Breaking Free (Tom Holland) BOOK ONE [COMPLETED]

Breaking Free Chapter 11

I was finally getting better. A few weeks had gone by since my acting session with Tom and I was proud to say that I had improved tremendously. Samuel had managed to get the company to rearrange the dates on their commercials so that I had more time to prepare for the ones where I needed to act. I hadn't been able to practice much with Tom due to his filming schedule. In fact, after that night I hadn't really seen Tom at all. We still texted each other a lot. Our schedules made it hard to do that consistently though.

Carter had willingly volunteered to be my training partner in place of Tom. It had been hard at first since I barely knew him. But after hanging around with him on set I became a lot more comfortable. He was very efficient so it was easy for him to find the little mistakes I made along with the big ones. Luckily for the both of us he was also very patient.

Valerie seemed to be very distant with me after her outburst that night. I tried to just write it off as her being busy but a small part of me was starting to think that she was avoiding me. I didn't have too much time to think about it though since we were starting a new commercial. This would be my second attempt at acting so it took all of my focus.

I sat in my chair while getting my hair and makeup done. I had almost fallen asleep when my phone buzzed beside me. I picked it up hoping it was a message from Tom. Instead I was disappointed to see my brother's name on the screen.

Jason: Charlie is going to be picking you up today since I have to stay late for a project.

I sighed. As much as I liked Charlie I had been looking forward to my brother picking me up. I enjoyed the talks we had during our car rides. They were the only times I had to bond with him. But I guess I didn't really have a choice.

"Are you guys almost finished?" one of the producers asked as she poked her head around the corner.

"We would be if Vanessa would stop looking down so much. Stop making my life difficult!" Susan snapped. I gave her an angelic smile.

Once we were finished I headed out to the set. Samuel and Carter stood off to the side of the stage having a discussion. Their faces looked pretty serious. Not wanting to interrupt them I wandered over to the buffet table. I plucked a grape from a bowl and popped it into my mouth. I scanned the room looking for someone to talk to.

"There she is!" Samuel called suddenly. He and Carter had noticed me and were headed in my direction. "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded. Just like that the entire crew sprang to life. As Carter and I took our places we could hear orders being barked. Lights and cameras were being moved. And then that little red light came on. It was showtime.

I felt nervous attempting this script again. The sudden confidence I felt when I saw that red light however, meant my practice sessions were working.

The first take ended when I forgot my first line. The second ended when I tripped over my own feet five seconds after Samuel yelled 'Action'. I felt my confidence waver. The fear that I was going to repeat my failures caused me to tear up. Carter saw my dark expression. He leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Don't worry. Just relax."

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. As the cameras began rolling again I jumped into my role. I didn't perform the next take flawlessly but my performance had wildly improved. So improved in fact that we only needed to do 7 more takes before Samuel had the footage he was looking for.

Cheers erupted from the crew once Samuel called that we were finished. Carter and I hugged each other tightly. I could tell he was proud of me. I was sure Tom would be too. I couldn't wait to tell him his advice had worked.

"Excellent work you two! Whatever you did I want you to keep doing it!" Samuel cried as he approached us.

"Will I be allowed to? This was the only commercial in my contract. And I'm sure Vanessa's next partner wouldn't want some random person practicing with her," Carter wondered.

Samuel looked down at me. Carter and I were still locked in a tight embrace. "That's not really their call," Samuel said slowly. He then added, "Are you going to let her go anytime soon? I have something to discuss with the two of you."

Carter shook his head. "I'm not sure now is a good time."

Samuel looked extremely confused. He remained confused until a moment later when Susan arrived with a tiny makeup kit. "Give her to me," she barked as she began rummaging through the kit. She pulled out a makeup removal wipe and stood at the ready.

Carter released me from his grip. I turned around slowly. Tears mixed with mascara and eyeliner were cascading down my face. Samuel didn't even have time to react before Susan attacked my face with the wipe. Quick as lightning she cleaned my face and reapplied a lighter layer of make up. She stepped back to admire her work before running away.

"You poor thing," Samuel said while giving me a fatherly look. "I would hug you but I don't want to make you cry again."

"I'm okay now," I responded. Then I turned to Carter. "Sorry I ruined your shirt."

Carter and Samuel both waved off my apology. "Wardrobe can handle it. But moving on, I wanted to talk to the two of you about the remaining commercials. We've only got five left and I was thinking it might be best if Carter joins you for the remainder of them. I think that what was accomplished today was partly due to him and I want to keep that momentum going. What do the two of you think?"

"I think that is a great idea," I responded. Carter agreed.

"Well then let's go get those new contracts written up shall we?" And with that Samuel and Carter were gone. I headed back to my dressing room so I could tell Tom the good news.

Missed calls from both Uncle Travis and Tom greeted me as I unlocked my phone. Slightly worried I called my uncle back. When he didn't answer I switched to calling Tom. He answered on the second ring.

"Did you get my message?" he questioned without saying hello.

"No. I just saw that you and Uncle Travis had called so I'm returning the call. My uncle didn't answer so here we are."

"Well I'm on my way to pick you up. There's been an incident."

My heart dropped into my stomach. "What do you mean? What's going on?" As I asked these questions I was frantically changing clothes.

"It's Valerie. She's been acting strange all day. We were in the middle of filming a scene when she suddenly collapsed. Your uncle took her to the hospital. Then an hour ago he called me. He couldn't get a hold of your brother so he asked me to pick you up and bring you to the hospital."

I felt like I was going to be sick. "Is she ok?"

"I know just as much as you do. Can you let security know to let me through? I'm two cars deep in the queue."

"Sure no problem."

I called the security desk and let them know to let Tom through. After getting the rest of my stuff I raced outside. I jumped into Tom's car as soon as it rounded the corner and we sped off towards the hospital. Towards my sister.