Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss(35)
He sighed. “I’m worried about you.”
“Why? I’m fine.”
“I’m worried something is going to happen that will shatter your spirit. Call it a gut instinct or a—”
“Overprotective father.”
“Sure, you can call it that. I just want to make sure you have a life to go back to if this experience ends badly for you.”
“This experience? Meaning, starring in a movie?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the worst that can happen, Dad? Bad reviews?” I asked, thinking about Donavan and his viral smackdown on Grant.
“I don’t know.”
“Even if the worst happened, I wouldn’t give this up. I’d try again. I’m tough.”
“I know you are.”
“This is what I’m supposed to be doing.” Now I just had to prove that was true. Maybe when this was all over, when my dad saw the results, he’d finally realize I could do this.
He shook his head, indicating that I was searching in the wrong place for the support I needed. It was never going to come from him.
Dancing Graves
EXT. FOREST BEYOND THE MANSION—NIGHT.
SCARLETT leads a group of zombies to a cave near the mountains, where she is hoping to gather them all and barricade them to keep them and the humans safe while her father works on a cure. She feels like she belongs with the zombies but still understands that she shouldn’t feel that way. She has moments where she is more aware than others and this is one of those moments. BENJAMIN follows her and waits until he can speak with her alone.
BENJAMIN
Scarlett. Is it safe?
SCARLETT
Never fully safe with me.
BENJAMIN
I know you would never hurt me. Why have you led them here?
SCARLETT
Buying time until my father can work a miracle.
BENJAMIN
This might not be a good idea to have them all together like this in the same place. If the wrong hunter finds out it could be disastrous.
SCARLETT
Then don’t tell anyone.
Fifteen
Those two days off were not good for me. I felt more out of character now than ever, having been only myself for the last two days.
The morning started off bad and didn’t get any better. Each scene required more takes than usual—Grant and I were not in sync. Remy got grumpier and grumpier as the day wore on. Especially when my advocate said I’d hit my hours limit for the day. I left the set probably as frustrated as Remy.
I was tough, I told myself. I needed to forget about the real world, my real life, for a while and put on my character off camera. I went out to the parking lot, fully costumed, to retrieve my Dancing Graves book from the trunk of the car. Grant’s fans were there, lining the barricades as always, holding their handmade signs. I thought about going up and saying hi. Showing them that I was nice and hoping they’d post something good about me. But in response to my publicist email, my agent had said, Just keep your head down and work. If we need a publicist, we’ll worry about that after filming, during movie promotion, when it will matter. I wondered if that was her nice way of saying I couldn’t afford one for a long period of time so I needed to time it right.
I focused on my car, trying to keep a neutral expression on my zombified face as I walked. I popped my trunk and retrieved the book. I took a deep breath and tried to channel Scarlett. Maybe I needed to start calling Grant Benjamin on and off set. I flipped to page one as I walked back to my trailer. It had been a while since I read the book. Unlike the script, it fully immersed me in the character and world that surrounded her with detailed descriptions and back stories.
I opened the door to my trailer, put the book facedown on the table, and went into the bathroom. The curtain was drawn around the small shower, which wasn’t how I’d left it. I reached toward it, ready to throw it open, when it was ripped to the side from within followed by a loud scream.
I picked up my hairbrush from the counter and swung it with a scream of my own before I registered that the person standing in my shower was Amanda.
“Were you going to kill me with a hairbrush?” she said through her laughter.
“You are evil. Pure evil,” I said.
She bowed, then stepped out of my shower.
“The devil herself is what you are. You almost made me pee my pants.”
She blew me a kiss and skipped out of my bathroom.
“How did you even get over here before me? I just saw you on set,” I said as she laid herself on my couch.
“I’m a fast runner.”
“This is why Grant has security guards outside his trailer.” Apparently mine was Grand Central station, anyone and everyone was allowed in. Despite my still-racing heart, I found myself smiling.
“Grant has security guards outside his trailer because he’s a big star.” She said the word big in a sarcastic voice, like it wasn’t true.
“Uh-oh. What happened?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That’s the problem.”
“You just gotta let yourself fall for me,” I said in a deep-voiced impersonation of him. “Are you sure you still want something to happen?”
“He gave you the speech too?”
“Yes.”