Chapter 13: Chapter Seven-2

The pictures are of us kissing. I need to mentally tuck this moment under “another awkward moment with Lee” in my head. It’s always awkward with Lee. I slowly pick up the pictures and go through them. I’m speaking in some, Lee’s glaring at me in others, but to others it might look like an affectionate look. Lee reaches into his pocket again—surprise, surprise—and pulls out the new iPhone. What’s he doing? Showing off? I send him a glare but he doesn’t catch it. He’s tapping against his phone. He comes closer so our shoulders are touching and says, “Look at this.” Lee plays the video. It’s loud at first—many voices all at once—but then all you hear are flashes from cameras. I realize that it’s me standing with Lee at last night’s party while reporters shove questions at my face. There are small recorders surrounding Lee and I. I say one sentence. “Yes, we are dating.”  That’s all I say but it causes more flashes and people surrounding us. Suddenly, I kiss Lee in the video for a good five seconds. I gasp. “Holy. Shit.” My hands are covering my mouth. Lee takes his phone away and stuffs it back into his pocket, his face smug. My hand is still covering my mouth. How—why did I kiss Lee? What was I thinking! I promised I wouldn’t do anything. I broke so many rules with Lee! Lee… He’s really going to kill me, now. I look over at him. He’s still smirking at me, clearly enjoying all of this. He’s going to make me pay. I know it. “What do you want?” “What do you mean? I told you that you can’t give me anything,” he says, crossing his arms. It’s kind of weird looking at him without his fancy business suits. “Then what’s the problem?” “Keep your promise.” He takes out another piece of paper from his pocket and I seriously doubt how many things he keeps in there. “This,” he indicates, holding the paper out, “is the contract we signed yesterday.” “Did you steal that from my purse?!” I protest, which he ignores. “You promised you’d only bother me one last time before leaving me alone. Time to pay up. I was your boyfriend for one night. And you’re the one who broke up all the rules,” Lee says. “The least you can do for me is to leave me alone.” I stare at him and slowly nod. Am I really that much of a nuisance? I can’t help but feel… hurt. “I can’t have these stupid reporters and rumors messing up my business strategies. I’ve worked too hard,” Lee continues. He runs both hands through his hair—looking stressed for the first time. “You want me to leave?” I ask, masking my voice of hurt. “Yes.” He didn’t even hesitate. “Oh,” is all I say before going back to the guest room. I get out of my stupid dress and change into jeans, and a long-sleeved white shirt. I remove all the crusty make-up from my face and apply a fresh coat of mascara only. I pick up all the clothes off the floor and stuff it in the suitcase. Most of my things are in my bags already but I still pack some things in. I put everything in my bags angrily. Why am I so angry he wants me to leave? So what he wants me to leave? It was going to happen sooner or later. I throw my makeup in my bag harshly. That’s right, I say to myself. This shouldn’t affect me. He helped me, and now I need to return the favor by leaving. I nod in agreement to my thoughts as I zip up all my suitcases. Fixing all the suitcases by the door, I make the beds and clean the room. I even leave a note that says: Thanks for the help, Lee. He’ll get to read it whenever he finds it. I leave the note on the nightstand and wheel my suitcases to the living room where Lee stands. “I’ve booked a room for you. It’s a bigger room than usual but it’s the only one open right now. Hope that’s okay with you?” he says, holding a key out for me to take. I snatch it and shove it in my back pocket. Lee arches his eyebrow at me. I glare back and pull my hair into a ponytail. It had started irritating me.  I grab my suitcases by the handle. “Is that all?” Lee seems a bit taken back. “Um, yeah.” “Great. Goodbye,” I say without even looking at him. I drag my suitcases out of his suite and down the hall and to wherever the hell room number 219 is. I end up in a room a floor above Candy’s. It’s big with a queen-sized bed and everything. There’s a small fridge and TV, and a decent sized bathroom that’s really clean. I catch up with the class and the teacher goes over the activities we’re going to do for the rest of the week: go see the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and all that jazz. It’s actually fun. I even partially forget about Lee. Everything is fun and games, so far. I see Lee only once. It’s the last day of the trip. The day I go back to Brownwood—the most boring town of all. I’m getting my bags ready and eating with Candy before Mr. Hopkins calls us down to get on the bus. “Ivory, where is the chocolate pudding?” Candy asks as she raids my fridge, the third time since she’s been in my room. “I can’t find it.” “You’re going through my fridge again?” I ask, getting my headphones ready for the long bus ride I’ll have to endure with the obnoxious people from my class. “Well, not everyone has a fridge and small TV in their room!” she exclaims. She grabs a soda instead. “You’re so lucky! Why don’t you take advantage and just take all of the food? It’s our last day.” “Only you would consider that.” Candy grins as the door opens. I silently hope it’s Lee, but it’s just a girl from our class. “The buses are ready! We’re leaving now.” “Okay!” Candy yells back as the girl leaves. We grab our suitcases and Candy grabs a few more snacks before we go down to the lobby to meet up with the rest of the class. The large lobby is filled with many people. I see our group of students near the doors. There’s another tiny group of people standing next to our group. It’s Lee and some people surrounding him. He’s talking about some business things that I can’t understand but when I pass by—our eyes lock. It’s just a split-second but it feels like slow motion. But, I pass by and he goes back to his conversation. Our class loads up the buses outside and I give Lee one last glance before getting up in the treacherous bus.