Tangled Web by S.A. Ozment

friends.
    Now I was becoming angry. Talk about a hypocrite!
    Ashley: I don’t know what to say anymore, Sebastian. I explained why, I’ve said I’m sorry. Either you will forgive me or you won’t.
    Imsebastiangray: It’s not that simple.
    Ashley: It seems pretty simple to me. I was wrong—dead wrong. I’m sorry, Sebastian, I can’t go back and change what I did. You either have to choose to forgive me or not.
    Imsebastiangray: How can I trust you after this? Are there any more lies that you’re conveniently keeping from me? Am I going to find out three months from now that you’re married with two kids?
    Okay, all bets were off. I had thrown out the white flag, and he had ignored it… no, he had stomped on it.
    Ashley: Well you’re a fine one to be talking about someone lying.
    Imsebastiangray: What’s that supposed to mean?
    Ashley: Exactly what it sounds like. You have been lying as well.
    Imsebastiangray: When have I ever lied to you?
    Ashley: Well, technically you didn’t, but dammit, Sebastian, I know your secret.
    Imsebastiangray: My secret?
    Ashley: That you’re gay!
    There was no writing from the other end of the chat. I was still so ticked off that I wasn’t worried at the moment, but I knew I would be if he didn’t answer. I waited a few more seconds.
    Imsebastiangray: What are you talking about? Those are only rumors!
    Ashley: Is it a rumor when it’s coming straight out of your mouth?
    Imsebastiangray: What?
    Ashley: Sebastian, stop! I heard you in New York… in the restroom… you were telling someone on the phone that you didn’t want it out that you were gay. Apparently, somebody in an interview was trying to misquote you.
    Imsebastiangray: Oh okay…. So now you’re an eavesdropping liar.
    Okay, that hurt. I mean that really hurt. I struggled to try and explain.
    Ashley: Sebastian, please! Let’s just stop. This is getting out of hand. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. I had gone into the restroom to try and get myself together before approaching you and coming clean to you about being a guy. You came in and were on the phone. I didn’t want you to find out about my lie while standing in a dark restroom in New York, so I hid in one of the stalls so that you wouldn’t see me.
    Imsebastiangray: You know what? You’re right; this is getting out of hand. I was going to tell you that I will be in Savannah next week working on a movie and perhaps we could talk. But I see now, there is no use in that. Just forget it.
    And boom—Sebastian was gone. He clicked right out of our chat and disappeared. For a moment I was in shock until I realized he might not ever chat with me again. Putting my head in my hands, I just closed my eyes. Why couldn’t I just keep my big mouth shut? Now, I’ve really ruined everything!

Chapter 12
     
     
    October 14th
     
    AS I walked through the historic district of Savannah, I thought about how awful the past week had been. If I had thought the two weeks after New York were bad, then these past two weeks had been hell. After Sebastian left our chat—hung up on me—I had plastered photos of myself all over Facebook. So that if by chance he bothered to look, he would see me as a man, a nurse, and as a vampire this past Halloween. But I made my point. Let him look, let him see that I was real.
    But now I had stooped to a new low… even for me. I knew Sebastian was in town, and I think he had tried to call me. Two days ago I saw I had a missed call from the downtown Hyatt Regency, and since I don’t know anyone staying at a hotel, I was almost positive it was Sebastian. There hadn’t been a message, which made me even more miserable than I was before. On one hand he had tried to call, but on the other hand, he felt the need to call me from a hotel-room telephone rather than his cell phone. Obviously he didn’t want me to know who it was.
    Walking along the cobblestone street, I spotted cameras and cameramen poised on top of something that looked like a ladder.