The shooting session ends two days later. The cast and crew decide on a night out to celebrate their hard work. For people in Hollywood, partying in the middle of the week, on Thursday night is rather usual. There's all the reason and yet no reason to withhold. For one, I don't see what's not to celebrate. It's not as if we're going back to work tomorrow. Oh wait, I do.
Now that the shooting is over, we'll be waiting up to three months for the editing process. And from there, since this is not a big movie, a small gathering and premiere for the first show would suffice. That has been the way of it for the past few years.
I get into my car, escape the dreadful heat, and drive back to my apartment. Entering my little tiny apartment, I literally snatch my top away from my body. The temperature is rising rapidly in SoCal. My apartment is a one-bedroom unit in an apartment complex, not far from downtown LA and Hollywood in Beverly Hills. High enough for most and low enough for the rest. For me, it's rather a pay-to-stay-alive situation. Ironically, it would have been a far better one, had I stayed with my parents in their big mansion, where I grow up. But being headstrong, I said no.
Dialing Angelic, I put the phone on speaker as I make my way to my bathroom to wash the makeup off my face,
"Hey, girl," Angelic's voice comes after five rings.
"Hey. Get your *ss over here. I'm done the shooting." I tell her as I walk to my closet and change into something comfortable.
"Oooh, yeah. I'll be there. Red wine or Champaign?" she asks.
"Surprise me," I answer before saying my goodbye.
Firing up my laptop, I settle behind my desk and grab my phone to text Chris.
-I'll be out of town this week. Family gathering. U wanna meet me before I go?
I don't receive a reply immediately, which makes me a bit nervous not knowing what he thinks. It's been a long time my father has been denying him entrance to our family gathering. My father is a very restricted family man. He prefers to spend his time off with his family alone. If there's nothing he's holding against Chris, that is. Being a reserved man, my father rarely shows emotion. It's been always my mother who complements him by being transparent.
I start checking my email, managed the few business Angelic doesn't manage and do a little bit research to find out how Kingstone Co. actually works. Unintentionally, I start searching for my name. For as much as I want to deny the rumors, I can't help lurking more into the gossip websites. Fortunately, there hasn't been any gossip on me or on our company. Sitting there, starting the Google Search Engine, I suddenly find myself going back to my habit and searching for Ethan Kingstone.
Several articles come up. Many of which plastered with his beautiful face under the titles. I start looking for the most recent one.
Ethan and Lorena have been seen in Fire Up Grill Restaurant & Bar on Wednesday night. Hand in hand, the couple was seen romantically engaged as they shared a meal. Ethan, who is expected to play James in For You My Love will be getting a few distance away from Film industries for a while. Kingstone will appear as the GQ newest model this fall.
A few images of Ethan and his precious girlfriend are after the article. They look happy, well, mostly Lorena, who is clinging like a leech to Ethan's hand. I make a face before clicking the tab close and slapping the computer closed afterward.
Almost an hour later, Angelic shows up. Angelic, or Angie as I prefer to call her, is a beautiful African American woman, who is taller and thinner than I am. Her body is well formed in a way that sometimes, I wonder why she has never pursued modeling! With soft, shiny black hair with a few strands of purple and pink she has recently dried, Angelic is the complete opposite me in features. While I have white skin, slightly toned due to LA's hot sun, and blonde hair, she has full is blessed with dark fair skin tone and flawless hair which I envy.
"Hey, you," she hugs me before entering my apartment. Opening the bottle of the Champaign she has brought with her, we salute to my success.
After glaming up, Angie and I called an Uber and left the apartment toward the club where the rest of our crew is waiting to celebrate.
When we arrive at the club, the packed house makes it hard for us to enter. Upon arrival, finding my group was not hard since many of them are scattered, mingling in their own social life with those who are celebrating other causes at the time same time. Settling down easily, we order our own shots, and like that, our party starts.
Something in the middle of our night, while I'm left alone to myself and I'm too drunk to notice what time it is and how long it has been since we've been here, I recognize a familiar face. Not much of familiarity, but enough torturous that it makes me roll my eyes.
The sight of Ethan effin' Kingstone makes me press my lips into a thin line. He has an air to him that attracts everyone to him as he passes people. Even men have to turn their head and see who is the young fella stealing their partner's attention. So much drama that makes him a drama queen, no doubt.
What stops my train of thought is the clingy brunette, who has her arm circled around his delicious abs. Oh, stop it, Eve. You are happy with Chris.
Times like this I tell myself it is completely normal to want to ogle someone else other than your boyfriend. It's perfectly normal when that other person is Ethan.
They approach a group of people who are already in their course of celebrating. Instantly, they are engaged in laughing and talking. I observe them for a good few minutes. Ethan Kingstone, the famous celebrity, actor and talented director who happens to be the heir to Kingstone Co. No wonder why everyone is attracted to him.
As I'm about to turn around, Ethan catches me looking at him. Nodding his head, he smiles faintly. Clumsily, I return the smile with a sweet one of mine, nodding my head. Yep, that's as far as we go. And one would not imagine we have grown up with together. I still have the image in which eight years old Ethan is teaching me how to swim; now twenty years later, he couldn't stand my sight. What went wrong? I used to ask myself when I cared enough to know.
The party ends and soon everyone is hanging onto each other for support to exit the club and grab a cab. Angelic and I are leaning into each other, but by the time we get out turn to get a cab, all the cabs have left and we are left alone. According to my calculation which still works, although I'm drunk enough that I don't know what my name is, we should have a cab, since we ordered one before exiting the club but the street is deserted except the passing cars and the pedestrians.
"Oh, barnacles," Angelic uses her favorite swear word under her breath as she observes the scenario before us.
"Great," I sigh.
"Evelyn," A voice comes from behind and I grimace as I learn who the speaker is. Of course, Ethan would choose this moment of all the moments when I'm glorious to approach me. Well, damn.
Slowly turning with Angelic's body mostly leaned against mine; I face him as he watches my drunken friend and me carefully. Yep, I know I'm not beautiful when I'm drunk, no need to mention it, mister.
"Hey," I say.
"Are you waiting for your ride?" he asks. Holy sh*t, he has a deep sweet voice. I've missed this voice. When was the last time I heard it? Probably two nights ago, when I was curled up in my blanket and was watching his new movie as he fired a gun at his enemy.
"Nope. Our ride just flew away. Those sneaky little writers stole our ride," Angelic murmurs under her breath as she shakes her head.
"You shouldn't be alone like this. It's not safe for two young ladies to be alone in this condition," he says. Angelic all of a sudden starts slipping through my grip. He moves forward and grabs her by her hands before she would hit the ground. "I can give you a ride, come on,"
"Baby," a screeching sound comes off from behind him. I leap and snatch Angelic out of his hold. And of course, our hands brush. "We need to go if we want to see that show. It's still eleven. You promise we'll go there,"
Lorena comes forward and stares at us. She looks between Ethan and me before settling on Ethan and hangs from him. Argh, how much can she be clingy? She's like a freaking slim, slipping on the floor whenever she's hanging from his side. Lorena's brown eyes are dark enough to be mistaken for black. You'll fall in love with her if you were into fake lashes and black and dark eyeshadows. And of course, if something was wrong with you.
"Hey, Evelyn." She says coolly. For as much as she tries to act innocent, in hopes, I assume, to catch Mary's attention, she would never be successful.
"Lorena," I acknowledge her.
"Wait for me here. I'll bring the car around," Ethan says, mostly to me as he slips away from her grip.
"No, it's ok. Um... we're just gonna take an Uber. You guys probably have stuff to do. I don't want to be a burden on you-
"Yeah, honey, she's right," Lorena cuts in before I can say more. Well, I guess the more she pushes her cleavage at him, the more he would pry his attention from me. Which at this moment, I really appreciate.
Pressing his lips, like I remember he used to do when he was twelve, he nods.
The moment our Uber parks next to the curb just a few feet away from us, relief washes over me. This way I don't have to be a burden on Ethan, whose girlfriend cannot stop touching his face. Argh, woman, get over yourself.
I help Angie into the cab, then sit next to her, and ask our driver to take off without having another look back at them. Payback is a b*tch, Ethan Kingstone. You get what you deserve for leaving me all these years when I suffered from loneliness and friendless my early years in theater academy. I was alone and had no one when I got to the academy specifically for children whose parents' dream is to make a start out of them. The only person whom I know happened to be him. And he did nothing. He talked to his own friends, he never attempted to make me feel less awkward, and he was never there. And usually, you expect these kinds of things from your childhood friend whom you spent your summers with. I guess I was "uncool" back then. Fortunately, things changed. I started finding friends of my own. I guess the only thing satisfying was the fact that he was off to college two years after. And that was when I started ruling.
When we get to Angie's house, a one-bedroom condo, except smaller than mine, I decide to crash there for the night. I'm too exhausted handling Angie to here and too drunk to take another Uber to my apartment.
Next morning, I walk back into the lot and straight to our studio. We're supposed to do the final touch-ups and have the last meeting to decide over particular things such as dates for rehash if needed and other necessary subjects. It seems that the crew couldn't be happier to finish the movie. Most of them want to take a few months off, but the truth is told, they'll be back before the set is done. Movies are like drugs. When you're done with one, you'll want more, you have to want more, you can't stop it. And you're definitely not done. They're even worse than ice cream, and I consider ice cream toxic, my trainer says so and I should think so if I want to get into pictures.
As I exit the lot, I notice my father's car is missing. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him after we talked. I wonder if his absence is connected to his financial status. I hope not.
After I make sure, my apartment is surely secured, because you never know what happens when you're not home and these paparazzi can do anything, I pack a light bag of necessities for the weekend, including a swimming suit and leave the apartment. Chris hasn't found time yet to say goodbye to me and I'm so sad to be leaving the town not seeing him.
Three hours later, I park my car next to my father's. Grabbing my bag and getting out of the car, I walk up the few stairs. Our vacation house is nothing classy; well, technically, nothing compared to Kingstones, but still somewhere to get away from town and just breathes freely.
"Hey mom," I call from the living room. The vacation house is made of wood, and perhaps some cement and glass, according to my study over the documents when my parents fell in love with it and decided to buy it against their better judgment. They could have had any house, anything more secure and better view, but they decided something in the woods is what they needed, whereas Kingstones whose house they have inherited from John's father has a beautiful view of the lake where you can swim and paddle across. Something you would find in the middle of Washington State, except in the middle of the freaking California.
"Hey, honey," the sweet sound of my mother comes from the kitchen before she appears and buries me in a bear hug." come, come, we were just about to put the pizza's in the oven," she guides me to the kitchen.
One thing I like about this house is the kitchen, which has a full view of the greens before it with a full window wall. Although the trees and the greens are artificially grown and kept, not by the hand of nature sadly, there's a sense of nature in which it is hard to come by.
I find Dad leaning against the kitchen cabinet with his arms crossed. His expression is what draws my attention first. I saw lines of distress and sadness in his eyes. It is as if he's aged ten years. A faint smile confirms my uneasiness.
"Where is Jess?" I ask Mom.
"She should be upstairs," she says as she grabs a bowl and starts making a salad. "Seemingly doing her homework," she continues.
When saying seemingly, it means she's probably cutting off with her friend and doing everything but paying attention to her homework.
I put my bag on the couch in the living room and return back to help Mom. Behind us, I feel Dad's eyes observing us, but after a while, he silently leaves the room. His behavior is odd and unusual. He would always yearn for a weekend off with his family. He would always wear a warm smile and would be gladder to help us, yet today, he leaves the room and doesn't bother to look back at us. It strikes my curiosity,
"Mom, is everything ok?" I ask her,
"Yeah, honey. Everything is fine," she smiles before return back to her salad making. My mother was never good at masking her emotions. There were times when I would be home late, or Jess would do something that would upset Mom, but Dad was always reserved even if he was sad and upset.
I decide to ignore it.
When the pizza is ready, Dad reappears again from nowhere and takes it out of the oven. Through my observing lenses, I also notice the distance between my parents. When Jessie shows up after calling after her ten times, she is cheerful and same as usual. Well, that's a relief.
The lunch was amazing. It's been a long time I haven't tasted his delicious recipe. After cleaning up, we move to the living room. The plan, per usual is to stay here for a day and then stay with Kingstone tomorrow, after which we'll leave and go back to our lives. My phone bings and I look down to see a text from Chris. Smiling, I excuse myself to the upstairs, where Jessie has gone long ago right after she hurriedly washed the dishes.
"Hey," I say as I answer his call right before I was about to enter my bedroom.
"Hey. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it. I wanted to see you before you go and I know I promised, but it's just that I have too many patients and they keep coming for a simple cold pretending to be dying," he keeps continuing,
"Hey, hey, Chris, it's ok, I understand. You're gonna keep doing what you do, it's your job, remember. That's exactly how you easily get money. If you guilty, which you shouldn't, just think about the time I promised you I would see you before the premiere, but I ended up having interviews after interviews." I say which makes him laugh. A Chris style laugh, I call it. It's like a throaty/roary laugh.
"So how's everything going on with the family?" he asks.
"Everything is good. We just had lunch. We'll go to Kingstones' tomorrow," I explain, even though I'm pretty sure he knows about it.
"Oh, that's good," he says.
We talk for a bit and say our goodbye. I change into my hiking clothes and grab a light pack of a water bottle and a small towel to dry myself. Exiting my room, I set off to Jess'. Knocking, yet not bothering to wait for her answer, I walk into her room and find her sprawl on the bed, her feet up in the air as she's playing with her hair in one hand. Oh, Jessie, Jessie, you're transparent just like Mom. Good thing I took after my father.
"Hey, would you mind get off the phone and enjoy your time off away from people?" I sulk at her,
"Oh, sh*t," he whispers, "I call you later, Dan," she says and then hangs up,
"Dan, huh?" I arch my eyebrow at her, "Does mom know you've got a boyfriend?" I ask her, feeling protective of my little young sister,
"No, because he's not my boyfriend..." there is a pause, "Yet," she continues. My lips twitch as I look down at her, "What? I was just talking to him,"
"Or flirting," I corrected her. She replies with a 'whatever' out of boredom, but her expression says it all.
Seeing my bag already packed and ready with my outfit, she jumps off the bed and gets into her gear as well. Seconds later, we are on our way downstairs, when I see my mother looking with tears in her eyes. Slowing down at the bottom of the stairs, I scan the living room, only to find my father slumped over the single couch with his eyes closed and a deep frown on his face. Jessie gets a bad idea and runs to our Dad thinking something has happened to him, but when he opens his eyes and looks at her shocked, she calms down.
"Mom, what's wrong?" I ask again for the second time today.
She doesn't answer me; rather she stands up and leaves the living room, already breaking into a sob. My eyes seek my Dad, who is holding onto Jess.
"Dad?" I demand answers.
"Come here, sit my dear, we need to talk," he says, releasing Jess, "Would you mind leaving us alone?" he doesn't look at Jessie. His eyes are too stressed that could not focus on one object.
Silently, without asking questions, as she would do usually, Jessie leaves the room and goes after Mom. Well, that gives me a few ideas already. Suddenly, the last subject he and I talked about comes to my mind and I realize instantly that this should be about the lot.
"Dad," I call him. He stands up the moment I take a seat next to him. "Tell me, what has happened?"
"Eve, you know that these few days we've been going through some tough time. I have already tried to cut expenses as much as I can, I wanted to cut the wages, but have can I do it to my employees. I am... I'm desperate," he mumbles.
"Dad, what happened?" thought has already consumed my brain. It doesn't give much away, but enough to know that since we have talked, his situation has gotten worse.
Snapping his head, he looks at me, his eyes red, and his lips dry.
"Save me, please. I don't know what to do. I don't want to fail you and my family." He says, his voice crisp and croaky as if he's at the edge of crying.