Chapter 10, Milo

My next public appearance with Esmeralda is supposed to be tomorrow night, and we haven't spoken since last Friday, the night we kissed in Paris, and I told her it was a mistake.

I slept on the floor, that night.

The following morning, she didn't talk to me at all, as we packed our things and reached the airport. She didn't even bother to look my way.

She chose to take a seat as far away from me as possible, and pretended to sleep for half the flight.
She called a cab to take her home.

More than a month has already passed since the first time I saw her after two years and I still cannot believe that I am now supposedly dating her.

I enter my apartment and close the door behind me. I take my jacket off and proceed to unbutton my shirt.

I already feel exhausted from the long day of work that I've had. I had three reunions with the casting crew to repeat some of the scenes.

I love acting, I feel like it's such a good way of expressing yourself and your feelings, and being a celebrity obviously means we have to act or lie sometimes, so making movies, and TV shows make me feel free of all of that pressure because everyone knows you're acting.

My parents weren't as enthusiastic to see me chose this path, but since my brother Ellis is the one taking care of the multiple companies they own, and is the business man they've always wanted me to be, they keep their opinions to themselves.

Speak of the devil, I find him in the living room, watching TV. He must have let himself in with the key I gave him when I first moved in.

"No girl tonight ?" He asks me in form of greeting.

"No." Is my only answer.

The truth is I haven't fucked any girl since the night before the charity gala. I haven't even thought about it in a long while, which is quite unusual for me. Every time I look at a girl all I do is compare her to a certain someone that I can't get out of my mind, and it really is starting to piss me off.

My attraction to Esmeralda Hernandez is more of a curse than anything. I am not a stupid teenager anymore and I will not deny that I find her more than attractive, but again, I went down this road almost three years ago and it did not end well for either of us. I am not planning on repeating history anytime soon.

I sit on the sofa next to my brother, who looks concerned, and above all angry.

"What's wrong ?" I question him. I haven't seen him this troubled in a long while.

He sighs, passing his hands on his face.

"Cleo York is wrong." He says.

"Esmeralda's best-friend ?" The confusion on my face must be pretty obvious because he nods his head, sighing again.

My guy's really going through it.

"She gave me her number during the charity gala, and we met up the day after and had a few drinks in a bar."

"Did you fuck her ?"

His head whips towards me.

"Don't talk about her like she's one of them." I immediately understand who "them" is. The one-night-stands we throw out of our houses the moment we are done with them.

"So she isn't ?" I push, wanting to know what the hell is wrong with him. Ellis never gets attached to women, I don't even remember the last time he was in a serious relationship.

"No she isn't. I knew it from the moment I met her. And to answer your question, no I didn't fuck her." His tone doesn't leave anything else for discussion.

"What about you and Esmeralda. How's that fake dating going?"

Ellis is the only one in my family that knows that our relationship is fake. I did not want to tell my parents because they would ask me why I don't actually date her and I would have to explain what went down between the two of us, so for now, I let them think that I am happily paired with my nemesis.

"It's fine, I mean we don't talk unless we need to make an appearance or something." I try to be brief but as always, my brother sees right through it.

"Do you still have feelings for her ?"

Straight to the point, brother dearest.

I think for a short moment and decide not to lie.

"I don't think these things ever really go away."

He nods, looking at me understandingly, then hands me the bottle of bourbon I didn't notice he was holding.

I practically snatch it away from him, and don't even bother with a glass, drinking directly from it.

The liquid burns my throat and I swallow past it.

Ellis' phone rings in his hand, and he blinks twice when he looks at the caller's ID.

He immediately answers, and looks extremely panicked, trying to process what the person he's calling is saying.

"Hey, hey, calm down baby. Take a deep breath. Right there. Okay, now tell me what's wrong."

I try to hide my surprise, but my brows cannot help but raise as my brother tries to calm the panicking woman on the phone.

"Send me your location. We'll be there in a few minutes. Call 911 in the meantime."

911 ? And why did he say we'll be there ? Is this about someone I know ?

He hangs up and turns to look at me with a look that I've never seen before on his face.

Worry, pity, dread. I can see all of that on my older brother's face.

Nausea churns in my stomach as I wait for him to tell me what is going on.

He takes a deep breath.

I thought I knew what fear was, but it is nothing compared to the way I felt when he said two words that made my heart fall all the way down to my stomach.

"It's Esmeralda."