Page 15 of The Burdens We Share
I nod, knowing I’m just being dramatic. I take a step forward and peek my head inside. I’m acting like my stalker is just gonna pop out from under my bed like the boogeyman. I’m being ridiculous.
Dallas catches me off guard by entering my room and making a show of looking around. Just his silhouette in the doorway shifts the mood of the room. He’s making me feel like I’m achild who’s afraid of the dark rather than a woman who lives alone and whose house was broken into. I have every right to be afraid. “You don’t have to do that,” I murmur, distaste in my voice.
He stops in the middle of my room and just the sight of this tall and very intimidating man standing on a pink fluffy area rug is almost laughable to me. Under different circumstances I might actually laugh. There would be no other circumstance in which Dallas would be in my bedroom though. “Would it make you feel safer if I did?”That shouldn’t make me feel better. But it does.
I shrug, “The security system helps. I’m not scared he’s in here or something. Just being in here and knowing that someone invaded my space like that freaks me out,” I admit.
He sighs and keeps his mouth shut. I know I’m being a little emotional and some guys just can’t handle the emotions of women. Dallas doesn’t strike me as the type of man who can deal with emotions. His or anyone else’s. His eyes roam my bedroom and I watch him. This isn’t his first time in my pink bedroom. He was in here earlier today to install the security panel. I wonder what thoughts are going through his head as he takes in my room. I’m sure color of any kind doesn’t appeal to him. I bet he hates this room. If I had to guess, I’d say his house is probably all black like his soul.
He focuses on one thing and I look at it too. Dallas’ brows are drawn together, focused on the picture that rests on the glass coffee table in the corner of my room in front of my pink suede couch. The photo is of me and my dad. I suck in a small breath and speak up, “I should really get ready.”
My voice draws his attention and he shifts his focus back to me. He nods and takes a step towards the door. Just before he steps out completely and closes the door behind him, he pokes his head back in and announces, “I’ll be downstairs waiting.”Ofcourse he will. Watching. Protecting.
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I DESCEND THE STAIRSand find Dallas waiting for me at the bottom. He’s typing out a text on his phone and I notice that he’s wearing his suit jacket. Damn. I thought Dallas was hot with his dress shirt, but the whole suit?
He looks up at me and immediately takes me in from head to toe. I feel my cheeks flush under his gaze and suddenly I’m feeling regretful that I decided to wear a white tennis skirt and light gray tank top. Initially, I wanted to wear some baggier clothes that wouldn’t showcase my body too much considering my recent internal struggles, but I didn’t want the girls to make a big deal out of it, the perceptive bitches.
Dallas’ gaze almost looks hungry, but then again, I’m not sure if I’m reading him wrong because he’s insufferably impossible to read.
Once I land at the bottom step, he nods towards the front door with his chin, “Ready?”
I nod and I’m about to take the last step but he pauses, “Did you eat today?”
I suddenly feel so beyond uncomfortable. “Yeah, I ate earlier.”
He gives me a suspicious look, “Are you sure? Because I’ve been downstairs all day and I didn’t see you in the kitchen once.”
I roll my eyes at him, playing the part of the unaffected rockstar, “I’m pretty sure I would remember eating a meal. Which I do, so thanks for the concern but it isn’t necessary. I ate while you were installing the alarm system.”
He looks like he wants to add something else, but decides better of it. “Okay. Let’s go. If you’re late Selene is going to kill us both.”
I grin, “Aw, don’t tell me you’re scared of Selene.”
Dallas shakes his head and starts for the door. I follow him the whole way. He opens the door for me and I step outside. “Who isn’t scared of Selene?” He asks my back.
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THE SET IS AMAZING.I didn’t expect movie production to begin so fast considering these things take time, but the movie script was written in forty-eight hours according to Selene. Apparently Martin loved our story so much that he omitted sleep from his life for a week to plan every last detail and get the production going. I can’t say I blame him because we are pretty fucking awesome.
Dallas makes it past security and parks in the designated spots for the cast. The ride was silent between us and the awkward tension made my skin crawl but I did my best to remain still. Dallas is like one of those animals that can smell fear and I didn’t want to give him a scent to follow.
He told me to stay in the car when he got out and I obeyed, unsure of what he was doing. He seemed to look around the car at every angle to ensure that no threats were around and once he felt confident, he opened my door for me and offered me a hand, but I ignored it and got out on my own. I don’t need a man to doeverythingfor me. Just some things.
A crew member found her way over to us and led us to a trailer with a pink star on the door with my name on it. I wanted to jump for joy when I saw it but decided to hold my excitement in until she was gone. She offered me a fat stack of papers and an itinerary and was on her way in the blink of an eye. I stared up at the star with my name on it for a silent moment and for a split second, it seemed like the entire world around me vanished and all that was left was me and the success I managed to accomplish.
Five years ago I stepped off a musty-smelling public buswith about three dollars to my name and a broken dream that wasn’t even mine. I took one long look at the city around me, the streets booming with life and with people of all colors, sizes, and backgrounds. I never planned on making LA my home. I had only planned on staying long enough to chase someone else’s dream before moving to Texas. Maybe Austin or Houston. I’d never really gotten that far.
With every step I took on that stained and worn-out sidewalk, I knew what I was leaving behind. A mother who was so lost after the death of her husband that she looked for him in every man she set sight on and a younger brother who struggled with his identity and spiraled out of control like some kind of calamitous tornado. Knowing I was leaving these things across the country, all the way back in Staten Island, New York, only fueled my steps to grow faster and faster.
In truth, I had absolutely no destination in mind. I just knew this city, Los Angeles, was where I needed to be if I wanted to have even the slightest chance of carrying out my father’s dream of becoming a rock legend. And I achieved that dream and so much more.
I wish my dad were here to see this star with his daughter’s name on it.I did it, Daddy. I made our dream come true.
I feel a warm presence at my side and remember that I’m not alone. Dallas looks down at me and keeps his voice low, “Would you like a moment alone with your trailer?”
I give him the meanest, most menacing glare, “Do you have any idea how hard I worked to be where I am right now? Forgive me if I want to admire the pink star with my name on it.”
