Page 30 of Hate You to Love You

‘It’s locked, isn’t it?’ Elliot says.

‘Well, yes,’ I reply, frustrated. ‘I can see that.’

Elliot lets out a deep sigh and then runs his hands through his hair, making the part in the middle more defined. ‘Brilliant.’

‘Don’t you dare blame this on me,’ I tell him. ‘You were the one who dragged me in here.’

He gives me a confused look. ‘What makes you think I’m going to blame you for this?’

Now it’s my turn to frown. ‘The drinks table incident at Dymocks is exhibit A. Exhibit B is the pool.’

He looks away, still frowning. ‘Those were your fault. But I don’t care about that, we just need to get out of here.’

‘How about we call someone to help us out? Have you got your phone?’

‘No.’ His breathing becomes more rapid. ‘The crew said no phones on set. What about you?’

I place my hands in my pockets. They’re empty. ‘I must have left it in the dressing room with my bag.’

Elliot’s breathing grows more shallow, and he brings his hands up to his face, resting his palms against his forehead. ‘Great, we’re stuck here. Claudia’s out there doing her interview. She’s going to finish soon, and we’re stuck here.’

‘Relax,’ I say calmly. ‘I’m sure we’ll find a way out.’

‘And what’s Claudia going to say about us disappearing on set? Do you think it’ll be a good look?’

I gulp. If Claudia walks off set to find us missing, it’s going to add to her case that I was the wrong person for the interview. So rather than focusing on Elliot, I start to look around the room for something to help budge the door – which is when I spot a toolbox tucked in between two studio lights. I kneel to the ground, flick it open and take out a hammer and screwdriver, then run back to the door.

‘What are you doing?’ Elliot asks, watching over my shoulder.

‘Getting us out of here,’ I answer.

I take the screwdriver and attempt to unscrew the doorknob. When that doesn’t work, I lodge the screwdriver into a slight wedge of the door and begin going at it with the hammer.

‘Here,’ Elliot says. ‘Let me help.’

Elliot grabs the doorknob with one hand and places his other against the door. He’s standing so close to me that I can feel his arm brush up against mine. For a second, I swear I can feel Elliot’s stare as if it’s heat on my body. He exhales sharply and my skin crackles with nerves. I place one hand on the wall to steady my body. I hit at the door again while he gives it another push. We force it again. Then again. And again. With one final push, the lock clicks and the door swings open.

Elliot moves past me and rushes back onto the set. I follow and catch him breathe a sigh of relief that Claudia is still being interviewed and hasn’t noticed that we went missing. I overhear one of the hosts ask her about how her writing routine has changed over the years and she delves into a longwinded answer.

‘See?’ I whisper to Elliot as I take a step towards him. ‘Everything turned out fine.’

‘Yeah,’ he replies, short and sharp. ‘So… back to business?’

‘Back to business,’ I fling back with a forced smile.

chapter twelve

I’m sitting at my desk, still cringing over my conversation with Elliot at the studio, when the email comes through. Tamara wants to see me in her office. Which means I’m probably about to get fired. I make a mental note of what I can take home from my desk with me today. There’s a Olivia Rodrigo Guts Tour poster that I stuck up behind my computer to brighten up my workspace. There’s no way I’m leaving that behind.

Addie tries to offer me a Skittle and a warm smile. But I just shake my head as I get up and make my way to Tamara’s office.

‘Close the door behind you,’ Tamara orders.

‘If this is about the incident at Claudia’s—’

‘This is about everything.’ Tamara cuts me off. ‘Do you want to explain to me what’s been going on? Because I’m having serious doubts that you’re up to this job.’

Tamara’s temper is heated, but she’s right. I’ve still been skating by, doing the bare minimum, too afraid to hope for anything good when it could be ripped away at any instant.