I look over my shoulder at the front door as the gate starts to open. My whole body is shaking as adrenaline starts to course through me. I need to get out of here before she notices. I turn sideways and slip through the gate. I don’t dare look back as the house fades into the distance.
My muscles scream for a break and I give in as I reach Santa Monica Boulevard. It’s not very far, but I’m not wearing running shoes and I didn’t stretch. I’m sure it doesn’t help that I haven’t been running, or even swimming, but I’ve been eating plenty.
I spot an empty bench just a few feet away and sit down. I take my phone out of my purse, for a distraction, while I catch my breath.
I really don’t know what to do—if my mom finds me she’s going to make me go back to Greenville with her. There’s not really any way Dex can stop her. I start to cry as I feel my world crashing down around me… again.
I’m really starting to wonder if things will ever get better.
As I put my hands on the bench to stand up, my phone starts to ring. I freeze and listen, thinking that I must be hearing things. It rings a second time and I open my purse to fish it out. My heart skips a beat as I wonder if maybe, just maybe, it’s Logan calling me.
I’m disappointed when I see it’s Jess… which really isn’t fair to her. I’m not sure why I thought Logan would call me, it makes much more sense for it to be her.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey… are you alright?”
The tears start to flow again.
“No… not really.”
“What’s wrong?”
Her voice is as soft and sweet as ever. I wish I could see her right now, I know she would make me feel better.
“Amy? Are you still there?”
“Yeah….”
I force myself to stop crying and I dry my eyes with my shirt.
“Are you safe?”
It’s an interesting question. I don’t exactly feel safe after last night, but I know that Dex is watching out for me.
“Amy?”
“Sorry… yeah, I think I’m safe.”
“You think you’re safe?”
“Well… I ran out of the house and I’m down on Santa Monica Boulevard.”
“What happened?”
“My mom… she’s crazy.”
“Amy, take a deep breath.”
I pull the phone away from my ear, close my eyes and take two deep breaths. My body and mind start to calm down and I put my phone back to my ear as I open my eyes.
“Now,” Jess says, “tell me what happened… just take your time.”
I take another deep breath as I ready myself to tell her what happened.
For ten minutes I talk and Jess doesn’t say a word, which surprises me about as much as what happened.
“And then I ran out… and then you called,” I say.
“Wow, you’re right… she’s totally crazy.”
I let a laugh slip through my lips, not because today has been funny… but I don’t know what else to do. I look into the sky… the sky that should be filled with stars like in Greenville, but there are so many lights that I can’t see a thing. It makes me kind of sad, just another thing I miss about home.
“So,” Jess says, “what are you going to do now?”
That’s the real question. Can I really go back to Greenville or Salem? I don’t want to give this up. I know that it’s a crazy dream, being in a Hollywood movie and that at some point I’ll have to let go and live in reality, but I was hoping to finish the movie first.
“I… I don’t know. I feel like if I go back to the house, she’s either going to be there waiting for me or the cops will be. It’s like she’s going to stop me no matter what. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.”
There’s silence from the other end of the line. I look at my phone, but it is still showing the call as being connected.
“Jess?”
“One sec… I’m trying to figure out what you should do.”
Normally I’m not a huge fan of someone telling me what I should do, but I’m anxious to hear if she can think of something… anything.
I feel like every second where she doesn’t speak is making the chance of her thinking of something less and less.
“I’ve got it,” she says.
A faint smile forms on my face. I really hope she has a good idea.
“You need to call Spencer and see if you can stay with him. It sounds like your mom is going to leave Dex and if she can’t find you… well, then she can’t make you go with her.”
I cringe at her suggestion as I think about what would happen if the paparazzi saw me going into his house and not coming out until the next morning. I know it’s unlikely, but I don’t like the idea of it.
“I dunno… what if someone found out?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what… what if someone saw me go into his house?”
“You could stay in a hotel for a few days.”
I wish I could, but I don’t really have any money.
“I’m not getting paid until we are done filming, so I can’t do that either.”
I feel tears forming in the corner of my eyes. I lift the phone away from my ear as I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down.
“Look,” she says, her voice sounding stern, “go to Spencer’s, it’s the best option and I’m sure he’ll let you stay there.”
“Do you think so?”
“He’d better. Give me his phone number and if he doesn’t I’ll give him a piece of my mind.”
I forgot until now that his number was in the phone I broke. I have no way of calling him or Dex.
“I just realized… I broke my phone that had his number. There’s no way for me to get a hold of him.”
“What about Dex? Can you call him and ask for Spencer’s number?”
“No, I don’t have his number.”
I want to kick myself for not telling Dex about the phone when I had the chance. I really was trying to avoid making him mad, but now… now I wish I would’ve.
“Hmm… let me think.”
I feel so worthless… like I can’t do anything right.
I’m starting to feel as if maybe I should give up… like I should give in and go back to Greenville. I don’t know how much longer I can keep up this constant struggle to balance everything. It’s not even about making my mom happy, I don’t care about that… I just want her to leave me alone, but I feel like that’s never going to happen while I’m still seventeen.
“What if you just show up at Spencer’s house?”
I wrinkle my brow… that would be fine, and the thought had already crossed my mind, but I have no idea where he lives.
“I don’t know where he lives… I’ve never been to his house.”
I look up as a woman sits down on the bench next to me. I force myself to smile as our eyes meet, but she doesn’t smile back… instead she frowns at me and then looks down at her phone. I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the phone call.
“One second,” Jess says.
I glance back at the woman next to me, out of the corner of my eye, and now she’s staring at me. A weird noise in the background of my call with Jess distracts me from the weird lady.
“What is that?” I say.
“Oh… I’m… sorry, I’m typing.”
“You’re typing?”
“Yeah… I’m trying to find Spencer’s house.”
“What do you mean?”
There’s a pause and I hear her typing again.
“I’m searching for it on the Internet… he’s famous… so there’s a good chance that his house will be shown in a picture or something.”
I’m glad I’m on the phone with Jess because I would have never thought of that… it’s actually really clever.
“Did you find anything?”
“Not yet… wait, I found it!”
The excited tone of her voice puts a smile on my face—a real one.
“Now what?”
“I’ll text you his address.”
My phone chirps a second later and I look down to see the text from her. It’s his address, which I obviously don’t recognize, but I remember seeing the road a few times, Alpine Dr., and it’s not very far away. I put my phone back up to my ear.
“Got it… and I actually know where it is… well, I sort of know where it is.”
“Yay!”
I almost laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of Jess. I wish I could hug her right now.
“Thank you, so much… really, it means more than you know.”
“Of course… and don’t worry, you can make it up to me when you actually come back to Salem one of these days.”
The tone of her voice is kind… she doesn’t want me to go to Salem until I’m ready, which is nice to hear after dealing with my mom and Logan.
“Whatever you say.”
“I should get going… I’ve got work in like… twenty minutes and you’ve gotta go find Spencer.”
“Thanks again.”
“Don’t mention it… be safe and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I smile as Jess ends the call before I can say anything else. I put my phone in my pocket as I stand up and try to figure out which direction I should be heading.
“Excuse me, Miss?”
I turn toward the strange woman who is sitting on the bench. The look on her face has completely changed and now it looks like she’s genuinely interested in me.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry to bother you… but are you on TV or something?”
Great, just what I need… another person who recognizes me from a tiny segment on TV. The funny thing is that this woman would never have known who I was… but now… now she’s probably going to tell all of her friends how she ran into a “celebrity” on the street.
“No… sorry, I’m just me.”
She frowns as a look of disappointment crosses her face. Hopefully she’s not irritated with me, but I don’t feel the need to remind her of why she recognizes me. Being recognized by strangers is something that I’m definitely not going to miss once I move back.
I turn away and start walking down the sidewalk, in what I am fairly certain is the right direction. If it’s not, I’ll be able to tell in the next few minutes.
After twenty minutes, and a few blocks, my phone chirps. I take it out of my pocket and read the text from Jess.
Are you there yet? Is it really nice?
I smile and sit down on a concrete wall next to the sidewalk. It feels good to rest my feet… running from the house didn’t help after standing the better part of the day in shoes with a thin sole and I would like nothing more than to take a hot bath, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
No, I’m still walking… haven’t found the road yet, but I think it’s not that much further.
I lift my right foot off the ground and move my ankle in a circle and then do the same with my left foot. Hopefully it will help and I won’t have to stop again.
Poo. Well, text me later or something… I’m at work now, but I’ll check my phone when I get home.
Sounds good.
I put my phone back in my pocket and stand up. Unfortunately, my feet don’t feel any better. I sigh and start walking again, since it’s really my only option at this point. I guess I could take a cab, but I don’t really want to spend what little money I have left. I don’t really need it for anything in particular, but one never knows.
After another five minutes of walking I finally see the sign for Alpine Drive at the next intersection. A happy feeling starts to creep through my body, which, given what’s happened in the last twenty-four hours is pretty surprising. Am I excited to see Spencer? No… that can’t possibly be it. It must be the fact that he can help me in some way to avoid leaving to go back to Greenville.
It seems weird to want to stay here… it’s amazing how quickly things change.
I look down Alpine Drive and I can see the numbers on the first two houses. They’re going down, which means I’m heading in the right direction. I start walking and it seems like in just moments I’m away from the businesses that line Santa Monica Boulevard and I’m already in a full-on residential area.
Five minutes of walking later, and crossing a few smaller streets, I stop in front of his house. It’s starting to get dark and there aren’t any street lights, so I’m glad that I made it. A light above the front door is on… so I guess he is home. I walk up the stone paved walkway and take a deep breath before ringing the doorbell.
It’s a really nice house, but not as large as Dex’s. There are two pillars, one on either side of the door, a few feet from the end of the walkway. The door is a dark wood that looks very old and worn, but quite solid. Even though it’s not as nice or as large as Dex’s house, it’s still beautiful and fits in with the other houses in the area. I wish I could live in a house like this someday… but I know that’s never going to happen. A girl can dream though, right?
I try to think of what to say to Spencer… it’s kind of awkward to just show up at his house, but I didn’t see any other option. I can hear the bell ringing inside and I take a step back. The door swings open, but it’s not Spencer standing in front of me… it’s… it’s a woman who looks oddly familiar.
“Did you not see the sign?” she says.
“What?”
She points to a sign in the small window next to the door. It's a white sign with black letters that say ‘No Soliciting’. She closes the door before I even turn my head back in her direction.
My face turns red as I step back onto the walkway and head toward the sidewalk. Spencer must have moved or maybe this was never his house, but either way I feel embarrassed about disturbing that woman.
I’m not sure what to do now… I can’t call Jess and I’m not going to call Logan. I sigh and try to mentally prepare myself for whatever comes next.