Page 75 of The Wrong Costar

I let out a sigh. “Perhaps I’ve been going about this the wrong way,” I said. “I’ve been so busy caving to her every demand, but maybe, what I should be doing is trying to get out from under her thumb.”

Zeke slowly started to smile. “What are you thinking?”

“Well, I’m sure I’m not the only member of my family with things they’d like to hide. I think we should do a little digging of our own.”

Zeke’s smile stretched into a wide grin. “Consider me on it.”

I grabbed Zeke’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. “Thanks, I seriously don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Tell me about it; let’s hope you never find out,” he replied with a chuckle.

I smiled in return. If I could stop my mother from managing my affairs, there was no doubt in my mind that the guy standing in front of me would be taking her place.

“You better get downstairs to the gym,” Zeke said. “Your trainer’s waiting for you.”

I let out a long breath and nodded. I actually felt like being punished right now, so a training session was exactly what I needed. I paused before walking out the door and turned back to Zeke.

“I know I shouldn’t contact Teagan, but do you think you could get in contact with her English teacher and ask him to return my part of our joint assignment to her.”

Zeke frowned. “Why would you want me to do that?”

“Because maybe she won’t hate me quite so much if she reads it.”

* * *

I had hopedthat as the days passed my thoughts about leaving Teagan would subside. I’d thrown myself into preparation forUnder the Bleachers, but even a week later after leaving her, I was still drowning in guilt. I was desperate to contact her, but I knew she was better off not hearing from me. Nothing I could say would fix things, and I wanted to give her the space she needed to focus on the play.

I was struggling with being apart from her though, and by the time the day before the play rolled around, I was regretting ever allowing myself to cave to my mother’s wishes. I was also completely distracted.

“Liam, are you okay?”

I snapped to attention and realized I’d just missed my line.Again.I focused on myUnder the Bleacherscostar Mallory, who was staring at me with concern. She was one of the most popular teen actresses in Hollywood and was well known for her talent, beauty, and dedication to her roles. She just wasn’t the actress I wanted to be standing opposite right now.

It was our second day of shooting the movie, after days of script read-throughs, and we’d been retaking the same scene for hours. It was my fault we hadn’t nailed it yet, and I knew it was because I couldn’t keep focused. My thoughts were constantly drifting to Lincoln High and the performance that would be going on there tomorrow night. The performance I wouldn’t be a part of.

“Liam?” Mallory prompted.

“I’m fine.” I gave her an empty smile before glancing at our director. Josh Winkler was in his late twenties and fairly young to be directing such a big budget film, but everyone in the industry was desperate to work with him—me included. After winning critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival with his debut indie flick a few years back, he’d become a hot commodity. I couldn’t afford to make a mess of what could be my one chance to work for him.

“Sorry, I missed my line,” I said to Josh.

“It’s okay, Liam,” he replied. “Let’s start the scene from the top again.”

I nodded, trying to put Teagan from my mind so I could focus on the girl in front of me. We had to do several more takes of the scene before Josh was finally happy with it and announced we were wrapped for the day.

I couldn’t wait to get off set. It had been a long day, and ever since I’d returned to L.A., I’d begun to resent the movie I’d worked so hard to be a part of. The job might have brought me to Lincoln High in the first place, but it was also the reason I had to leave the school early and, more importantly, Teagan.

I just wished there was a way I could escape for a few hours to be at Teagan’s performance tomorrow. I wanted to support her, but I was due on set all day every day for the foreseeable future. Unless I wanted to lose my part in the movie, I had to be in L.A. I also couldn’t risk leaving when my mother was still blackmailing me with photos of Teagan.

“Liam? Could I have a word?” Josh asked as I started toward my trailer. My stomach pooled with dread, and I felt certain I was about to be reprimanded. I’d tried my best to concentrate today, but my performance had been completely lacking. My heart just wasn’t in the movie at all.

I gave him a nod and came to stand before him. He glanced past me, hesitating as he waited for some of the crew to walk out of earshot, and I waited silently for him to speak.

“I could see you were struggling a bit with your focus today, so make sure you get a good night’s sleep tonight,” he said, once we were finally alone. “When you come to this set, I need you completely present.”

“Yeah, I know, and I’m sorry about that. I’ll be better tomorrow.”

Josh grinned and slapped me on the shoulder. “I know you will. You did really well in the cast read last week, and the scenes we shot yesterday were great. I’m impressed by your dedication.”

---