thejoelstrom

1.8m followers

hilda__s @janavaphillip @calderoned37 STOOOP OMFG DO U HEAR THAT? it’s the sound of my heart exploding

“Couldn’t wait until the premiere?” Hailey asks, opening the door when Joel rings the bell at the Paleys’ house.

“I’m here to see Lily.” Joel wants to settle things with Lily before tomorrow night’s red carpet. He’s confused over why she hasn’t been in touch since the accident, but he’s starting to get the picture. There’s more going on between her and Idris than Lily revealed. Joel was about to cave and send her a text but he wants to see her, face-to-face. No matter what, Lily deserves to hear it from him that he’s taking Hailey to the premiere. He just can’t tell her the real reason why.

“Sorry, Lily’s not here,” Hailey says. “You’ll have to check to see when visiting hours are.”

Joel feels his heart sink. Lily’s court case.

“Don’t worry,” Hailey says, seeing the look on his face. “The charges were dropped. You just missed her. She went out to meet Idris and celebrate being a free woman.”

Joel sits at the bottom of the Paleys’ front steps. He rubs his eyes. He didn’t sleep again last night. He’s been going nonstop since he was released from the hospital. He’s getting as bad as Greta. Joel doesn’t want to be home. He doesn’t want to be inside of himself. He’s been making bad choices. Like going to the dogfight. At least he bailed on the poker game at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It was just too weird with Luis Leon there. Joel’s heard the gossip about the Leons’ financial troubles. Joel has all these dark Hollywood thoughts swirling in his mind. He wants to unleash them. There was a part of him that thought seeing the fight would be cathartic. Like it would prove to Joel that he’s not the only one who’s sick.

Hailey sits on the stairs next to him and puts a hand on the back of his shirt.

“Poor baby lost his innocence,” she says. “Careful, Joel. It’s a slippery slope…”

Joel lowers his hands from his eyes and looks at her. “You know, I probably would’ve gone with you to the premiere, posed on the red carpet, bought you a new Judith Leiber…whatever you wanted. You may not always be the best friend to Greta, but you were there when it counted. More than once. I owe you. You didn’t need to send your vapid little minion to blackmail me.”

“What kind of a pet owner would I be if I didn’t throw a stick for Fortune to catch and bring back to me every now and then?”

“I was barely conscious when you kissed me,” Joel says.

Hailey flips her hair. “Start a hashtag about it.”

“I hope it’s enough for you.” Joel pulls himself to his feet. “The image, I mean,” he says, looking down at Hailey. “Because that’s all it’s going to be.”

“Don’t you get it yet?” Hailey stands up and faces him. There’s a new look on her face Joel doesn’t recognize—pity. “That’s all it can be.”