Love Me Sweet (A Bell Harbor Novel) by Tracy Brogan

you. Oh, but I do have some good news. Our producers have agreed to start taping the next season of Pop Rocks without you. We’re all pretending like you’re out scouting locations where Mom can open another soap boutique.”
    Delaney should feel relieved, but the victory was oddly hollow. “Is anyone buying that story?”
    “I don’t think so. Rumors abound, but so far no one has suggested that you’re cowering inside of an abandoned lighthouse in Michigan knitting baby hats.”
    “I’m not cowering.” She was totally cowering. “But what kind of rumors are we talking about? Stuff that’s worse than the truth?”
    “Oh, the usual celebrity stuff. That you’re in rehab. You’re off getting breast implants to show off in the next video. That kind of thing. Sorry, Lane.” Her sister had a habit of apologizing for things without actually sounding the least bit sorry. “You might want to shut down your Facebook account, though,” Melody added.
    “Why? What’s on there?” She seized the computer again and her fingers flew over the keyboard, bringing up her page.
    “Just stupid stuff,” Melody answered. “Mean stuff. It’s just the haters being ignorant.”
    Delaney gasped as she saw the screen. Post after post of comments filled it, some with still shots of Delaney leaning over Boyd’s lap. The images were blurry, so blurry you could hardly see her face, and if not for the quarter-sized hummingbird tattoo on her shoulder blade, she might have doubted it was her. But it was her.
    Who says it’s hard to get a-head in Hollywood?
    Why master-bate when you can Master-son?
    Delaney Masterson sure knows how to pop rocks off.
    “Oh, my God, Mel. These are awful.” Delaney’s eyes began to water.
    “I told you not to look, Lane. Just delete the whole page.”
    “But even if I delete it, these pictures are still out there.” Her lungs felt full of sharp rocks as she tried to breathe. “Why are people so mean?”
    “They’re just jealous,” Melody answered.
    “Nobody is jealous of me for having a sex tape.”
    “No, but they’re jealous because of who our parents are and because we have a TV show. People think we have it easy because now we’re getting famous. They don’t understand the struggle is real.”
    Delaney set the laptop next to her and punched at the pillow behind her, trying to get comfortable although dread made that impossible. “It’s so unfair. We agreed to live our lives out in the open for the sole purpose of entertaining people and then they turn on us.”
    “I know, but unfortunately, in the absence of any defense from you, the trolls will keep attacking. If you came home, head held high—uh, sorry. I mean, well you know what I mean. Stand up for yourself.”
    “I am standing up for myself by choosing to not add more fuel to Boyd’s infamy. As soon as this is no longer news, I’ll come home.”
    “In that case, you’d better get more yarn, because you’ll have plenty of time to make baby hats.”
    “Don’t count on it. Knitting is way harder than it looks, but honestly, even if I wanted to come home, I’m stuck here under an avalanche of sno—”
    The lamp next to her bed flickered and went out, leaving her in the gray shadows of the room. “Shoot. My light just burned out. I’ll call you back later. I have to figure out if there are any extra light bulbs in this place.”
    “Do you know how to change a light bulb?” Melody’s familiar teasing made Delaney more homesick than ever.
    “No, but maybe there’s an app for that. I’ll call you later.”
    She set the phone back on the table and got off the bed. It was getting dark outside, the sky a hazy, deepening gray. Just light enough to see that it was snowing. Still snowing. Always, always snowing.
    Delaney walked into the kitchen and flipped the switch. Nothing. No lights. Somehow she must have blown a fuse. She’d seen the electrical box in the basement when Donna Beckett was showing her around. Hopefully