Back in the comfort of my favorite cafe, I lean my forehead against the steel table in the back room. I've been back three days already, but I can't seem to get ahead on sleep.

Zara and Oliver kept me busy the extra few days I was in LA. We had three days straight of shooting, each shoot consisting of five different models, and lasting almost twelve hours each. I had no idea make up and hair could even take so long, especially when the shoot aimed to keep our faces looking pretty bare. Never mind the time it took to get in and out of the outlandish outfits Zara and Oliver's designer friend put together. His name was Royale and he barely spoke to me or the other girls when he was on set. Supposedly, he was a genius in the fashion world. My opinion? Kind of a jerk.

The other girls were nice enough. There was a mix of newbies like me and some of Oliver and Zara's favorite girls - the girls who had been doing it awhile mainly kept to themselves, whereas the newer girls chatted amongst ourselves. One of the girls, who went by Alessandra, had a similar story to mine. She hadn't really planned on being a model, but Oliver and Zara found her as their waitress at a high end restaurant. She had dark, wild curls that framed her bold face - round, dark eyes, full lips, a strong nose and heavy brow.

She also told me that Joel, the photographer from my shoot, had asked her to drinks, too. I decided I wouldn't tell Beau that he was right about him, after all.

The shoots would be hitting print and online sometime later this week, and despite trying to put it out of my mind, I'm nervous. Surprisingly, I'm not scared at all about how the photos will look, or how I'll look in them. Instead, I can't help but worry about how everyone in town will react to seeing my image broadcasted like that.

"How's my new A-list celebrity?" Nadine saunters into the back room, a huge smile on her face.

"Nadine!" I rush forward to give her a hug, not realizing how much I've missed her until actually seeing her.

She pulls back and takes a look at my face. "You're not hiding your freckles today."

I shrug. "I thought I'd give my skin a break."

"I've been keeping up with you, you know? People follow you and that boy everywhere," she grabs her phone and shows me the screen. She flips through Instagram accounts sharing paparazzi shots of Beau and me in LA last week. I groan, I'm still not used to having people follow me around, and it startled me every time I noticed someone taking a photo with their phone. "You just be careful. You look beautiful, by the way." She gives me another small hug before returning to the front of the cafe.

I yawn and pull out my phone, having a few more minutes left to my break. Pulling up Beau's Instagram, I smile at the photo of us from after the concert at the top of his page. My fingers freeze above the screen. The comment section reveals a mix of excited fans and others less than happy that Beau isn't single. I scroll through, reading dozens of nasty comments about myself, some flat out threatening.

I look through my own notifications under my recent selfie with Beau. My pulse quickens as I read more and more horrible comments - calling me nasty names, threatening me, making fun of the freckles. Involuntarily, my hands raise to cover my cheeks.

I take a deep breath and tell myself to stay calm. Walking myself through the steps, I set my account to private and use the rest of my break blocking accounts that left aggressive comments or messages.

See? I tell myself. It's all fine.

"Emma?" Nadine pops her head back through the doorway. "We could use you up at the counter," noticing my expression, she halts before returning to work. "Are you okay?"

I force a smile on my face, pushing the negative thoughts from my mind. "Great." I reply, tying my apron around my waist and making my way to the counter.

***

"What're we doing tonight?" Beau looks up from his phone and grabs his coffee from my hand, just a few minutes before my shift ends.

I squirm uncomfortably under his gaze. There's a reason I haven't told him my plans for this afternoon - partly because I'm not sure what his reaction will be but mostly because I feel guilty. I've been putting this visit off for way too long, and even if I have been busy, that's no excuse. "I've got some family stuff," I admit vaguely.

Beau squints his eyes at me suspiciously. "So I tell you my family shit and you keep yours to yourself? No fair, Emma." He takes a sip of his coffee, maintaining puppy-dog eye contact with me.

His guilt trip does the trick. "I'm just visiting my grandmother, it's nothing." I shrug and scrub the old counter for the millionth time to avoid his gaze.

"If it's nothing, then I'll come with." He smirks.

I shake my head. "Beau, really, I think I should go alone."

Beau's face turns serious. "Come on, Em. You know the shittiest stuff about me, you've got to give me something." The look in his eyes makes me agree - he's right. He opened up to me, and even if he didn't, I could find anything I needed to know online. He's vulnerable and I'm safe hidden behind my walls.

"Fine, but I'm driving."

The ride over was quiet, with the exception of Beau flipping through the radio channels and grumbling that "You can't even find good music in this town." As we pull into the long driveway, my stomach tightens, wondering how Beau will behave once we're inside.

I look to Beau once I'm parked. "This is a nursing home," He notes, peering out the windshield. The building is dated, but well maintained with a green lawn, outside seating areas, and lots of gardens with flowers and vegetables. The home only houses about one hundred residents, each with their own room and bathroom. Inside, they have a game room, living room with a TV, and a dining hall. It's a nice place, I just wish Nana didn't have to stay here.

"Ready?" I ask, unbuckling my seatbelt and hopping out of the car. Beau follows in silence as we make our way through the white French doors.

"Miss Carter!" Abigail, one of the caregivers, greets me brightly at the reception desk. "Peggy will be so glad to see you, she's having a really great day." She pushes the sign-in book towards me and eyes Beau. I grin to myself at how out of place he'll look amongst the older crowd. "And you are?"

I push the book to Beau and hand him the pen. "Um, Beau." He mutters while scrawling his name on the guest sheet.

"Well, it's great to meet you." Abigail turns to me, "She's in the back garden, enjoying the sunshine. Do you need me to take you to her?"

I smile at her kindness. "I've got it," I thank her and lead Beau down a series of long halls that smell like disinfectant spray and old people before finally reaching another set of French doors leading to the back garden.

Nana is sitting in a wicker arm chair, eyes closed, head tilted towards the sun, when we arrive. "Nana?" I place my hand on her shoulder gently and speak softly as to not startle her.

"Oh," She opens her eyes and focuses on my face. "Oh, Emma," She recognizes me and I agree with Abigail, she is having a good day. I wrap my arms around her little body and notice that she's lost even more weight from the last time I visited. I curse myself for missing my visit a couple of weeks ago. When we let go, her eyes trail to Beau, standing behind me quietly. "Who's this?" Nana meets my eyes questioningly, unsure if she should know who he is or not.

I open my mouth to introduce him, but before I can, Beau takes a spot on the stool beside her and shakes her hand gently. "I'm Beau, a friend of Emma's." Nana's light eyes look from me to Beau and back again, and I begin to panic, wondering if this was too much for her.

"Oh," She mutters as I take my seat on the other side of her. She grabs my hand and I hold it in my lap. Within a couple of minutes, Nana is comfortable enough to begin asking Beau a million questions, starting off with "Why did you do that to your skin?" With an old, crooked finger, she lightly traces a skull on Beau's forearm.

My eyes shoot up to Beau, full of apology. But he isn't looking at me, instead he is grinning, no sarcasm at all, at Nana. "You don't like them?" He asks softly, his voice more gentle than I've ever heard it.

Nana shakes her head, a dissatisfied look on her face, which makes Beau laugh. "Well this one," He points to the skull Nana traced, "Was actually done by a friend. So I guess you could say I was doing him a favor,"

Nana swats his arm and shakes her head. "You must have a lot of friends," She eyes the rest of the tattoos she can see and I know she'd be horrified to know there's even more that she can't.

Beau laughs. "Not really, the rest are because I wanted them, I'm afraid." The conversation continues easily, with Nana picking at Beau's hair and earring playfully and him joking back, not the least bit offended.

After a couple of hours, I notice Nana's eyes go blank and brace myself. Slowly, she looks to me and then Beau and panic crosses her face. "Marie?" She looks to me and calls me by my mother's name. Holding back any sign of emotion, I roll with it.

"Yes, Mom?"

"I'd like to go inside now," She eyes Beau carefully from her peripherals. "I want to nap."

"Sure thing," I stand and support her elbow as she slowly gets up, as well. Beau follows us at a safe distance while I walk Nana back to her room. After a few minutes of goodbyes, we make our way to reception to sign out and I let Abigail know that Nana is not as lucid as she was at the start of our visit.

Once back outside at my car, I turn to Beau slowly. "Thanks, for you know, being a good sport. Nana can be judgmental," I lean against the hood.

Beau shrugs, smirking at me. "I like her,"

Feeling his questions hanging in the air I let out a deep sigh. "Marie is my mom. My parents passed away when I was younger, only a teenager."

Beau doesn't ask, but I keep explaining anyways. "They were at our cabin, the one in the picture at my apartment, you remember? It was the Fourth of July, and they were having an 'adult' party so I stayed home. They were on our neighbors boat, when another boat hit them. There was probably alcohol involved,"

Feeling his eyes on my face, I keep going. "I went to live with Nana. Which was great up until a few years ago - I knew she'd been getting forgetful, but one day she got in a car accident. Nothing major, but she said she just forgot where she was and what she was doing all of a sudden. She panicked, and hit a sign on the side of the road." I let out a deep sigh. "So that's when I realized I couldn't take care of her anymore. I sold her apartment and used my inheritance to put her here." I nod at the nursing home. "Then I started working extra hours at the cafe and Nadine let me rent the apartment above it."

Beau remains quiet but slings his arm around my neck, tucking me close to his body. I lean my head against his chest, "So there you have it. Now you know all the shittiest stuff about me, too."