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Chapter Eleven
Terry
I cleaned up my equipment with the lighting guys while Margie and Mia began the interview, keeping an ear on their conversation. In my head, I was playing a game—listening to the questions Margie was asking and trying to see if the answers in my head matched Mia’s. It was no surprise to me how well I knew some of the answers.
“So, Mia,” Margie said. “You’ve done a lot of wonderful work here in Los Angeles with the domestic violence shelters and charities. Can you talk to me about why you chose that line of volunteer work?”
I was packing up my equipment when I heard the question. I moved quickly so I could see her face. I needed to look at her eyes when she answered.
“Well, it’s a cause I believe in. The shelters are underfunded and they don’t receive as much attention as some of the others causes out there, and I wanted to find a way to give back to those shelters and charities. It was important to me to bring as much awareness and funding to the cause as I could.”
Mia seemed to answer the question with ease, but when she was done, her eyes dropped to the floor and she bit her lip. A look crossed her face, one that Margie might not have noticed, but I did—it was one of shame. Mia was ashamed of her connection to domestic violence. She was being vague on purpose, and she was hiding something.
Margie continued to push for more information on the subject, but Mia was quick to shut her down. The interview moved on to other aspects of the company: how it got started and what made Mia open Shoegasm instead of a high-end shoe company that might have been more lucrative. Mia answered her questions as politely and efficiently as she could.
I barely heard the rest of the questions. I was still thinking about her connection to the domestic violence charities. I wondered if the connection was personal. She had never done work in this area while we were together. What had changed? Something had to have happened to her. Maybe she had needed those services and was ashamed of it. She had no family, and if it had been a friend who was in need of help, she wouldn’t have looked ashamed. She would have been proud to help.
The thought sickened me and made me angry.
“Easy there, cowboy,” a voice beside me said. I turned to see Ally eyeing me carefully. “What’s going on here? Why do you suddenly look like you might tear someone’s head off?”
“Uh...no reason. How do you think the shoot went?” I asked, trying to calm my nerves and even out my voice.
“I thought it went fine. But you’re not fooling me. I see the anger and so will she. Is that what you want?”
I shifted on my feet, running a hand along my jawline. I needed to ask Ally a question, but I wasn’t sure I could handle the answer. My jaw tightened. I was losing my cool, but finally the words left my mouth in a rush.
“What. Happened. To Her?” I demanded.
“Terry,” Ally began, turning me so that my face was away from Mia. “I can’t tell you that. But what I can tell you is that you need to leave it alone. She doesn’t talk about it. She never does and she never will. The information Margie received is all she’ll get. She knows that—I told her in the pre-interview. Margie is just being a bitch and trying to push and get more out of Mia than she’s entitled to. But Mia is so much smarter than that. Not even you will get the explanation you’re looking for, especially when you look as angry as you do right now.”
“Ally, please tell me what’s happened to her,” I plead.
“No, Terry,” Ally replied sharply. The curtness in her tone caught me off guard. “You don’t get to know those type of things anymore. Does she even know why you left?”
“We talked about that last night. We agreed that we would stay hidden in the dark. Not talk about the past or our secrets.”
“So by me telling you her secret, or even just you asking her about it, you would again break a promise to her you made not even twenty-four hours ago. Damn it, when are you going to learn?”
I looked at the floor and then back up at Ally, my eyes full of concern. “This is different. This involves her safety. Someone hurt her, didn’t they? What if this person comes back? I deserve to know.”
“Okay, first of all, you do not deserve to know. You lost that right when you left her shattered, confused, and a shell of a person. I almost lost my best friend because of your actions and then again when I kept your secret. She is barely speaking to me because of all I know. So, no, you do not get to know this. You will not know this until she is ready for you to know—if she is ever ready for you to know.”
“Ally, I—” I began, but Ally cut me off.
“No. Shut the fuck up. You can’t charm it out of me or apologize for any of this. The situation is what it is, and there’s nothing more we can do about it. I am not about to make it worse by sharing any more of her secrets with you.”
She paused just long enough to take a breath. “So, here is what you’re going to do. You’re going to finish packing up your shit. Then you’re going to go see Tim in the Art Department. There’s some crisis with the staff photographer and his boyfriend, making it impossible for us to get the catalog out in time. If you want to help, go find out what he needs and do it. That would help her more right now than learning her secrets. Understand?”
I studied Ally for a moment before answering. She had certainly changed a lot over the years. Before, she was a vapid and self-centered party girl, but now she was a take-charge, no-nonsense woman that seemed like the gatekeeper to Mia. I wondered if the abuse had triggered the change or if Ally had just grown up and stepped up when Mia needed her to. Either way, I was happy about the change. This was the type of friend Mia needed right now.
“As you wish, Miss Ally.”
Ally smiled warmly at me. It was clear she was thawing a little on me. At least I made the gatekeeper happy. And who knew, if I kept her happy, maybe I’d get some more information on Mia. Or at least the opportunity to be around her just a little bit longer.
“Be sure that Margie has everything she needs, please,” Mia said to Ally when she joined us.
“Of course. Is there anything else you need?”
“No, that will be all. Thank you.” Her tone was cooler than normal. I awkwardly studied the floor, waiting to see if she would acknowledge me.
“You hanging around longer, or are you headed home for the day?” Ally asked, giving Mia a small smile. You could see the hope in her eyes that maybe she’d see a glimmer of friendship in return.
“I actually think I’m going to head out for the day. Please let me know if there’s anything else that needs tending to.”
“Of course. I’ll take care of things here. Terry was just on his way to the Art Department to help out. Everything here is under control. You go and enjoy an early afternoon. It’s been a long day for you.”
“Have a good night,” Mia called over her shoulder as she made her way out of the conference room, not bothering to stop and change from her shoot.
Mia hadn’t said a word to me. She hadn’t even acknowledged my presence, but that was okay. I was going to go help where I was needed. Maybe that would gain me some points with her.
