Moments Lost and Found Read Free Page A

door.
When she heard it close behind her she realized, she suddenly had no idea what
the hell was going on in her own life.
    It wasn’t until she started to walk through the
lobby that Sam saw the throngs of paparazzi through the front doors. There must
have been a couple dozen. Way more than the previous night. Regardless of how
brave Sam was just moments before in the room with Laurent, she knew she was no
match for what was outside. She quickly turned around and headed back into the
hotel. She couldn’t return to the room. She needed to run, she needed to clear
her head. She asked the concierge if there were a back door and explained why.
He led her through the staff entrance in the back for which she was grateful.
    It was around 8am when Sam’s feet hit the
pavement, physically jolting her and mentally reminding her to just put one
foot in front of the other. If only everything in life were this clear. One
foot, followed by the other, on a path of her own making. As she started to
work out the kinks in her body, her muscles awoke as the city too started its
day. As she ran, Sam took careful note of which turns she made, knowing well
enough that she could get lost very, very easily if she didn’t pay attention.
That, coupled with the fact that paying attention to which street she was on
and where she was going helped occupy her mind. If she was noting street names
and landmarks that she passed, then she couldn’t be in her head trying to
figure out what may or may not await her back at the hotel.
    For as close as she thought that she and Laurent
had become, she suddenly felt like he was a complete stranger. Obviously, the
paparazzi had set him off. But he was the one who had warned her about them. He
couldn’t have been surprised that they were there. And, it wasn’t like it was
the first time that they had their picture snapped by the gossip rags. It had
happened back at home. But all the conjecture in the world was not going to
explain anything. As Sam finally headed back towards the hotel after over an
hour’s run, she was exhausted and knew that she was ready to talk. She
hoped the same could be said for Laurent. But hell, she didn’t even know if
he’d be there when she got back. She chuckled to herself to take a good look
around because she might be on a plane in the very near future.
    When Sam rounded the corner she realized she
didn’t have a contingency plan for getting back into the hotel. Now sweaty, she
really didn’t want this to be the second picture of her in the press. First
pigtails. Next, sweat-soaked shorts and a tank top. She had a baseball cap on,
perhaps she could make it through unnoticed? She first ran around to the back,
where she had exited earlier, but the doors were the type that could only be
accessed by an employee key card. So, she rationalized that they couldn’t
really know what she looks like, and again, it’s Laurent they’re after.
    She jogged up to the front door with her head
ducked. The minute she got within 10 feet of the door she started hearing her
name being called as the crowd descended on her. She tried to walk, and then
run quickly through the all the men, but there were too many of them in too
small of a space and they closed in as she tried to keep moving forward.
Suddenly, Sam was surrounded on all sides by strangers, jostling, smelling of
stale cigarettes, bumping her with their cameras and their hands. Someone
grabbed her baseball cap and pulled it off her head. As they tugged, it caught
her ponytail and in the commotion she was suddenly being pulled back and down.
All she could see were bodies, faces she didn’t recognize and cameras pointed
at her. From behind, hands were grabbing her ass and arms, pulling her
backwards. She started screaming and tried to fight, jerking her body against
the pulling, trying to get away, but there were so many hands grabbing at her
and flashbulbs going off, men yelling horrible things about her and Laurent.
Her arms had been