Eternal (9 page)

 
“Yes,
don’t worry, Winter. He will be fine.”

It seemed to get louder. Reminiscent of the
building of a wave before crashing in against my ears as we continued on our
way. We were heading for the exit that seemed to me the search for the Holy
Grail. It took forever to get through LAX. The commotion turned into screams,
screeches and high-pitched squeals yelling, “I love you Cayden!” And then I
heard chanting. The crowds were calling out the name of his first character,
“Jonathan….” It all became a loud mixture of sounds and voices with the
periodic flurry of other things being distinguished. “I want to marry you!” and
“Can I touch you?”

Chandler
and I exited through large electric doors to find a long black limo
waiting. The windows on the limousine were completely dark so no one would be
able to see in. I never thought I would see the day I was happy to ride in a
limo, but the day had come. It was a welcome rescue. Once
Chandler
and I were safely inside the
vehicle, Jayden stood on the outside of the door, on the lookout for the rest
of our entourage to arrive. Zander was taking a separate car with Melissa so
Chandler
and I were waiting
for Langdon and Cayden.

I peered out the side window, filled with
nervous tension. People swarmed Cayden before he reached the car. He stopped to
take a few pictures and sign a few autographs. That seemed to appease the
crowds for a moment until three women lunged forward. They were screeching,
laughing, and placed their arms around Cayden’s neck. They surrounded him,
clinging to him, jumping wildly, touching his face, his hair. One lady tried to
kiss him. Cayden ducked his head. Langdon moved in and pulled their arms away.
Their arms seemed like tentacles, not wanting to let Cayden go, but with
Langdon's help, Cayden turned and maneuvered toward Jayden who blocked any
further advances. Cayden tucked his head and plunged himself quickly into the
open door of the limo. Langdon and Jayden followed, securing the doors behind
them.

“Are you okay?” I asked with panic in my voice.

Cayden smiled tenderly and touched my cheek. “I
am fine, don’t worry about me.”

“But they were all over you. What if they would
hurt you?”

“Winter, I am fine, trust me.”

I looked at Langdon then over to Jayden. “What
do we do to keep people from getting close enough to touch him?”

“Winter, I am fine,” he interjected, not
allowing Langdon or Jayden to answer. He tugged me onto his lap and held me
close. The limo pulled away from the curb.
 

“Mr. Cain, please put on your seat belt,” Jayden
reminded.

Cayden slid me off his lap. He secured the seat
belt around me before securing his own.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I am going to the studio, then to do a couple
of interviews. You and
Chandler
are heading home.”

“Home?”

“To our home,” he said with a bright smile. “It
is secure, and
Chandler
lives there, too, so no one will find it suspicious you are there.”

I stared up at Cayden with an intensity that
seemed to burn through me. I was trying hard to maintain the fear, not panic.
“I love you, Cayden.”

He placed his forehead to mine. Cayden’s thumb
brushed over my lips. “I love you, Winter.”

Cayden held my hand securely in his until we
stopped at the studio. He looked at me for a long moment, and smiled his most
breathtaking smile.

“Don’t worry, baby. I will see you tonight.” He
kissed my lips softly before exiting the limo with Langdon at his side.

When Cayden left I fell apart, complete with
tears flowing down my face joined by my hands shaking uncontrollably. I balled
my hands up into fist, holding them tightly to my sides.

 
“Winter,
what is wrong?”
Chandler
said with a bit of panic in his usual calm overconfident façade.

“Winter, are you feeling ill?” Jayden asked.

I shook my head to indicate no and tried to calm
myself. “I will be fine. It was just hard to see Cayden overtaken by the crowd.
It was scary,” I admitted.

“Winter, he is okay,”
Chandler
said.

“What if someone hurts him?” I heard my voice
break, almost raspy.

Chandler
continued, “No one is going to hurt Cayden. Please calm down.”

All I could see was people getting close enough
to touch Cayden.
If they could get
that close, what if they had a weapon?
This scene played out over and
over, the bright glint of a silver knife edge as the sun hit it. The blunt dark
black barrel of a gun pointed at his perfect body. I shook, crying, unable to
control myself.
Chandler
moved across the seat until we were thigh to thigh. He wrapped his arm around
my shoulders. Jayden looked odd as though he wanted to comfort me as well, but
he kept his shoulders stiff, took off his sunglasses, and gazed at me
strangely.

“If they can get that close, they can hurt him.
What if someone had a weapon?” I said through my sobs. “Jayden, maybe you
should stay with Cayden instead of me. When you left to guard me it makes it
easier to get to Cayden now.”

“Winter.”
Chandler
bounced me up against his chest twice as if that would be a comfort. “Please,
no one is going to hurt Cayden. No one had a weapon.” He spoke softly still
holding onto my shoulders. “It will be fine.”

I continued to bawl.
Chandler
patted my back.

“Please, you need to calm down. You are going to
make yourself sick. Jayden is doing his job. He must stay with you. Langdon is
doing his job. Cayden will be fine,” he assured.

“Please do not tell Cayden about this. Don’t
tell him how I fell apart.”

“I won’t,”
Chandler
replied.

“Jayden?” I asked, glancing up at him with
tear-filled eyes.

“You have my word,” Jayden assured. He smoothed
the top of my arm, sat back in the seat, and went back to his stiff upright
position with his shoulders.

“Thank you,” I said sniffling, trying hard to
stop crying. It was going to be a losing battle. The tears flowed even after we
stopped at the secluded home in Hollywood Hills.

The entire property was gated and walled off, with
lush foliage and tall palm trees surrounding the property line. The home seemed
like it was tucked high up in the hill.
Chandler
took me by the hand.

“Come on,” he said. “I want to show you
something.”

Chandler
gave me a tour of the grounds, making sure to explain it was
virtually impossible for anyone to get up to their home. He said they never had
a security breach, and pointed out their home possessed security checkpoints in
several different locations that led up to the house, as well the security of
the hills that surrounded it. I imagine my expression was still unsure, since
Chandler
showed me the
cameras that were positioned along the walls, besides other hidden cameras
dispersed throughout the property.

We walked around to the back where a large
sapphire blue pool jetted out into infinity over the edge of the hill. The
perspective left you gazing down at the city off in the distance. The landscape
was tall around the continuing wall, which made its way winding around the back
of the property line. The view, amazing. It was like being in your own private
world and staring off into another separate world. A huge waterfall flowed into
the pool; along with more landscaping that looked as though it had been
designed by an artist. It encased an outside cooking kitchen and bar.

I glanced around to see the entire backside of
the two and a half story house was constructed of glass. Several private
balconies jetted off the south wall of the structure. The house itself was
astounding. The architecture, modern and angled. Off to the north side of the
property was a separate house that Jayden lived in.
Chandler
proceeded to tell me Langdon came
and went, having a wife and family of his own, but at times Langdon would stay
with Jayden on the property.

Chandler
took me by the hand and led me up to the back door of the house
where he entered a security code into a pad, all the while explaining the
entire house was secure as well. We walked through a spacious dining room then
an adjoining family room filled with several flat screen TV’s and major
audio/video equipment. It reminded me of a screening room more than a family room.
He hit a button on a remote control. I watched shutters come down over the
windows, blacking out the space.

“See, more security,” he said. “I promise you
are safe, and my brother is safe here.”

Chandler
escorted me through a large formal living room filled with fine
antique furniture, dark mahogany hardwood floors covered by expensive Persian
rugs colored in red, gold, and cream colors. A winding staircase led up to five
private rooms. All included en suite baths. We continued walking down the hall
then stopped at the last door. He opened up the door to an oversized room that
held one of the balconies. There was another en suite bath accompanied by the
largest shower I had ever seen. Propped in the corner of the bathroom was a
whirlpool tub, and a fireplace mounted in the wall. Over-top the tub was an art
deco chandelier, which shimmered and was positioned within a coved ceiling.

“This will be your room,”
Chandler
announced. He let go of my hand.
“Winter, please know you are safe here.”

“It is Cayden I am worried about
Chandler
, not me.”

“Winter, Cayden is safe. Everything is going to
be fine.”
Chandler
’s
voice was calm as he spoke. “If you would like I can stay with you until my
brother comes home.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“I would do it,” he said. “I know all of this is
strange for you. I know you are not use to screaming crowds, cameras, and all
the crazy things people will do. I really do understand so if you need me to
stay—”

“Please do not feel like you need to babysit me.
I will be okay. I am sorry you seen me fall apart like this.”

Chandler
glanced away from me for a moment. He scrubbed the back of his neck
with his right hand then placed both hands into the front pockets of his jeans.
“I understand how overwhelming all of this can be. I know you worry for my
brother, but if you are going to stick around you need to find a way to cope.”
He looked back at me. “This is your home, too. Use anything; take a swim, the
house and the grounds are yours. Relax, Winter, and don’t worry so much,”
Chandler
told me. He
turned for the door. “Oh, and don’t worry about
Logan
calling you. He and I had a come to
Jesus talk while you slept on the plane.”

Without further explanation,
Chandler
exited the room I assumed was
Cayden’s bedroom. I studied the space and stared at the huge bed as well as the
deep navy blue bedding, edged in white, and covered by numerous pillows. The
headboard was upholstered in white leather that extended up the wall. Behind
the floating wall where the bed rested against was the balcony and sitting
area. The ceiling was high in addition to an alcove adorned with hidden lights
that shown from behind the carved moldings of the cove. The light fixtures were
silver, sleek, and covered in etched glass and reminded me of pieces of art,
not lighting.

On the west end of Cayden’s room was an entire
ten-foot wall of bookshelves, covered in books. My gaze went to them. They
ranged from timeless classics to modern masterpieces. Placed among the shelves
that followed to the right of the paperbacks were vinyl records and hundreds of
CD’s. A cozy sitting area, which reminded me of a plush lounge, was upholstered
in rich navy-blue velvet couches and wrapped around a curving wall. This area
also held high tech audio equipment.

I slowly walked forward in wonder, staring at
Cayden’s vast book collection. It was a small library. I reached out and ran my
fingers over the bindings. He had some original manuscripts that must be
priceless as well as several original leather bound books. My fingers stopped
on a pristine first edition copy of
Wuthering
Heights
.
I pulled it gently from the shelf. I found a silken emerald green bookmark
dangling from the end of the book. I tenderly opened the book to the page
marked and found one passage highlighted from Chapter Nine.

“I’ve dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed
with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they’ve gone through and through me
like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind.”