Free The Last Thing by Briana Gaitan

She turned and
ushered us into a private booth. The director, Jordan Danner, threw his hands
about wildly while explaining something to my publicist and manager, Rhea.
    Chloe glared at Quinn before sitting down. She must have
caught on to the way I kept staring at her.
     “Ya’ll have a nice meal,” she told Chloe. Chloe ignored her
and pulled on my arm to make sure I sat next to her. When Quinn turned to me,
her smile disappeared. Something flashed in her eyes, a look of hurt, not
jealousy. For the briefest moment, I detected a bit of guilt creep through me
for coming in here with another girl. I gave her a playful wink, causing her
faced to flush a slight pink before she turned and stomped away.
    “Chase, look at me. I need to get a few photos of you and
Chloe,” Rhea said. She had her phone out snapping photos. She’d proudly sell
these to a reporter with the headline “Chase and Chloe, Hollywood’s Hottest New
Couple” or something equally untrue.
    “Chase, put your arm around Chloe and cuddle up like you’re
having a good time,” she demanded. I obliged, only because she was always
trying to find a way to get me on the cover of a magazine. She did her job, and
I paid her well for it.  I attempted to smile for the photos but my mind kept
wandering back to Quinn. Chloe didn’t fit in my arms like Quinn did. Chloe felt
awkward and too small.  Quinn had seemed genuinely hurt and that tugged at a
part of me I didn’t know existed. No, I wasn’t supposed to care about girls’
feelings. So why did I care so much about hurting Quinn?

Chapter six
    Quinn
    It was pointless, but I hid out in the bathroom like a coward.
When Chase walked in with that stunning model on his arm, I wanted to reach out
and tear out her fake blonde hair. In the past ten minutes, I’d already thought
of fifteen different ways I could hurt her. Slip some laxatives in her food or
trip her as she walked out the door. Hollywood was Chase’s life, and I needed
this reminder of how different our lives really were. When he’d pretended not
to know who I was, I could almost feel the steam pouring out of my ears. After
I seated them, I’d told my manager I was going on break and then cried on the
toilet like a big baby. My pregnancy hormones were all over the place.
    I blew my nose with a tissue and dried my eyes. It wasn’t as
if I was expecting Chase to fall into my arms, but he’d treated me so coldly. If
we couldn’t even get along, how could we deal with a baby? I walked over to the
sink and splashed some cold water on my face. I willed myself to stop crying, walked
to the mirror and stared at my reflection.
    “You can do this, be strong. You don’t want to be that girl
again,” I said out loud. This constant reminder normally worked, but it was too
late.
     
    Bash threw one arm over my shoulders while the other held his
football helmet. I nestle into his shoulder and sigh.
    “Ready to go, baby?”
    I lean back to look up into his blue eyes. His long blonde
hair falls across his tanned face.
    “Can we go home?”
    “No way! This is a celebration. We won the game. One party
then I’ll take you home. I can’t sit still. Please?”
    I bit my lip. I don’t want him to go alone. Someone has to be
there to watch over him. The weight from my shoulder disappears. Startled, I
look around to find Bash gone.
    “Don’t leave me, Quinn.”
     His voice replays inside my head till I throw my hands over
my ears.  I’d forgotten for the briefest moment about that night. A little over
one year ago, the night that changed my life forever.  The football stadium
disappears and I find myself inside the car.
    Metal crunching, like nails on a chalkboard. The memory plays
on inside my head. Someone is screaming. I want to pull myself out of the
reminiscence, but I can’t. As the water fills up the space around me, I squeeze
my eye shut.  I have to break out of this memory…
    I’m pulled out of that night, out of that car, and into