Katie sat back on her hind legs, shook a little and then leaped up onto the counter. She nuzzled her head into Leigh's arm and instinctively Leigh stroked her hand lovingly through her cat's fur. Usually she wouldn't allow her pet up on the counter but that morning she couldn't really find it in herself to care. She closed her eyes trying to lessen the throbbing pain in her head from the hangover she wished she didn't have. But that was the price she knew you have to pay for being a reckless alcohol consumer who started their journey at eight o'clock, way before anyone else.
As Leigh caressed the cat's fur and found her hand being push against wanting more attention she crouched a little and patted her shoulder. In understanding, Katie repeated the same action she did to jump up to the counter and perched herself onto her owner's shoulders. It took a quick second for the cat to get comfortable but she quickly settled laying like a neck pillow around Leigh's neck. She reminded herself to clean the counter a little later because she was feeling too lazy that morning to do it. It was a Sunday and that was her day of rest- the bible specifically named it so- and it was fine by her. Katie began to lick her ear reminding her that she needed attention- to which Leigh obliged. Petting her beautiful black and white cat was a reminder of where she'd come from- that was why she'd named her five month old pet after the character she played in 'At The Top'. Leigh wanted a reminder of where she'd come from and how she got there even though she knew that was something she would never forget. She didn't need the reminder though, she needed that constant factor in her life to connect her to her past. But it wasn't to connect her to her past working on the show, it was to connect her to the first audition she went on for the part of Katie- that day was special to her and it wasn't because she was potentially going to get a role in a major show because truth be told, she knew nothing about acting. It was the fact that if they picked her, they'd be picking her theme song to go along with it and for an eighteen year old girl wanting a music career, that was more than she could have ever asked for.
Leigh filled the coffee machine with beans and water and waited for the substance to filter through. As she watched each drip hit the bottom of the jug she became fascinated with the small waves created. It was something she'd never watched before, and it could have been because of her hungover mind that it was so interesting but Leigh could hear a rhythm in her mind- it was inspiration. Quickly she scooped up her phone from the counter, accessed the voice notes and began to hum the tune she could hear in her mind. Once titling it idea #47 and saving it Leigh poured two cups of steaming coffee into two mugs and headed into the living room where her soon-to-be house mate was sleeping on the couch. When she finally emerged from the kitchen she was stunned to see Ali sitting up with the blankets folded neatly and put to the side. She had seemingly run her fingers through her hair and wiped away any of her smudged makeup from the night before. She was staring at her phone, her mouth slightly open and her features frozen. Leigh placed a steaming mug onto the table without a word. There was something wrong but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Y-you're..." Ali stuttered her first words that morning.
Leigh's brows furrowed in confusion as she seated herself on the couch opposite Ali who was still frozen in her movements. Leigh lifted her feet up onto the chair and tucked them underneath her. Her sleeves of the over-sized hoodie she was wearing were wrapped around her mug of coffee and she took a sip. She clicked the button on the remote which turned the tv on to give some background noise to the awkwardness that was present that moment.
"You're..." Ali repeated again but still couldn't seem to force the words out. Instead, she looked up from her phone at the woman sitting in front of her and then carefully slid her phone onto the table. The internet search was in full view and the Wikipedia page of Leigh Danvers was front and centre. She knew the truth of her identity would come out sooner or later but she hadn't expected it to happen this soon- before Ali had even signed- and now Leigh realised this could literally make or break their agreement.
"You're-" Before Ali could stumble on her words once more Leigh replied to the statement she knew Ali wanted to speak but couldn't.
"Yeah. That was me. But not anymore."
"This is insane." Ali shook her head in disbelief. "Sorry I'm kinda freaking out right now."
"It's okay. I should have told you," Leigh said. "It wasn't fair to hide who I was."
Ali waved her off. "I know why you did. I wouldn't want a crazed fan living in my apartment either...You still wanna move in with me, right?"
"Of course I do. So long as this doesn't change anything."
"Good, because I already tweeted that I'm living with a celebrity." Leigh's face dropped and a wave of panic set in. Tweeting was a bad idea, that was why Leigh had sworn off of all social media since she moved to Oak View. People would know where she was and she didn't want that, she didn't want the world knowing what she was up to at every second of every day. But more than that she didn't want her mother knowing where she was.
"Please tell me you didn't..." Leigh's words were quiet.
Ali shook her head, "I'm just messing with you. I'm sorry."
"At least you've got a sense of humour," Leigh said with a small laugh. "Otherwise this place would get pretty boring. But just so you know, I'd really appreciate it if you kept this on the down low. I don't want paparazzi coming to our door and I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy that either."
"I was once in a band in high school. We had one hundred thousand hits on the internet. So you never know, they might come knocking for me," she joked and Leigh realised that her new friend was slowly becoming more and more comfortable around her. Thankfully the realisation of Leigh's true identity hadn't affected the vibe in the apartment and just from those ten minutes of conversation she was sure that it would never change.
In the early afternoon Ali finally left the apartment after signing the documents and arranging the best day for her to move in. Leigh saw no reason to wait and agreed that Ali could move in as soon as she liked. They came to the arrangement that Ali would move her things in on Monday morning while Leigh was at work. Unfortunately though, Ali, the same as Leigh hadn't a car which meant that she would borrow her grandfather's but she would have to return it later that evening and that caused a small problem for her. The town, although smaller than any Leigh had lived in was still too large to walk across in a sensible amount of time and that meant that Ali would have to find another way to get to work. But it could be done and Leigh knew that all too well. Each morning she would wake at five AM giving her enough time for her daily run, breakfast and shower before walking the forty minutes to Donne Farm. On the occasion, Leigh often though of waking up that little bit later and running to the farm but shook that thought from her mind knowing that she would be in sweaty gym clothes all day. But she wanted to do those kind of things just once in her life without worrying what others might think of her. She wanted to not worry about being seen in public with sweat dripping down her forehead and not a single ounce of makeup on her face. Leigh wanted to feel comfortable in her own skin but that was something she had been conditioned not to feel. The industry focused perfection upon her and refused to let a single person stray from just that. The number of times Leigh was forced to slap on a bit of makeup before heading to her mail box or to the store was far too many to count. It wasn't the life she envisioned for herself and she often thought that if she knew what the life would be like- what the fame would bring to her then she might not have even auditioned at all.
Later that evening as Leigh was changing the sheets in the guest bedroom and preparing it for Ali's arrival she heard the sound of her phone. Wondering who could be messaging her at that hour she checked her it and noticed the unfamiliar number.
Why are you avoiding my calls?
She knew who the message was from and hadn't any intention of replying because the conversation would only go one way. Her mother, on the other end of the line wouldn't ask her how she was, or how she was finding her new life away from Los Angeles. Leanne Danvers would ask- no tell- tell her daughter to come back to Los Angeles. She would tell her that she owed her for everything. Leanne truly believed that Leigh was where she was in her career due to her, not because she was talented. She didn't believe in talent, she only believed in connections. That was how she achieved a small level of success in the acting industry and that was the same for her daughter. But for her son, well that was different story. Toby Danvers was a teen heart throb with a charming boyish grin and chiselled features. He was the main success in the family and Leigh couldn't have been more proud of him. But as he grew older into his mid twenties the boyish charm he had in his teen years was slowly beginning to fade. He could no longer pass as the bad boy next door or a high school crush. His roles needed to mature but he refused to. That was why Leanne needed her daughter. Having been away from the acting world for so long, Leanne believed that Leigh could make a comeback and be a world wide success. But she knew her mother's motives and that was why she refused to call her back. Half- if not two thirds of her money would be transferred directly to her mother's account each month because that was the way she had them controlled back when she was acting. She always seemed to worm her way into Leigh's life at every step of the way and she was determined not to let that happen, not again.
Another message came through a few minutes later but this time the number was a familiar one.
I can't wait to see you
Robert. Her boyfriend, the man she hadn't thought about in the week since she started working at the farm shop messaged her and now seeing his words so clear on the screen made her feel a little guilty. Was it healthy to not think about the man that you love? How was that possible, she wondered. Robert had been such a constant in her life, even though they went through rough patches and were often in an on again, off again relationship, Leigh always knew that he was there for her. He was there when she needed to talk and he was there when she needed to rant. Robert Ezara was an actor and because of that he was away a lot and they barely saw each other but Leigh loved him and she had since she was age twenty-two years old and first laid eyes on him when he stepped onto the set of 'At The Top'. Robert was a reoccurring guest who the audience fell in love with from the moment he skateboarded onto their screens it was the same moment Leigh's heart skipped a beat. Robert was the first man she had ever loved and he was the only. He was kind, caring, considerate and a real sweetheart but she hadn't seen him in over six months and although he was all of those things while they were together in Los Angeles she knew he'd changed in the months that they hadn't seen each other. He promised to fly out and see her after his movie wrapped filming, but that should have been only two months after she'd left. As soon as his movie wrapped another project started and as time moved on his plans to fly out just seemed to fade. She didn't have her hopes up and wouldn't allow his message to give her such hope. He'd made her that promise, even though she told him not to. But he swore that he would find the time- even if it was for only a weekend, but once again the promise was broken as well as her heart and she was beginning to think he could never put the pieces back together again.
*
Brett sat staring at the computer screen in front of him. He was sat in the dark, cold farm shop at ten o'clock in the evening going through the stock and making sure each online order was processed and ready for delivery Monday morning. It wasn't his job, not anymore but he felt as if it was his duty to make sure everything was just right because if it wasn't, it was his mother's livelihood on the line. But he knew deep down there was more to it than that. He didn't want a celebrity working at the farm shop and he'd already admitted that to Maggie several times.
Brett didn't know much about Leigh but from what he did know, she couldn't be trusted. He was well aware of her reckless nature and her disregard for anyone other than herself- that was what he read online. At first the pictures he saw of her seemed as though she was just making the most of her teenage years. But as he dug deeper and deeper the innocent pictures of her dancing and partying turned into a sneaky shot of her doing a line of cocaine in the club bathroom. How could he be sure she wasn't still that same girl? Of course she was nearing thirty but that didn't really mean anything and he couldn't be certain that she wouldn't do a line out in the back when she was going for her break. Her nose was often red, he recalled. But it wasn't something he felt he could just ask because then it would be too easy for her to ditch the evidence. He needed to catch her in the act, and he was determined to do so. Brett needed her out, for his own selfish reasons- reasons his mother just wouldn't understand.
Maggie walked into the shop and took her hood down that covered her hair keeping it dry from the pouring rain outside. "What are you still doing in here?" She asked her son.
"Checking the stock," he replied with a simple shrug.
"Why? Leigh did that Friday morning."
He glanced up at his mother. "I wanna be sure nothing was missed from the orders. She's still new to the system..." he said in a way of explanation.
"She's been here for a month already and done it every week since. Have a little faith," Maggie told her son with a roll of her eyes and a small sigh.
His mind began working overtime trying to think of an excuse. "Mrs Pott didn't receive her order last week and the same thing happened the week before with Angie Taylor. We're $56 down."
His mothers brow furrowed in confusion. "That doesn't seem right...you sure?"
Brett quickly memorised the orders on the spreadsheet, highlighted them and clicked delete. "Look," he said as he turned the screen in his mother's direction.
"I'll have a word with her tomorrow," Maggie said as she brought her hand to her forehead and rubbed it in disbelief.
"Mom, let me do it. I know you're no good at these sort of things."
She nodded. "Just be kind. She's a nice girl and I know how you can be."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that you can be an idiot at times..." She waited a moment before continuing. "Just like your Daddy."
He shook his head. "I wish I was more like him," he confessed.
Maggie lifted her hood back onto her head. "It's late. I think you should get some rest," she told him. "And Brett."
"Hmm?" He didn't look up from the computer screen but the white light shining on his handsome face warmed Maggie's heart.
"You're more like him than you realise." She kissed her son on the top of his head and retreated out of the farm shop leaving Brett alone wondering what his mother meant.