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Chapter 4 – Tara

Tara woke up the morning after her night out with Jess, bright and early. She jumped out of bed and turned the radio on, singing along to the music and jumped into a sweat suit. She found her i-pod and was out the door within a couple of minutes, on her way to Central Park for her usual morning run. As she gathered speed she thought about the night before, wondering where Jess had gone. One minute she was there, and the next Nick had yanked her away. “I just hope she’s ok,” Tara thought, stopping to stretch.

When she got home she had breakfast and looked through the new issue of Vogue. Her phone interrupted her halfway through her second cup of coffee.
“Hello?”
“Tara! It’s Marissa. I’ve just got your pictures from the Victoria’s Secret catalogue. They’re gorgeous. You should come by the office and check them out.”
Tara smiled at her agent’s rushed tone. “Yeah. I’ll come by as soon as I’ve finished my coffee and got dressed.”
“Hurry!”
“Yeah, I will.” She hung up and poured her last coffee into the sink. She walked through her apartment to the bathroom, taking a quick look in the mirror before she got in the shower. She was pleased with how she looked, and she knew she deserved it. She had worked hard for her figure and it had paid off well, earning her a job as a model for a bunch of high-end brands. The Victoria’s Secret catalogue was the last in a long line of photo shoots and runway shows, and she’d enjoyed every single moment. She finished her shower and got dressed in a white silk sundress, lined her blue-grey eyes with a black eyeliner, put on some mascara, lip gloss and a pair of sunglasses, brushed her long, dark brown hair and slipped into a pair of black flip flops. She walked the short distance to Marissa’s office.

“Hey!” Tara greeted the receptionist. “Is Marissa in?”
“Yeah. Go right in.”
She softly knocked the door, and before she knew it she had her arms full of her agent.
“You have to, have to, have to see these pictures!”
Tara laughed. “Yeah. That’s why I’m here you know.”
“Yeah. Come on then!” Marissa took a pile of pictures and spread them across her desk. Tara looked over her shoulder as she pointed out the ones she liked best.
“They are nice. I love that one!” she pointed of a picture of herself wearing a set of white bras and panties, with a couple of white wings on her back.
“They wanna use that one for the cover.” Marissa jumped up and down, screaming and clapping her hands.
“Really?” Tara joined Marissa’s jumping and cheered.
“Yes. Really.” Marissa stopped jumping and looked at Tara as if she was crazy.
“Yey!”
“Yeah. It’s nice. More work than you could ever want is coming your way.”
“Good. I want to work.”
“Sooo… did you break any hearts last night?” Marissa asked while she sat down behind her desk.
“What do you know?” Tara smiled slyly.
“There’s a pretty juicy picture of you and Colin Farrell in the papers.”
“Man, they work fast.” She threw herself down on a chair and held up her hands with an innocent gesture.
“Did you get any hot irish action then?” Marissa’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“Nah. Just made out with him. God knows where he’s been.”
“Wanna give me his number?”
“Marissa!”
“Didn’t think so. Ah well, it was worth a try.”
Tara laughed. “Yeah. Gotta go. Great pictures though.”
“Don’t forget the Versace shoot on Thursday.”
“Yeah. Like I’d forget Versace?” She laughed as she walked out of the office, waving goodbye to the receptionist.

When she walked home she thought about Jess again. ‘I have to call her.’ She picked up her cell phone and dialled Jess’s number. When noone answered she bit her lip. ‘Not good. Just like that stupid @#%$ to make her miserable.’ She tried to call again, and when noone answered she left a message on her answering machine. A man grabbed her arm as she passed him, making her stop.
“You’re that Victoria’s secret girl. Maaan, you’re hot.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Gotta go.” She tried to tear herself loose, but he was strong.
“Wanna go on a date with me?”
“No. I have a boyfriend. Let go of me.”
He let her go, and she quickly walked away. She started to get used to those types, but she still felt uncomfortable and unsafe. Her phone rang, made her jump.
“Hello?”
“Hey girl. It’s me.”
“Jess! What’s up? You sound terrible. Nick?”
“Yeah. Nick. Told me a bunch of lies, trying to tell me he didn’t know Jenn was dead.”
“WHAT?!”
“Yeah. I feel like @#%$ right now. I’m going home for awhile. Have to try and get some distance to things.”
“You should. I’m sorry I can’t join you. Versace Thursday.”
“It’s ok, Tara. It’s Versace for crying out loud. Go! Have fun, be gorgeous.”
“I’ll try.” Tara laughed as she reached the door to her apartment building.
“Look, if I’m gonna make it there before it gets dark I have to leave now. I’ll call.”
“Yeah. Do so. Drive safe.”
“Always do.”
“Yeah, but…”
“New York traffic is a bitch,” they finished in chorus, both of them laughing. Tara flipped her phone shut and unlocked her door. She got in, checked her messages. Two of them from some guy she’d been out with once, begging for a second date, and one from Marissa. She could hear her jumping up and down and smiled. Then she started talking, or really she shouted. “Tara! Got a call from Vuitton! They want you to model bags for them. I told them you’re on contract with Versace, and they’re ok with that as long as Versace are. I’m calling them now!” Tara stared at her answering machine for awhile, then started to jump up and down, clutching her own Vuitton bag. “Oh my God!!!! VUITTON!”
She called the agency, but everyone was out for lunch. Unable to sit still she wandered her apartment for awhile, noticed that her cleaning lady had been there, sat down in a chair, moved to another one, then lay down on the couch, sat up again, jumped on the bed, but couldn’t keep still there either. She gave up and decided to take a second round in Central Park. She felt as if she was flying. When she had finished her usual lap she ran back home, bounced up the stairs and into her apartment again. She saw the answering machine flashing and pressed the button, holding her breath in case it was Marissa who had called. It wasn’t, but the voice was just as familiar.
“Tara? It’s Nick. Tried to call Jess, but she didn’t answer. I had no idea, Tara. No idea Jenn was dead.” She heard his voice crack as he finished, “Call me, please. I have to apologize to Jess.”
Tara stared at the machine, suddenly furious. She lifted it up, threw it to the floor and watched as the pieces of it flew all over the room. “How dare you call me and tell me all of these @#%$ lies?” she stomped on a piece of plastic, that cut through her shoe and scratched her foot. “Fuck! OUCH!” she threw herself on the couch and pulled the shoe off to inspect the damage, when it hit her. ‘What if he’s telling the truth?’ She pulled off her sock and muttered to herself “Then he @#%$ owes me an answering machine!”