Page 98 of Heart to Heart
I nodded. “Positive.”
No further words necessary, he started up the van, and we peeled out onto the road to a hail of horns and Taylor Swift singing about her wildest dreams.
CHAPTER 56
TRISTAN
“Avery,”I called, walking into her suite. The room was quiet, without a sign of anyone anywhere. If not for her suitcase near the entryway, I would have thought no one had been there. “Avery.”
“She left,” Jessica said, her voice startling me. I turned to see her in the doorway, clad in what I recognized as one of my old T-shirts that had gone missing while we were dating. It would have been strange even had I not told her at a meeting with producers that I was done with the show, but the fact that she was doing it after telling her I was done was borderline holy shit.
“What do you mean she left? What did you do, Jessica?” Panic and anger swirled within me.
“Why do you assume I did anything? I ran into her in the lobby. She seemed upset and told me that she had changed her mind about you and wanted to go home because she didn’t love you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t believe you.”
Wounded, Jessica looked at me in disbelief. I’d never stood up to her before, and she probably assumed I never would.
“What did you see in her, anyway?” she asked, her face growing dark. The real Jessica Davis was emerging. The one backed into a corner, trying to fight her way out. “You and I belong together, Tristan. We were Hollywood royalty. We just hit a rough patch, but I know we can work it out and be the It couple we were back then.”
“A rough patch? You completely turned your back on me when I needed you. And then you stabbed me in mine when I was trying to defend you from the paparazzi. And as far as us getting back together, that will never happen. Not in this life, or the next one.”
I brushed past her, further igniting her fury. “You’ll never be anything without me,” she shouted. “I made you who you are, Tristan, and I can trip you again.”
I stopped in my tracks. “What did you just say?”
“That night you stumbled into that paparazzo, I tripped you with my foot and you fell into him. But what I can do to you now will be so much worse. You can kiss this little comeback of yours goodbye.”
I shook my head, turning back to look at her. “You’re a sad, sick woman, and I hope you get the help you sorely need.”
“Oh, please. I don’t need help. You’re the one who needs help. Someone to make it look like you have the balls you don’t. I can do that again for you. Except this time, you can get your career back.”
“That doesn’t matter to me anymore. If Avery isn’t in the picture, I don’t want it.” The sneer on her face slowly faded away, leaving nothing but shock. “Goodbye, Jessica.” I walked out into the hall, noticing John standing outside Avery’s room, recording everything on his phone. “How much of that did you get?” I asked.
“Enough.”
“I always knew you were a loser, Tristan Tate!” Jessica screamed as I walked down the hall with John. “You’re a has been and always will be. Tristan!”
We turned a corner, the intensity of her screams lessening more and more the further away we got. “Up for a car ride?” I asked.
“It’s either that or I stay and listen to her, so what do you think?”
“I’m not even sure I know where she would have gone,” I said, suddenly sick to my stomach.
“Well, if she’s going home, smart money is to the airport. We can try there first. In the meantime, I’ll try getting in touch with Jay. I heard a few of the producers complaining that he wasn’t out front. My guess is she’s with him.”
I nodded, thankful John had chosen to stick with me even after I’d given Wanda the boot. I picked up the pace as we approached the lobby, so much so that John had to jog to catch up with me. Jessica may have ruined things for me in Hollywood without me putting up so much as a fight, but she wasn’t going to ruin Avery. For Avery, I was ready to go to war. I just hoped she was willing to fight for me, too.
CHAPTER 57
AVERY
We were stuckin standstill traffic when I realized that I may not have the money to buy a plane ticket home and all my clothes were still back at the hotel. On my lap, my phone lay, turned off. I picked it up, debating whether I wanted to power it back on, ultimately coming to the conclusion that my parents probably should know that I was on my way back so they could both send money to get me home and pick me up from the airport.
“You good back there? Jay asked, looking up at me in the rearview mirror. He hadn’t asked me for any of the dirty details, even though he had to wonder why I’d made such a mad dash from the hotel. In the console next to him, his phone rang again. After a glance down at it, he declined the call for what had to be approaching the tenth time since we’d been on the road.
“I’m definitely fired now,” he mused.
