Read Online Spiral by Jacqueline Levine - Free Book Online Page A

following you when we pulled out of your road.”
    “Jesus,” I murmur, turning around to see not one, but two beat-up sedans pulling into spaces near me.
    “It’ll be fine,” she sighs as I put the car in park. “You take care of Britney while I give them a quick statement.”
    I marvel at her boldness as she throws open the car door and steps out elegantly. The photographers are out of their cars faster than spitballs from a straw, and they have no hesitation in approaching. I do what I can to pretend they’re not five feet away, snapping with their cameras, while I reach into the backseat and unbuckle Britney.
    In the background, I hear Cherie spinning the same comments Betsy and her other handlers have prepared and rehearsed with her. “…deeply saddened by…respect my privacy at this time…so fortunate for the support of…”
    Britney is quiet as she watches this spectacle and twists a blond curl around her finger while she waits beside me. I hold her hand a little tighter, but it may be for my own comfort rather than hers. My stomach is doing little flips and flops just in anticipation of those cameras turning on me.
    Cherie walks over to us, her camera-ready smile fading, and Britney reaches out to her with her free hand. Cherie extends her own out and sways from the suddenness of her own movements. Her heel catches in a crack in the ground, and she cries out. Her body begins to fly backward as she tries to right herself.
    Immediately, my football reflexes snap to attention. Before she falls over, I catch her in midair against my forearm and grab her wrist, like I’ve dipped her after a dance. Britney bursts into a fit of giggles.
    “Oh, God!” Cherie grasps at the sleeves of my jacket for dear life. Her wide, surprised eyes trap mine and hold them hostage.
    I stare at her, entranced. “Are you okay?” I whisper.
    She’s breathless. “I think so.” I am frozen in the moment, so close to her I can see the flecks of gold shimmer in her lip gloss. I suddenly can’t look anywhere but her mouth. My mind is racing faster than my pulse. I hear the click of a camera, and it jerks me out of my stupor.
    “Smooth, Jack! Great shot.”
    “Good catch, man! Hey, Cherie, you should keep him around!”
    “Yeah, you two look good together.”
    Suddenly, the cameramen are on top of us, snapping frantically, and Cherie is scurrying to find her footing. I tuck Britney out of the camera’s view and cast them a dirty look. My cheeks burn.
    I want to tell them to get lost, but my tongue is numb. All I can do is tilt my head toward the supermarket. Cherie follows obediently, one hand still gripping the sleeve of my jacket while we walk. Britney leaves my side like I’m yesterday’s news and takes her new idol’s free hand.
    I send the girls inside and grab a shopping cart, stealing a glance over my shoulder as the photographers compare their stills of us. I can’t help but wonder what Cherie and I look like together.
    Supermarket shopping without a list is hard, but following someone as slow and distractible as Cherie is nearly impossible. I have a clear goal: frozen pizza and chips, and I find my stuff in less than three minutes. But Cherie parades up and down each aisle, wondering where things are, texting, examining the firmness of fruit, reading nutrition labels. It’s torture.
    To add salt to the wound, we end up with four items by the time we get on line. I set a box of expensive granola bars, apples, Doritos and pizza on the conveyor belt. When Britney begs for a bag of Skittles, I don’t think twice and add two bags of the candy to our sad bounty.
    I don’t want this to be my fault, so I ask one last time, “Are you sure this is all you want? Is there any other fruit you want to buy? You looked at a lot of fruit.”
    “I’m good,” Cherie says quietly. She seems distracted again, but this time she’s staring past the cashier to the massive windows. The cashier gives her a double-take, and then she