I yawn and check my phone. It's just after nine. I throw on my gray sweatpants and a T-shirt and head downstairs. Gina is standing over the sink, washing dishes, when I walk into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” she says, turning around and flashing me a smile.
“Mornin'.”
“How did you sleep?”
I respond with a shrug. It's been a week since I came back from Salem and there hasn't been a single night yet where I would say I got as much sleep as I would like. I'm not sure what it's about… but I hope I can get back to my regular sleep schedule soon.
“Do you want breakfast?”
“I'm not that hungry.”
She turns back to the sink. I glance down at my phone again and sigh. Spencer had an audition last night and he said he would call me after… and I still haven't heard from him. I know I could call him, but I don't want to come across as desperate or clingy… or whatever.
My phone rings. I pick it up, flip it open and frown when I see a number I don’t recognize. No one really has my number… and everyone that does is already entered into my phone as a contact. I decide to answer it anyway—it could be Spencer or Dex calling me from a phone other than their cell.
“Hello?” I say.
“Amy?”
“Yeah...?”
I don’t recognize the voice of the man on the other end of the phone. He sounds young, maybe not quite as old as Dex… but he sounds older than Spencer. I wrinkle my brow as I try to think of who could possibly be calling me.
“How are you?”
“Sorry… who is this?”
There’s a brief pause and he chuckles.
“This is Brian West.”
I pause for a second, expecting him to explain who he is, but he doesn’t say anything else. I stand up from the table as Gina starts to walk toward me with a plate of food and walk toward the living room.
“OK… I still don’t know who you are,” I say, as I plop down on the couch.
“Didn’t Spencer tell you I would be calling?”
“Uh… no.”
There’s an uncomfortable silence from the other end of the phone. At least he’s not some random person… well, I don’t think he is. Spencer must have given Brian my number, but I have no idea why.
“Oh… well… this is super awkward.”
He says exactly what I was thinking. I pause and think about hanging up on him.
“Sorry,” he says, “Spencer told me he would call you last night or this morning to let you know I would be contacting you.”
“Well, he didn’t… so why are you calling me?”
“Right… right. Well, I ran into Spencer last night at Jet and we got to talking. He said you didn’t have any representation… so I asked for your number. I asked him to let you know I would be calling and he said he would.”
“Representation?”
“Yeah… I’m an agent.”
I frown. I’m not sure what he could possibly want from me. I pull my right leg up onto the couch and sit back. I don’t want to be rude… but I’m not sure why this guy felt the need to even call me in the first place.
“And?”
“And… I want to represent you.”
I have a general idea what that means… but it still makes no sense why he would want to do that for me.
“Why?”
“Ugh… you have an agent already… don't you? Spencer seemed so sure that you didn't.”
“No… I don't have an agent,” I say, standing up from the couch. “But I need to go… sorry.”
I hang up the phone and walk back into the kitchen. It was such a weird phone call. Brian seemed to be talking in circles, not to mention he was under the impression I would need an agent… for what I do not know.
There's a plate of food waiting for me when I sit back down at the table. I glance around to thank Gina, but I don't see her—she's probably somewhere else in the house. I pick up my fork and poke at the scrambled eggs. For some reason I'm not all that hungry this morning. I eat two bites before switching to the piece of wheat toast. I set it back down and take a quick swig from the bottle of water Gina left for me.
I finish most of the toast and eat one more bite of the eggs before standing up from the table. I'm starting to feel antsy. I look back down at my phone once I set my plate on the counter next to the sink. There's still nothing from Spencer… so I text him.
Hey… how did the audition go? I thought you were going to call me and tell me about it, but I guess something must have come up.
I think about mentioning the weird phone call, but decide not to and just hit send. I frown as I walk up the stairs toward my room. It's kind of strange that Spencer would go out after an audition and not mention it to me or anything. I take a deep breath and sit down on my bed. I don't want him to think I can't have my own life without him, but I'm starting to feel a little stir crazy.
Dex took me out to dinner three nights ago and I went to lunch with Spencer two days ago… but that's pretty much the only time I've left the house since being back.
I sigh and drop my head onto the pillow and stare up at my ceiling. It doesn't even matter. Everything is amazing. The look on Spencer's face when he showed up at Dex's… and told me how he felt about me. The kiss. I smile and take a deep breath.
A few minutes pass before I check my phone again, but there's no response from Spencer. I stand up and walk over to the window. The pool is still uncovered… although I'm sure it's far colder than I would ever brave. I feel like some exercise would do me some good. I get changed into a pair of shorts and put on my running shoes. I crack a smile. Every time I run it reminds me of Jess. I make a mental note to shoot her a text when I get back, just to see how she's doing. I leave my phone on the table next to my bed and head downstairs.
“Gina?”
“In here!”
I hear her voice coming from the kitchen. I walk through the door and smile at her as she walks toward me. She's in the middle of drying her hands with a dark gray dish towel that she tucks into her apron when she's finished.
“I just wanted to let you know I'm going for a run.”
“Sounds good, Miss Amy, you have the gate code memorized now?”
“Yeah… I do.”
She smiles and nods. I head toward the front door as she starts to walk back to the sink. Once I'm on the front porch I quickly stretch and try to get my legs warmed up. I haven't been on a run since I got back… but I have a feeling it might be exactly what I need.
I walk to the gate and start running in place as it begins to open. The opening is large enough a few seconds later and I slip through. I turn to the right and start running deeper into the residential area. I could go toward Santa Monica Boulevard, but I don’t feel comfortable running where there are so many people and so much traffic.
My mind clears as I run and my thoughts quickly turn to Spencer. I thought coming back here would change things… but so far I haven’t seen nearly as much of him as I thought I would. I get that he’s busy with auditions and whatever else, but it would still be nice to spend a few days just hanging out. Hopefully, by the time I get back to the house he will have texted me and we can figure out how to make that happen.
I try not to dwell on Spencer and push the thoughts out of my mind. I start thinking about something much more practical—money. I still have all the money Dex gave me, minus the little bit I spent in Salem and on my plane ticket. It’s more money than I ever imagined I would have at one time, but it’s still not enough to be life changing… it’s just going to make whatever I decide to do a little easier. There’s a practical part of me that wonders if I should check out some colleges near here… and maybe start in the summer since I’ve missed the beginning of spring classes. I know it would be a smart way to spend the money. Maybe Dex will have some advice for me.
My legs are starting to burn and I decide to turn around. I head back to the house at a slower pace, taking my time.
By the time I get back to the gate and punch in the code my calves are burning and I’m out of breath. I frown as the gate opens—there’s a car parked in front of the house that I’ve never seen before. It’s kind of weird for someone to be here in the middle of the day… but maybe Dex is back early and someone is here to meet with him.
I head in through the front door and start walking toward the stairs.
“Miss Amy? Is that you?”
It’s Gina calling me from the living room.
“Yeah… I’m just gonna go take a shower.”
“Wait… there’s a man here to see you.”
I freeze with my right hand on the railing and my foot on the first step. A man to see me? I imagine Gina would have said if it was Spencer… besides that’s not even his car out front.
“Amy?” Gina says.
I sigh, turn around and walk toward the living room. I look down at myself as I walk into the next room. I’m a mess—wearing running clothes and dripping sweet.
As I walk into the living room he sees me and jumps up from the couch. He’s wearing a black suit, but with no tie and the top of his shirt is unbuttoned. Black rectangular glasses frame his face as he flashes me an unnaturally white smile and walks toward me.
“Amy… so good to meet you.”
I recognize his voice. Brian West. What the heck is he doing here? I hold out my hand and shake his while forcing a smile across my face. All I can think about is how gross I am from running and how I just want to shower.
“All I’m asking for is ten minutes,” he says, as he releases my hand and walks back to the couch.
Brian sits down and motions for me to sit in the chair across from him. I hesitate. I’m still not sure why he wants to talk to me, but I guess it would be rude to not give him ten minutes of my time… it’s not like I’m doing anything else today. I sit down and swallow as he smiles at me again.
“How are you?”
“Fine,” I say.
“Good… good. So, I assume you know why I’m here… right?”
“Not really.”
“Well, I saw you on Late with Lucas and I could instantly tell that you’re going places. You’re a star in the making… and I can help with that.”
I just stare at him. I’m not sure what he’s trying to say, but I feel like he’s just trying to flatter me and there’s no conviction to his words.
“I dunno… I just kind of got lucky. My mom was dating Dex and Spencer convinced him to let me audition to be in the movie. That was kind of it... there’s no other reason than that.”
He shrugs and smiles at me.
“Luck is usually what it takes to get your first break in this town… but after that it’s all in your hands. Well… in this case… my hands.”
“Right… I understand what you’re saying, but I haven’t decided what I’m doing next.”
“Good, I can help you pick out a project that will be perfect for you and I’ll make sure you get every penny you’re worth.”
“No… I mean I’ve been thinking about going to college.”
Brian runs his hand through his hair as a confused look forms on his face. It’s almost as if what I said has baffled him. It’s really none of his business what I do… but I feel like I won’t be able to get him out of the house if I don’t make it clear to him.
“What I’m saying is that I was planning to go to school, but… circumstances changed and I ended up back here. I’ve only been back for a few days and I’m not sure what I’m doing yet.”
“Don’t you want to keep acting?”
“I’m not sure. I liked it… but I also feel like I want to do something with my life where I can make a difference.”
Brian stands up from the couch, takes a business card out of his pocket and hands it to me.
“If you change your mind… call me.”
I nod and he turns. I follow him to the door, but I don’t say anything as I watch him get in his car and drive toward the gate. I close the front door and head upstairs.
I toss his business card on my bedside table and head for the bathroom. I’m so ready for a shower.