Ch19

The special edition of Celebrity hit the stands with a vengeance, featuring photos so juicy the hungry public arrived in droves to devour it.

So many scandalous images of the world's most favored young stars, caught in compromising positions they couldn't possibly talk their way out of. Pictures of a famous boy-band singer, having sex in public with the teenage daughter of one of Hollywood's most beloved and insanely hot-tempered producers. Photos of two well-known female starlets locked in an intimate embrace, clear to all their secret interlude would prgress to very imaginative lengths. Images of a Hollywood princess looking ragged and worn, so unlike her normally picture-perfect self. And finally numerous photos of a very talented and popular actor, mixed up in the shady underside of Hollywood. Images of him looking mighty cozy with an underage girl, and finally pictures of that same girl lying dead on a busy downtown street.

The double edition caused such a stir, entertainment reporters worked around the clock to hone in on the celebrities late-night activities. They scrambled to interview their friends, co-workers, dentists or dry-cleaners, anyone who had any kind of connection that might be able to shed some light on the situations in question. Had Jonathon Walters been aware of his promiscuous daughter's sexual escapades with pop-star Brooks Kennedy? How long had the covert love affair been going on between Ashton Montgomery and Juliana Santiago? Why did Claire Ryan look distraught and heartbroken, was it because she was savvy to her boyfriend's wrongdoings? Did Miller Bradley have anything to do with the death of a homeless teenager, the girl he so obviously knew on an intimate level?

Sales for the entertainment rag broke an all-time high, even topping the Deport-Justin-Bieber edition and the scandalous Food-Fight-At-The-Beverly-Hilton-Hotel-Pre-Grammy-Gala. No one could refuse a juicy Hollywood story, much less several juicy stories, involving a number of Hollywood royalty all sharing a very close connection . . . a little fact that did not go unnoticed by hard-core newshounds.

The grapevine was buzzing with all the latest gossip, and no one really cared about the lives that were affected in it's deceptive wake.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Miller's despondent attitude reached a new and frightening high as Claire's desire for him to loosen up crashed around her in an unexpected wave. Her boyfriend seemed even more detached than before. No longer was he running around at all hours of the day and night, working on the screenplay, in fact, she hadn't even heard him mention Runaway in days, which was very unusual in and of itself. Even Brooks had noticed Miller's unusual behavior, asking her if his friend was upset he was staying at their house, even though he'd been invited.

How could she respond? She had no idea what was going through Miller's head, he'd completely blocked her out. Claire tried to reassure Brooks that Miller's aloofness had nothing at all to do him, but she sensed his uncertainty in her explanation.

She sat on the patio trying to calm her nerves in the warm, late-morning sun when her cell phone began to ring out next to her.

Anna . . . She hoped she wasn't calling to come over, Claire just wasn't in the mood to look through scripts that day. She glanced down at the beach and watched Miller as he sat near the shore, throwing pebbles into the blue water of the Pacific. She couldn't force him to talk to her, so she'd have to wait until he was ready to speak up, whenever that might be.

Reluctantly, Claire answered the cell, ready to turn down her assistant's work proposal. "Hello, Anna," she said, impassively.

"Claire, are you at home right now?" her friend breathed into the phone.

"I am, but I'm really not in the mood to work today. I'm-"

"I'm not calling about work," she quipped, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Do you mind if I come over? I have something to show you."

Claire released a heavy sigh. The last thing she wanted at that moment was company. She had plans to spend the afternoon sitting on the back patio, spying on Miller down at the beach. "Is it important, Anna? I'm really not in the mood for company right now."

"It is, Claire. It's urgent. I wouldn't bother you otherwise."

With a roll of her eye, Claire leaned the back of her head against the soft cushions of the outdoor couch and turned her face toward the warm California sun. It wasn't like Anna to be so persistent. "Of course. I'll be here," she answered warily.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"What the hell have you been up to?" Vivian Landsbury demanded abruptly into the phone.

Juliana yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes. She hated being woken up, especially by an irate agent, in the early hours of the morning.

"What time is it, Vivian?" she asked sleepily.

"It's time for you to fess up. I am so sick and tired of you doing whatever the hell you want and leaving me to clean up your mess!"

Juliana sat straight up in bed. "What are you talking about, Vivian? I'm doing everything you asked. I haven't gone out clubbing, or even had a sip of alcohol in days! What more do you want from me?"

"I want you to stop whoring around! You're making a fool of yourself!"

The Spanish girl narrowed her almond-shaped eyes in confusion. "Vivian, I don't know what you're talking about," she responded, shaking her head. "I told you I've been very good all week. I never said this would be easy, but I'm doing the best I can! I have considered everything you've said to me and I want to save my career. I don't want to pose for Playboy like some past-their-prime has-been! I want to be a supermodel. A real, honest-to-God supermodel."

"Then stop acting like a strung out lesbian!" Vivian harshly scolded.

Juliana felt the blood drain from her face. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly. She'd never been with a woman before Ashton, and what they had was special-even if she hadn't yet confessed to her friend how much their relationship meant. And no one, not even Vivian, knew about the two of them.

"I mean the picture on the front page of Celebrity!" Vivian responded coldly. "The picture of you making out, and God knows what else, with that tramp Ashton Montgomery."

"Ashton is not a tramp! You'd better take that back!" A slow realization suddenly fell over Juliana and her pulse started to pick up speed. Celebrity?What did she just say?

"I'm not taking anything back. I should have known all along that Ashton was behind whatever it is you've been doing to yourself lately! She's been nothing but trouble since the day you two met. She's a spoiled, little princess. What's she got you doing, anyway? Drinking, drugging? Having sex with girls?" she venomously accused. "I should have put my foot down when I had the chance. I knew Paradise Cove wasn't right for you! If you hadn't done that stupid show you would have never met that troublemaker. You were so much better than some two-bit television drama."

Hot tears sprung to Juliana eyes, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Vivian, I had no real family once I moved here to California, and no friends! The only person I knew was you, and you're not exactly the nurturing, maternal type. I wanted to have a place where I felt I belonged. I wanted to know where I would be on a daily basis, not jumping around from photo shoot to photo shoot! I wanted to find people to love, who would love me in return. People who would help me forget that my family pimped me out so I could make money for them! And I found that on Paradise Cove. And I've found that with Ashton, too," she added quietly.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line while Vivian absorbed everything she'd said. Juliana had finally admitted it out loud.

And it was a weight off her shoulders.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Hey," Martin Berkovich began sheepishly as he stood on the threshold of Ashton's estate. "I know I should have called first, but I wanted to get here right away. May I come in, please?"

Ashton's eyebrows hitched together in confusion, wondering why he had shown up unannounced. It wasn't like Martin to be so spontaneous. "Of course," she said, stepping aside and letting him into the foyer. "Is everything alright? You seem a little out-of-sorts" She led him through the enormous house and into the spacious main floor sitting room. "Can I get you a drink? You look like you could use one," she admitted as she watched him fidget uncomfortably in front of her.

"No, I'm good, thanks," Martin began awkwardly. "Listen, have you seen the latest issue of Celebrity?"

Ashton noticed a thin layer of sweat collecting across his forehead. "You mean that entertainment magazine?" she softly snorted. "I never read those things. They're full of lies."

"Uh, yeah, I know. But this one sort of . . . hits close to home."

"Hey, if they printed something about you that's not true don't worry about it," she offered good-naturedly. "Everyone will forget by next week. Besides, you know what they say, bad publicity is better than no publicity!"

​Martin toyed nervously with the paper he was carrying. "It's not about me, Ashton. It's about you." He handed over the wrinkled magazine and quickly looked down at his feet.

"Me? What could they possibly say about—" Ashton was suddenly silent as she stared at the image on the front cover. It was her and Juliana, locked in a steamy embrace. She glanced up at Martin and found him watching her with an apprehensive expression plastered across his face.

"I, uh, don't believe it for a second, of course," he began. "The things photographers can do with Photoshop these days. Unless-this picture is real . . ?" his voice trailed off with uncertainty.

Ashton's mouth went dry. Martin was just being nice; it was quite obvious the photo was real. She swallowed hard, trying to relieve her parched throat. "Martin," she offered, but didn't know what to say. Somehow, any intelligent response completely evaded her.

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything, Ashton. It's obvious by the look on your face that it's true."

How will everyone fair in the aftermath of Celebrity? Find out in Chaper 20!

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(Chapter 19 approx. 1,755 words)