The Performance

Two hours later, Caden unlocked the door.

He held a tray of food. He expected screaming. He expected a fight.

Instead, he found Lila sitting at the vanity mirror, applying lipstick.

She was wearing the dress she was supposed to wear to the premiere. A silver, backless slip dress that looked like liquid mercury.

She turned to him. She smiled. It was soft, broken, and submissive.

"You're right," she said.

Caden paused. "What?"

"I was looking at the comments," Lila lied. "They hate me. They really hate me. I can't go out there."

Caden set the tray down. He walked over to her, wary but hopeful. "You see it now?"

"I see it," Lila stood up. She walked to him, placing her hands on his chest. "I'm tired, Caden. I just want to go home. Take me back to Ohio. Let’s buy that house near the lake."

Caden let out a shuddering breath. He wrapped his arms around her. "Oh, God, Li. I knew you’d understand. I knew you’d come back to me."

"I never left," she whispered. She ran her hands up his back, into his hair. "But... can we have one last night? Here? Before we go?"

"Anything," Caden murmured against her neck.

"I want a drink. A real one. And I want you to take a shower. You smell like stress."

Caden laughed. He kissed her, hard and possessive. "Okay. Okay. I’ll shower. You pour the wine."

He walked into the master bathroom. Lila listened. She heard the water turn on.

She didn't pour the wine.

She walked to the living room. She picked up the Teen Choice award. It was heavy. Sharp edges.

She looked at the massive glass sliding door that led to the patio. It was locked with a keypad she didn't know the code to.

She didn't try to guess the code.

She swung the award with everything she had.

*CRASH.*

The sound was deafening. Safety glass didn't shatter; it crumbled into a million diamonds.

"Lila?!" Caden’s voice roared from the bathroom.

Lila didn't look back. She scrambled through the hole in the glass. A shard sliced her arm, another cut her calf. She didn't feel it.

She ran across the patio. She threw herself over the railing, onto the steep hillside.

"LILA!"

She heard the bathroom door slam open. She heard him screaming her name. It wasn't a call; it was a threat.

Lila slid down the dirt embankment. Her heels broke. She kicked them off. She ran barefoot through the dry brush, thorns tearing at her expensive dress, rocks cutting her feet.

She hit the canyon road.

Headlights appeared around the bend.

Lila ran into the middle of the road, waving her bloody arms.

The car screeched to a halt. It was an Uber, a Prius with a confused driver.

"Help me!" Lila screamed, yanking the back door open. "Drive! Just drive!"

"Lady, are you okay? You're bleeding!"

"DRIVE!"

As the car peeled away, Lila looked back up the hill.

Standing on the edge of the lighted patio, silhouetted against the glass box, was Caden. He wasn't chasing her. He was just watching.

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