Tudor was pacing, panicking, and just plain freaking out! "Fuck! Why now?" he bellowed.
Howay, man! I know you’re private, but this reaction is a bit over-the-top!
I moved over to where Tudor was creating a worn-out patch on my pristine and much-treasured marble flooring and stopped the nauseating back-and-forth movement by holding his huge, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound frame in my arms. "Tudor, it's fine, they would find out at some point anyway. At least now we can live a somewhat open life. Is it so bad if we announce it to the world?"
He just stared at me, face blank, and pulled out his phone. He quickly dialed a number and left me standing facing him with a questioning expression. "Kate, have you seen the entertainment news?" Kate, his publicist. "I want you to issue a statement today about my romantic status, do you have a pen?"
There was a pause, and I couldn't help but smile to myself. OMG! Tense arguments be damned! In a few short hours the whole world would know about my relationship with Tudor. This was crazy, but maybe it would make everything better. Maybe all the problems had been stemming from him trying to keep us a secret, and once it was all in the open he would go back to being my sweet, loving Tudor and all would be okay?
Gosh! My mam was going to flip. I jumped up on the stool and sipped at my coffee, waiting anxiously to hear the way he would 'out' us, show the world we belonged to each other. I couldn't keep the huge grin off my face.
Rose Tint My World!
"Okay, I want you to squash it, deny it,” he snapped into the mouth piece.
Yeahhh – Wait, what???
“Tell them that she is a family friend and we were just messing about. I was in Calgary to prepare for my next movie, but have left. Say, I don't know, that I was there for research or some shit. I met her here and only saw her a few times – in fact say she is in a relationship with someone else, my friend from University, and she was visiting him. Her name and credentials are not important, and there is no story so not to bother delving into it. Tell them that I am casually dating, or some spin like that, but there is no-one special. Shit, I don't care, fluff up the Banks story or something, she won't deny it, and she’ll want the publicity! Just... get them off the scent. You got all that? Yeah, get it out immediately."
He hung up. What. The. Fuck???
Tudor turned to face me, his face torn with anguish. My grin had slipped into a grimace. I felt like I couldn't breathe. He held out his hands in a placating gesture. "Tash...""Just get out," I barely whispered, a tsunami of devastation washing over me, crushing my throat and all ability to speak.
"No, Tash, wait..." He tried to reach for me.
I slapped his hand away weakly, shaking. "I said, get out!" I finally stated at an audible volume, tears tumbling from my eyes.
"No! No, Sunshine, you need to listen to me. I said those things so they don't come here looking for pictures of us, for a story. Tash, please. I need you, don't send me away... not now, I need you more than ever. I can’t do this without you."
I was breathing hard, labored and wheezing, like I'd just run the freakin' London Marathon. I guess a total thrashing of your heart will do that to you. "How could you?" I whispered, gripping the counter to keep myself upright.
He picked me up like a doll and placed me on the table top, caging me in his arms, forcing me to listen. "Tash, I can't have the media here now. I don't want a friggin' circus when we have just started out. Please, this changes nothing, I still want you. You have to believe me."
I let out a bitter laugh. "You're just embarrassed by me. I get it. Fuck the chunky normal girl, someone to pass the time with between movies, someone no-one would ever believe you would be with, and then go back to the glitz and glam and bloody Raquel Banks! The freakin' Barbie to your overdosed-on-protein-shake Ken!"
"No! I don't even believe you think that! And for the last God-damned time I am not embarrassed by you. Quite the opposite in fact; you’re the best thing in my life! Give me time and I'll shout it from the rooftops that you're my girl, but not now, not yet!"
"Why? Why not now?"
"Trust me, Tash. Just not now!" His voice was gaining volume once again.
"You told Kate to insinuate you were dating Raquel Banks. What the hell? I thought you hated her? Was that a lie too?"
He pushed away from the counter, throwing the dish towel off the table across the room. "Argh! To get them away from here and away from you, to get the spotlight off you. Are you not listening to me? She's a fame whore, she'll play it up, give them a hook – she's cannon fodder, that's all."