Tethered (18 page)

“Kurt! Kurt! Where are you going Kurt?” I heard the reporter ask.

“I’m going to take care of this entire scandal,” he replied.

“Are you going to see the woman in the video?” a man asked.

Kurt looked up to the camera, took off his sunglasses, and stared deeply into the lens. “Yes, I’m going to see her.”

“Oh shit,” I said.

“Kurt is coming
here
?” Morgan asked in amazement.

Morgan quickly jumped up from the couch
and ran around to the side, almost tripping on a rug and falling to the floor.

“What the hell is wrong?” I asked with wide eyes.

“If Kurt Simmons,
the
Kurt Simmons is coming to my apartment then I…I need to look presentable,” Morgan said before running to her room to get clothes and then into the bathroom, with the fan inside still running.

I watched as Kurt got into his car, slowly waded through the sea of paparazzi, and was presumably on his way here
. Did he try and contact me since I turned off my phone? He looked as though he had just woken up or something, so it must’ve been recently. I wanted to turn on my phone to see, but I didn’t…I couldn’t. I took a deep breath and realized he was on his way here anyway. Even if I did get my phone and text him, he’d be here before I even knew it. I would never be able to get a reply and prepare myself. All I could do was ready myself as best as I could and prepare for the maelstrom that was coming.

I wrapped the towel around my head and scrubbed my head to get every last drop of water that I could from my head
. If the cameras catch me, and I have a feeling they would, I didn’t want to look like some troll who just came out of hibernation.

I never thought my life could end up like this
. I thought I was safe…I thought I was anonymous. You better have a good explanation for all of this, Kurt. You ruined my life, and with one fell swoop, I can ruin yours, too.

Chapter Eighteen

Never in a million years
had I have thought, especially just the other month, that my life would change this drastically. It was funny, thinking of myself, my dorky and innocent self, sitting in class, oblivious to the world. Barely doing cam modeling on the side for a few extra dollars, really not that much per month, but just enough to get by on. I was happy, even if I wasn’t doing that great. I might not have had a man in my life, but I got by. I would give anything to go back to that point in my life. I didn’t care about the money I made on cam, or the thousands upon thousands of new followers on my account, who could all contribute greatly to my income. No, all of that didn’t matter. I was now going to be branded as the girl who made a desperate sex tape with Kurt Simmons. All of the tabloids were already talking about it. The news shows had “experts” that said how my behavior was a desperate cry for help. How in the hell could they know any of that? Nobody, especially not those half-wit shrinks, knew anything about me or my life. I wasn’t some crack whore rave girl who just jumped on top of Kurt. I was a real girl…a good girl.

“They’re really swarming out there,” Morgan said as she peered through the front blinds.

“How many?” I asked as I continued to sit on the couch, with the ambient noise of the news in the background.

“God…I really don’t know
, Chloe. Maybe fifty to a hundred?”

“You believe me…right?” I asked.

Morgan turned around and looked at me in confusion. “Believe you about what?”

“Well, that the tape was a mistake
. Kurt just set it up. The news is saying I’m some desperate girl that made some hidden tape and that Kurt is some big victim. You believe that that’s not the case, right?” I asked.

“Of course I believe you,” Morgan said as she came and sat next to me on the couch
. “You’re my best friend, and if you say that’s what happened, then that’s what happened.”

I
nodded and agreed with her—agreed with myself—that this wasn’t my fault. As we sat there in silence, watching the news stories, a commotion started outside, something big. Morgan got up from the couch and walked over to the blinds, barely looking out, as her demeanor changed.

“Uh, Chloe,” she said.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“You might want to get over here and see this,” she said.

“What now?” I asked with an exasperated tone as I got up and walked over to the window.

Kurt…it was Kurt
. He had parked on the side of the road, his red car like a colorful beacon in the crowd of people, and the camera bulbs were going crazy as he shielded his eyes, even though he had sunglasses still on. This was it…he was here to yell at me. I knew he was going to blame me for all this. He was going to say I was desperate for attention, and when he didn’t give it to me, I went to the media to spite him. I knew it sounded farfetched, but Kurt wasn’t always the most rational and sweet man. Hell, he had a sex dungeon in his house!

Morgan and I both watched Kurt walk up the stairs, our eyes peering out of the little holes in the blinds that the strings weaved through
. Nobody could see us, but we could see each and every one of them.

“It’s him…it’s really him,” Morgan said in shock.

A knock came to the door, a loud one. It wasn’t quite a pound, and he was using his knuckles, but a sleeping sloth would shoot out of bed to answer this kind of door knock.

I put my fingers on the deadbolt, took a deep breath, and unlocked it, before opening the door just enough
. There he was, in all his glory, his disheveled glory.

“May I come in?” he asked, his monotonic tone showing his distaste for this situation.

“Yes,” I said before he squeezed in the tight opening.

I quickly closed and locked the door once again, keeping the nosy reporters outside, as he took off his sunglasses and looked around the darkened room
, as all of the blinds were sealed shut.

Morgan stood there in shock, unable to say a word
. I thought I could go whitewater rafting in the drool that was flowing out of her opened mouth.

“Hi…hi
. My name is Morgan, and I’m such a big fan of your work,” she said as she stared at him with the intensity of a thousand suns.

“Oh, that’s nice…thanks,” he replied, clearly not caring about her right now.

“It’s my pleasure, Mr. Simmons. I especially loved you in
Officer Cheero: Chimp Cop
.”

“Once again, thanks
. What’s your name again?” Kurt asked.

“It’s…
it’s Morgan, sir,” she said happily.

“Morgan, great name
. Could you do me a favor and let Chloe and I have a few minutes alone? It’s very important,” he said.

“
Yes! Call me when you’re ready!” Morgan exclaimed happily before shuffling off into her room.

“What are you doing here
, Kurt? I thought you were done with me or whatever,” I said.

“Yeah, and I thought you were done with me
. Your whole attitude at the premiere wasn’t exactly one I loved, to be honest, but I think you know why I’m here,” he said.

“I didn’t do anything wrong
, Kurt. If anyone is to blame, it’s
you
!”

“What, you think I did this?” he asked defensively.

“Well, who the hell else could have?
You
are the one who wanted to take a video of us.
You
are the one who took the camera with him.
You
are the one who was supposed to keep it a secret,” I shouted, my nerves leaving my body with each reason I gave.

“I told you I didn’t want it to get out
. I don’t know who got a hold of it or leaked it, but it wasn’t me, Chloe. Do you think I’d really do that to you? I care about you, Chloe, you’re an amazing girl. I’d rather it happen to me and not you. I’d rather take the brunt of it and keep you safe,” Kurt said as he paced around the small foyer near the front door.

“What…what do you mean by that
? Why would you rather take it and save me from it?” I asked.

“Because
, Chloe. You don’t deserve this. I…I can take this kind of bullshit. I’ve had everything said about me and done to me that can happen. Scandals, rumors, bad press…everything! You, on the other hand…you are special…you are normal. Something like this can hurt you. It could prevent you from getting a job, or going out normally in public, or even finding someone. Those things won’t happen to me. As embarrassing as it is to have this happen to me, it won’t have these huge long-term effects like it will to you,” Kurt said passionately.

A tear rolled down my reddened cheek, and I tried to comprehend and process his entire speech
. Why does he care this much about me? I was just an afterthought to him at the premiere. Now…now he was calling me special.

“Do you really mean that
? Do you think I’m special?” I asked.

“Of course
. You’re the first girl I’ve met that I actually liked. The first girl who hasn’t tried to get things from me or use my fame to her own advantage.”

“Then why…why have you avoided me like the plague
? Why did you treat me like shit at the premiere? Why did you not talk to me?” I asked with tears rolling down my cheeks.

“I knew this would come up,” he said as he paced around further.

“Why Kurt? I
need
to know why,” I shouted, now becoming hysterical.

“Because!” Kurt yelled as he turned around and looked at me
. “I was terrified of you…terrified of everything you stood for. I’ve never been in some great relationship, and you, with your loving glances and cute little kisses…were too much for me. Then, when that guy you like hit me, it was like it all became too real. I was afraid of what we could become,” Kurt passionately said.

“Now we can’t become anything,” I replied, my voice considerably lower than before.

“Don’t say that…not now.”

“It’s true! Do you really think you can come into my life, ditch me, come back in, ditch me, and then finally get me again
? No Kurt, you can’t! I’m not some toy that you can play with when you want to.”

“Don’t you have feelings for me
? We could have something great. Trips to Napa, Paris, Geneva—“

“I don’t care about all of that shit! I don’t!
Do you think your money or your fame has any bearing over me? Sure, Napa was a great time, and I enjoyed myself immensely, but it doesn’t matter. I thought you would’ve seen by now that all I care about is spending time with my partner. I don’t care if they have a million dollars or ten dollars in their bank account.”

“All I know is that I care about
you, Chloe. I truly do. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here right now. I could’ve played off this whole tape in the media if I didn’t care. You know what I did instead? I came here to make sure you were okay; to think of a way out of this.”

He was partially right
. Maybe he could’ve just played it off as some hoax or joke in the media. I could’ve been a pawn in the larger game of his life. He never would’ve had to talk to me again, and his beautifully rich and famous life would’ve gone on like nothing ever happened. Even with all that, with all of the easiness, he came here…to see me.

“And how do you propose we do get out of this, Kurt?”

“We go out into the media sometime and stand proud. We don’t let this all affect us. Don’t show them that you’re hurting, or they’ll never forget about it,” he said.

“I don’t know
, Kurt. I’m in a good place now…with someone I care about.”

“Is he better than me?” Kurt asked, with almost a sense of doubt in his voice.

“No person is better than another person. He does have some great qualities, yes, but he’s not necessarily better than you. He treats me the way I want to be treated, and I like that,” I said.

“I can do that
, too,” he said.

“Yeah, but you haven’t.”

“If I did…if I proved it to you…would you consider being with me?” he asked.

“I don’t know Kurt, I just
wa—“

A loud knock came at the door; the door Kurt and I were still standing near
. We hadn’t left the foyer since he came, and now another asshole reporter was standing out there wanting the new scoop. Since everyone knew Kurt was inside, it only made their stories juicier.

I put my hand on the door handle, my rage boiling now that they had interrupted our conversation, and I opened the door, a snarl on my face, my upper lip furled.

“I already told you dumbasses that—“I yelled before turning my head and seeing the person knocking on the door.

It was Tom
. He was standing there, the same way Kurt had not that long ago, and he was looking at me, his eyes telling every emotion he was feeling.

“Tom,” I said with a nervous tone.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“Now really isn’t a good time,” I said.

“Now is a great time, Chloe. You need to explain some stuff, and I’m not leaving until I get the answers,” he said as his eyes began to turn red.

I opened the door, the guilt overtaking me, as I knew
that maelstrom was finally about to hit. Tom walked in, and as I closed the door, he saw Kurt, standing there looking right back at him. I quickly got between them as a precaution.

“Now, I don’t want
any
fighting in my apartment. If either of you lays a hand on the other—and I mean either of you—I
will
call the cops and you
will
be arrested,” I said sternly, looking at both of them, before they each relaxed their expressions and accepted what I was saying.

“So, what do you have to say for yourself?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, what you read is probably true. We made a stupid video, it was stolen somehow, and now it’s out there.”

“It’s not just about that, Chloe
. Sure, that pisses me off, but what hurts more is that you lied to me,” Tom said.

“Lied to you
? About what?” I asked in confusion.

If Tom wasn’t talking about the sex video, then what
was he talking about?

“You’re some sex model online?” Tom said.

“Oh, that,” I replied.

In all of the haste and headache over this entire thing, I forgot
that
piece of my life had now been leaked to the entire world. It was more than just the tape—it was who I was.
That
was why the media was calling me a slut, and why Tom was now freaking out and wondering what I really did and if I’d told him the truth about anything.

“Yeah, that
. Any explanation?” Tom asked.

“Well, I do cam model, or at least I used to
. It was to make some rent and grocery money, and I liked it. I didn’t have relationships with anyone watching, and didn’t talk to anyone outside of the chat room on the site when I was online. Hell, you dated a girl who got naked and modeled for a bunch of people in-person. Mine were just through the Internet!” I said, trying to defend myself.