“But if I grew up like that then you wouldn’t be my Daddy.”
Daddy looks like he hurts really bad when I say that. “I know Sydney, I know.”
****
I hadn’t learned that a crazy fan group of a rival actress had made threats against my mother’s life until I was much older. One of them had gotten pretty close to her at a photo shoot, armed with a gun. She had to leave town until the FBI could follow up on the leads and arrest the other members. She didn’t want to stay at our house and possibly lead them to me or my dad, so she went to the Caribbean for a few weeks.
The ringing of my phone pulls me back to the present.
I rub my eyes and sit up, grabbing my phone off of the nightstand. My heart leaps out of my chest when I look at the caller ID.
“Allie?” It’s Allie Forrester, Drew’s sister.
“What the heck is going on with you and my brother?” she asks loudly, her New England accent more pronounced than usual. If there’s one thing I learned about Allie, it’s that she doesn’t pull any punches.
“What do you mean?” I pretend not to know what she’s talking about.
Drew’s family is awesome. They’re loving and close and pretty much the perfect family. And they never ask about the gossip that’s printed about Drew, or me for that matter. They know that it’s almost always a bunch of lies. I hope she’s not calling me about the Adam Reynolds article.
“I mean, what in the heck are you doing halfway across the world from my brother? And what the hell is going on with him? He won’t talk to me. He also says he isn’t coming to the big annual fundraising ball for Inpatient to Learn! He never misses one, Sydney! I had to find out from Jane.”
“Huh? What ball?” I have no idea what she’s talking about.
“Sydney!” Allie whines in my ear. “Drew’s charity, Inpatient to Learn! It’s the biggest fundraiser they have each year and he says he isn’t going. We need him there to bring in bigger donors. I want to know what the hell is going on between you two that he’d willingly miss it.”
Drew started the charity years ago with his mom’s help. She had been forced to retire from teaching after Drew’s fame made it pretty much impossible to keep her job. Too many female fans were sneaking into the school to convince her that they should marry her famous son.
After quitting, she started volunteering at the Dana Farber Institute in Boston, tutoring the kids that had been in the hospital for months on end for their cancer treatments. Drew’s childhood friend had died from a brain tumor in his teens, so he wanted to help his mom turn her volunteer work into something bigger. His friend’s twin brother and parents run the charity with Drew’s mom.
“He said he isn’t going? But why?”
“He won’t say, Sydney. I never mention any of the shit that they print about him because it pisses him off, but you have to tell me. Did you guys break up?”
“I don’t know,” I answer her truthfully. “Allie, I can’t really talk about this in the hotel room. I think someone is recording my conversations.”
“What!” she shrieks.
I quickly explain the articles on the CelebCast website and tell her that Ryker hired someone to find the devices.”
“Ryker Bancroft,” she says flatly. “You really are hanging out with Ryker Bancroft in London.”
“Allie, no, it’s not like that. He’s dating my best friend.”
“I don’t care how you know him!” she screeches. “I can’t believe you get to hang out with Ryker Bancroft! Man, I am in the wrong line of work. He’s pretty hot, Syd. I’m totally jealous right now. I may even hate you a little,” Allie says sarcastically.
“I wish I could care about that. My life is pretty much shit, Allie.”
“That’s it. I’m coming to see you,.”” she states.
“What? You don’t have to do that!” If I pull Drew’s sister into the gaping black hole that swirls around me and something bad happens to her, Drew will never forgive me. Hell, I’ll never forgive myself.
“Sydney, you wouldn’t let me help after that freak show attacked you. You’re like a sister to me. I see how my brother looks at you and how he talks about you. If you’re important to him, then you’re important to me. I can’t get this week off but I’m coming next Monday. Make sure you have a couch or something for me to sleep on. We’re going to fix whatever’s going on between you and my brother and we’re going to find out who’s spying on you.”
Note to self, don’t mess with Allie Forrester.