The world tends to slow down whenever you need it to speed up. Traffic becomes a sea of red break lights when you need open lanes, the people around you move at a snails pace when you need them to be in a hurry, and everyone around you seems to be in a state of oblivious ecstasy, lost to the world, when your own world is falling apart. 

That was how I felt as I tried to find a way to get out of the glamorous three story home and to the hospital to find Carter. I didn't know where my ride was. Laliana and Aiden were lost in the crowd, and I was left in a state of near panic, scrambling for the front door, all rational thought gone. 

I pushed past bodies, completely ignoring several offered drinks from white clad waiters, and stumbled into the open air, body trembling with fear and anxiety. 

Please be okay, Carter.

Pulling out my phone, I pulled up the Uber and Lyft apps and quickly discovered that it would take twenty minutes for a car to arrive. 

"Yeah, we don't tend to let driving services near our house," someone said behind me. 

I turned to find Lavender standing nearby, watching me with an unreadable expression. "We have a deal with Los Angeles that both Uber and Lyft can't get within a mile of this house." She glanced around at the large property that was made up of gardens, a pool, a horse riding trail, horse stable, and a drive way that was currently packed with cars. 

Lavender took in my expression as my eyes fell on the driveway that was stacked five deep with cars. "I would take you to wherever you are clearly trying to escape to but... My car is in the garage, and well, these cars kind of ruin any escape attempt I could offer."

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to breathe. "Is there any other way out of here?"

She raised a brow. "Not much for parties?" 

"It isn't a judgement. I just—" my voice cracked, and I shut my mouth, unable to finish. 

Lavender's expression changed, and I could see the wheels turning as she fell into 'fix it mode.'

She pointed to a sleek deep red car at the bottom of the driveway. "That's your best bet." She rolled her eyes. "The owner is always the last one to arrive, so it's easy for them to escape. The owner is also always easy to spot."

I nodded, bracing myself to socialize with a complete stranger and ask them to leave a party they just got to, only to drive across town to the hospital while making painful small talk. "Okay. Yeah, that would be great. Thanks. Who is it?" 

Lavender's neutral expression changed, her lips pursing into a scowl.  "Luke Walker." 

"Yes?" 

We both turned around to find Luke leaning against a glass wall at the base of the house, nearby, tucked away in shadows. I couldn't tell if he was there to avoid all the people inside, or if he just liked being creepy in shadows. 

Lavender gave me a pitying look, as if to say, 'good luck with that,' before she walked off, leaving me alone with Luke. 

Sighing, I turned to fully face him, my expression determined. "I need a ride." 

Luke shoved his hands into his pockets, watching Lavender vanish back into the house before turning to look back at me. "Nope."

He turned to leave but froze as I reached out and placed my hand on his forearm, attempting to pull him to a stop, but struggling when I couldn't wrap my fingers around his arm. Stupid big muscles... 

"Look," I said, forcing my voice to stay even. "The person I love most in the world needs me right now." I swallowed, shutting my eyes for a moment to push images of Carter away. "And that means I need a ride from you. So for the next hour, can you pretend you don't hate me?" 

Luke clenched his jaw, muscle working, arguing below the surface. Holding a thousand excuses. He turned, searching my face, eyes unreadable, brow furrowed in frustration. "Fine. You get one hour." He stepped around me, shaking off my arm. "Let's go." 

...

His car was deathly quiet as we peeled out of the driveway and through the large gates that cut off Lavender mansion from the world. Apparently he didn't believe in playing music, or talking, or making any kind of noise in general. Weirdo. 

Camera flashes suddenly hit the car's tinted windows. "Where am I taking you?" Luke asked, unfazed by the blinding lights. 

I sunk lower in the passenger seat, scrunching my eyes shut, hands gripping the seat as the flashes continued. "Hospital," was the only word I managed to get out. 

Luke sped on, and finally cut through the lights, sending the car into darkness again. He made no comment about the destination, but instead drove in silence, the engine so quiet that it left nothing but empty space and the sound of our breathing. 

"Do you ever get used to it?" I asked finally opening my eyes. 

"What?" 

"The people," I clarified, thinking of the people at the party. Of the people waiting right outside the gate hoping for a snapshot of something interesting. 

"No," he said into the darkness. "You just learn to accept that a part of your life isn't just yours anymore." 

I stared out the window and was suddenly struck by how similar Carter's life was in that way to celebrities. Where movie stars lives were tied to a camera's snap shot, Carter's life was always tied to a hospital, to a needle. 

"The more we share, the more people feel that they are owed," I replied, tracing my fingers along the door handle. I had written enough articles, had watched enough of our readers demanding more, to know how true it was. 

Luke's fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter, knuckles going white. My words seemed to affect him more than I expected. 

"I don't trust you," he said, dark eyes narrowed at the road, a look that would have been turned full force on me if he didn't have to stay focused on the path ahead. 

I let out a hollow laugh, too tired to be insulted. I didn't blame him. His level paranoia was warranted. "Good. That means I don't have to pretend to like you," I replied. 

 He raised a brow. "We are actors, Em. That's literally our job."

"Well, I guess we have our work cut out for us then."

...

I threw the door open before Luke had brought the car to a full stop and rushed into the hospital, all coherent thought gone. Scrambling up to the check in counter, I poured out a monologue of information before the receptionist had even looked up. 

She blinked at me, somewhat startled out of her current task and asked me to repeat myself. 

"I'm looking for Carter Springs. I'm his sister." 

She took in my dressed up appearance with confusion before pointing me off in the correct direction. I found Duke sitting on a chair outside of Carter's room, his hair a mess of tangles, his complexion pale. His eyes were red rimmed as he turned to look up at me. I stopped in my tracks, suddenly afraid of what I was going to find behind the door to Carter's hospital room. 

"He collapsed after dinner. I brought him straight here," Duke said, his voice hoarse.

I slunk down on the chair next to Duke, suddenly dizzy. "What did the doctors say?"

"They said he needs more than one transfusion a week. This... halfway treatment doesn't work for him." 

Leaning my head against the wall, I sighed. My parents health insurance only stretched so far. And I couldn't always cover the rest of what he needed. "I'll figure this out Duke," I said quietly. "Thanks... for getting him here." 

Duke nodded, patting my shoulder. "He's a strong kid. He'll be okay." 

I nodded, knowing that those words were only partly true. Carter would be fighting this battle his entire life. All it took for a kid like him to get taken down was a bad enough cut. His blood just wouldn't clot properly. One good cut and he could die before ever getting to the hospital. 

Dawn's words cut through the fog. I needed the movie money to help Carter and she would stand in the way of that happening if I didn't give her a few more stories. The movie could change everything. Carter wouldn't have to fight so hard anymore. He could be a normal kid. A kid who didn't have to be terrified of skinning his knees. 

The doctor came out of Carter's room, spotting me instantly. One of the perks of my choice in hair color. "Em. Good to see you. I am sorry it is under these circumstances." The doctor pushed his glasses further up his nose, worry carving itself into his features. "He needs another blood transfusion." 

I opened my mouth, offering up my blood, but he shook his head. "You've already given the maximum amount on your last visit. The nurses are currently looking for O Positive in our reserves, but as you know, Carter has one of the rarest of blood types, something not easy to keep on hand."

Carter and I both had O Positive blood, the second rarest blood type in the world. Which was another reason why Carter often relied on my blood and whatever else they had at the hospital. But he went through blood quickly, leaving me terrified every time he had to be rushed to the hospital. Because someday... they may not have what he needed to make it. 

"I'm O Negative," someone said nearby, causing me to jump. 

We all turned to see Luke leaning against the wall nearby. 

How much did he hear? Why is he here? HOW DOES HE SNEAK UP ON PEOPLE LIKE THAT?!?

The Doctor's face brightened. "Luke Walker! What a surprise. It isn't your usual visiting day. What brings you here?"

Luke pushed off the wall. "Donating blood." 

I stared at him, wide eyed. 

The doctor took in the tattoo at the base of Luke's neck. "When was your last—"

"I know the parameters. It's been longer than three months since my last tattoo, I haven't been out of the country in the last year, and was checked for malaria when I came back into the country, and I am not taking any dangerous medication." He unbuttoned his dress shirt, peeling off the sleeves before laying it on the chair, showcasing the tapestry of tattoos along his arms.

"From the sound of things, we don't have a lot of time. Show me where I need to go."

And before I knew what was happening, the doctor ushered Luke into Carter's room. I stared after them, shocked. 

WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?

Luke Walker had  O Negative blood type. A universal donor. A type of blood that could go into anyone, but no other blood type could work for a person with O negative blood. He was like a beacon of hope. An irritatingly attractive beacon of hope. 

 "Um... Care to explain why Luke Walker, famous movie star just showed up out of nowhere and offered to donate blood to Carter?" 

I blinked at the door they had vanished through. "I have absolutely no idea." 

Duke looked amazed, like one of his soap opera heroes had just walked off the television screen. He whirled to look at me. "Did he drive you here?" 

"Yeah. We are kind of... working on a project together." 

Duke shook his head, smiling. "You and your odd jobs. I take it you won't be telling what this one is either." 

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Check that annoying pink gossip column you are addicted too. I'm sure it will explain a few things." 

It was strange to have Duke as a reader on the very website I worked for, but it was hilarious to watch his reactions in real time when reading the articles. 

Duke pulled out his phone, brows going up as he loaded the XOXO Daily Gossip website.

"YOU ARE WORKING ON A MOVIE WITH HIM?!?!" He shouted, completely forgetting where he was. His eyes scanned the article before he continued shouting. "YOU ARE HIS LOVE INTEREST?!?!" 

A nurse stuck her head out of a nearby room, shushing Duke. He slumped down in his chair, face going red. "Sorry," he muttered composing himself. 

"When did this happen?" he hissed at me, eyes wide with excitement. 

I shrugged. "Recently. You should head home," I added changing the subject. "This could take a while." 

Duke looked like he wanted to argue, but relented. "I expect you to keep me informed on the drama that occurs on set young lady." Then Duke strode down the hallway towards the exit, face glued to his phone and the gossip column. 

Walking towards Carter's door, I glanced through the glass window, quiet as I took in the scene. Luke was sitting in a guest chair next to Carter's hospital bed, looking larger than life next to my tiny brother. Where Luke was tan, Carter was pale. It was hard to look at them side by side, one giving life saving blood to the other. 

Carter was awake, laughing at something Luke was saying, his smile so bright that it hurt to look at. Luke wore an amused smile, seeming determined to keep Carter distracted from the blood transfusion as he told Carter a story. 

Carter had always been brave, but the constant poke of the needle had become hard for him to handle. 

I stepped away from the glass, touched and hurt by the sight of it all. Touched that Luke was doing something so unbearably kind for someone he didn't know. Confused that he had volunteered after making it clear how little he thought of me. 

And it all left me feeling like crap because I had a decision to make about working on a few more articles for XOXO Daily Gossip. And I had a feeling the articles would showcase Luke front and center if I agreed. 

Slumping into the waiting chair, I buried my fingers into my hair, trying to wrap my head around everything. 

I'm starring in a movie with a man who hates me. A man who is currently helping keep my brother alive using the blood from his own veins. A man who values privacy. A privacy I may have to betray to keep my brother alive. 

It was all a crazy circle of insanity. 

"Well, well, well. I figured I'd find you here," a familiar voice said, breaking me out of my cycle of panic thoughts. 

I glanced up to find myself face to face with someone I had been dreading running into since stepping onto that studio lot. Delle Falls, stood before me, arms crossed, a look of frustration on her face, her long curly fire red hair falling down her shoulders, a sharp contrast to her black boots, t shirt and dark jeans. 

Delle Falls, ex- detective extraordinaire. 

I had worked with her on her final case, a case where I had helped put one of Luke Walker's family members behind bars— Something else he would hate me for if he ever found out. 

Delle Falls had made it clear that if I ever wrote another article about Allie Winters, her famous fashionista sister, EVER again, that she would skin me alive and share all of my personal details online. And now here I was, getting ready to work on the same movie that both she and her sister were working on. Delle was the only one at the studio that knew about my gossip writing past, and now here she stood, glaring down at me like a dragon queen contemplating my murder. 

Delle tilted her head to the side, analyzing me, reading me like an open book, her eyes ablaze, reminding me of why she was so good at her detective job. "So... do I want to know why you are suddenly working on a studio lot? Or do you want me to use my detective reasoning to answer that question for you? And then once that's done, explain how busted you are?"

---

Thank you for reading chapter nine! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes!

UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

It looks like Em has a lot of decisions to make! Will she write for the XOXO Daily Gossip again? Will Delle talk her out of it? 

What will happen to Carter? Will Em get him the help he needs?

Will Luke and Carter strike up a friendship? Will Luke warm up to Em after spending time with Carter?

What will happen next?

CHAPTER QUESTION - If someone you didn't get along with helped someone you loved, would you warm up to them?