15
The news cycle moved on, and things seemed to be calming down.
My work continued. My next project was a popular outdoor variety show.
While I was in makeup, the fire alarm in the backstage area suddenly went off. Smoke started to spread, anc chaos erupted.
In the confusion, someone dragged me into a small storage closet.
It was Cara.
She was wearing a hoodie, her face gaunt, a bruise on the corner of her mouth.
I calmly assessed the situation. She wasn’t holding anything. It seemed like she just wanted to talk.
“Ivy, you must be so proud, right? Resources, fame, love… everything is going your way.”
She was blocking the door. I found a cardboard box far away from her and leaned against it.
“There’s nothing to be proud of. Work, life… isn’t this just how it is?”
Cara looked at me and suddenly started to laugh. She laughed until tears streamed down her face.
“You probably don’t remember me. I was in the same group of girls sent to that party with you. But you were the one Clark took away. I was the one left behind in that room.”
“Sometimes I wonder, if Clark had chosen me that night, would things be different?”
“Do you have any idea how jealous I am of you? Why do you get to have everything, while I have to endure all of this? Why? I was just trying to earn some money for my brother’s medical bills…”
I was a little dazed. I didn’t remember Cara. There were a few girls in that room that night, but I never got a
clear look at any of them.
I looked at her. “How is your brother?”
Cara lifted her chin and wiped away a tear. “He’s dead.”
“He died before I could even make a name for myself.”
I looked out the window and sighed.
“I was luckier than you. If I hadn’t met Clark, I don’t know if I would have done as well as you, if I could have
stuck it out and made it to a B–list actress.”
“But I do know one thing. If I was already stuck in the mud, unable to save myself, I would never have dragg- ed anyone else down with me.”
Cara fell silent. I wondered if she was thinking of all the girls she had set up, the ones who were now trapped in that small, private room forever.
11/15
20.46
Chapter 2
20.47 B
“What do you know? If I didn’t do it, I would have been cast aside long ago. I’d be rotting somewhere b now.”
I didn’t say anything. I quietly moved towards the door. Cara watched me but didn’t stop me.
Lopened the door and heard her sigh.
‘People’s fates… they’re just different.”
I paused and looked back at her. She threw an envelope at my feet.
The wind from the window blew her long hair back. Her eyes were red, but she was smiling defiantly.
“Ivy, I really hate you. But you’re also the only one who would help me. See? The world is a funny place some times.”
“I don’t regret anything, and I won’t repent. I just want all those bastards to die.”
And with that, she climbed onto a box and jumped. In my shock, I was pulled into a warm embrace.
I don’t know why I was crying, but tears were streaming down my face.
