AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I look back at Shana one last time. “Break a leg, kid,” she says.
A man with a headset attached to his ear and dressed in all black walks me down a row of maze-like hallways, walking briskly around sharp corners as if he’s being timed. We finally land in front of a dark curtain, the lights from the other side peeking through the small slits at the bottom hem. “We’re going to have you wait here until we give you the signal.”
I nod, holding back the flex in my jaw by giving a purse-lipped smile instead, before he nods back and hurriedly steps away.
A low whisper makes me jump. “Nervous?”
I whip my head around only to face Charles wearing a relaxed expression in contrast to my unsettled one. His smirk, curved up in one corner, is surrounded by a day’s worth of stubble, making me think that maybe I hadn’t needed to worry so much about my appearance if Charles didn’t even find it necessary to shave.
I finally smile, the first time since I walked through the studio’s doors. “Always.”
Charles Bradley, A-list movie star, close friends with equally famous Rhylan Matthews.
That’s what all the tabloids labeled us as. We met ages ago through auditions and numerous unsuccessful callbacks. We found that we kept running into each other, going to the same casting calls and auditioning for the same roles. We discovered a common ground, a foundation to build a friendship on. He was the one that showed me the ropes in this big new city that I found fiercely intimidating.
Charles gives my back a firm pat, making my shoulders hunch forward. I’m about to punch him back in equal strength, as his vivacity has somehow become infectious enough to bring out that side of me, when Bella rushes in. She comes to a stop a few steps away from us, her glam squad fawning over her as they finish the final touches to her makeup. We haven’t spoken a word since we arrived separately, making this the first time I’m seeing her since we left the airport in London.
While Charles and I settled on a casual and simple suit attire with no tie, Bella looks perfectly camera ready. Her silver sequined dress, cut just below her knees, clings to her, flattering her slender body and sparkling in every direction. And her hair is pulled back in a tight bun, not a single strand sticking out in the wrong place. Her team made sure of that.
Just as Bella shoos away her team, loud instrumental music plays from the other side of the curtain. The drums snare as they signal our entrance. The same man that led me to this very spot gestures for us as the curtain slowly slides open. And the crowd goes wild.
Once the curtains fully open, the lights blind us. Bella walks in front, already in the arms of Jack Stuber as Charles and I follow close behind.
We take turns shaking hands, the applause overpowering our verbal exchange, and when it’s my turn, I take Jack’s extended hand in both of mine. Jack Stuber is every bit as charming as he is handsome. He tilts his head slightly when he smiles and nods his greeting, a congenial act of endearment that I don’t expect. My nerves have shaken awake the butterflies in my stomach in anticipation for tonight, but Jack’s hospitality somehow settles them.
We’re ushered into our seats on the blue velvet couch perfectly wide enough for three people, as if they measured it for us before our arrival. We situate ourselves in an orderly row, with me nestled between Bella and Charles.
“Charles Bradley, Rhylan Matthews, and Bella Raven are here to promote their newest action-packed filmUnrestrained. And I have to say, I don’t think we’ve ever had such a star-studded cast on our couch before.”
We hear awhoopcome from the audience, followed by a faint “I love you, Bella” from deep within the sea of people.
Jack turns towards the crowd. “Calm down, guys. I don’t think she’s taking any marriage proposals tonight.” The polite laughter dies as Jack turns to Bella. “Bella, you’re sort of a new face to the action genre. What was it like working with two of Hollywood’s hottest men?”
Anotherwhoopfrom the crowd.
Bella laughs, her eyes batting at Jack as she crosses her legs in his direction. “It was so exhilarating! Both of them are so talented, and there was so much physical work involved. They were very supportive, teaching me the ropes and not treating me like a complete loser when I got scared. Especially Rhylan.”
She turns to me, placing a hand on my forearm and batting her eyes up at me.
“And there was some onscreen chemistry between you and Rhylan. I hear that you two have somewhat of a steamy scene?”
“Oh, yes. It was very heated. But, you know, it hardly feels like work when you have such a willing participant. And Rhylan wasverywilling.”
She slyly places her hand in mine, and the crowd once again hollers, whooping from every direction and growing out of control.
I finally interject. “Bella is an extremely talented actor that I felt I had amazing chemistry with on camera.” Bella looks at me, her smile waning as she listens to me speak. “She’s become an amazing colleague that I’ve come to respect and love.”
Jack nods and leans his head to the side to address Charles. “And Charles Bradley, I hear you’re in the movie as well?” Jack says, friendly banter laced into his words. “What was it like working with Bella and Rhylan?”
“It was amazing. Bella is a fast learner, and she might say she needed a lot of support from us, but she caught on very quickly.”
Thankfully, Charles takes control of the interview from there while I sit and watch, mindlessly nodding along to keep myself present. In the midst of Charles explaining the logistics involved when he and I had to jump out of a helicopter mid-air, I finally break free of Bella’s firm grip on my arm. I bring my hands together, intertwining my fingers and placing them on my lap, away from Bella’s reach.
As I’m listening to Charles, I realize that the accounts of our time filming feel so different being told from his point of view. Because that isn’t how I remember it at all. While Charles enjoyed the thrill that came along with being attached to stunt wire and surrounded by fake explosives, I have different memories of our three-month-long shoot.
All I remember is feeling tired and angry and so debilitatingly weary. All because I didn’t want to keep going. Even with the pressures of my work, I wanted to stay in bed and hide underneath the covers. There, surrounded by the rustling Egyptian cotton and the hazy darkness, I felt like I had disappeared. I hated myself, not fully understanding why underneath the weight of the goose down comforter, it felt tolerable. Why I felt that I even needed to create a sanctum at all. But it seemed the only sliver of solace that I could get was when I sectioned myself off from the rest of the world, completely destitute and isolated.
I rub my hands down the fabric of my pants, my eyes landing on where the chocolate stain was when I was sitting backstage, now gone as if it were never there. Luckily, the interview is over before any more questions are directed to me. Instead, the slot is filled with questions about Bella’s workout regimen that kept her bikini-ready and a small clip of Charles and me tussling in an intense fight scene.
