Page 46 of Fan Favorite

Jessa looked up from her phone. “Then why does it matter?”

She really wasn’t hearing him. “You’re really not hearing me. Everything is fucked. We’ve got an injured suitor. We’ve got hysterical contestants. We’ve got insurance liabilities and a completely fucked production schedule, which continues to fuck our already fucked budget. Not to mention this impossible love story. It’s animpossiblelove story. How the fuck are we supposed to get Bennett Charles to propose to this girl on a mountaintop in five weeks when in her very first week in the field, she derails the entire show and breaks his fucking face?”

“God, Peter!” Jessa yelled. “We made amazing TV today! That game wasinsane. Not only do we have endless slo-mo of gorgeous girls in bikinis tearing each other apart, we’ve got Zo’s bare tits, ambulances and paramedics, sobbing contestants, a bleeding Bennett Charles, and you won’t shut the fuck up about Carole Steele and insurance liabilities? Who are you? The Peter Kennedy I know would’ve already been plotting our next move by now.” Jessa took a breath and softened her tone. She put a hand on his shoulder. “Honestly, I’m worried about you, P. You haven’t been acting like yourself. I can’t figure it out. Is it Wyatt? Because that whole thing is behind us, and we have our show. This is it. Last week the nerdiest girl in school got kissed by the most popular guy in school and all the mean girls went crazy.And then today, the most popular guy in school fell off a lifeguard tower, and this little brush with death made everyone realize that it’s more than just a crush—they are in love with him—so what happens next, huh? This isliterallythe most dramatic season ever, and I want to know where the hell Peter Kennedy is, because he’s supposed to be my partner in all of this.”

Peter sighed. He picked at a smear of Bennett Charles’s blood on his jeans. Peter and Jessawerea team. And everything she was saying was right. He was a story guy—he’dalwaysbeen a story guy—so why was he acting like such an administrator? Peter thought about how he couldn’t come with Siobhan riding him, and then for some reason, his mind pulled back into his spotless apartment with the ocean lurking, dark and roiling like an abyss. Wasn’t there a time when he would have loved this? But he couldn’t shake the feeling that what they were doing was wrong—and not wrong in any clear way that he could understand or parse. Like, wrong how? Morally wrong? But since when? Had Peter grown a conscience? But why?

Peter ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the ends to bring himself back to the moment. He tried to explain. “Listen, I know you’re right. I do. It’s just—”

The door to Bennett’s hospital room opened and a doctor so attractive he looked like an actor on a Netflix show stepped into the hall. Peter and Jessa jumped to their feet.

“How is he?” Peter demanded.

“Dr. Kang,” the doctor said, shaking their hands. “The patient”—he referred to his iPad—“Charles Bennett, confirmed I could speak with you. It’s a broken nose. Apparently, he broke it in his teens—reinjury can be common. At this point everything looks superficial; we’ve reset it. He shouldn’t need surgery.”

“That’s great news!” Jessa said, enthusiastically shaking Peter’s bicep. “See, P, everything’s going to be okay.”

“But what about his face?” Peter asked. “He’s the star of our show. When can he start filming again?”

“It’s swollen, but that will go down with time. Ice packs, ibuprofen, rest.”

Peter’s phone began pinging loudly and repeatedly. He dug it out from his pocket as the doctor continued. “Possibly his orbital sphere will bruise as the blood makes its way from the site of injury—”

“Fuck!” Peter yelled. “The tabloids have it!” He shoved the phone at Jessa. “How do the tabloids have it?” Peter scanned the Google alert—

KEYSTAR BENNETT CHARLES SEVERELY INJURED IN “FREAK ACCIDENT”

KEYSUITOR HOSPITALIZED IN LOS ANGELES

THE KEY’S BENNETT CHARLES IN “EMERGENCY SURGERY”

KEYSTAR SUFFERS “EXTREME” FACIAL INJURY

BENNETT CHARLES GRAVELY INJURED ON SET—IS THIS THE END OFTHE KEY?

“Oh my god,” Peter groaned, scanning the articles. “‘This isn’t the first time showrunner Peter Kennedy has been in hot water,’” he read aloud. “Blah, blah, blah, Wyatt Cash—see, Jessa! I told you—”

And then his phone started ringing.Carole Steele, New York, New York.Peter’s eyes went wild and instantly he threw the phone down the hallway. It skidded across the floor and came to rest under the nurses’ station, where Yolanda looked up froma chart and glared before kicking it back out again. It settled in the middle of the corridor, blinking and flashing and vibrating.

“Sir, do you need a Xanax?” Dr. Kang asked. “Because I’m going to need you to calm down. This is a center of healing.”

“He definitely needs a Xanax,” Jessa said.

“I was being facetious,” Dr. Kang said.

“I was perfectly fine before she”—Peter pointed at Jessa—“gave me that Coke.”

Dr. Kang assessed Peter. “At this point I should make it clear we don’t allow illegal drugs on hospital grounds. I will call security.”

“Coca-Cola,” Jessa clarified, shoving Peter through the door of Bennett’s room. “Thank you so much, Doctor. I’ll make sure he behaves himself, and we’ll be out of your hair in no time. But while I have you here, is there someone I can talk to about taking maybe just one camera into our patient’s room? Maybe you can help with that? Just for a minute? I’m sure you can imagine how documenting our star’s injury would be an important part of documenting his journey. We’ll be quick.”

“You’d have to go down to hospital administration, but they’re unlikely to approve. We just had a Housewife in last week for a vaginoplasty, and they put the kibosh on that before the very first Kegel. Cedars is better for that sort of thing—the doctors think they’re celebrities. It’s embarrassing, really.” Dr. Kang looked Jessa up and down and then smiled a smile that had clearly worked for him many times before. “But how about you take in one camera, we’ll keep it between us, and when you’re done, we go for a drink?”

Jessa looked Dr. Kang up and down and smiled a smile that had clearly worked for her many times before. “After today, I’m going to need at least three.” She leaned in. “And I’m definitely into recreational Viagra, so don’t forget the samples.”

WYATT CASH TALKS BENNETT CHARLES’S “MAJOR” ON-SET INJURY

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