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“Is it because you’re nervous? You knew those lines inside and out last night.”
“It’s not that I’m forgetting them, the director just hates what I’m doing. Every time I deliver my first line, he yells ‘Cut’ and the entire scene has to be reset. Then we start again from the top. What makes it doubly awful is that all four of the gorgeous, successful lead actors are in this shot with me, and I’m sure they think I’m a total amateur. Hell, maybe they’re right.”
“Fuck them,” he said. “Their opinions don’t matter.”
“What if I get fired, Lorie? That really would mean the end of my career. Plus, I’ll have to give back the salary they paid me, and my parents were so excited about that money. My mom called me yesterday crying happy tears because they’d just gone out and bought a new washer and dryer. There’s no way I can ask them to give it back, so how am I going to come up with ten grand?”
“I’d give it to you from my savings, but you’re not going to get fired.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you’re a great actor, Will, and the director knows that. It’s why he hired you.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was having second thoughts.” I took a deep breath, which sounded shaky, and then I blurted, “God, I wish you were here, Lorie. I feel totally lost. I know it’s just the first day, but it’s already torn what little confidence I had to shreds. In a few minutes I’ll have to go out there and try again, but I just want to run and hide.” There was a knock at the door just then, and I said, “Shit, I have to go. I’m sorry to call and complain like this.”
“Don’t apologize. You know I’m always here to listen.”
“Thanks. I’ll call you tonight.”
“You’ve got this, Will. I believe in you.” At least one of us did.
After we said goodbye and disconnected the call, I tossed the blanket aside and answered the door. I’d expected it to be Phoenix or Riley. Instead, it turned out to be Harper Royce, who said, “Hey, Will. Can I come in?” When I stepped back, he climbed up the two stairs and seemed to totally fill the trailer.
Every article I’d read about Harper inevitably included phrases like ‘all-American’—whatever that meant—and ‘boy next door’. He was a tall, green-eyed blond with a square jaw and broad shoulders, the type of guy who absolutely would have been prom king and the quarterback of his high school football team. It was no wonder he’d been cast as rich, handsome, and popular Liam, the bright star at the center of poor, broken Alex’s universe.
“I’m so sorry,” I told him. “You must be incredibly frustrated with me.”
“I’m really not. Can we sit down?” I led the way to the couch, and when we were both seated, he said, “I could see you getting more and more upset with yourself, so I wanted to tell you you’re not doing anything wrong. Lang’s not giving you enough direction. Maybe he’s being intentionally vague to see what you’ll come up with, I’m not sure. But that’s all about him, and in no way a reflection on what you’re doing.”
“Tell that to Taylor Keefe. He’s ready to punch me in the face.”
“Taylor’s a pain in the ass. He’s also a friend of mine, so I’m not saying that to be mean. He’s just a very impatient person, but just wait. Pretty soon, Lang will be doing the same thing to him, and then Taylor will be begging the rest of us to cut him some slack.”
I muttered, “I can’t fucking wait,” which made Harper chuckle. Then I asked, “In your opinion, what do you think Lang wants that he’s not seeing from me?”
“Let’s backtrack a bit. What can you tell me about Alex and what he’s feeling in this scene?”
“Alex knows he’s about to lose Liam, the most important person in his life, along with the rest of his friends because Liam was the glue that held them all together. That makes this getaway bittersweet. These five people spent countless summers, weekends, and vacations at the beach house, and given Alex’s abusive home life, this place was his sanctuary. Now Liam’s dad is selling the property, and Liam and Emily are moving away, so Alex’s heart is breaking because everything is coming to an end. But he’s trying not to let that show, because he doesn’t want to cast a shadow over what little time they have left.”
Harper said, “You’ve done your homework.”
“I’ve loved the book since I was in high school and can’t even tell you how many times I’ve read it. I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t do justice to this story and character.”
