AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I asked, “Even though you actually lived in this same apartment through part of your recovery?”
“The apartment always felt like an oasis, even back when I barely had a handle on my addiction. It just doesn’t seem like real life. It’s too perfect and beautiful up there, high above the city with nothing to worry about.”
“I can understand that,” I said. “It reminds me of how I felt in rehab. It was like it existed in a parallel universe, far from the real world and all my triggers.”
He looked at me and asked, “Was it hard for you after you left the treatment center?”
“Yeah, at first. The thought of using was always in the back of my mind. But as time went on and I realized I was in control, I learned to trust myself.”
“Why’d you choose to go back to L.A.? There must have been a lot of bad memories, since you grew up there.”
“I wanted to go somewhere familiar,” I said, “where I knew my way around and had some idea of what to expect. The only two places I’d ever lived were L.A. and San Francisco, and I knew I wasn’t strong enough to come back here right away. It would have been way too easy to relapse. So I chose L.A., but not the part I grew up in. Torrance and West Hollywood might be a short drive from each other, but they’re nothing alike.”
“That makes sense.”
“I wish I’d been stronger back then,” I admitted. “What I wanted more than anything when I left rehab was to come and find you, but I needed to get myself together first. When I finally returned to San Francisco, nearly a year had passed and you’d vanished. I thought I’d made the biggest mistake of my life by waiting too long.”
He turned to me and touched my cheek. “You did the right thing by staying away. It’s what I told you to do. Between avoiding Simeck and the fact that I was still using, this was the last place you should have been.”
“But it cost me four years with you. And what if I hadn’t stumbled across you on Catalina? How many more years might have gone by?”
Gabriel wrapped his arms around me. “You found me at the right time, just when you were meant to. Who’s to say this would have worked if you’d found me sooner? Maybe I wouldn’t have been ready for a relationship, especially if I wasn’t at a good place with my recovery.” I’d never thought of it like that.
Phoenix pulled up and parked at the curb, and Gabriel kissed my cheek before taking my hand and leading me to the SUV. We said hello to our friend as we settled in, and as Phoenix pulled into traffic I asked him, “What are you doing this weekend?”
“I need to get serious about finding my next job,” he said. “This is Will’s last full day on set, followed by half-days next Monday through Thursday. This time next week, he and Lorenzo will be back on Catalina and taking some time off to plan their wedding. I’ll go back to work for him in July when his next picture begins filming, so the tricky part is finding someone to hire me for the next four months. People usually want personal assistants who are going to be around a while.”
I knew there was no point in suggesting again that he take some time off. Phoenix needed structure and a schedule, and more than anything he needed to be busy. That was just who he was. Even throwing himself into his music wasn’t enough for him. He needed projects, the more challenging the better.
Will was feeling the upcoming transition, too. When we picked him up at his hotel, along with his fiancé and their cat, he seemed a little wistful. “I can’t believe this is my last full day of filming,” he said. “It’s been such a great experience, but now it feels like my part is just sort of fading away, while the rest of the cast and crew still have almost a month of work ahead of them.”
“I hope you’re planning to come back for the wrap party in a few weeks,” I said.
Lorenzo nodded. “We wouldn’t miss it.”
I leaned toward Gabriel, who was sitting in the passenger seat, and said, “I’m hoping you’ll be my date to the party. It should be a lot of fun. They’re renting out an entire Japanese restaurant here in the city, and after dinner there’s going to be karaoke. I don’t sing, but I’ll gladly be your backup dancer if you feel like getting up on stage.” I busted out a few awkward dance moves in my seat, and Gabriel grinned at me. He didn’t actually say yes to attending the party, but I figured he’d decide if he wanted to go based on how today went.
