken by someone outside the cafe area, after I went back in. Thankfully it’s from a bad angle and far enough away that you wouldn’t know who it was unless you knew me.

Tara confirms my thought. “Other than you having on the same outfit, I don’t think it’s too obvious. You should be good for now.”

I press my palm to my eyes and take a moment to breathe. Lisa slides a glass of water in my direction. I pick it up and take a sip. “Thanks.”

Lisa puts her hand on top of mine. “Do you want to tell us what happened?”

I’m sure they’re melting with curiosity right now, and I know it’s time to spill the tea. “Okay, yes. In order for you to really know what’s going on, I need to fill you in on something that happened to me this summer.”

They’re both leaning forward, eyes on me, rapt. I walk them through the stalker story, and they both stay quiet, even though their body language is saying plenty. Lisa’s fingertips are against her mouth, and Tara’s eyes are wide and staring.

“I thought it was all behind me since I had blocked him. I told Jace about it last night, and he encouraged me to report it to Elevate, but I thought that would just poke the bear and start it up again when I hadn’t heard anything from him in a few months.”

“What happened this morning? What does this have to do with Jeff and Jace?” Lisa asks.

“This morning I realized that Jeff is my stalker. I saw his username on his phone, and once he figured out that I knew who he was, he completely lost his mind. He’s been following me all weekend and taking pictures. And he threatened Jace’s career if I didn’t agree to date him.” I hear my voice shaking, and Tara puts her arm around me.

“I can’t believe this story. That guy is so creepy!” Lisa’s cheeks are pale, so I rush to finish my story and end their suspense.

“I managed to get away and ran into Jace. He figured out what happened and went to the cafe to confront Jeff. Things got heated, and then the police arrived. They’ve arrested him.”

“They arrested Jace?” Tara interrupts.

“No, just Jeff. Jace and I have to go into the station this afternoon to give a proper statement. But they have Jeff’s phone and all his pictures as evidence so Jace should be in the clear.”

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