Chapter 22

I called Paxton as soon as I made it to the school.

Paxton Reid was another famous friend of mine except he was in the music industry. He also happened to be one of Noland's favorite singers. Lucky for me, Paxton owed me a favor and so he came to the dance today to sing a few songs, then to hang out for the rest of the night.

"Hey, Pax, are you here yet?"

"Is it the place with a bunch of multi-colored lights and girls in tight dresses," he asked.

"Yup."

"Then, yes. I'm here. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Umm, do you see the big signs with the arrows pointing inside," I asked, balancing my phone on my shoulder so I could grab my clutch and turn off my car.

"Uhh, yes.

"You think the paps found out I'm here," he asked, giving me a worried look.

"I guess so because there's not normally this many of them," I groaned, frustrated that they had to be here tonight.

"Come on. Lets get inside before they spot us," Paxton said, grabbing my arm to pull me through the crowded doorway.

My bodyguard, Johnny, pushed through the crowd in front of us as we followed close behind.

"There she is," I heard someone shout.

I made the mistake of turning around and saw a hoard of photographers rushing over to Paxton and I.

"Excuse me," I heard Johnny yelling as he continued to push through the crowd.

"Miss Pinnock, is it true?"

"Do you have a twin?"

"Is Callan Wesley actually your brother?"

I would have stopped right there since I was so dumbfounded, but Paxton's hold on me kept me going.

Did Mom and Dad decided to tell the press? But why wouldn't they tell me they were telling the press?

We finally made it to an empty part of the hallway and I had a moment to put myself back together.

"Johnny, can you please escort Paxton to the stage in the gym. I have to make a quick phone call and then I'll meet you guys there," I said, smiling even though Johnny was giving me a look telling me he knew otherwise.

"Sure. We'll see you back there," Paxton nodded, following Johnny towards the crowded gym where a DJ was already blasting catchy music.

I quickly dialed Mom's number and impatiently waited as the dial tone played.

"Hi sweetie. The big dance is tonight isn't it," my mom answered in a cheerful voice.

"Yes Mom, but I need to know if you told the press about...our family," I said in a panic, pacing the glossy floors of the school hallway.

"Why would I do that," she scoffed.

"Well someone did," I grumbled, rubbing my forehead.

"WHAT! I'm calling your father. Stay on the line."

I heard a click then, I was left with my own thoughts.

What was I going to do?

****

After talking to my parents for a lengthy amount of time and then enlightening Johnny on the situation, I was ready to have a panic attack. They told me to go enjoy myself and that they would take care of it, but how could they when they were hundreds or maybe even thousands of miles away.

I sat against one of the beams in the hallway and waited for Cal to meet me. I tried to let him enjoy the dance as much as I could, but I felt like he really needed to know before he tried to leave.

"Hey, Rory. I got your message. What's going on," Cal asked, seeing the desperation and panic on my face.

"The press knows," I choked out, "About us and our family. And we have no idea how."

"We?"

"I called Mom and Dad and they said they would take care of it, but they're not here so how can they? I don't know what to do Cal," I cried wrapping my arms around my knees.

"Okay, no worries," Cal squatted down in front of me, "It's probably not as bad as it seems. I mean, so they know we're twins. So what? It could turn into a great story."

"No, you don't understand. They know why we were separated. They're going to twist that story into something nasty. It's going to affect everything, including mine, Mom's, and Dad's jobs. They could take away my role if they think I'm going to be unstable and bring a lot of drama. This is a nightmare," I explained, furiously wiping away the tears that poured from my eyes.

"Ohh..," he replied, finally seeing the enormity of the situation. "Do you know who told them?"

"No," I sniffed, "That's what Mom and Dad are trying to figure out."

As if one cue, my phone started ringing with Mom's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey Mom. What did you find out," I asked, putting the phone on speaker so Cal could hear.

"Well, I didn't get a clear answer since most people won't reveal their sources, but I did find out it's someone from your school. I'm sorry dear. That's all I know for now, but we're already working on damage control and your father and I will do a couple of interviews once the weekend ends."

"Thanks Mom."

I hung up the phone and looked to Cal for support.

"Who did you tell," he asked, giving me a sad look.

"Why do you suppose it was someone I told?"

"Because," he sighed, standing up, "the only person I told was Ashton, but I told him months ago. When I first found out. There would be no reason for him to tell now. So who did you tell," he asked again.

When all I could do was stare at the ground he received his answer.

"Honestly Rory how many times have I told you not to trust him?"

He groaned ran a hand through his hair.

"He's going to wish he never even met us," he muttered under his breath, pacing the hallway like I had been doing moments ago.

"How can we be sure it was even him? Mom just said it was someone from school. It could be anyone."

But even I started to doubt my feeble argument. Would Nol really do this to my family? I know he's angry with me so why not just take a jab at me instead of my entire family. That's just cruel.

"Rory! Hey! I've been looking for you all night."

The cheerful voice of Noland Milton nearly made me throw up.

"I can't believe you have the nerve to talk to her," Cal growled.

I was stuck in my spot, afraid of what would happen if I moved, afraid of what would happen if I didn't move.

"What are you talking about man," Noland asked, with a confused expression on his face.

"I'm talking about you selling us out to the press." Cal took a threatening step towards Noland.

I took that as my cue to stand up in case of any...complications.

"As always, you're full of crap, Wesley. I have no idea what you're talking about and neither do you," Noland spat back, stopping a couple of feet in front of Cal.

"We know you told the paparazzi about Rory and I being twins so just admit it."

"I will not because I didn't do that. She told me in confidence and I kept that," Noland sternly said, shifting his eyes from Cal's angry expression to my scared one.

I didn't know what to believe. My brain was going ten different directions trying to figure out who to believe, how to fix the situation, and so forth.

Noland looked so sincere that I cry nearly ran to him. I sorely missed his arms around me and I really needed his comforting words.

"Just like at the Halloween carnival," Cal sneered, taking another step forward.

Noland's face paled and my heart dropped. I had nearly forgotten about that, but now, Noland was confirming anything I pushed aside.

I must have been distracted by my own thoughts because the next thing I knew, Cal was balling up his fist to throw a punch.

"Hey. Hey," I yelled at the boys, as I stepped between them.

"Callan," I pleaded, putting my hands on his chest, "let's go home. Forget about him. Remember what's at stake with soccer."

After he had an intense stare down with Noland, he finally took my advice and stepped back.

"Yeah, you're right. I'd much rather beat him at his own game than here," Cal seethed with a look of disgust on his face.

He turned and walked over the the doors that would lead him into the dark night. Once I heard the door close, I looked up to see that Nol's face was much calmer than a few seconds ago and his eyes were trained on me.

"Noland," I finally said with a stern voice. "How could you? You know, you're the only one I told about Cal and I. I trusted you so much that I didn't feel the need to tell my best friends because I knew if you knew, then everything would be okay." I took a deep breath and muttered, "I can't believe how wrong I was."

I took another deep breath and continued, "Now that you've ruined my life for a while, I ask of one thing from you."

He nodded his head, as if anything he could do could make this better.

Here comes the hard part. I took a shaky breath then said, "I want you to leave me alone. Whatever we had before, you just ruined with your little publicity stunt. Don't call or text me and don't talk to me at school. And believe me, I won't make the effort to contact you. I knew you were eager to stay popular, and I could have lived with you using my status to boost yours, but since you brought my family into this, I can never forgive you. Maybe you were a little self-centered, but I never took you as a sell-out. But hey, there's a first time for everything right?"

My anger flared with each word I said out loud and there was no containing it.

I turned to walk away, as tears burned the back of my eyes, threatening to make an appearance. Before I could take a step forward though, he caught my wrist and turned me back to him.

"Rory, I would never do this to you. Just-Just give me a chance to explain," he pleaded.

I couldn't listen to him. His betrayal was so strong that I was afraid I was going to do as Cal had intended and hit him. Or worse, believe him.

"Noland, I'm tired of your lies. I believed you for so long. Too long. You know what,...I was actually falling for you," I laughed bitterly, "and you played me like a fool. Well, actually, I take the blame for that. It was my fault for allowing myself to think that you were actually someone I could trust or, gosh, I don't know, fall in love with. Don't worry though, I'll be much more careful giving my heart to just anyone next time."

I yanked my wrist out of his grasp, keeping a straight face even as he winced, and walked towards the door that started this all. The door that led me into the life of a normal and heartbroken teenager. The door that closed, but never really shut for the students that went through it. The door that separated the sheltered from reality. Unfortunately, I had to step onto the other side of the door and into the real world.

Back into my life.

****

No! Not my ship! I'm so sad that it's sinking and I'm the one writing it. 

The song is Amnesia by 5SOS.

xx