Faded (Rock Star Trilogy)

and the rest of the camera crew rush in front of me. I glare at Peter.
    “Really?” I ask, annoyed. He just shrugs.
    These guys are worse than the paparazzi .
    I walk up the stairs, and knock on Stacy’s door. I hear somebody inside yell, “I got it!”
    The door swings open, and a little girl who looks just like Stacy opens the door. She has the same color of brown hair as Stacy, but her eyes are gray, not like Stacy’s blue eyes. She has freckles spread across her cheeks and nose. Her mouth drops open when she sees me, and then she starts screaming.
    “MOM! OH MY GOD!” she yells. “YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHO IS HERE!”
    I can’t help but laugh. When Stacy was a kid, she was very excitable too. Anna is so much like her, and it’s awesome to see.
    Anna turns to me. “I AM YOUR BIGGEST FAN! Seriously, I have all your songs on my iPod, and I know ALL the words to like every song you sing!”
    Stacy comes up behind Anna, and puts her hands on her shoulders. “Inside voice. You don’t want the neighbors to call the cops.”
    “Sorry, Mom! But THE Scarlett Ryan is here!” Anna lets out a little squeal and turns to me. “ Why are you here ? This is the best day of my life!”
    Stacy laughs. “Maybe if you’d let Scarlett inside, she could explain why she’s here.”
    “Right! Scarlett, please come in.” Anna opens the door so I can walk inside. And of course, the cameras follow. Anna seems excited. “Am I going to be on TV?”
    “Yes, you are.”
    “COOL!”
    At least somebody thinks it’s cool.
    We all sit down in the living room. It’s a decent-sized room. From the outside, I definitely expected it to be smaller. There is a worn, black sectional that we all take a seat on. A small, flat screen TV hangs on the wall, along with a ton of pictures of Anna. It hurts to see the younger pictures of her. I wish I could have seen her grow up. I feel sick to have missed out on it all.
    I look at Stacy, who is looking at me.
    “You should explain,” I tell Stacy.
    Stacy inhales a deep breath. I can tell she’s not sure exactly how to start. “Well, Anna… Scarlett is my little sister, which makes her your aunt.”
    “Shut up, no she’s not!” Anna laughs. “I think I would know if Scarlett Ryan was my aunt .”
    “It’s true,” I tell her.
    “Then why haven’t you visited me before?” She asks me, and then turns to her mom. “And why didn’t you tell me?”
    “Well, Scarlett and I were separated about ten years ago, and I haven’t been able to get hold of her, and she didn’t know where I was,” Stacy answers sadly.
    “Is that why you sometimes cry when you hear her on the radio?”
    “Yeah.”
    “But not anymore, right?”
    Stacy shakes her head. “Nope. Not anymore.”
    Anna then turns to me. “Wait until my friends hear about this! Scarlett Ryan is my aunt ! And I’m going to be on TV. I’m going to be so popular! So, why are you on TV?”
    “It’s a long story.” I laugh. “But the short version is Alec Torch is evil . The camera guys showed up at my house one day, and they wouldn’t leave.”
    “Do I get to meet Alec Torch, too?”
    “Yes, definitely. He’s my best friend, so I’m sure you will get to meet him sometime soon.”
    “I saw pictures of you two kissing on the Internet. Is he your boyfriend?” She giggles, and I can’t help but laugh too.
    “No. He’s definitely not my boyfriend. But I do have a boyfriend, and you will get to meet him soon.”
    “Who is your boyfriend?”
    “Stephan Montgomery. I go to school with him.”
    She crinkles her nose. “You go to school?”
    “Most of the time, yes,” I answer.
    “Is Stephan cute?”
    “Yes, very. He has dark hair, green eyes that sparkle, and a super gorgeous smile.” I try to keep my description of Stephan as PG as possible. I’m not sure what’s appropriate in front of a nine year old, but I’m pretty sure calling his smile “panty-dropping” would be very inappropriate.
    “She’s kind of at the boy crazy stage,” Stacy informs me, shaking her head. “I’m hoping she outgrows it soon.”
    “When I was nine, mom and dad had me so busy that I didn’t have time to even think about boys.”
    “I remember.”
    “I want to be a rock star too,” Anna says.
    I feel excited that my niece wants to be like me. It’s the ultimate compliment. “Well, boys have to take a backseat to your career. You’d have to spend a lot of time practicing. It takes a lot of dedication.”
    She shrugs.