Page 29 of Don’t Forget Me

As I walked into the auditorium, there were rows of people lined up in the dark hallways. Most of them held up a script between their hands, and others read paragraphs from their phones aloud. I made sure to send them slight nods. I held tighter onto my bag as my heart pulsed faster with the knowledge that many of these actors and actresses would be auditioning for a role that would represent me.

Well, no one knew that the book I wrote was a mirror of what I went through with Ezra. Least of all, I didn’t want the entire world to know that my breakup with one of the richest men in Europe was what propelled my career. Hopefully, Ezra didn’t realize how much his lies truly hurt me. And my fiancé didn’t need to find out through gossip outlets that my past romance with Ezra continued to be a large part of this film project.

There had been only speculations. Rumors. There was nothing better than to leave them guessing whether it was inspired by a real-life experience or creative imagination. I loved the buzz from the fans.

When Ezra asked me about that proposal scene from my book a few weeks ago, I froze. I couldn’t process the memories to be able to come up with an excuse. I tried to leave, but I knew I didn’t want to. If I truly wanted to leave him stranded at the café, I would’ve. But I didn’t. I wanted to stay.

I continued to flash smiles at the trembling auditioners. Not being able to help myself, I overheard snippets of their conversations.

“That’s Lysandra Guerrera!”

“The author of the book…”

“I heard the book was inspired by a past love…”

The crevices of the bricks on the wall were polished, the floor beneath was tiled, and the sconces on the walls glowed a golden light. I pushed the double doors with paned windows open, following the directions that Ezra had texted to me. After a few turns, my heart began to race. I had pushed through several doors. I’d gone right, then left, then followed a long hallway and gone through the right again. This entire building was like a cursed labyrinth.

Before I knew it, I was in a dark room. Not a single glimpse of light was around. I groaned, curling my fingers inward, my nails biting into my skin. Wooden boxes lay scattered in my peripheral vision. My hands felt grimy just by thinking about the dust that surrounded me.

As I pulled out my phone, I rang Ezra. The phone rang four times before I heard his voice on the other end. “Hello?”

“Screw you and all your money,” I hissed.

“You got lost. I knew it,” he sighed, yet I could hear him smiling on the other side of the phone.

“This isn’t funny,” I muttered.

“Just a little.”

“Get me out of here,” I said.

“Okay, describe the room that you are in.”

“It’s not a room. It kind of looks like a hallway, honestly, I don’t know. There are a lot of crates and white dusty blankets covering almost every inch of the room.”

“You’re in the antique section of the building. I’ll be there soon, don’t leave. We need you here for the auditions, and they will start any minute now.”

“Fine,” I said. I turned on the flashlight on my phone, and I couldn’t help my curiosity as I neared the boxes covered in white blankets.

Particles of dust flew into my nose, causing me to sneeze. I cleaned the tip of my nose with my sleeve and moved the top of the box off. As I looked inside, bronze shone under the white light of my phone. I picked up one of the figurines. Its legs were toned, highlighting the strong build of the animal. Its hair was wavy atop its neck. I looked back inside, and there had been different figurines encompassing the crate.

“Hey, Snoopy. Like what you see?”

His voice rushed through me. I jumped, the figurine almost slipping out of my hand.

He flinched as the bronze horse stumbled between my fingers. Ezra held up his palms, slowly making his way to me, his gaze on the copper animal in my grasp. “Let’s put this back where we found it, shall we?”

“I am not a child,” I argued.

“No, you are not, yet you move like one.” Ezra grabbed the antique and slowly set it back into the crate, putting the top of the box back on and covering it up with the white sheet.

“What is all this?” I asked, extending my arms to motion the entirety of the boxes and crates in the room. Did they all have these types of antiques? Figurines?

“Just a hobby of mine. I didn’t know where else to store them, and it seemed fitting to have them here.”

“You like antiques?” I questioned.

Ezra looked around. “Yes. Is that so surprising?”