Page 18 of The Burdens We Share
Aria starts giggling, “That had to be my favorite Satan’s Baby moment.”
“Mine too. Dude, you literally smashed him across the face with your guitar,” Brody says admirably.
Aria adds, “And then we held him down and you force-fed him vodka until he puked everywhere.”
I start laughing myself, my body shaking with it. “We did such fucked up stuff.”
Brody’s laughter settles. “It’s a miracle we didn’t end up in jail.”
Aria nods, “Thank Harvey Taylor and Selene Stone for that.”
“Agreed,” I add.
Aria turns on Brody. “Let’s not forget the time that youstopped in the middle of oncoming traffic and busted that pap’s windshield with a crowbar.”
Brody grins, “Fuck that guy.”
“You have anger issues,” I inform her as if we all didn’t already know that.
Brody leans forward defensively, “Dude! He was harassing me!”
“Personally, I think you should’ve shoved the crowbar down his throat,” I reach for the script and continue reading through some lines before I add. “That’s just my humble opinion.”
Brody’s about to say something in response when someone knocks on the trailer door. Dallas opens it and a crew member appears, someone I haven’t seen before. “Hi, girls. I’m Steph. I need you three to come with me, Martin wants to have a word with you about the script.”
We start to get up and I ask, “We didn’t even do anything yet, are we in trouble?”
Steph chuckles, “No. Martin just wants to make sure you’re all okay with the script.”
We follow Steph out of the trailer and to wherever Martin is. Dallas is at my back the entire time and his presence almost feels…comforting. I feel safe with him around. I look up at him over my shoulder and when our eyes lock on each other, I realize that nobody is gonna be there to protect me from him while he’s protecting me from everyone else.
––––––––
THE LAST HOUR WASspent in a meeting with Martin. The man is clearly a genius and he’s very passionate about both us and our story. There truly isn’t anyone else that we would feel comfortable trusting our story with. After the meeting, Steph directed Brody over to the actress who would be playing a younger, child version of her for a few scenes, and she directedAria back to her trailer to go over a few scenes with an acting coach. Selene felt Aria needed some help with her acting abilities unlike Brody and myself.
Steph also encouraged me to return to my trailer and read over my lines and now here I am, opening the door to my trailer to enter. Dallas is at my back and hasn’t once left my side all day so far. It feels odd and almost like my shadow has grown over a foot and gained another person’s weight. He hasn’t said a word to me though. He just stays at my back, silently, watching.
I open the door and he makes no move to follow me inside. “You coming?” I ask.
He reaches into his suit jacket and presses a button on his phone, bringing it to his ear, “I have to take a call, I’ll be in soon,” he answers before he takes a step away from the trailer. He doesn’t go further than that and I decide to give him privacy as I duck my head inside and let the door close behind me.
I open the mini fridge and grab a bottle of water, twisting the cap off as I bring the bottle to my lips. I lean my hip on the counter and turn around, just taking a minute to hydrate when my eyes catch on something. I practically choke on my water as my eyes settle on a pink rose on the table next to my script. There’s also another white envelope with a pink seal. I start coughing around my water and my eyes water. I feel my body start to tremble.
I place the bottle on the counter and hesitate to reach for the note. I undo the small seal and withdraw the white card, reading:
Dear Ivory,
Did you really think a new security system could keep me away? Your attempts to shut me out are amusing but futile. I see you’ve found yourself a new protector. Does he make you feel safe? It’s sweet, really. But no one can keep us apart.
I watched you today on set. You’re even more captivatingup close. This rose is a reminder that I’m always with you, no matter where you go. You can’t escape our connection.
Until next time, my darling
Yours, always.
I drop the note on the table and panic. Is he in here? I look around the trailer anxiously, but there’s nowhere he could be hiding. It isn’t big enough for that. Plus, he knows Dallas is looking after me so he knows Dallas would be in here. I’m sure he was banking on me finding that note with Dallas here too.
He was in my trailer. He’shere. He’s on set and he could be anywhere. He could be anyone. Nobody is innocent here. How did he get on set? I panic internally and fear claws up my throat, or is that bile? I haven’t eaten anything yet today so even if I do throw up, only water would come up. Maybe some stomach acid. This is exactly why I’ve been losing my appetite. I knew he wasn’t finished with me yet.
