The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural Read online

  "So after the crowd dies down I talk to this kid. Tell him hey I'm making a movie we're having casting calls for a part I think you can nail. Wanna come with?" she sighed, "And that was that."

  Dylan beamed. She finished talking just in time for him to sign off. The lights faded and the camera crew scurried across the stage to re-fluff the scenery. Dylan stood up to grab some snacks, and in the audience turned to chat with their neighbors. Lotus leaned back in her seat and stared up at the mess of lights and wires over the set. She hoped no one would come to talk to her. When a camera was to her face, she could be anything she wanted. When she was alone, she liked to keep it that way. Today was just another day in Lotus Stelter's mostly quiet life.

  As her head stayed flopped against the cushion, she reached into her pocket and whipped out her one-of-a-kind, Stelter- DiAchi Tec cell phone and sent a quick text to one of her only friends. Mirage hadn't texted back in months. Lotus knew her as one of Michael’s cousins. One of his distant cousins since they looked nothing alike. She and, who Lotus thought was her brother, Shadow were some of Lotus’s few but close friends. They were never around much, because they were constantly traveling, but she enjoyed the few moments she had with them. Especially Mirage. She was the only girl Lotus felt close enough with to share secrets. But of course, she hadn’t revealed all of them. Kasper, her manager, was the only person alive that knew her inside and out.

  The question of Mirage’s whereabouts was constantly nagging in the back of Lotus's mind. She had meant to ask Michael about it, but conversations never tended to be aimed in the direction of relatives.

  "Ready, Lotus?" Dylan asked flopping down on the couch beside her.

  Lotus looked up just in time to see the host wipe off a dribble of cream cheese from his lip before saying, "Show starts in one minute."

  Once more, the camera man began his countdown and Lotus sat up looking prim and proper. Her red lips formed the sweetest smile by the time the camera man counted back to one.

  "Welcome back!" Dylan exclaimed, "I'm here with Lotus Stelter and international rock sensation: Michael Caster!"

  Lotus's smile dropped. She managed to keep most of the puzzled expression from flooding her face when she glanced back at the host. But the crowd had already begun cheering. She had thought this segment was going to be solely about her. A spotlight appeared over Lotus’s head and fell into the far corner of the stage. She knew he was coming before she even saw him.

  When Michael Caster stepped out from behind the wall, he waved at the excited audience then blew a kiss at Lotus. She watched as the superstar marched in his pompous swagger to the center of the stage. His olive colored skin seemed darker than usual as if he had just been to the beach. The ends of his straight bangs had been freshly dyed a lively red and flung diagonally across one eye, while the rest of his almost black hair curled around in a messy carefree way. His red checkered button up matched the color of his bangs and clung to his lean torso. Aside from his black ripped skinny jeans, the only break in the redness was his cotton candy blue boxer shorts protruding above his metal belt when he bowed to the house.

  "Lozey!" he exclaimed with his heavy Australian accent before finally taking a seat beside her. That was his nickname for her. At first Lotus thought it was cute, until she realized he had given a nickname to almost everybody he knew. "Miss me?" he slid a toned arm around her shoulder and expected her to cave into him.

  Lotus wasn’t sure what to say. Her wide eyes stared into his chocolaty ones with an expression like he had just come back from the dead. "I didn't know you were going to be here." she mentioned after Michael gave her a quick kiss.

  "That was the point." Dylan noted. "You've just been Flabbergasted Lotus Stelter!"

  Lotus should have known. It was a common thing for the Dylan Dade Show to ‘flabbergast’ the interviewee. Lotus wasn’t sure what to do at this point. She knew without a doubt that they would have to talk about their relationship. But she couldn’t act like her love life was wonderful in front of a camera only to tell him later that she wanted to break up.

  "I like the red." She smiled, running her fingers through his hair quickly. “It’s for the new album right?” He had already told her about the hair change but Lotus was hoping that she could steer the conversation away from their love life and more to their music.

  Michael beamed; his big singer lips and mouth almost consumed his face. “Yeah,” he replied not taking his eyes from her, "Thanks, Lozey."

  "Speaking about your new album," Dylan cut in, and a wave of relief rushed through Lotus when he turned the flow of the conversation to their music. "How many Caster-Stelter combo's does it include?"

  "One." answered Michael and the audience gasped. "Yeah, it’s crazy."

  Lotus shrugged and opened her mouth to add, but Michael beat her to it. "We like to change the theme behind every album we drop, and this one doesn't break the trend. Last album we featured Lozey Stelter, this one; we found us a new voice."

  Lotus and Dylan both raised their eyebrows as they waited for him to explain.

  "My bass mate has quite the talent." Michael explained.

  "August Matthews?" inquired the host leaning forward, "His eyes are beautiful. I mean that in a heterosexual way."

  The house audience chuckled as Lotus and Michael nodded in agreement.

  "Yeah, but the bloke is a brilliant rapper-" then he stopped and gazed at the nearest camera wide eyed as the audience sucked in a breath of surprise.

  "Did you say rapper?" asked Lotus with her mouth just as agape as anyone else in the studio. She had hoped that since she was his girlfriend, Michael would have told her the theme behind their newest album rather than finding out the same time as the entire world. "You guys are rapping in your new album?"

  Michael shrugged and leaned back in his seat. As he sat there nervously nibbling on his lip, Lotus could hear the phone in his pocket vibrating madly. It was probably August watching this show as it broadcasted live to the states. Or someone even angrier- his manager. "Well, I've never been the best with secrets." he confessed then cleared his throat and glanced over at Lotus. “So while I’m spilling, I might as well confess you something.”

  While sitting on the couch, they were roughly eye level and when Michael flung his hair, Lotus could see into those dark mocha eyes. She had seen this look before. From Michael and from lots of other guys, mostly other famous actors who shared the lead role with Lotus in romance movies. Even for her music videos, right before she was supposed to kiss a supermodel, they would gaze at her with that admiration. Every look was the same as if every guy shopped at the same store for facial expressions. She wished she could say that there was something different about Michael’s expression of love, but there really wasn’t. She wasn’t in love with him.

  "Lozey, you know how horrid I am at keeping secrets." he began in that voice she had heard too many times.

  True. Too true. Lotus had known Michael for years now. She of all people knew how bitterly blunt Michael could be. It wasn't that he was bad at keeping secrets; it was that he didn't know how to consider others. Caring Diaz always had a different surprise in each new album, and Michael's little comment about August just stole all of his bandmate's thunder. August was never going to bask in the glory of being the star of their latest album now and Michael had no idea. Lotus wasn’t even sure if he cared.

  "So let me just confess to you," he began taking Lotus by the hands, "on live TV, how much I love you."

  Lotus was an actress, a darn good one too. But even as she kept her face straight, she couldn't keep her stomach from cringing. Was he about to propose a marriage?!

  Not now. He couldn't be doing this now! Not on live television. Technically they had been dating for nearly a year now. But sometimes they would go months without seeing each other. Either Lotus was off filming, or Michael was on tour again. But regardless of the length of time, whenever they did see each other, Michael always had a way of picking up right where they had lef
t off. She loved that they could still have a good time even if it had been a while since they last spoke. But it wasn’t enough to make her fall in love.

  The audience aawed and as Lotus glanced past Michael's shoulder, she saw several of the woman in the house tenderly clutch their own hearts. They all fell for it; Michael's charm. The dreamy bad-boy Australian singer was just the cover of the book and Lotus was the only one who knew him well enough because she already read the pages.

  "Lozey, you bring out the best in me. You make me smile so much I fall asleep with a grin on my face. This might be kind of silly, but sometimes I get butterflies when we kiss or hold hands." He spoke beautifully with a corner of his lips turned up and took both of her hands in his. "I love you Lozey, and I have for a long time now. Will you do me the honor of-?"

  “No.” Lotus said quickly before Michael could finish speaking. Her heart was beating like a horse race in her chest and she pulled her hands away from his to cover her mouth. She didn’t mean to cut him off, but the nerves had flared up in her chest to the extent that she exploded.

  “Yes,” she stammered, feeling the palms of her hands begin to sweat. “I mean…” Lotus had to think fast. Every fiber of her being wanted to take a vase and slam it against his face. How could he think that he would make a good husband when he didn’t even have time to answer her text? Let alone, how could he possibly think that asking her on live television to be his wife was a romantic gesture?

  "You're so sweet." she giggled slapping him on the bicep. She had no idea what she was doing but the pressure of a thousand eyes was suffocating. "How could anyone not want you?"

  He beamed as the audience cheered. "So is that a yes?"

  “I…” Lotus sputtered, “Wait what were you going to ask me?”

  Michael grinned as he reached into his pocket to pull out a small box. “Would you marry me?” He asked opening the box so that a very large and expensive diamond glistened up at her.

  “Oh, my goodness.” Lotus gasped covering her eyes so that she didn’t have to look at the ring. “Are you serious right now?” she exclaimed.

  Michael smiled though she couldn’t see. “Of course I’m serious. I love you Loze.”

  Lotus said nothing as she hid behind her suntanned hands. She could feel the awkward tension building on the set as Dylan waited for a response. She couldn’t say yes. She couldn’t promise herself to him like that. But at the same time, she wasn’t willing to embarrass him on live TV by saying no.

  “Can I…” Lotus began hesitantly as she lowered her hands from her flushed face but kept her eyes closed. “I need time to think about this, Michael. I mean marriage is a… it’s a huge deal!”

  Eventually, Lotus slid her eyes open and looked Michael in the eye. He didn’t seem hurt or embarrassed. He just nodded quietly and closed the box in his hand. “Of course love,” Michael remarked. “Take all the time you need.”

  Lotus wasn’t sure why she felt like she had swallowed a stone. She should have been relieved that she managed to talk her way out of an awkward situation, but the atmosphere was still steaming with anticipation. As her eyes skimmed through the crowd of audience members, her eyes rested on the timer counting down to the next commercial break.

  “Who knows, Michael,” Lotus piped as an improvised ice breaker came to her mind. “I mean, you can’t hit the high notes like I can, but you’re still a pretty good singer.” Lotus was stalling now as she watched the timer tick down… eleven… ten… “And if we had babies, they would probably sing like angels. I guess marrying you would be my charitable donation to humanity.”

  "So it's a yes?" Michael asked hopefully.

  Lotus sucked in a big breath as her eyes sailed over to the timer above. Seven... Six... "Guess we'll just have to find out after these commercials!” She beamed into the camera, “But in the meantime, folks, I would just like to say that Dylan Dade and Michael Caster have successfully Flabbergasted me!" Two... One... Off air.

  The moment the broadcast went off air, Lotus felt the weight immediately lift from her shoulders. “What the heck was that?” Lotus exclaimed turning to Michael as she stood up angrily. She had only agreed to be on the show for two commercial breaks so there was really no need for her to stay on the set any longer. “I can’t believe you put me in a situation like that!”

  “Like what?” Michael asked gazing up at her.

  Lotus bit her lip and glanced around. Instead of sprinting off stage, Dylan Dade had stayed to listen to their conversation. There were a thousand things she wanted to say to him in that moment, but she couldn’t say them publicly. “Are we still going surfing after this?” she asked instead.

  Michael furled his brow, “Of course, Loze. Why wouldn’t we?”

  Lotus didn’t feel like answering. All she ended up doing was nodding and muttering, “Good, I’ll see you there.” Then she turned to Dylan and excused herself from the set.

  In several strides, she was back stage and wondering through the jungle of sound boxes, props, and cords. Her dressing room was just down the hall and she managed to wonder through without any of the technical crew recognizing her. When she bolted the door shut, she didn’t bother to flip on the lights. Lotus simply buried her face in the pile of costumes as she flopped down on the couch.

  Why did she even bother with Michael? She knew him long enough to recall several abandoned birthdays, where instead of being the best friend who organized a party; Michael would be partying in Vegas. Even on award nights, Michael wouldn't be there to support Lotus. Not unless he was winning an award too. How had they been together for so long?

  After realizing that having her face buried in clothes wasn't the best way to breath, Lotus sat up. She wanted to be alone, but not alone with her haunting thoughts. Even in the darkness of her dressing room, Lotus could imagine the beach and hear the crashing waves beckoning her. That was where the wanted to be; alone with nothing but the surf to clear her mind. Without hesitation, Lotus padded through the dark for her car keys before hurrying from the studio.

  ~DH took her hand in his and was about to sink to his knee for the second time. “Rose,” he muttered gently.

  She looked up at him with those gentle blue eyes; her ginger lashes were so pale that even in the dim lighting of the old South Side garage he could barely see them. “What’s up?” she asked.

  She had said that the last time he was about to propose; when they were at that expensive tower restaurant in North Side. She had looked so beautiful in that dark blue gown with her long crimson curls tumbling around her. He had sunk to his knee right in front of her- right in front of the whole restaurant and reached into his pocket to find… the ring missing. Instead of looking like a bigger fool than he felt, he tied his shiny shoes and was thankful his skin was dark enough to cover his furious blush before he ended up asking her a lame question like, Did you hear about what Congress is doing about that thing in Japan?

  But this time he could feel the small jewelry box pressed against his leg, and he slid his hand in his pocket. He should have waited for a more romantic moment, but this question had been annoying him for weeks now. They hadn’t been doing anything but fixing old car engines- well Rose did that. DH tried not to break things.

  He took a deep breath and sank down to one knee. Rose’s eyes grew huge and she pressed a hand to her thin pink lips. “Are you…?”

  Yes he was. He was going to ask her to marry him. The idea might have been a ridiculous months ago, but having the gang split up was one of the best things to happen to him- relationship wise.

  The gang always referred to their group as a family, but DH tended to cringe at that word. For the longest time, he had wanted it to be so much more. With Rose, anyway. For about as far back as he could remember he had had the biggest crush on her. And for a while, just being able to see her face every day was enough to satisfy.

  As the years went on, that satisfaction turned into a strange sort of hunger. She always wore the happiest smile, always there to h
elp out, always a great listener- not to mention she knew how to party. He would adore her from a distance, but their friendship had been too precious to ruin. He had considered dropping out of the gang just so that he could start a relationship with her, but he couldn’t risk the idea of not being able to see her every day.

  He was her best friend, and when her sister passed, that’s what Rose needed the most. He was there from the moment she needed a tissue to the moment she fell asleep on his shirt stained with tears. They had shared secrets to the point that they knew what color socks the other was wearing. Hours and hours would fly by as their intimate conversations grew deeper until finally, she kissed him.

  At first DH though he had dozed off within the night and was having the strangest delusions. But it was real. She really loved him more than he had thought.

  “Rose Dare,” he said locking his dark eyes to her fare ones, “Will you make me the happiest man alive and-”

  Just then someone barged into their garage and knocked over a cart full of tools. It was Ace with Lee bleeding in his arms. Rose gasped and DH sprang to his feet. Before Ace even said anything, Rose was hurrying him to the corner of the room. There was a loft with a sofa set and a television, but it was certainly not the environment for a girl bleeding to death.

  “What happened?” DH exclaimed as he reached for his phone.

  “No, don’t.” Ace ordered and his tall friend froze his fingers.

  “She’s dying.” Rose whimpered. That was the first time she had seen Lee in a month. But her sight brought back so many horrible memories. For some reason, she imagined Lee bleeding from her abdomen and she was wearing an elegant crème colored gown…

  “Get me a cloth, Rose.” Ace said peeling back the already drenched rags on her leg.

  At the sound of her name, she remembered there was a first aid kit right behind the couch. “Here,” she announced grabbing the kit and throwing it open. There was a stash of gauze right at the top and she tossed them over to Ace.

  When he didn’t catch it, Rose glanced over and realized he was jabbing his forearm with a screwdriver. “What are you doing?!!” she wailed.