Capture the Moment (Moments #1)

42. Cleo

forty-two

Cleo

“What the hell are we going to do?” Jace asks, pacing around the expanse of my apartment's living room. He’d brought some of the guys with him as well.

Alec, Braxton, Charlie, and Derek sit on the love seat fuming, turning their murderous gazes between one another.

“I tried to get it taken down but it’s harder to do than I’d thought” Sienna sighs, pacing with Jace.

I’m sitting in the corner of the living room, on the floor by our balcony watching as my friends try their hardest to figure out how to take down the number one trending porno in America.

Cleo Jones gets railed by Marcelo Rivers.

Yep. That’s the title. My body feels as if it’ll cave in on itself as I try my hardest to breathe normally.

“Could we just sue? I mean, I feel like suing is our only true option–” I hear Georgia say just before everything goes black.

My breathing is rapid and I feel as if I’ve been dumped into the middle of a tropical storm where the current is rough and choppy enough to kill. My heart is like an angry caged bird, beating its wings against my ribcage, anxious and ready to escape.

The world around me is so dark, and I fear there’s no way to find a beacon of light.

My friend’s shouts grow louder but it’s like static to my ears as my body shakes. I try to calm myself down but it’s no use as the panic consumes me whole .

I’ve had panic attacks since the first and only time my mother came to one of my figure skating competitions—I bombed it immediately after noticing she was there. The panic was overwhelming then, but nothing compares to the increased feelings of panic and anxiety that I feel right now.

The static-like sound of my best friends voices grow louder and I try to make out their words. I truly do, but I can’t and when I think that I’m going to fall off into the deep end and let a killer wave undertake me, I feel it.

Warm, large hands cuff my cheeks, and my eyes come into close contact with bright and frantic blue ones. The person, Blake, is saying something but I can’t hear anything as my breathing continues to skyrocket. He’s inhaling and exhaling deeply, trying to coax me into doing the same, and I do. I follow the beacon of light that is Blake Wilder out of the darkness of my mind and wrap my arms around his neck.

“It’s okay sweetheart… It’s okay, you’re fine. I’m here and you’re fine,” He coos, holding me tightly as he rubs my back.

We’re still seated on the floor behind the couch, near the balcony. Blake’s arms are the refuge that I didn’t know was needed, I allow him to pull me safely to shore.

My heart rate slows and I think that I’m fine until Blake begins soothing me again. It’s then that I realize all of our friends are gone and it’s just us .

The waterworks start back up and before I can catch myself, I’m spilling my guts.

“I’m so s-sorry, Blake. I never wanted to embarrass you, I thought I was safe. This is so bad–so fucking bad. This will affect your career so much–oh my God, did I fuck up your chance at getting drafted? Of course not…we’re not dating–”

“Calm down, baby, just breathe.” He chuckles, still massaging small circles into my back.

I ignore his words and start to talk only for Blake to cup my cheeks with both of his hands and turn our faces to one another, “Cleo, look at me. You having a sex tape isn’t going to make me not want to be in a relationship with you. And no one other than our friends knows about us,” He says softly, patting my shoulders .

And I don’t know what comes over me in that moment, but maybe it’s because my inner child feels understood, or maybe it’s because Blake is the biggest softie I've ever met, but I spend the rest of the night going back and forth between crying and sleeping in his arms.