Free The Tour by Shelby Rebecca

think you’re going to be just fine,” Dr. Wilshire says before turning toward me. “How are you, Mia? I know you got caught up in a mob today at the mall. Did you get hurt at all?”
    “No. They were just taking pictures. Somebody pulled my hair, but that was the worst of it.”
    “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” she answers, pausing a little too long while she looks me over. “I mean, not about the hair pulling incident. I’m glad to hear you’re okay and unharmed.” It’s forced and weird, like she’s trying too hard for me to like her. It irritates me.
    I keep stirring the noodles. They slither around in the oil making a wet sliding sound that makes me just as uneasy as she does. She clears her throat. “Nice to meet you,” she adds, looking at me. “Nice to meet all of you ladies. I’ll go tell the men they can come back in. Everyone’s decent.” She winks, and I feel one side of my lip curl up in a sneer. She trips over the rug by the front door before she gets it open.
    Yep. She cheated on Carl with Kolton. She’s dying for me not to know. Freaking bitch.
    I file that away in my mental filing cabinet. If she ever pisses me off, I’m calling Carl Wilshire. I enter the phone number she left on the counter into my phone under the contact, Carl Cheater Bitch , and I hate myself a little for wishing her all kinds of harm on her trip to LA.
    This jealousy is not a healthy feeling. It feels slimy, like the noodles.
    All I eat for dinner is the salad.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Growing Up

    I help Riley get into her pajamas after donning my own. Deloris is going to sleep on the small twin bed that used to be Kolton’s when he was little, but Riley decides to camp out on the floor. We found her a sleeping bag in the garage a little earlier, and when we pull it out of its special green bag and fluff it up, she jumps inside like she’s really camping in the wilderness. I love that when you’re a little kid, you can still find time to play in any circumstance. It’s such an innocent quality. I love that about her.
    We don’t have her night light anymore, and she hasn’t been asking for it in the hotel. It seems she forgot she was afraid of the dark. While her breathing slows, and Deloris starts to snore lightly, I take notice of the blue painted dresser under the window, the closet with little boy clothes still on hangers, and the toys in bins in the corner. It’s like a time capsule. I wonder if he’ll ever be able to move these things out of here. But why would he want to? Other than if he decides to move here permanently.
    Once I’m sure Riley’s asleep, I walk into the hallway and battle with myself about where I should sleep. With the guy who slept with Carl’s wife some time ago, or somewhere else. I don’t really feel comfortable sleeping in Kolton’s bed anyway. We’ve never had that type of relationship before. I slept in his room just one night before the fantasy ended. I don’t even know if he wants me with him or not. I’m betting on not. He’s still angry with me after the incident at the mall.
    I go back out to the living room where Devon and Manny are watching the news—the bad news, that is, because all the news ever reports on are bad things. When they see me, they turn the channel. Kolton must have told them I’m not allowed to find out about what happened on TV. It’s freaking hopeless.
    As I stand here, I don’t know what to do. I check the kitchen. It’s clean, so I have no excuse to be out here ‘helping out’. I sit down at the table and pull out my phone and answer a couple texts from Kaya. She’s worried about me, so I let her know we got out of the mall, and we’re fine. All I’m missing are a few pieces of hair… and my dignity. I check Twitter and put in my name for the search.
    I scroll through post after post, going back to this morning when I was at the mall. Sure enough, people had spotted me. They’d taken pictures and posted them. Some of the images had nice