Jessica

 

I couldn’t focus. Not even a little. Could’ve been because I just got back from seeing my mom in Georgia or it could’ve been the fact that Charlie’s girlfriend was here today. I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting her, but Rob was telling me she’d been all over him from the moment they got to set. I hadn’t had a scene with him yet but for the first time since we’d started filming, I didn’t want too.

Not if I had to put up with that all day. I don’t know why that was such a tough pill to swallow. It’s not like we were anything more than friends, but PDA like that was unprofessional.

Probably why he didn’t move her up with him.

Okay, now I was just being nasty. The girl was probably really nice. Must’ve been if he stayed with her for 8 years. Charlie was too good of a guy to put up with anything less. She probably had her own life in LA and couldn’t just move to every location her man went to for filming. It was understandable.

Then why did I hate her so much?

“All set, darlin’. Last day with the wig, I promise..” Lisa, my main makeup lady tried to assure me.

“Thank god. Last week was unbearable between all the lube and oils.” I laughed as she adjusted the hair piece, tucking in loose strands of hair underneath.

 

After wardrobe, I was taken to the set which consisted of the same bar we’d worked at the week before surrounded by a giant green screen. Charlie was already onset with Rob and his shadow wasn’t too far away, watching his every move. Trying my hardest not to roll my eyes, I waved hello to everyone before glancing over my script. I heard her squeal and Charlie shot her a warning look.

“How was she?” Hugh asked, in a hushed tone.

“Not better not worse.” I answered, not looking up from the sheet of paper in my hands. “Just keeps a smile on her face and tells me life’s too beautiful to sit and worry.”

“She’s a strong woman, sweetheart. Have faith and listen to what she says.”

Easy for him to say.

“You ready?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, walking to my mark by the front door, leaning back against the wall, a cigarette between my lips. .

 

Two men in police uniforms walked into the bar. The crowd suddenly quieted, watching – waiting – to find out what they wanted. The two had a look purpose to them as they scoured the room before their eyes landed on the men.

“You.” They pointed at the brothers.

The two exchanged glances before barreling passed them out the door. The blonde’s eyes met mine again only to disappear a moment later. I should’ve kept my head low and went on about my day but instead I stuck out my leg, tripping both men and making a run out through the back door.

“You! Stop!”

One of them followed me, sprinting as fast as he could but I had a head start, jumping into the front seat of my truck and skidding off the lot and down the road.

A few miles out and I was in the clear. No lights. No sirens. No cops. A black camaro caught my eyes in the distance and I slowed down to their speed. Through their rearview, I could see it was it was him. They nodded a thank you, the younger one offering a relieved smirk. I nodded back, getting off at the next exit.

 

“That’s a wrap!” Hugh yelled out as we got out of the cars approaching him. “Got lots of great footage. Let’s break for lunch and move on to the next scene.”

“Sounds good.” I nodded, feeling Charlie’s eyes watching me. .

“The Burger & Fries guys are here today.” Rob said excitedly, rubbing his hands together before throwing his arms over our shoulders. “You guys down?”

“Yeah.” Charlie laughed at our friends enthusiasm before turning to me, “but first, do you mind if i introduce you to Morgana? She hasn’t stopped asking since she landed on Saturday.”

“Yeah!” I nodded, forcing a smile. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

“Ay, just invite her to lunch with us, I’m starving man.” Rob cut in.

I nodded my head in agreement, looking around to see that she wasn’t in the studio anymore. “Rob’s right. Have her come to lunch with us.”

The words tasted bad coming from my lips. To think of spending the only free 20 minutes I had watching her kiss and hang all over him made my stomach uneasy.

Charlie nodded with a smile, waving a goodbye before running out through the back door to go find Morgana. Rob looked down at me,  patting his stomach.

“Y’know, I can’t tell if this is sympathy weight because Michelle’s pregnant, or if I’ve just let myself go.”

I laughed, pushing him towards the doors. “Maybe burgers and fries shouldn’t be your default meal anymore.”

 

After filling up our plates, Rob and I found a table, and sat back. I should’ve gone to my trailer and eaten there but it was probably better to get this over with. Besides, she hadn’t done anything wrong. No one had. If Charlie was my boyfriend I’d probably be all over him too.

Right. Charlie being my boyfriend. What a joke. After 8 years they were practically married.

He caught my eye and I waved him over, standing to give the nervous girl a hug. She was taller than me, gorgeous lips, pretty face.

“I’ve met a few of Charlie’s co-stars before.” She smiled, slowly pulling away. “But I’ve never been more excited than when I found out he would be working with you! I’ve been such a fan of yours since I was a kid and I saw you on The Night Before Christmas which I’m sure you get a lot! I’ve come to like 10 of your appearances over the years and I don’t know if you even remember but I’ve met you twice for photos and signings.”

“Babe – “ Charlie tried to interject her rambling. “Babe!”

She stopped, realizing that she hadn’t stopped talking enough to catch her breath and finally released the hem of my t-shirt with a shy chuckle.

“I’m sorry, I – “

“No, don’t apologize.” I held a hand up to quiet her with a smile. “It’s great to meet you, it really is.”

Charlie smiled gratefully, sitting across from Rob while his girlfriend walked around to sit across from me. This time it was her that was blatantly staring at me.

“So! What are you guys doing after lunch?”

“We’re going into makeup and wardrobe, then Rob and I have a few things to film before Jess comes in.”

“Yeah. Looks like we’re in for another late night depending on Hugh’s mood.” Rob chimed in between bites of his burger.

 

Charlie

 

I’d never seen Morgana as starstruck as she was today. It was so distracting that a PA had to ask her to step outside during the first shoot. She was always shy and composed but Jess had this effect on everybody. Even I called everyone I knew after our first audition.

Morgana was back to normal for the scenes we did without Jess and I made her promise to behave once Jess was back on set. Last thing I wanted was to be talked at by Hugh who was in anything but a good mood today. Plus, it was embarrassing.

Rob and I got to our markers, rehearsing our next scene while Morgana sat in one of the fold out chairs watching us for a while until Jessica came in. Her makeup was back to the way it’d looked on the first day of shooting. Wet, scarred, bloody, but still beautiful. They’d also taken the blonde wig off which I’m sure provided some sort of relief. She’d mentioned how irritating it was with all the prosthetics and lube.

She glanced my way and smiled, walking over to Hugh for stage directions before walking to her marker, laying back on the motel bed.. Her eyes shot behind me to Morgana, who’s cheeks were flushed red with blush that the moviestar even acknowledged her with a small wave.

“Alright,” Hugh called out as PA assistants and cameramen scattered to their places. “Everyone knows what their doing?”

With a nodd from the three of us, he yelled action.

 

I leaned against the dresser, staring at the girl in the bed. Her chest rising and falling slowly but enough to let me know she was alive. While Mark had gone out to find us something to eat, I had done my best to clean her up as much as I could and changed her out of her wet clothes and into one of my t-shirts. It was then that I’d seen the extent of how much damage the crash had caused.

“Found out who our mystery girl is.” Mark said, shutting the motel room door behind him as he tossed the newspaper at me. “Second page, first story.”

“Search continues for missing Dallas Socialite.” I read aloud. Mark took a sip from a freshly opened bottle of beer, nodding his head for me to continue. “14 months after the disappearance of Blake Prescott, authorities say their leads have gone cold, yet her husband Collin, still holds out hope.”

“You think she was kidnapped or some shit?” I asked, not ripping my eyes away from the picture of her in the paper.

She looked different from the last time I saw her. Way different than she did now. She looked polished. Her hair styled professionally, her dress conservative but sexy, her smile pearly, lips glossed with a shade of pink.

“Don’t know. Not our problem. Look, whatever’s going on with her, it ain’t the kind of attention we need on us.” He said harshly. “We’re leaving at dawn. When room service comes, they can deal with it.”

“We can’t just leave her!” I argued. “What if she dies?”

“Look little brother, I don’t know how well she fucked you a year ago that’s got you so wound up right now, but you can’t save everyone. She got herself into this bullshit. We have our own problems. When room service finds her, I’m sure they’ll call an ambulance and she’ll get taken to a hospital or some shit.”

“No!” She couched, making the first sound we’d heard since we found her.

Her voice was weak, raspy, barely audible.

The two of us turned instantly. Her eyes opened slightly, just enough to see the whites.

“No hospitals.” She croaked out with a weak attempt to sit up. “He’ll find me.”

“Who?” I asked.

The two of us stepped closer. Placing my hands on her shoulders, i calmed her into lying back down.

She groaned, defeated in her attempt to hold herself up. “He can’t find me. Please.”

She looked into my eyes for a brief moment before passing back out.

“Shit.” I mumbled, looking back up at Mark. “I’m not leaving her. Clearly she’s running from something.”

“Goddamn it, August!” Mark threw his drink at the wall. The bottle smashing into tiny pieces. “When are you going to get it through your thick ass head that we don’t have anyone else in this world other than each other? You think this chick would be doing the same for you of the positions were the other way around?”

“She did once.” I reminded, trying to keep my cool.

“You’re fucking impossible.” He sighed, walking back out of the room with a slamming of the door.

“Cut.” Hugh yelled. “Makeup on set. Charlie’s got some shine on his forehead from the lights.”

Jess opened her eyes, sitting up on her elbows as makeup swarmed the set, applying powder to both of our heads.

“Rob’s got that raw emotion down.” She laughed, looking up at mel.

“Yeah, never expected that from him.” I added, closing my eyes to avoid getting powder in them.

“Must not be getting any not that Michelle’s ready to pop.”

I laughed, hitting her leg lightly. “Shh! I feel bad for the guy.”

“Me too, she added laying back with a smirk on her face. “There’s a reason his right arm looks so much bigger than his left.”

I leaned over laughing, unable to hold back. It was rare you got to joke like that with a woman, but Jess was always making us laugh every time we were on set.

“Charlie get one your next Marker.” Hugh called out.

 

Jessica

 

We’d finished wrapping and I wanted nothing more than to go home, take a hot bath, and go to sleep. The sound of moaning coming from Charlie’s apartment wasn’t going to allow me to do that. After changing into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, I ended up in the small yard in the back. It was dimly lit, overlooking the water, providing the perfect serenity I needed to get my mind off of what they were doing upstairs.

With a glass of wine in one hand, a book in the other, I made myself comfortable on one of the benches.

“Hey mom.” I smiled to myself, holding the phone between my shoulder and my ear while I flipped through the pages of my book.

“Hi, honey. Isn’t it late what time is it over there?”

“It’s pretty late. I just got off set. Having some wine before i get to bed. How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I’m hanging in there. Don’t you worry about me.”

“Come on, it’s not like I have anything better to do.” I joked. “Did you see the doctor today?”

She chuckled on the other end. “No, no – I didn’t feel up to it. Rescheduled for Friday.”

“Ma.” I sighed. “You can’t keep rescheduling these things.”

“Oh hush now. Since when did you become the parent? I lead a whole life before you became old enough to boss me around missy.”

“Since you became terminally ill, Ma.”

“Now, Jessica. We can’t dwell on that. I have never lived my life with a fear of anything and I will not start now. God will do with me as he pleases.”

We’d had these same conversations for the better part of a year. It didn’t make them any easier.

Hanging my head, I sighed into the receiver. “God is providing you with exceptional healthcare. You’re the one avoiding it.”

“Hush now. It’s late. It’s no use arguing about things we can’t change. I’m going to get some shut eye, baby. I love you.”

“I love you to mom.”

Hanging up, I stared at the picture of us on the screen. Back when she was vibrant and alive. Healthy.

“You okay?” Charlie’s voice caused me to jump. “Shit. Didn’t meant to scare you. I’m sorry.”

Turning my head to face him, I offered a weak smile. He’d showered. His hair was still damp with droplets of water wetting his t-shirt.

“Yeah.” I tried to nod. “Yeah – I’m fine.” Scooting to leave him some room, I lifting my glass offering him some. “Where’s Morgana?”

He accepted the glass, taking a slow sip. “In the shower. Look – i know we’re pretty secluded from everyone while we’re up here, but if you need anyone to talk to, I’m all ears. Is something going on with your mom?”

I hadn’t opened up to a lot of people about my mom. Chris knew. Some friends knew. Charlie was right, out here we were by ourselves. Having someone to talk to would be nice.

With a breath for courage, I lifted my eyes to look at him. “Have you read the tabloids about me falling off the map because of a drug problem? Or drinking? Or sex addiction?”

He nodded.

“I disappeared for a while because my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer. I left everything and did whatever I could to make sure she had the best help. If it wasn’t for her pushing me, I wouldn’t have taken this role either.”

“So that’s where you’ve been going every weekend?” He asked, eyes heavy with pity.

“Yeah. I go see her every chance I get. My dad was never around. It’s always been just her and I. If she dies… I have nobody.”

I didn’t realize how much saying that out loud would get to me. Suddenly, tears filled my eyes and I hung my head to hide my face.

“Hey,” Charlie pulled me into his arms. “That’s not true. You got people that care about you. Hugh loves you like his own daughter. You got Chris. You got me…”

His calloused hand cupped my cheek. Thumb brushing my cheek softly. I lifted my eyes to meet his. His piercing blue’s searching mine as his face got closer and closer before his lips met mine.