Riley's Pov:
"For goodness sake Marco, do you not know how to count?!" I exclaimed as I held a towel to my nose.
"I'm so sorry Riley, I honestly thought it was a one-two kick, not a one-two pause kick, one-two punch," Marco said as he looked at me.
On the sideline, I watched as Ryan was laughing while Cassie just stood there with her mouth slightly parted.
"And to think that could have been my face," Cassie whispered.
"How the heck did you end up 5 feet away from where you were standing?" Ryan asked as he continued to laugh.
"I just got punched by a grown man!" I said as I pointed to Marco.
"I'm so sorry Riley!" Marco said.
"Riley! You have visitors," A crew member said.
Turning to look at Dan, he just waved me off while looking at the film again.
I already told him about Charlie and Hailey and ended up begging for 30 minutes with Dan. At first, he said no since he didn't want anyone who wasn't apart of the staff on set, however, he finally allowed it after he got annoyed at me.
Before I was able to leave Dan spoke up.
"Remember Riley this is a one-time thing and make sure they understand not to touch anything or else," Dan said before finally stealing a glance my way.
Nodding my head, I quickly jogged over to the entrance that was a few meters away. When I finally got there I could hear a male arguing with a female.
"You need to teach your son some manners."
"Maybe you shouldn't have gotten so close to him."
I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw the person who was arguing with the security guard.
Hailey Hunter.
"What's up?" I asked as I jogged over to them.
"Riley!" Charlie exclaimed as he went to hug me. I bent down and picked him up.
"How are you doing?" I asked as I kissed his forehead.
"Good!"
Chuckling, I turned my head to the crew member.
"What were you two arguing about?"
"He kicked me close to my face when I bend down to say hello." The male said.
"I told him not to get to close to Charlie, he doesn't like men," Hailey said as she exhales.
Shrugging my shoulders, I just gestured to Hailey with my head to follow me.
"You heard the lady, he doesn't like men, next time listen," I yelled back to the crew member as I started walking back to the set.
"So this is for real," Hailey said as she walked next to me.
"Yea and you guys came in the right time, I'm doing a scene."
"Is that why your nose is bleeding?" Hailey asked as she stared at me.
"I got punched," I mumbled.
Nodding her head, Hailey started looking around.
"Is it okay that we're here?"
"As long as you don't touch anything or bother anyone," I stated as I looked forward.
"Okay."
The walk back to set was short, however, it was full of silence since neither one of us knew what to say. When we finally arrived at the set, Cassie was halfway turned, allowing her to see us approaching. She smiled widely before speaking up.
"Oh my gosh! He's so cute!"
Walking over to us, her smiled never seem to fade.
"Is he your son?" Cassie asked.
Rolling my eyes, I gave her a half-smile.
"Cassie you know I haven't dated anyone since I was 18, do you really think I'll have a son?"
"Oh right, it's just you guys look alike."
Bending down to put Charlie on the ground, I got up and looked at Hailey who just stared at Cassie.
"Who's your friend?" Cassie asked as she smiled at Hailey.
Hailey didn't even seem to be able to function with Cassie in front of her.
"This is Hailey Hunter, the mother of Charlie," I said.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Cassie."
Extending her hand to Hailey, Hailey slowly started to respond.
"Nice to meet you too," Hailey said after she finally let go of Cassie's hand.
"You a fan?" Cassie asked as she giggled.
"Yeaa," Hailey answered as she blushed.
"Want a picture?" Cassie asked as she smiled widely.
Nodding her head, I watched as Hailey took out her phone to take a photo.
"Who's this little guy?" I heard someone ask.
Turning to see who spoke, I watched as Ryan bend down to look at Charlie.
"Ryan don't!" I yelled.
However, it was already too late.
Charlie went straight for it and kicked Ryan where no man should be kicked.
I couldn't help but laugh as I watched Ryan's face turned slightly red. Even though Charlie was just four, he seemed to know how to kick extremely well.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Hailey said after taking the picture was Cassie.
"It's fine," Ryan said as he got up and cleared his throat.
"I'm Ryan."
"Hailey."
"Riley, Ryan get into position!" Dan yelled out.
"Make sure not to make any sounds," I said to Charlie.
Nodding his head, he soon ran over to Hailey.
I wanted to impress Charlie and Hailey so I made sure to tell Marco to do his part precisely.
As soon as the camera started filming, we went into action.
At first, everything seemed to be going well until Marco once again punched me earlier than expected. This time I was able to stand on my feet and continued to do my part.
"Cut! Wonderful!" Dan yelled when we finished our part.
This time I turned straight around to Marco and punched him right in his chest.
"Ey ey! Riley!" Dan yelled out as he jogged over to us.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Marco keeps fu... messing up and this is about the twentieth time he has actually hurt me."
Sighing, Dan turned to Marco.
"Marco what's up, Riley's a stunt double, not a punching bag."
"I don't mean to intentionally punch her," Marco said as he rubbed his chest.
"Well still, it might make the picture look better but let this be the last time," Dan said as he headed back to his position.
Sighing, I got back into my position knowing we had to film it three more times.
It seemed like Marco finally got the message because he didn't manage to hurt me and that was a huge relief.
"Good work guys, now can we have Cassie and Derek take over."
Turning to look at where I left Hailey and Charlie, I watched as Derek said bye to Hailey but stayed away from Charlie. Cassie, however, said bye to both of them properly.
"So whatcha think?" I asked as I walked over to them.
"Riley why were they hurting you?" Charlie asked.
"Kiddo that was all fake, I only got hurt a few times today," I said as I looked at Hailey.
Staring straight at me, it seemed like Hailey zoned out for a second.
"You okay there?" I asked.
Blushing, she looked away and said yes coming back to her senses.
Turning to look at Charlie, I watched him try to remove his hair from in front of his eyes.
"When was the last time you took this kid to get a haircut?" I asked Hailey.
"Umm... it's been a while." Hailey mumbled.
Nodding my head, I bent down and pick Charlie up again.
"Come on, let's get you a haircut."
"Right now? But you're working," Hailey said as she looked at me.
"There is a hair and makeup crew here and trust me, they will be more than happy to cut the boy's hair for free."
Biting her bottom lip, she just followed me as I walked over to the trailers.
When we finally made it to the trailer, I opened the door and was greeted by Stephanie. Her eyes immediately went to Charlie.
"Who do we have here?" Stephanie asked as she looked at Charlie.
"This fellow is Charlie and before you ask, his mother is Hailey, not me," I said as I pointed with my head to Hailey.
"Nice to meet you two," Stephanie said.
"Hey Steph, I was wondering if you could do me a favor," I asked as I placed Charlie down on the chair.
"Ask away hon."
"Can you cut Charlie's hair, it's extremely long and it bothering him."
"Oh of course!" Steph said as she turned to look at Charlie.
Charlie just sat there and I couldn't help but notice his hands were empty.
"Where's Roger?" I asked Hailey as I went to sit on the couch they had inside the trailer.
Walking over to me, she sat down and spoke up.
"He left him since I told Charlie we were going somewhere close to a forest. Charlie didn't want Roger to leave him and run off into the forest with other bears."
"Smart kid." I said as I laughed.
"You're spoiling my son." Hailey said as she let out a soft chuckle.
"Your son deserves to be spoil," I said as I rolled my eyes but smiled.
Looking at Hailey out of the corner of my eye, I noticed she was staring at me. She also seemed to be enjoying herself as well.
It made her look beautiful.
We spend a few minutes talking about her life and how she was studying to do something with writing. I, of course, asked her questions about herself and she did the same. It really seemed like she wanted to get to know me and I was not opposed to that.
"Ok, we are all done here," Stephanie said as she turned the chair that Charlie was sitting on around.
Charlie wore the biggest smile I've ever seen and jumped off the chair to run over to us.
Stephanie cut a lot of his hair on the side off and a bit off the top.
"What style is this?" I asked.
"It's called a modern pompadour. Charlie doesn't have a round face so it looks great since his jawline is somewhat structured already."
Turning Charlie's head slightly, I noticed she was right. The kid had a nice jaw.
"Impressive." I said as I nodded in to approve.
"Now how about we do you?" Stephanie asked as she looked at Hailey.
"Me? Oh no no, I couldn't impose."
"Nonsense honey, come take a seat." Stephanie said as she patted the chair.
Turning to look at me, I just gesture to the chair.
Biting her bottom lip, she slowly got up and walked over to the chair.
"Riley dear, if you could be so kind and leave, I want this one to be a surprise." Stephanie said as she turned to Hailey.
Rolling my eyes, I stood up and grabbed Charlie's small hand.
"Let's go be superheroes elsewhere. Text me when you're done, Hailey." I said as I headed for the door
"Mmm ok stay safe you two," Hailey said.
Exiting the trailer, I looked around trying to see how I could keep this kid preoccupied.
"So whatcha wanna do?" I asked Charlie.
Shrugging his shoulders, he looked around trying to take in his surrounding.
It wasn't much but we were standing near the beach and a forest close by. Filming was only supposed to take place for 4 days before we packed up and moved to another location. Due to the fact it was the fourth day here, there wasn't much around. They already started packing, so there were just a few trailers and other things laying around.
"Do you know how to drive?" I asked Charlie.
Shaking his head, he looked back up at me.
"Well let's see if we can teach you." I said as I started walking with him.
There were a few golf carts around to make traveling easier when moving cameras and other things so I decided to borrow one.
It wasn't like I was going to damage it.
When I finally saw where they parked the golf carts, I quickly walked over and told Charlie to climb on my lap. He didn't hesitate at all.
"Ok now I'm going to control the pedals and you can steer ok?" I said as I wrapped one arm around his stomach.
My other hand was on the bottom of the steering wheel just in case he took a sharp turn.
Nodding his head, he leaned forward waiting for me to step on the accelerator.
I took it easy and allowed Charlie to steer. His driving skills really sucked but I wasn't about to tell him that.
Many of the crew members looked our way and some couldn't help but smile at us. It wasn't until I saw Cassie that I slowed down gently steering the cart in her direction.
"How you doing?" I said as I tried to imitate a Jersey accent.
"Not too bad." Cassie said as she climbed into the cart.
"Riley goo!" Charlie said as he started kicking his leg.
Rolling my eyes, I did as I was told and gently pressed on the accelerator.
"I can see you're wiped." Cassie said as she laid her head on my shoulder.
"I'm not wiped." I said as I continued to look forward not wanting to crash the cart.
"You and his mom close?"
"Not really, I only met her because of Charlie." I responded.
"So you're hanging out with 5 year old?"
"I'm four!" Charlie exclaimed.
"Ah, so a four-year-old boy," Cassie said with a chuckle.
"Sound rather wrong when you say it like that." I said as I rolled my eyes.
"Hailey's cute."
"She is," I said as I continued to look forward.
"Where's her husband?" Cassie asked as she cuddled closer to me.
"Um, she doesn't have one and doesn't seem to be taken either. I think she's just a single mother," I said.
"Charlie where's daddy?" Cassie asked.
"I don't have a daddy." Charlie said as he continued steering.
"Are you sure?" Cassie asked.
Nodding his head, he spoke up again.
"I only have mommy, Avery, and Riley."
"Aww!" Cassie said as she squeezed my arm.
"Hey, Charlie why don't you like men," I asked, feeling curious.
"Cause they hurt mommy."
"Boyfriends?" I asked as I frowned.
Who would want to hurt Hailey?
"Mommy doesn't like boys she only loves me." Charlie said as he quickly turned the steering wheel.
"Easy there kiddo." I said as I grabbed the steering wheel.
"What do you mean your mother doesn't like men?" Cassie asked.
"She only likes meee," Charlie said.
"I think that's enough questions for one day," I said as I looked at Cassie from the corner of my eye.
"Okay." Charlie said.
While we were driving around, Cassie mentioned that she was hungry and Charlie was quick to agree so we ended up going to the snack table.
As soon as I turned the golf cart off, Charlie got off my lap and ran to get something to eat.
He immediately went for the donuts and started stuffing his face.
Cassie was also quick to join him.
"Gosh, you have no idea how hungry I am." Cassie said as she bit into a donut herself.
I couldn't help but make a face when I saw her eating that. It looks like fat to me and I wasn't going to put that in my body.
"I can tell." I said as I stood next to her.
"Here, take a bite." Cassie said as she lifted her donut to my lips.
"No thank you." I said as I leaned away.
"Please." Cassie said as she batted her eyelashes at me and placed her hand against my stomach.
I couldn't help but shiver when she got so close to me. Noticing the effect she caused me, she smirked and started tracing circled with her thumb on my stomach.
"If you take a bite I'll stop."
"You are sexually harassing me in front of a child." I said.
"Mhm, I am." She said as she winked.
Rolling my eyes, I decided to take a small bit from Cassie's donut causing her to smile.
"Now was that so hard to do?" Cassie said as she kissed my cheek before moving away.
"Yes." I said.
"By the way, your stomach is really hard, do you live in that gym of yours?"
That definitely caused me to cough as I tried to clear my throat.
"Um no but thanks for checking my stomach out." I said as I looked over at Charlie.
Charlie, however, wasn't paying us the slightest attention since he was eating anything he could reach for.
"That's not the only thing I've been checking out." Cassie said before turning around to get another snack.
"You're a real flirt." I said as I went to stand next to her.
Reaching out, I grabbed a carrot and started to eat it.
"Yea but you love it."
Cassie and I stood around talking afterward for about 10 minutes before one of the crew members came to tell Cassie she was needed on set.
"That's my cue." Cassie said as she kissed me on the cheek before saying goodbye to Charlie.
I was about to tell Charlie to get back on the golf cart but my phone went off.
Taking it out, I realized it was a text from Hailey telling me to go back to the trailer.
I responded with an "okay" before grabbing Charlie and getting in the golf cart.
This time I drove but Charlie decided he still wanted to sit on my lap.
"You and Cassie act like Avery and mommy." Charlie said.
"What?" I asked, completely caught off guard by his statement.
"Do you like mommy?"
"Um... yes Charlie I do," I said as I pulled up to the trailer.
Getting off my lap, Charlie walked over to the trailer and started knocking on it, leaving me completely dumbfounded.
I had a feeling there was something not adding up but I decided to brush it off.
Once again I turned the golf cart off and followed Charlie.
The trailer door opened shortly after and I was left speechless as soon as I got inside.
Stephanie knew what she was doing; Hailey looked extremely different.
Her once brown hair was now ombre and for some odd reason, her eyes seem to pop out more. The only explanation for that was makeup.
Overall, she looked extremely gorgeous.
"You like it?" She asked as she started to blush.
Not able to form words, I just nodded my head with my mouth still slightly parted.
Walking over to me, Stephanie giggled before closing my mouth.
"Wow, Steph how did you do that so fast?" I asked as I continued to stare at Hailey.
"Darling it's been over an hour."
"Huh?"
Looking over to the wall clock, I realized she was right.
"Guess time does really fly." I mumbled before looking at Hailey again.
"So um, do you still have to work?" Hailey asked as she shifted from one foot to the other.
Shaking my head, I just continued to look at her, taking in her new look.
"Do you um... do you wanna go to the mall with me then?" Hailey asked.
I quickly nodded my head.
Chuckling, Stephanie leaned in and whispered into my ear.
"Honey you're being obvious."
Looking at Stephanie, I then looked at Hailey.
"Shit, I did look like a creeper." I thought to myself.
I quickly made sure to clear my throat and looked at Charlie before speaking up.
"Ready to go kiddo?"
"Yes!" Charlie exclaimed as he smiled.
Scratching the back of my neck, I thanked Stephanie for doing their hair before opening the trailer door.
It wasn't long before the three of us, Charlie, Hailey, and I started walking to the entrance.
"So how are we going to do this, do I follow you in my car or what?" I asked as I reached into my pocket for my car key.
"Actually, we took a taxi cab here since my car finally broke down."
"May it rest in peace." I said while chuckling.
Rolling her eyes, she didn't say anything.
"We'll just take my car, but, is Charlie old enough to ride without a child seat?"
"No, but, it's not like I have one with me." Hailey said as she stared at Charlie.
Charlie, however, seemed to be completely oblivious to the conversation.
When we finally reached my car, I opened the backseat door for Charlie and made sure to buckle him in.
"Now listen kiddo, there are times to joke around and there are times to be extremely serious; this is one of those times. You will not jump, kick, or move too much in your seat. You will also not take your seat belt off, okay?" I said as I looked him straight in his eyes.
Nodding his head, he smiled.
I made sure that his hands were inside before closing the door and walking to the driver's side.
When I finally got in, I made sure Hailey had her seat belt on before putting mine on.
It didn't take to long to get on the road after making sure everyone was safely in their seat.
"So what movie are you guys filming?" Hailey asked while looking out the car window.
"Eh well I'm not allowed to tell anyone but it's Lost Maps." I said as I continued to look forward.
"Like the book?" Hailey asked.
"Yea, it's based on it, but, to be completely honest, I have no idea what the heck is happening. That's why I went to buy the books."
"Oh, those were the books you had in your hand."
"Yeah well, I wanted to understand it since it seems to be a big deal."
"It is."
Quickly taking a glance at Hailey, I responded.
"Have you read it?"
"Just the first two books."
"What is it about?" I asked.
"Well, to sum it up without spoiling anything, it's basically about a very messed up world."
"Um, explain."
"Well it takes place in the future where the United States crashed when a second depression hits them and because of this, the other empires around the world crashed as well. It talks a little bit about how the other countries crashed since they promote their business in the United States. Honestly, in my point of view, I can see it happening, I mean China sends tons of stuff to the United States and without them, who is China going to sell items too? There's also the case where North Korea was finally able to take over South Korea since the United State had to pull their troops out of there. Then there is Russia-"
"Hailey, how does that have anything to do with the book?" I said as I chuckled.
She looked somewhat cute as she talked about all that stuff, but, to be honest I didn't understand anything she just said.
"Oh right." She said as she shook her head, trying to clear her mind.
"Anyways, so by now the United States crashed and burned so obvious total chaos breaks out. So what does the government do? Create a society where you have to kill to stay alive while playing their corrupt games. Everyone plays to stay alive since that's the only way you can get supply; You need to battle for it. If you lose, however, the winner gets to choose if you die or spare your life. If they spare it, you become their property. That is where the main character, London, comes in. She's extremely ruthless and she kills to stay alive, however, that's until she met Nathan. Of course, London tries to kill Nathan but that's beside the point." She said.
Nodding my head, I opened my mouth to speak.
"So where does the title come into place?" I asked.
"Oh right, well London's father was a cartographer and he would talk to London about this certain place that was off the grid. According to him, it was supposed to be this big secret place the government kept hidden but since it was off the grid he could only guess where it was." Hailey said as she got comfortable in the passenger seat.
"And how does that make for a world's best selling book?" I asked as I looked at her.
"It's extremely good because of the relationship London and Nathan has. It also helps that there is a huge twist in the end."
"What is it?"
"You have to read the book." Hailey said as she raised one of her eyebrows.
"Well okay okay enough with Lost Maps, we're almost at the mall," I said.
The rest of the drive to the mall was quiet and when we finally reached it, I was able to find a parking space close to the entrance.
The whole journey to the mall consisted of walking aimlessly around which was extremely relaxing. The only problem was Charlie wanted to sit on my leg the whole time.
Hailey, however, wouldn't let him and told him to behave.
She was strict with Charlie and grabbed his hand making sure he wouldn't run away.
"You know, you seem like the strict kind of parent." I said as we sat down at a table in the mall's food court.
We stopped for ice cream and Charlie was enjoying his treat, forgetting about us.
"Yeah well, when you're a single parent you always have to keep an eye on them." Hailey said.
"Fair enough." I said as I ate my ice cream.
"Do you want kids?" Hailey asked.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I tried to think of a good answer.
"Not anytime soon; I live for my line of work and having a child would slow me down. Don't get me wrong, I love Charlie's company but I understand he's a 24/7 kind of situation and I've only seen him when he's outside the house."
It was Hailey's turn to pause.
"So is that why you haven't dated anyone since you were 18?" She asked slowly.
"While um, high school was a calmer time where it was basically a free trial kind of thing. After you finish it, you realize you eventually need to pay to continue playing the game of life. I've been too busy to pay anyone but myself attention. This right here is new to me, that why I got upset by your friend Avery; I'm just getting the hang of hanging with people again."
Looking at me, Hailey smiled before opening her mouth to speak.
However, she was cut short by Charlie.
"Mommy I'm sleepy." Charlie said as he pushed his empty ice cream cup away from his.
Not liking that it was still on the table, Charlie stood on his chair and shoved it to the ground before sitting down again.
"Charlie you can't just do that." I said as I picked the cup up.
"I don't like it," Charlie said.
"You weren't saying that when you were eating its contain." I mumbled.
"Mommy I'm sleeeepy!" Charlie said again.
"Charlie I heard you the first time." Hailey said as she sighed.
Frowning, Charlie did he usually as he slipped out off his chair before he started his tantrum.
"Charlie Hunter, sit in your chair correctly." I said.
Looking at me, Charlie just started pouting.
"Charlie I mean it, we're in public."
Making some small noises, Charlie started kicking.
"Charlie enough." I said in a stern voice.
However, he didn't listen and started with his small tantrum.
"As I said, it's better to ignore him." Hailey said as she slowly started to get up.
I exhale deeply before standing up as well.
"Yea well his the first kid I've ever dealt with."
"Come on Charlie let's go." Hailey said as she reached out for Charlie's hand.
"You're going to let me drive you home right?" I asked Hailey.
She immediately shook her head causing me to frown.
"Sorry, it's just if you do drive us, Charlie might think you'll staying and will end up throwing a bigger tantrum when he realizes you're not."
"Then how are you going to get home?" I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Riley there are literally 10 taxi cabs right outside of this mall." Hailey said.
Biting my bottom lip, I then sighed and smiled.
"Well okay then." I said as gestured for her to start walking.
Smiling, Hailey quickly picked up Charlie in her arms before walking ahead of me.
I ended up walking them outside of the mall and gave Hailey a 20 dollar bill for the taxi ride. I wasn't sure how far they lived by I hoped 20 would be enough. Hailey, of course, refused it but I wasn't having any of it.
I told them goodnight before closing their door and watching the taxi cab pull away.
A smile slowly appeared on my face as I made my way to my car.
"What a pair."