Chapter 27
Kylie glanced at Cameron, her eyes saying everything. “Okay, all right, you get some rest. Your dad and I will leave you alone for now.”
Lydia nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
As soon as they stepped out of the room, Kylie tugged Cameron aside, her face twisted in worry. “She’s definitely upset. We need to figure out how to cheer her up.”
Cameron nodded right away. “Absolutely. Lydia went through so much today. We have to do something special for her.”
Kylie scrunched her brows, thinking hard. “So what should we get her?”
Problem was, they’d already showered her with gifts earlier. What else could they give her that would actually make her smile?
“Let’s get her a plane,” Cameron suggested, totally serious.
Kylie’s eyes went wide and she perked up instantly. “Yes, yes, yes! She loved those three Tomahawk bikes, and she’s got that cool vibe. A plane totally fits her.”
Cameron added, “And her backpack is so old but she still won’t throw it out. Let’s get her a hundred in the same style, all different colors or whatever. She can switch them out every day.”
Kylie clapped her hands. “I love it. You’re so thoughtful.”
“And let’s send her three hundred million for spending money. She can buy whatever she wants.”
Kylie gave him a big thumbs up. “Best idea ever. Let’s go get this sorted.”
Meanwhile, Lydia was putting away the first-aid kit and reached for her phone out of habit, only to remember it had died last night after she got back from the mountain. She’d been so busy at the Norwood house, she never plugged it in before bed.
She hunted it down, plugged it in, and waited for it to come back to life. There was so much to catch up on.
After a minute, her phone powered up. Instantly, it started buzzing and ringing
nonstop. Most people would have thought it got hacked or something, but for Lydia, this was just another day.
Messages: 99+
Missed calls: 99+
Livestream app: 99+
Every other app: 99+
She rubbed her forehead, sighing. So much for disappearing for a bit.
Before she could read a single message, her phone started ringing again. Caller ID: Sue.
She picked up.
Sue sounded shocked that Lydia answered so fast, and immediately started yelling, “Oh my god, Lydia! You finally answered! If the guys hadn’t tracked you to the Capital, we’d have thought you actually fell off a mountain!”
Lydia just waited. “What’s up?”
Sue let out a dramatic sigh. “Lydia, there were two hundred thousand people watching your livestream last night. You just cut it off, no warning, nothing. Your fans are freaking out. Some of them actually called the police because they thought you fell off a cliff!”
Lydia kept it simple. “I’m fine. Something came up.”
Sue sounded like she was about to cry with relief. “Okay, good. But seriously, you need to let your thirty million followers know you’re alive or the cops are going to organize a rescue team for you.”
“Got it.”
After hanging up, Lydia opened her streaming app. Her account, Chief Lydia, had thirty million followers and an inbox so full she couldn’t keep up.
The latest videos had comment sections that looked like chaos.
Some of the top comments had over a hundred thousand likes, like:
[Oh my god, did Chief Lydia fall off a cliff?]
[I think so, I saw the camera spin.]
[She made a sound, then nothing.]
[Someone call for help, it’s pitch black and raining out there.]
She scrolled to today’s new comments: ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ
[There’s still no update from Chief Lydia after a whole night. Did something really happen to her? I love her so much. She cured my insomnia of over ten years. I hope she’s okay. Praying for her.]