On the way home from the restaurant Dex drives in silence. I have a feeling that we’re both thinking about the same thing… how to tell Mom. I’m pretty sure Dex doesn’t know that I heard them arguing, but since I do it puts a twist on it. I look over at him and can tell he’s deep in thought.
“Everything OK?”
He glances over at me and forces himself to smile.
“Yeah… just fine. Why?”
“You looked miles away.”
“Just thinking about the film.”
Dex is quiet for the next few minutes and I start to get worried. Is he regretting his decision to put me in his movie? Why didn’t he say anything earlier? He could have told Spencer that I wasn’t right for the part when I was out of the room… heck I didn’t even realize at the time that I was auditioning.
“Are you worried about me being in it?”
“No… you’re perfect.”
I finally breathe again.
“Were you worried about that?” he says.
“Well… yeah… I mean I’ve never acted before, so I’m not sure what I was thinking.”
“No… I think you’re perfect for the part.”
It has to be my mom then. It’s the only other thing I can think of.
“It’s just… I didn’t want to tell you about this… but your mom….”
“I know,” I say.
Dex turns to me, nods and then looks back at the road.
“You heard us?”
“I did.”
Dex lets out a deep sigh. I decide to not mention that I snuck down the hall so that I could listen to exactly what they were saying. I feel a twinge of guilt… but I don’t want to upset Dex even more.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that… I really am.”
I shrug. Normally I wouldn’t care… but all I can think about is the last few days of my mom still living in Greenville and the fights my parents got in. A few days ago I would have blamed Dex for everything that happened… but now I just don’t know. I’m starting to feel like my mom is to blame… and maybe Dex didn’t know what he was getting himself into.
“It’s OK,” I say.
“No, it’s not. She was concerned about me giving you a job, as my assistant, so I’m trying to figure out a way to convince her that casting you in my film was the right choice. I know it is… but I have to get her to see it, too.”
“Do you have to tell her?”
“I mean… she’s bound to find out, eventually, but I guess she doesn’t need to know right away. Maybe I’ll wait a few days and try and come up with a way to tell her.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling of hiding something from her.”
Dex pulls the car through the gate and into the garage. He turns off the engine and looks over at me.
“Thank you,” he says.
“For what?”
“I was starting to feel disheartened by the search for Nicole’s replacement, but now… now you’ve given me a renewed sense of purpose and I’m ready to make this film.”
“Good.”
I don’t even really know how to respond to something like that. I hope that I can do a good job… that I can act good enough to help him make the movie he wants. I never would have thought a couple of days ago that I would be worried about disappointing Dex… it’s amazing the twists that life takes sometimes.
We get out of the car and head inside.
“Are you going to want to eat later?” he says.
“I doubt it.”
“Alright… well… I’m going to go see what your mom is doing. If I don’t see you later, I’ll see you down here at six-thirty.”
“Sounds good.”
Dex smiles, turns and walks toward the kitchen. I head up the stairs, steadying myself on the handrail as I walk. I’m still trying to get the hang of wearing pumps… I can’t believe there’re women that walk around in these all the time. Crazy.
When I get to my room, I change into sweats and sit down on my bed. I pull out my phone and my heart sinks when I see there’s still no message from Logan. I think about texting him again… but I don’t want to bother him if he’s busy. Maybe something is going on with football…. I just hope everything’s alright and he’s OK. I decide to text Jess instead.
Hey, it’s Amy, new number again. How are you doing?
I’m good! I was wondering what happened… I thought maybe you got caught up in the Hollywood lifestyle and forgot about your friends back here in Salem.
She brings a smile to my face, just like pretty much every single time I talk to her. I do miss Jess… that’s for sure.
Nah… just been very busy and some super exciting stuff has happened. I don’t want to tell you about it though until I tell Logan.
Oooh… does it have anything to do with Spencer?
I guess it does… I mean he got me the audition by convincing Dex that I was right for the part, but I don’t think that’s what Jess was referring to.
No, it doesn’t… it has to do with a new job I got.
Oh… well, that’s not all that exciting.
I know she’s going to feel differently when I actually tell her what the job is.
Yeah… yeah… not all of us are as exciting as you.
Nope, you’re all boring. So… when are you still coming back to Salem right after your birthday?
Shit.
I hadn’t even thought to ask Dex about how long the movie shoot was going to last. I can’t imagine it being done before my birthday. Crap, it probably won’t even be done before school starts. What am I going to do?
My phone chirps and I look down, expecting to see a text from Jess or maybe even Logan… but it’s a text from Spencer.
Turn on channel 47.
What?
Turn on channel 47… like right now… you’ll want to see this, I promise.
Confused as to what it could possibly be, I hop off my bed and go to the game room. I close the door behind myself and turn on the TV. I manage to find channel forty-seven, which is showing a commercial. While I wait for the show to come back on I check the guide, which describes the show as being about celebrity news.
Is there a segment about you or something?
You could say that… just watch.
I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the TV as the show starts again. Spencer is ridiculous, but at least this will serve as a momentary distraction to my quandary.
The show starts again as the camera pans to a man sitting behind a desk.
“Welcome back. It appears Spencer Thomas, Hollywood heartthrob, has a new lady in his life… this coming just a few short weeks after his breakup with girlfriend Monica Lister.”
The screen flashes to a picture of Spencer with a woman who looks like a model or actress. She’s really pretty, I think. I wonder what happened? He seemed so happy and calm since I’ve known him… I would’ve never guessed that he just got out of a relationship.
“But now he’s been spotted with a new girl… and sources are still trying to figure out who she is.”
The screen flashes to a picture of Spencer and me, having coffee.
Crap.
Another picture comes on the screen… this time it’s of us leaving the clothing boutique and it looks like I’m laughing.
This is not good.
“Here they are after doing some shopping at a high end Beverly Hills boutique clothing store.”
I feel panic filling my body. I want to shut off the TV… to pretend that I never saw this, but I just can’t make my arms move to reach for the remote.
“Speculation suggests that perhaps she’s the new star of Dexter Baldwin’s next film. Not to mention she was spotted leaving Magnifique, L.A.’s most exclusive restaurant, with both Baldwin and Thomas.”
A video clip of the three of us pops onto the screen and I feel like I can’t breathe. Is this really happening?
“Next up….”
Thankful the segment is over, I will my arm to move so I can grab the remote and shut off the TV. I force myself to take a couple of deep breaths. I’ve gotta get ahold of myself. It was enough to try and think about the movie and my plans to leave here… but now I’ve got my face plastered all over TV with the implication that I’m dating Spencer. Ugh.
I pick up my phone and go back to my bedroom. I can’t deal with all of this right now. I pull the covers back and climb in. I know it’s early… but I feel so overwhelmed by it all. I turn off my phone, pull the covers over my head and try to clear my mind.
As I drift off into sleep all I can think is that I hope all of this was a bad dream and tomorrow will go back to normal.