AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’d landed on his doorstep a month ago and I hadn’t left. I’d even taken a break from movie projects for the first time in my career so I could keep a close eye in case he relapsed.
Camping out in his guest bedroom, which was as nice as any five-star hotel room, wasn’t exactly a hardship.
I stayed up with him in the middle of the night when he woke up from nightmares and I coaxed him outside even when he didn’t feel like socializing. I made sure he ate regular meals, that he swam in his pool every day and loaded up on sunshine, and that he got plenty of exercise in the form of hiking in the nearby hills.
I’d also brought my cat, Cary, with me, and he and Grant were happy to be reunited again.
Cary was happy to be near Reed, with both cats sleeping in his bedroom.
Sometimes I’d look in on him and find them curled up, one cat on either side of him. They knew, instinctively, that he needed them more than I did.
But I reminded myself that this, us being roommates again, was only temporary. Until Reed was himself again.
Not that I imagined he’d ever be quite the same.
Death changed you. I knew that all too well.
I just hoped that the sunny spirit of my friend was only temporarily sitting in the shadows.
I’d hate for him to turn into a brooding pain in the ass like me. There was only room for one of those in our relationship.
“Why are you scowling at my blender?”
I looked up to find Reed standing on the other side of the kitchen island, in his favorite grey sweatpants and a pink t-shirt, a cat in each arm. Like the freaking pied piper. Both cats clung to him and gave me a dirty look, like, what are you still doing here, asshole?
Shaking my head, I grabbed the container of protein powder and the frozen berries and continued making our morning smoothies.
“I’m thinking about you.”
“Ouch. That bad, huh?” he murmured as he walked over and sat on one of the stools.
The cats jumped on the island and made themselves right at home.
“No. Just that there’s only room for one moody ass in this relationship and that’s me.”
Reed let out a laugh and I was so relieved to see him smile again.
“I can promise you that despite my ups and downs, I will never, ever, be as grumpy as you.”
“Good. Do you want an espresso?” I asked.
“No, thanks. I’m cutting out the caffeine. It disrupts my sleep.”
I finished adding everything to the blender and pressed start.
“I got a new script today. Do you feel like reading it with me?” I asked.
Reed hadn’t shown any interest in work. I didn’t want to push him hard but at the same time, he needed a bit of a shove.
“Sure. Who’s the writer?”
“Max Lowell. Dylan’s fiancé.”
“Really? I didn’t know Max was a screenwriter. I thought he taught English.”
“He does, at a university near San Diego. This is his first attempt at screenwriting. He was a ghostwriter in his spare time, that’s how he met Dylan, working on his autobiography. Max wanted to try his hand at a project with Dylan, which led to this script. Apparently, they’ve already had producers fighting over buying the rights.”
Reed’s interest was piqued. I could tell by the curious glint in his eye.
