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I gasp. “She says that?”
Teagan barks out a crazed, humorless laugh. “All. The. Time.”
“I . . . I’m so sorry, Teagan.”
Her shoulders rise and fall hard. “She’s gotten her payback by exploiting me at every turn. I couldn’t get away from her. I tried.” Her voice wavers, and I hear her choke back a sob. “Oh, God, did I try.”
She falls to her knees on the hard ground, and I jump into action, lowering myself before her. I pull her into my arms and allow her to cry.
Hell, I cry with her.
For her.
Her words echo in my mind. Words that I can relate to all too well. A million emotions course through me, the most prominent being a deep sadness for her. For me.
“I felt trapped, Mal. I couldn’t see a way out, and then I thought . . . what if the studio shuts down production? If the movie was stopped, I wouldn’t have to do it. I wouldn’t have to live this life anymore. My mom couldn’t change that. If it were up to the studio—if it was taken out of my hands, she would stop. It would all stop.”
I listen to every word, and it allows my anger to cool.
This girl . . . this beautiful, broken girl.
She’s a victim like so many other young Hollywood stars. There’s always someone out there ready to exploit them. To ride their coattails and rob them dry. To force them to do things they don’t want by making them feel it’s owed to the predator.
It’s so goddamn wrong.
Hatred builds within me for Theresa, and I want to find her. I want to tear her apart.
It wouldn’t do any good. People like her are evil. They don’t see their own horrible ways.
We sit like this for several minutes, Teagan shaking in my arms. I think about all that she’s said. All that she’s done.
That’s when the hurt resurfaces.
I pull away, staring into her glassy eyes.
“But”—my voice cracks with emotion as I struggle to understand what could have driven her to do what she did to me—“you didn’t have to throw me under the bus to make production stop.”
She sighs heavily before responding. “I was scared. Scared of what my life would be like if I let this movie be made. If you kept fighting for me.”
My head shakes as I try to understand.
“I’m sorry you were scared, Teagan. I truly am, but why—why would you do this to me?”
I stand, looking down at her.
Her head tips up, her eyes fierce. “Because I had to make a choice. Destroying your life was standing up for mine,” she says firmly. “If I don’t choose me, no one will.”
“I don’t understand that. You could’ve come to me. Could’ve confided in me. There was no choice to be made where I’m concerned. Did you also sabotage the set?” She nods.
Everything she did to stop production, I get. Taking me down? I’ll never understand because it wasn’t necessary. She acted without thinking about me.
She takes a shaky breath, tears streaming down her face. It feels like my heart will explode. Her words hang in the air, and my heart breaks.
“I’m sorry, Mal. I’m so sorry for what I did to you, but I thought it was the only way out. I wasn’t thinking. I was too tired. Too scared. Too done.”
I step forward, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close. I’m not sure why, after all she’s done, but my love for her doesn’t end because she made a horrible mistake. She’s young and naïve.
What would I have done if I were in her shoes?
Burn the whole place to the ground to get out.
All I can do is hold her in my arms and cry with her, knowing that sometimes we have to make hard choices, and sometimes, those choices have brutal consequences.
I don’t know what to say, so I hold her close until the tears stop falling.
Eventually, all the anger and hurt fade away, replaced by a deep understanding of where she’s coming from.
We aren’t that much different. Both have parents who hurt us. Both of us have felt trapped and at the end of our rope. We’ve both had to make choices that hurt.
In the end, we just had different ways of getting out.
I take a deep breath and whisper, “It’s okay.”
With those two words, her body sags into mine. I’ve offered her my forgiveness and understanding, and that’s exactly what she needs right now. All she’s wanted is someone to be on her side, and I hope I’ve proven I always have been.
Teagan looks up at me, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Now what?” she whispers.
We stare at each other in silence, both of us processing this new reality.
“We’ll get through this together.” I’m not sure how we’ll do that, but I’m determined to make things right for her.
