Chapter 54: Be Careful What You Wish For
Three Weeks Later…
In a blink of an eye, ‘Mad March’ had arrived and Marshall was beginning to understand the true meaning of the statement. It was as if someone had stomped on the accelerator in his life and he was suddenly taking corners and making decisions and ninety miles an hour. He barely had time to breathe.
After reading the script of the film, he decided he liked where this was going, taking into account all of Paul’s ‘managerial talk’. They’d looked at getting Quinton Tarantino to direct but he was busy with Kill Bill and things with Danny Boyle hadn’t really worked out. He’d loved Curtis’ take on the film and they’d ended up changing a few things in the script to make it a rawer. He was glad he wasn’t some dumb bell boy now, but an industrial worker. Somehow it didn’t feel like much of an upgrade but he felt it suited the plot better.
Curtis was a great guy and was full of knowledge and was considerate of the fact that Marshall had never done anything like this before. He’d been apprehensive when he’d asked him to dye his hair back to brown but when he did, he realized how much it reminded him of his pre-famous days. Not to mention, Riley said she loved it, which made him feel a thousand times better.
Man, she’d been getting so much work lately. Now that she was signed to Marie Claire, she was flying all around the country for shoots and god knows what. The commercial ended up being fantastic, and she’d pulled it off, like he knew she could. She was really a brilliant actress. And after that, she’d been in high demand by hundreds of modelling agencies and magazines. He was happy to see her finally thriving in her environment, but in the last two weeks, he had hardly seen her. They couldn’t even squeeze in phone calls because she was either on a flight or he was in a meeting.
And Jesus, Kim was looking pregnant. She was seven months in now, and was struggling to take care of the kids. He guessed he wasn’t making it easier on her by pulling such long days, but he couldn’t help it. Not to mention it was her own damn fault for being pregnant, so his sympathy was minimal.
And hell, with filming just starting up, the long days were crazy. It was hard to wind down after a sixteen hour day, especially when you only had a tiny block to sleep in. And because he’d been working out so much to lose weight for the role, and the long days, his body was absolutely exhausted and he couldn’t understand why it was so damn hard to get to sleep. He’d been about ready to rip his hair out until someone gave him an Ambien and it knocked him out. He had the best sleep he’d had in years on that. He’d ended up with a prescription which was really helping him.
“Marshall- Marshall are you there?”
Proof’s voice echoed in his ears and he looked up from where he’d been staring at the floor, lost in his thoughts. They’d been having some kind of technical issue on set today and Paul had told him not to bother to coming in until the afternoon. He and Proof and headed down to the studio to try and make a start on the soundtrack but he’d ended up getting lost in his thoughts.
“Yeah,” He returned absently, picking up the notepad beside him as he leant against the sound desk. He flicked through the pages and didn’t have much coming at him with so much on his mind. Proof, the bastard, could read him like a book.
“What’s eating you?” He asked as he pushed himself back and forth in his office chair with his foot. Not in the mood for ‘show and tell’, Marshall just shrugged and continued staring at the page. Proof stopped swinging around on the chair. “What? It’s too personal to tell me now?” He teased.
Marshall lowered the pad, “I was just thinking about the fact that I haven’t spoken to Riley since last week.”
“Do you know where she is now?” Proof asked.
He frowned, trying to remember where she’d just been, “I think she just got back from New York yesterday and…” He gathered his memories. “And… she had a photo-shoot this morning.” He checked the time. “She should be finished by now. I think she’s off to LA this afternoon.”
Proof raised an eyebrow, impressed by how much work she was doing, “When’s the last time you saw her?”
He sighed, “A few weeks ago. It's like whenever I get back from work, she's leaving. And whenever she gets back, I have to work.”
His best friend had a sly smile on his face, “Are you having withdrawal symptoms?”
Marshall rolled his eyes and pushed the chair Proof was in across the studio floor with his foot as he said, “Shut up.”
Proof smiled but then looked suddenly serious, “You should go talk to her. You have some free time and she’s probably home right now. And I can tell you’re not concentrating on any lyrics right now.”
Marshall drew in a deep breath. He really needed to get started on this soundtrack but he was desperate to see Riley.
Proof kept his eyes trained firmly on him. “Stop arguing with yourself- go.”
Knowing he was right, he shoved his notepad back into his backpack and slung it around his shoulder and headed for the door. Before he walked out he knocked on the wooden frame, “Hey Proof.” His friend looked back at him. He offered him a small smile. “Thanks.” Proof nodded once as Marshall turned and left the studio, headed for Riley’s house.
Fifteen minutes later, he was standing in her doorway, watching her throw things into her handbag. She seemed frustrated and flustered, as if she were in a hurry and wasn’t in the mood to talk. Lucky him. He’d considered buying some flowers or something on the way but didn’t have the time. He tried not to be off put by her rushed attitude.
"Can we talk?"
Riley let out a sigh as she grabbed her handbag, "I've been waiting, wanting to talk for two weeks. I don't have time right now. I'll be late for my flight."
Marshall followed her out the apartment door and down the hallway, "I know we're both busy-"
Riley clicked the button for the elevator and it chimed open. She stepped inside and pressed the door button to close him out. Frustrated, he jammed his hand out and forced the elevator doors open. Stepping inside she re-closed the doors as the elevator. They headed down in silence. About halfway, he pulled the emergency brake. Riley through him a wild look. He couldn’t believe she was being so difficult right now. He thought she’d be happy to see him.
"Look, you knew going into this that it wasn't going to be hard. Both of us have full on careers."
"I know."
He could tell she wasn't interested in talking to him right now. His frustration was skyrocketing by this point, especially as she attempted to pull the brake off. He smacked her hand away from it.
"Would you just-" before he could stop himself, he pushed her against the elevator wall. He had each palm flat against either side of her head so she couldn't move and was forced to look at him.
"I'm sick of you not listening to me. You've been ignoring me!"
Riley's temper rose as she was forced into an uncomfortable situation. "I'm not your mother. I can't give you attention every minute of every day. I have a life and responsibilities. I know you're used to the spotlight with all your fans but I can't live up to that."
He gritted his teeth. "You're saying I'm a baby?"
"I'm saying you're acting like one. I can't give you credit for everything you do," Riley retorted.
Marshall banged his hand against the wall in anger, "You're starting to sound a hell of a lot like Kim."
"I'm beginning to see why you got a divorce." Her words sliced right through him, like butter. She leant forwards and managed to pull off the emergency brake.
In an angry fit, the words just flew out of him. “This is ridiculous. You wouldn’t even have a career if it wasn’t for me!”
Riley’s gasp was audible and clearly shocking. “Why would you-”
“Do you really think that if I didn’t use you for the music video you would be famous? Or if I didn’t date you? Why do you think you’re suddenly so popular?!”
He saw the outrage flare in her eyes as she banged her fist against the wall behind her. “My successful career has shit all to do with you and everything to do with my blood, sweat and goddamn tears. I worked for this career.”
“I gave it to you!” He screamed.
The elevator doors chimed and opened behind him.
They both stood there, breathing heavily, pissed beyond measure. Riley, undoubtedly mad, but also visibly hurt, lowered her head. Her voice was suddenly full of pain instead of anger. It was cold as ice. “I can’t believe you think that.”
As she raised her head he spotted the tears in her eyes.
His tongue had taken him too far this time. “Riley-”
He released his cage around her as she pushed past, "I have a plane to catch, Marshall."
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2: ENCORE
See @meni.me on Instagram for release details