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“I don’t know how you even managed to meet this young actress, Remy. It seems strange to me. The more I think about it, the weirder it is. Where did you meet her? How did you end up dating someone so much younger than you? I need to trust her.”
“Well, you love Freddie, don’t you?” I reply wryly. “It’s his sister.”
If that doesn’t make Mom trust her, then I don’t know what will happen because she’s always been very warm and friendly with my best friend. I think I might have hit the nail on the head here, and finally found something that will silence my mother… but again, I’ve misstepped, which only becomes clear the moment Mom’s facial expression completely changes.
“I can only imagine that Freddie isveryupset with you then,” she hisses, letting anger drip off her tongue now. “What are you playing at, Remy? You don’t want to lose your best friend over this. Freddie has always been there for you. He was there even during the darkest times of your life, which helped you survive it. Don’t push him away now.”
I hang my head low, allowing the guilt to wash over me once more. Because Mom’s right. I lost many friends when Lisa died because I was so closed off and I struggled so much. But Freddie was always there, and he wasn’t going anywhere no matter how much I tried to push him away.
This is exactly why Zoe and Ineedto keep our distance. Easier said than done, but I suppose we can try and counteract it by making sure we aren’t alone again. If this showmance is for the public eye, then we need to keep it in the public eye always.
“I won’t lose Freddie, Mom. This isn’t going to come to that.”
“I think we need to spend more time together,” she insists. “And like I said, I want to see how you and her are living together, to check that it’s a suitable environment for Wyatt. I want to come to dinner with you both, so I can get a look at you in your own home. I want to check that everything is child friendly, and there isn’t a toxic relationship between you both. I know you say you’re happy, but I need to see it.”
Great, just great. I’m not too keen on any of this because it’s an added pressure that I don’t need, but convincing Mom that this is good for me has become something that I need to stick to. I might even be doubling down because of her ambush.
“Fine,” I respond as we finally reach the park for Wyatt to play in. “What about this weekend? Will that work for you? But if you’re going to come to my house, I want you to be a bit kinder to Zoe. She hasn’t done anything to deserve so much harshness from you.”
Mom scoffs, as if this isn’t true. But she knows. She has to know. She was there during the last dinner, and she must have heard herself being so cruel. She can dismiss me all she likes, but I don’t intend to let her hurt Zoe again. I feel like I might be doing a great job of that all by myself.
The last thing I want to do is hurt Zoe, but if I can’t keep away from her, then what do I do?
Chapter 9
Zoe
Thepanelmemberswhisperto one another, before their eyes finally meet mine once more. I wonder how many of my thumping heartbeats they can hear from over there. I can’t stop twisting my hands anxiously around in front of me because I’m drowning in nervous energy.
Ireallywant this job. I want it so badly because it’s awesome. It’s a gritty drama with a great script full of twists and turns. Of course, I’m only up for a small role here, because I am just getting started in New York City, but my hopes are sky high.
These people reached out to me because of the paparazzi photos of me with Remy. He has amassivepart in this, but he doesn’t even know it. Not yet anyway. I’ll tell him though, if this becomes good news once I get out of here. Because it’s been a couple of days, and I would like an excuse to speak to him again, just to check where we stand.
“Thank you very much for coming to see us today,” the woman sitting in the middle of the panel, who’s name escapes me right now, says. “We appreciate it, and actually we would love to work with you. We believe you’re perfect for this role…”
My heart leaps excitedly into my throat. “Oh, my goodness, that’s great news. Thank you.”
“We have your number,” she continues. “So, we will be in touch when we want to have our first table read, to check that all the characters work well together.”
I nod eagerly because I love a table read. I know a lot of actors find it a pain to do, but I love seeing the absolute beginnings of the characters coming to life. It’s an adventure, and that’s the first real step in the right direction. “That sounds great.”
I’m so glad now that I didn’t take the first role I was offered, before I even set foot in New York, because I can keep my morals wrapped up tightly here. Nudity isn’t even an issue in this TV series, certainly not for my character, so I can just enjoy it here.
My cell phone is already in my hand before I even leave the building because I’m just so excited to let Remy know what’s going on. I can’t wait to hear his voice as well, because I’ve missed it more than I would like to admit. Especially since I’ve been telling myself that we need to keep a professional distance from one another.
“Hello?” he answers warmly, sounding pleased to hear from me which sends warmth trickling down my spine. “Zoe, is everything alright?”
“Hey, Remy, I just wanted to let you know that I got an acting gig. A real one.”
“You did? That’s amazing news. Did this come from the press we got the other night?”
“Yeah, it did.” Wehaveto do more. We need to keep on with this positive path which is giving my career a much-needed kick start. “Isn’t that awesome? I’m so excited…”
“I’m at home at the moment,” he interjects. “Do you want to come over to talk about our plan from here on out? Because we need to make a plan, right? About what’s next.”
I don’t say anything at first, because I’ve promised myself that I wouldn’t ever let myself be alone with Remy again, to protect the pair of us from getting our hearts stomped on by a situation that neither of us can control. But this seems like a good idea, doesn’t it? Because I really do want to carry on with the positive work that we’ve both been doing.
Yeah, it’ll be fine. We both basically know the boundaries now anyway, don’t we?
