Page 4 of Unspoken Confessions
2
Nick
“Is this really necessary?” I low-key whined to Jen, my personal assistant slash pain in my ass slash friend. Well, I considered us friends, I wasn’t sure how he felt about it. I supposed it depended on what day you asked him. There were other titles I could have given him, but the important part, he was my right arm. If I ever lost him, I’d be fucked. Oh yeah, I knew it too.
“Yes,” he simply said, coolly brushing the platinum blond hairs away from his forehead. It was a habit. One he did often. It wasn’t like his hair was long enough to get in his eyes and even if it was, all that product he put in it would have prevented it from doing so.
He was frustrated with me. That was what that move told me. It was his way of brushing away his aggravation and to keep himself from rolling his eyes at me. Most of the time, I wished he’d just do it. The stupid eye roll would have been so much better than watching him try to brush that chunk of hair away a million times a day.
“Why? Everything is fine,” I said, trying to stress the last word because I needed everything to be fine. And as far as I knew, it was.
“You’re right. Everything is just fine.” Why did he have to sound so patronizing when he said that? “And this is simply a precaution. Better to be safe than sorry, right?”
“Yeah, sure,” I said with a wave of my hand.
He tried to do this whole security thing every now and then but usually, I could get out of it. However, that was not the case this time. Something about me buying a home and the new location and whatever else he’d said when he’d first told me that I’d have live-in bodyguards. Truthfully, I’d only been half-listening because I could hear it in his tone that whatever I wanted wouldn’t matter.
Jen’s phone chimed, the sound that someone had pulled up in front of the security cameras outside the front door.
“They’re here. Come meet them.”
“No, I’m good.” I stared him down almost wishing he would push me.
“I’m sure they would like to meet the man they are here for.”
“I’m sure they would. And they will.” My head shook and I almost caved on my childish act.
Inside, I was a little scared. It was hard not to be. Even if it was only a ‘just in case’ and ‘just for now’ type of situation, I couldn’t shake the feeling like there might be danger lurking around the corner. Or maybe it reminded me of the fact that I wasn’t an average, everyday person and there wasn’t a place that I could hide. Because there seriously wasn’t. I’d stopped going out a while ago simply because I couldn’t even do my grocery shopping without being mobbed. I didn’t mind stopping and signing a few autographs or taking some selfies, but it was a bit much for me when I couldn’t even make it to the ice cream section without feeling exhausted. And yes, the fact that I needed to make it to the ice cream said something right there since I didn’t often let myself indulge in anything sweet.
I wouldn’t have doubted that my father might have had a part in this too. Anything to keep me safe, right? Or look like he wanted to— my dad, not Jen. Jen would want the best and to make sure I stayed breathing. After all, if I was dead, there went his best friend and his steady paycheck. Or just the latter.
The point was, I had no problem sulking about it and making it well known that I wasn’t happy. I also wasn’t going to push back. Even if I really wanted to, it was a little late now seeing as they were here. I’d take the day to adjust and then I’d try to be nice tomorrow. That was my plan.
“I’ll be in the white room,” I told him as I left the office where we’d been having this conversation.
I hated the office.
It was too… office-y.
I hadn’t been the one to set it up and I regretted hiring the interior designer that I had. It wasn’t only this room that made me cringe. She’d pretty much missed the mark on most of the house interior. I had been so tired and just wanted to be in my new home that I hadn’t cared much at the time. Jen said she came with good recommendations, but once she was done, we both wondered what those people had been smoking. One day I’d redo it. Well, get someone else to redo it because I had not one clue on how to decorate or the time to do so.
It might not even matter because I wasn’t sure how long I’d be here anyway. But I hoped I’d settle in here and it would feel more comfortable for me. Plus, Jen was originally from here. This place was home for him and maybe I wished that some of that would rub off onto me.
Atlanta was nice. Now it was like the Hollywood of the south or something. My last movie had been shot here. I’d purchased the house about three months ago before the project had even wrapped. Something about the city felt big enough to get lost in, but at the same time, there was something charming and relaxing about it too.
Wrapping a project was hard on me.
It was this amazing high for months and constant go, go, go. I’d give all of myself every moment I was on set because I wanted to give the best performance I could. And then it would wrap. The crash was always hard. I was still recovering from the last one.
I made my way up the stairs. When I heard Jen’s cheerful, pleasant voice call out a greeting, I moved faster. Was I hiding? Maybe. Despite the fact that most people saw me as a cool, smooth, amazing actor, I was not good with people.
Trust me, I wasn’t.
Every interview I did, I was shaking inside.
The constant thoughts were there the whole time.
What if I say something wrong?
