The First Love Anthology: A collection of novellas Page 8

  I sit up and hold out the phone, which is still buzzing in my hand. “It might be important if she keeps calling you.”

  He runs a hand down his face, and then pushes up on his elbows. “I’m just not in the mood to talk to a family member right now. Not when I’m all worked up from your crazy hot body.”

  I would blush if I wasn’t staring at the twelve unread texts from his phone. “You should really read these,” I say, holding out the phone. “It looks important.”

  He takes the phone and it makes his face glow in the dim light. I watch his expression go from annoyed to shocked, to something worse as he reads through them.

  “Crap,” he says, standing up. He looks around like he’s expecting a bear to jump out and get us. But of course, there are no bears in this part of Texas, so why is he so freaked out?

  “Clay?” I say, standing up next to him. “What is it?”

  “We have to go.” He grabs his car keys from his pocket and pushes me toward his car, leaving all of the picnic stuff on the ground. “We’ve been spotted.”

  Chapter 8

  I am obsessed with the internet now. I spend hours on our family laptop, sitting in my room, hovering over the screen. Even though the connection is so slow it makes being online a pain, I can’t help myself. I spend that whole night on the computer, totally consumed.

  I look at the pictures of us until I have them memorized.

  Clay and me sitting on a blanket looking out at the lake. You can’t see who I am because my back it to the camera. Whoever took these photos was hiding out on the walking trail behind us. But you can see Clay. His head is turned and he’s smiling at me.

  The next shot shows us kissing.

  The third one shows me on top of him, his hands on my butt.

  I am mortified and angry.

  I thought it was horrible when I heard what hackers had done to Clay and his mom, but now that I’m experiencing the same sort of internet exposure, it’s even worse than I imagined.

  So what happened was that some asshole took pictures of us, then they sent them to the Jonny C fan site. At first, I was horrified because it’s embarrassing, but then I quickly realized how bad it actually was, and what it actually meant.

  Someone in Spockle knows Clay is Jonny C.

  There is only one good thing, one tiny scrap of positivity here. The anonymous emailer only said that this was taken in a small Texas town. They didn’t put my name, and they didn’t specify which town.

  Clay thinks this should hopefully buy us some time to plant more fake images in Ohio, but I’m not so confident. My town might be small, but if any of the people I go to school with happen to see this photo, they might recognize the lake. After all, this lake is pretty much the only place to hang out at during the summer.

  I feel like Clay’s life is perched on the edge of a ticking time bomb and at any moment I’ll be working at the diner and a hoard of teenage girls will show up looking for him.

  Three days later, our town is still quiet, but I’m not feeling any better about it. Clay acts like he’s fine, but I know he’s worried.

  I wake up too early for work, since I’m pretty sure I didn’t sleep last night, and instead of trying to get some sleep, I open up the laptop again.

  It’s the comments about me that are the worst part.

  I’m called east, and a ho, and a skank. I get death threats from thirteen-year-old girls.

  I mean, I’m pretty sure they’re just ranting online, but reading the words, I hope this ho dies for stealing Clay from me is not a good way to wake up.

  I’m glad I’m not really recognizable in the photos. All you see is my hair, and many girls have long brown hair. But Clay is definitely Clay. Or Jonny C as the fans know him. There’s no escaping that.

  Jonny C is in Texas, not Ohio, and this sucks.

  Clay doesn’t show up at the diner today. I work my whole shift like a zombie, because I’m sleep deprived and I can’t stop worrying about his safety, But when I get home, Clay is waiting on my porch.

  “I told him he could wait inside,” Mom says as I let him inside my house. “He was a gentleman though, and he wanted to wait for you outside.”

  I like that my parents like Clay. I like that Clay’s mom, Mary, likes me. And I hate how I can’t stop thinking that they’ll move away if someone finds out where they’re living now.

  In my room, I close the door and turn to Clay. He slowly walks up and wraps his arms around me. We stand like this for a long moment, just holding each other in the middle of my bedroom.

  Finally, he sighs.

  “The comments are only getting worse.”

  “I’m getting death threats,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  He snorts. “Don’t worry about those. It’s just talk.”

  “I know. What I’m really worried about is that some jerk here in town knows who you are. Why haven’t they said anything?”

  His lips press into a thin line. He sits on my bed and sinks his head in his hands. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. I mean, this place is so small, and whoever took those pictures could be sitting next to us in the diner every day, for all we know.”

  I groan. “I hadn’t thought of that. Ugh. I hate people. Who could have done this? Do you feel like you’re being followed? I feel like whoever took the pictures would want to take more, you know?”

  He nods. “I was thinking the same thing. But no one even looks at me in the diner. No one follows my car home. This street only has our two houses, so no one even drives down here but my mom and your parents.”

  I heave sigh. “I hate this.”

  He takes out his phone. “I’m so desperate, I even tried searching if there was a way to see who created an Instagram profile.”

  I sit next to him. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, the pictures were posted to a new account. I wondered if I could figure out who made the account.”

  “They were?” I’m not really sure what Instagram is, really. I mean I know it’s social media, but that’s about it. “I thought they were sent to that same fan site that posted your cousin’s pictures.”

  “Nope. They were first posted on Instagram, but the fan site has people scanning the internet constantly, so they found them pretty quick and then reposted it to their website.”

  He scrolls through his phone and then shows it to me. There’s an account that’s only posted three photos, the same three of us at the lake. The photos I’ve seen a million times by now.

  The account hasn’t followed anyone, but they have over a hundred thousand followers. They also haven’t posted anything else.

  But then I see the username and a cold chill runs up my spine.

  “Clay,” I say, grabbing his wrist. “I know who did this.”

  Chapter 9

  LiliesInTheGarden

  There is one person in my life who lives Lilies. Did she make that Instagram username on purpose so I would know that it was her? Or was it used out of habit for her love of the flower and she didn’t realize it? Maybe she thought I’d forgotten. But I’d never forget something like that. She was my best friend for far longer than she was my enemy.

  The next day I tell my dad I need a long lunch break, and then I drive across town to Risha’s house. I used to come here almost every day, and if I wasn’t at her house then she’d be at my house. We were inseparable best friends. Until Jake ruined it all.

  Only Risha’s car is in the driveway, which is what I’d hoped for. Her parents are at work so they won’t witness what’s about to go down.

  My heart thunders in my chest but I take a deep breath and force myself to get out of my Jeep and walk up to her front door. I’m doing this for Clay and his mom. I have to be strong.

  Her expression stiffens when she opens the door and sees me standing there. She doesn’t say anything.

  “Can I come inside?” I ask.

  I can tell she wants to say no, maybe even slam the door in my face, but we have a history and it’s h
ard to say no to that. She steps backward and lets me into the living room.

  It still smells like cinnamon, just like it always does. Risha folds her hands over her chest and stares at me. “What?”

  “You have to take those photos down,” I say.

  She doesn’t even try to deny it. “That’s probably too late. They’re all over the internet now.”

  I inhale through my nose. She’s right. Removing her fake Instagram account won’t do anything anymore. The pictures have been saved and spread around on thousands of other social media accounts.

  “Risha…” I say, realizing I came over here full of anger but no plan.

  “What do you want me to do?” she says. “I could told everyone your name, but I didn’t. So you’re welcome.”

  “That’s not why I’m here,” I say. “It doesn’t matter that I’m in those photos, despite the fact that I’ve been getting death threats from them.”

  Risha’s eyes widen in horror. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah,” I snap. “It’s terrifying. And it sucks that you blasted Clay, but what’s worse is that someone will figure out where that lake is, and it’ll happen soon.”

  “So what?” she says, throwing her hands in the air. “He’s famous. He loves the attention.”

  I grit my teeth. “You have no idea what you’ve done, Risha. His mother was under attack. He was under attack. Their lives are at stake here, and they went into hiding so that they could be safe. He’s just trying to live a normal life away from the public and you went and showed the whole world where he lives!”

  She takes a step backward, regret sliding over her face. “I didn’t say where the photo was taken.”

  “It doesn’t matter!” I say. “People will find out. It’s already been online for a whole night, so some idiot we go to school with might have even recognized the lake by now. And once that happens, his crazy fans will appear in droves and ruin our town and ruin his life and he’ll have to move again.”

  She looks at the floor.

  “I know you hate me, and I know you were trying to embarrass me or whatever, or maybe you’re jealous that I met a guy I care about, but Risha, I had no idea who he was when we met. I liked him for who he is. And he likes me. And now it’s all over.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says, her voice thick. “I didn’t know. I was just pissed.”

  “But why?” I say, my voice louder than I mean for it to be. “Why does it matter if I like a guy? You can’t keep hating me for what Jake did.”

  I stare at her until she looks up at me. “I didn’t like Jake. I never did. He kissed me, or he tried to, and I pushed him away.” Tears flood into her eyes but I keep talking. “It was his decision. His fault. He kissed me, and yet I’ve been suffering for it ever since. You’re my best friend, Risha. This is killing me.”

  She blinks and a tear falls from her cheek. “You’re right,” she says after a long pause. “Guys always think you’re prettier than me, and, I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

  “Guys are just jerks sometimes,” I say. “Jake was an idiot. I’m sorry, but he was. You’ll find someone better.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Not in this town.”

  “You never know,” I say, gnawing on my bottom lip. “Sometimes boys just show up.”

  She laughs. “I can’t believe you’re dating Jonny C.”

  “I didn’t even know who that was,” I say with a chuckle.

  “I didn’t know until a few weeks ago when Chelsea was talking about him. Apparently, she follows him online and he stopped posting so it was crazy drama for his fans.”

  “How many people did you tell?” I ask as a knot forms in my stomach. The fans could be on their way to find Clay now.

  She shrugs. “No one. I was out on the trails walking my neighbor’s dog when I saw you and him out there. I posted the photos but I didn’t tell anyone.”

  I sigh. “I guess that doesn’t matter, because they will find out soon.”

  My heart hurts with the pain of knowing Clay and his mom will have to leave again. I give Risha a tight-lipped smile. “I guess I’ll be back to being single again.”

  She shakes her head. “No…there has to be a way to fix this. Honestly, I didn’t know how famous he was until after I posted the photos. Oh my God, Shelby, have you seen his following online?”

  I snort. “Yeah. It’s insane.”

  “I’m so sorry, Shell.” She steps closer and opens her arms, a tentative gesture for a hug. I am so ready to put this feud behind us, so I grab her and hug her tightly because she’s my best friend and I missed her so much.

  “We can fix this,” Risha says. She turns and grabs her phone from the couch. “I’ll post more photos and say they were taken at a different lake. We’ll send them somewhere else.”

  I frown. “That might work.”

  “I’ll say he was camping and he stayed for two nights and then left.”

  My eyes widen. “That’s actually a good plan…we can have Clay’s cousin post more photos in Cleveland and it’ll make the fans forget about the lake.”

  “Huh?” she says.

  I explain how we set up the fake Wal-Mart photos, and Risha nods eagerly. “That’s brilliant. Let’s do it at other places like McDonald’s, because they’re also everywhere.”

  We set up a plan, thinking of all the chain stores within an hour or two drive from here. I can’t wait to go home and tell Clay all about our plan.

  “Do you think this will work?” I ask her as I’m leaving.

  “You said he’s out of school, right?” she says. “He won’t be recognized if he changes his hair and stays away from groups of teenagers. Especially in this town.”

  I smile. “Yeah, you’re probably right. And hopefully in a few months this whole thing will blow over.”

  “Yeah, and then when the drama has died down, you have to get him to take us out on his yacht.”

  “His what?”

  She laughs. “Girl did you not do your research? Boy has a yacht.”

  “Wow.” I guess it does make sense. He was making a lot of money from being a social media superstar. I grin as I think of the possibilities. “I’ll ask him about that.”

  “Girl, he’s crazy about you,” Risha says. “He’ll do anything you want.”

  “Hey,” I say, turning back to her. “I’m glad we’re friends again.”

  She smiles. “Me too.”

  Chapter 10

  1 week later

  I shift the tray of brownies over to my other hand. I didn’t wait as long as I should have for them to cool down, so now the tray is uncomfortably hot. I tap on the door of the house next to mine and wait.

  Mary opens the door, her hair messy and curly around her face. “Shelby! How are you?”

  “I’m good,” I say with a grin. “I brought you some brownies.”

  She puts a hand to her chest. “Girl, you are an angel. Come on in. I think Clay is in the shower, but you can wait for him.”

  Clay and I have a date tonight. After changing his wardrobe from trendy designer clothes, to jeans and a flannel (which happens to look really cute on him), Risha and I dyed his hair light brown, which was a big difference from his natural dark hair. Then he got it cut short and although it no longer hangs messily over his eyes like he’s some kind of sexy rock star, he’s still cute. He wears sunglasses whenever we go places and no one seems to notice him. So far, our fake Cleveland photos have been a success, and no one has come around here looking for the infamous Jonny C.

  Mary takes a brownie and bites into it. “How do you make these so good?” she says, shaking her head.

  “Secret family recipe,” I say.

  She laughs. “Well, as long as I have a steady supply from you, I think I’ll survive.”

  We chat about my job at the diner, and how she wants to find a job just to give her something to do.

  She heaves a sigh and reaches for another brownie. “Clay told me that you had no idea who he was when you met us that firs
t day.” She smiles. “I think it’s refreshing that some teenagers don’t live on the internet.”

  I shrug. “Sometimes I wonder what I’m missing, but I like my simple life.”

  She nods. “Totally. The fame and the money was fun. Well, don’t get me wrong—money is always fun—but, the fame is something else. You think you like it, and then suddenly you don’t. You realize it’s horrible and you wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy.”

  I just listen, because I have no idea how to relate to this. Mary reaches over and squeezes my arm. “You’re a special girl. Clay was so popular for so long, and he had girls lining up for miles to date him, but he never did date any of them.”

  I feel weird hearing this, like I’m being let into a secret part of his life that he hasn’t shared with me yet. I guess I just assumed he’d probably had a million girlfriends.

  “Really?” I say.

  She nods. “Oh yeah. You’re the first girl he’s brought home. He’s different with you. He really likes you.”

  “I really like him,” I admit.

  She winks at me and then covers the brownies with foil. “I have to put these away or I’ll eat them all at once.”

  Clay walks into the room, smelling like shampoo and boy. “Hey,” he says, grinning at me. I grin back, and probably turn totally red when he kisses me on the cheek in front of his mom. “You ready?”

  “Yep,” I say.

  We tell his mom goodbye and then Clay holds my hand as we walk to his car. When we get there, he stops me from opening my door. “Thank you,” he says.

  “For what?” I say, looking up at him. I press my hand to his chest because I like the feel of his heartbeat, how it’s faster when he’s close to me.

  “For everything you’ve done to help me look like a normal guy and not some famous YouTuber.”

  “Well,” I say, sliding my finger down his chest. “Part of it was selfish, because I want to keep you all to myself.”

  He kisses me, his lips taking a long time to pull away from mine. “You’ll never have to worry about that,” he says, kissing me quickly on the forehead. “I’m all yours. Every single part of me, the famous, and the un-famous. And especially the secrets.” He grins and I wrap my arms around his neck.