A/N: This fic contains potentially triggering subject matter including but not limited to: suicidal references, gun violence, sexual trauma, homelessness, drug abuse, depression, homophobia, and cancer. It may contain inaccuracies. No copyright infringement intended. Thanks for reading!
BOOK ONE - PART THREE - CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
"Cat."
Cat felt someone shaking her shoulder—there was an intense feeling of heat on her left-hand side. She quickly realized it was Sam's naked body pressed against hers, and she was still asleep. Cat gave out a little hum of happiness and snuggled back in comfortably.
"Cat, please wake up…"
Cat didn't stir.
"Cat!" Robbie shook Cat a little more forcefully.
"What—?" Cat woke with a start and shot upwards in bed. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows. "Robbie? What are you doing in here?! Get out!"
Robbie was turned away, shielding his eyes with his hands. "I'm sorry; I've been trying to wake you up for, like, half an hour. You need to get up. Something, um… happened."
Cat was busy trying to keep Sam covered as she awoke to the commotion. Robbie had seen Cat herself naked a hundred times, but Cat wanted to preserve what was left of her partner's modesty. "Get. Out!" she repeated firmly.
Sam was fully awake now, and she looked angry and embarrassed to have been seen with Cat this way. "Dude, you'd better get the fuck out of here right now before I come over there and twist your nuts off," she growled out through clenched teeth, clutching the blankets to her chest.
Robbie gave a small squeak of fear and hurried to the door. "Just—check your phone, okay? It's important." He felt Sam staring daggers at him as he hastily exited the room.
Once he was gone, Cat sighed in relief and leaned back. "I'm really sorry. He's never been great with boundaries."
"He said to check your phone." Sam was curious about what could've been important enough for him to risk coming in here like that.
Cat climbed out of bed and went to where she'd set her phone down on the dresser. A quick glance at the screen showed that she had missed two calls from Tori, three from Jade, one from work, and had nearly a dozen unread text messages.
"What is it? What happened?" Sam asked from the bed, concerned when she saw the look on Cat's face.
Cat shifted in place. "Sorry, I really gotta pee," she blurted, dashing for the bathroom. She shut the door, sat down on the toilet, and scrolled through her text messages while she relieved herself. The first text from Jade was an unidentifiable link to something. She ignored it and read her other texts first.
Cat, shit just hit the fan.
Seriously, you need to get up.
We need to get together and talk about this.
Don't make me come over there.
That's it, I'm on my way.
The final text was time stamped about five minutes ago, meaning she'd be here in less than ten minutes. Cat was extremely annoyed—she had been hoping to have a relaxing morning with Sam today. She opened the link, and it redirected her to a popular news site. One glance at the headline made her heart drop.
Catarina Valentine Cheats on Rob Shapiro with Lesbian Ex-Lover
BREAKING NEWS! Catarina Valentine of pop-vocal group JTC was caught sharing an intimate kiss on her doorstep with another woman during last Tuesday's thunderstorm. The kiss reportedly lasted for several minutes, and the two haven't been heard from since her partner was seen carrying her into the house (while still kissing, we might add—naughty naughty!). Her fiancé Rob Shapiro's whereabouts and knowledge of the situation are currently unknown. The identity of the other woman has not yet been verified, but many speculate her to be Catarina's old friend and roommate Samantha "Sam" Puckett, who has not been seen publicly for over a decade. Some may remember her from the mid-2000's web show iCarly. A romantic connection between her and Catarina was never confirmed, but superfans insist JTC's singles "Saving You", "Always My Ghost," and "Raining Mercury" were all written with her in mind. Whether or not Sam is here to stay is unknown, but one thing's for certain—Catarina, you have a lot of explaining to do. We'll be waiting.
Cat stared at the screen, numb with shock. Right below the article was a zoomed-in photo, taken from outside the gate of her house. It was dark out, but it clearly showed Cat with her arms around the back of Sam's neck and her legs wrapped around her hips, up off the ground. The two were sharing a deep kiss and were both drenched from the storm. It was a very intimate photo, and it made her blush. What must her fans be thinking?
Of the three members of JTC, Cat had long ago been singled out to be the role model; the good girl who never got into any trouble. Being caught like this was already bad enough—but the fact that it was with Sam made things even more complicated. She finished up on the toilet and washed her hands before walking back out into the room. Sam was staring at her expectantly, but she wasn't quite sure what to say. Her entire life had just come crashing down.
"Well?" Sam questioned, losing her patience.
"Ummm…" Cat began dressing herself. "When you came and found me that first night, did you see any paparazzi around?"
"What? No," Sam answered. "It was the middle of a fucking monsoon. No one was out. Why?"
"Well… someone was out." Cat held her phone out to her with the picture displayed on the screen. "And now I'm… out."
"What?" Sam crawled out of bed and crossed the room to take the phone from her. Cat changed her mind and pushed her hand down before she could see the photo, then kissed her fully on the lips.
When they parted, Sam's eyes opened, and she gave out a little chuckle. "What was that for?"
"Good morning," Cat murmured, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Sam's ear. "How are you feeling?"
"Could be worse, I guess," Sam shrugged her good shoulder. "Everything's still pretty sore. And my stomach kind of hurts. But I'm okay, other than that."
Sam was completely naked, and Cat was having trouble keeping her eyes up. "Do you want me to run you a bath? Or pick up something for breakfast?" Outside, the world was erupting in chaos—but right now, Cat wanted to focus on what was important.
"No." Sam boldly grabbed Cat's hips and pulled her in. But the moment their lips met, the bedroom door slammed open, and Jade walked in. "Shit!" Sam attempted to cover herself, then gave up and dashed for the bathroom. Once the door was closed, they could hear her muttering, "Doesn't anyone know how to knock in this fucking house?"
Jade stood there frozen with a stunned smile on her face. "Um… sorry; am I interrupting something?"
"Yes." Cat was extremely annoyed. "What are you even doing here, Jade? The news is out. I can't take it back now. I don't know what you expect me to say."
"Well, I just wanted to be the first to let you know that they finally did it."
Cat was confused. "What? Who did what?"
"They dropped us. I got the call this morning."
Cat couldn't believe what she was hearing. Convinced there must be some other explanation, she repeated, "What?"
"They dropped JTC from the label," Jade explained exasperatedly. "Shawn Quincy fired all of us. We're done. It's over."
END OF BOOK ONE