Interconnected Hearts

by Bethany Daniel

  "Nah, from what I tasted its good babe."

  I give him a look before setting it in the refrigerator, "M-hm. I know I'm no cook Scotty. I swear once I convince my parents to come out to L.A, I'm gonna make my Mama give me a few cooking lessons. I can't have my man shriveling away from take out too often."

  Scott smiles at me as he makes a plate for the both of us and motions for me to take a seat, "After you."

  I grin over at him and walk towards our large oak rectangle table. When we went shopping for furniture for our home and came across this table, I had to have it because it reminded me of my family table back home...even though it was just Mama, Daddy, and me, there was always family or friends filling up the chairs at dinner. But right now, our table looks very lonely with just the two of us to occupy it.

  "What are you thinking about?" Scott whispers by my ear as he pulls the chair in front of me out so I can be safely tucked in by him.

  Shaking my head I smile up at him, "Just that I think we need to find some more friends to have dinner parties with. This table hasn't gotten a good work out yet."

  He laughs and gets into his seat beside me, "I don't know, Ms. Fan Girl, do you think you could handle some more of my actor buddies being in our house without freaking out?" He asks with a quirked eyebrow.

  I stick my tongue out at him as I twirl my Alfredo on my fork, "I didn't freak out at the premiere did I?"

  He gives me a look over his glass as he takes a drink of wine, "You didn't freak out? You and Katy nearly busted mine and Liam's eardrums squealing when you were just a few feet away from Jake Vincent! You didn't even talk to the man."

  I sigh and roll my eyes grabbing my own glass of wine, "We really need to get you some real people friends."

  He sticks his tongue out at me this time and I reward him with a breadstick to the head that he quickly returns and before I know it we're in an all-out food fight in the dining room. No single noodle, breadstick, or lettuce leaf was left untouched.

  When there is nothing left in grabbing distance and I've resorted to hiding under the table from any other oncoming attacks, I start giggling uncontrollably.

  "Do you give up now?" Scott is squatting in front of me grinning as he grabs a noodle off the chair and slurps it into his mouth.

  "Oh yuck...that's disgusting!"

  "It is not! It's pretty damn good if I do say so myself, you just had to go and make this mess." He tsks shaking his head and I gasp.

  "Me?! I threw a little bitty breadstick! You chunked Alfredo at me, Scott Richard Adams! You better believe your Mama is gonna hear about this the next time I talk to her!"

  He laughs and pulls me out from my hiding place onto his lap where I pick a stray noodle off him before wrapping my arms around his neck.

  "You wanna know what she'd say?" He asks with a smirk.

  "What?"

  "That I am my father's son."

  I raise an eyebrow at that, "And why is that?"

  "When I was little, my parents would try to not be all lovey dovey in front of me, but he would always be kissing on my mom, dancing around the kitchen when she was trying to cook dinner, and then there was the food fights." A smile crosses his face as he looks to the side like he's watching his memories. "He would pick at her for some little thing in a side or something and she'd say something like "Well fine, Rich, you can just walk right in to that kitchen and make something else." and throw whatever it was at him. So, he'd throw some other food item back, and I would end up being the monkey in the middle joining in and we'd all end up in a heap on the floor laughing until Mom shooed me off for a bath and bedtime. Consider yourself initiated into an Adams' family tradition."

  I smile leaning my head into the crook of his neck, "Are there any other traditions I should be aware of?"

  "Uh...no, nothing at all."

  I pull back and narrow my eyes at him, "I'm almost afraid to ask."

  He leans in and kisses me deeply, successfully distracting me from that line of thought, "I'll tell you all about it...after we take a shower."

  I laugh jumping up and yank him up as I go, "Well then you had better hurry, you know I love a good story." I tease and smile at the twinkle I see in his eyes.

  "Oh baby, I'll show you just how fast I can be."

  I bite my lip and giggle when he scoops me up, quickly making his way up the stairs to our lavish bathroom and proceeds to do just that.

  Bright and early the next morning, Scott and I are back on set and while Scott is off getting camera ready, I sneak over to the concession table and make myself a plate of breakfast, a strawberry danish and a half a bagel with cream cheese and it’s while I'm taking a nibble of said bagel that I spot Zoie in a shadowed but not invisible corner seeming to be having an argument with her mother. Raising an eye brow, I set my food on my little designated fold up chair and start making my way closer to where they are.

  "You have no right to disrespect his memory like this, Zoie Jane Reese. Trevor was our world...and not just ours, you take back speaking about him like that right now or so help me..."

  "No, I won't take it back, because you know it was true, he was nothing but a druggy and your personal meal ticket! Oh and I'm perfectly aware that Trevor was your world Mother, because you've taken every opportunity to remind me of that fact since I was 8 years old." Zoie bites back and before I can intercept, Diane Reese raises her hand and slaps Zoie across her cheek.

  I gasp and rush forward. "Mrs. Reese!" I yell in shock, looking around to see if anyone else noticed their heated exchange.

  With one final look in Zoie's direction, Mrs. Reese straightens, smoothing down her expensive looking silk top and steps out of the shadows. "Good morning, Krista was it?"

  I barely nod acknowledging her question and turn my attention to where Zoie is leaning her head forward so her long black hair covers her face to where I can't make out where her mother just slapped her.

  "Mrs. Reese, what the hell just happened?" I ask angry beyond belief at what I just witnessed. "What do you think you're doing?!"

  Her chin raises a notch and she shoots a scathing look at her daughter, "Having a discussion with my daughter. Nothing for you to worry about." She plasters on a fake smile and turns to angle her body towards Zoie. "We will discuss this further once you are finished for the day."

  As she walks away like she just dropped Zoie off for a play date and left to get on with her life, I shiver at her icy behavior and rush over to Zoie and push her hair away so I can get a good look at her, "Are you ok?" I whisper taking in her watery dark brown eyes and now red splotched cheek.

  She just nods but continues her silence so I put my arm around her shoulder and start steering her towards her trailer.

  Once we're safely tucked inside, I sit her on the puffy red couch against the wall and cross my arms facing her, "Zoie, what the hell was that?"

  She takes a deep breath and grabs a small throw pillow. "She was mad."

  "Obviously" I mutter shaking my head. "Why? Does she always hit you? Because Zoie, that is NOT ok."

  Zoie looks up and bites her lip and it makes her look every bit the 16 year old teenage girl she really is. "Do you remember an actor named Trevor Reese?" She asks softly and her eyes shift to look me in the eye.

  I frown at the swift subject change and stop to think for a minute until I am able to recall a mental image of a guy in a movie that I remember watching over and over again Freshman year of college. He was tall, with wavy, dark hair, very fit and was the star of a movie that was based off the "it" novel of the time. "Yeah...he was star of Over the Ocean. Whatever hap-" I suck in a breath before I get the question out when I remember what happened to him, "Oh" I whisper and look her in the eye. "He overdosed, didn't he?"

  She nods sadly, picking at a piece of string on the pillow. "Like my mom said, Trevor was their world. I was the accident." She shrugs looking back up at me. "When he died, they lost their famous coat tail to jump on. I was 8 when he died. I looked up to him, when my mom wou
ld bring me to set to watch him, I was completely sucked in and wanted to be just like him. So, my parents wanted to make me just like him, so they would look like they didn't fail as parents because he turned to drugs." Closing her eyes she squeezes the pillow tighter to her. "There were casting directors and agents that felt sorry for them because of Trevor, so they took me as their client and would conveniently not point out that I was Trevor Reese's sister so people wouldn't think I would just end up like him. I did all kinds of commercials, little one sentence parts on TV shows and a couple of small speaking parts on some big screen movies up until now. Now that I'm a teenager, and can play everyone's love interest or best friend, and well, because I look like I do, everyone wants me now. Diane and Heath Reese couldn't be happier.

  "But are you happy?" I ask softly, feeling all kinds of emotions for this broken girl in front of me.

  Before she can give me an answer there's a pounding on the trailer door that makes me jump. "Yo Zoie! You have five minutes until you need to be in hair and make-up."

  "Yeah, I'll be right there!" Zoie yells back and stands up before making her way to look in the mirror sighing as she sees the now pink mark left on her right cheek.

  I come to stand behind her and frown. "You know, you don't deserve that, Zoie. You have some real talent. You might share that talent with your brother, but I don't think you're going to end up like him." I pause and look her in the eye through the mirror. "Is that why you party so hard? To make them think you’re stumbling down the same path as Trevor?"

  She shrugs, making sure her hair covers the mark on her cheek, "What makes you think I'm not?"

  "Um, sweetie, professionally trained here. I know exactly what to look for in drug addicts, in any form, and you don't have any of the signs or symptoms of being a drug abuser." I take a step closer. "I think you just want the attention, Zoie. I think you want your parents to want to save you, love you...care."

  She just stares at me through the mirror until the pounding on the door returns. "Zoie, let's go!" the deep voice booms, "Time to get you all pretty."

  Sighing, Zoie takes a last look at her face in the mirror and steps around me, "Hey Krista?" she says in a soft whisper and I turn my head towards her.

  "Please don't tell anyone."

  I take a deep breath and watch as she steps out of the trailer and into the alternate reality that Hollywood has created for her, I can't promise her I won't tell anyone. I'm sworn to report any type of abuse I may suspect, whether it's in my school, or in this case, another work environment. I just have a really bad feeling that the Reese's will simply write out a check to make it all go away and move on. They seem to have done that with the passing of Zoie's brother. Write a check to keep people in their good graces, write a check to make people accept Zoie in her brother's place as the family's talent machine, write a check to pretend that they love their daughter and are doing all the things they should, except loving her and not trying to use her to replace what they once had. God I feel so sorry for this girl, and I don't even know if I can save her from the people who are supposed to be the ones to save her, but are putting her onto the exact same path that led to their beloved son's destruction.

  Chapter 8

  Coming out of Zoie's trailer I make a beeline for Scott's trailer, I have to talk to someone about this.

  When I walk in, he's not there yet so I start pacing the length of the sitting area, and anxiously bite my thumb nail as I go over every little thing that happened this morning. The whole Reese family seems to have...issues. Question is, are they outside of my expertise?

  I hear the door squeak and see Scott starting up the stairs with his head down as he does.

  "Scotty!" I blurt and cover my mouth when he jumps back.

  "God baby...you scared the crap out of me." He shakes his head and walks over to wrap his arms around me. "Warn me that you're in here waiting next time, please."

  I smile softly and quickly kiss his cheek, "Sorry sweetie, but I need to talk to someone and that's what you're here for."

  "That I am," he smiles warmly and tugs me over to the loveseat by the door, "What's up?"

  I let out a breath and curl into his side, "It's Zoie, or well, her mother anyways. That woman is a basket case, Scotty! I was getting something for breakfast at the concession table and I heard yelling. I went to go see what was going on and she and Zoie were arguing back and forth and she slapped her! And then when I confronted her about it, she acted like nothing ever happened and just turned around and left with maybe two words to Zoie before she was just gone."

  His brows furrow together as he pulls me closer. "Is Zoie ok?"

  I nod, "Yeah, she just has a red mark left on her cheek." I frown and lean into his arm, "She doesn't want me to say anything. But Scott, that's my job. I can't be like every other person in Hollywood and turn the other cheek like I never saw it. If I was back in Georgia, I would have walked over and smacked that woman back!" I fume and cover my face with my hands. "What do I do?"

  Scott reaches down and pulls my hands off my face and looks down into my eyes, "Whatever your heart is set on, because you and I both know that if you go against your heart then you're going to end up feeling beyond guilty."

  I nod and sit up, squaring my shoulders as I go. "I'm going to set up a meeting with Mitchell. He brought me into this anyways." I sigh and grab Scott's wrist to look at his watch. "You better get dressed and back out there before they send a search party looking for you."

  He laughs and plants a quick kiss on my mouth. "Alright, you better get on out there then because you are a very bad distraction."

  I shake my head and stand up before leaning down to give him a much longer kiss. "Sorry, we wouldn't want you to be all distracted and not be able to do your job. Kissing the sexy women and all." I add rolling my eyes.

  "The only sexy woman I see is standing right in front of me." He grins that sexy dimple showing grin I love so much, "Now go on before I end up getting yelled at for not being professional and on my mark when they want me to be."

  I giggle and wave one last time before scurrying out of his trailer and leaning back against the door as I collect myself. This has been one heck of a day, and it's just getting started.

  As the day goes on, I hardly pay attention to anything going on on set. My mind is racing a million miles a minute and right now there is only one person I can confide in that is of the same profession and who always knows exactly how to steer me in the right direction. Without another thought, I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial the number of my best friend.

  "Hello?" I hear Kate's voice in my ear and let out a pent up breath.

  "Hey sweetie."

  "Krista? You don't sound good, what's up?"

  "More like what ISN'T up. I really get why Hollywood is such a mess right now."

  "Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. Did something happen on set?"

  "Hold that thought a second." I whisper and take a quick look around making a quick decision to go out to my car to talk just in case there are any nosy workers around. The last thing I need is for my mouth to cause issues around here.

  I scurry off the set flashing my visitor pass at the current guard who is half distracted by a guard he's switching places with and quickly click my unlock button on my key ring before getting into the driver’s side seat.

  "Kris?" I hear Kate again.

  "Sorry! I had to get away for a minute; I'm in my car now."

  "You're not going to drive and talk are you?"

  "No! Besides, that's illegal in California, remember? I can just imagine that headline if I got pulled over and a lucky paparazzo got a shot. "Krista of power couple Krisco pulled over for being a chatty Cathy while driving.""

  Kate laughs and I relax letting myself laugh with her. "God Kate, I miss you. That's it, next weekend, Girls day. Kick the movie stars out for the day."

  "Mmm, what about Will?"

  "He's allowed, he's not one of the big guys yet. He can tag along on our g
irl time."

  "Ok, it's a date then! Now stop stalling, what's going on?"

  I lean my head back on the headrest, "Zoie is so much more than I imagined, Kate. She is this incredible talent, but she's trying to prove some point to her overbearing mother who is trying to replace her dead son with her alive, able to act, daughter and there's so much grief and anger, and I don't even know what other drama that poor girl's family throws at her....I don't think they even like each other! Just ugh....her and her mother are just infuriating and today, Mrs. Reese flat out slapped Zoie in the parking lot!"

  "In public?!" Kate whispers harshly in my ear and I nod even though she can't see me.

  "Yes! Well, in the shadows of a corner of the lot, but still! The woman is insane, Kate!"

  "It sounds like it." She sighs and I can just imagine her shaking her head and curling up in that big puffy recliner they have in their living room. "They don't sound like much of a family unit."

  "Tell me about it. Do you remember the hot guy in that movie Over the Ocean?"

  "Uh yeah...Trevor something or other, why?"

  "He was Trevor Reese, as in older brother of Zoie Reese, who died of an overdose and left behind a mess in his wake, including the parents who were anxiously standing in his shadow waiting for their slice of the lime light."

  "Oh wow, really? He was Zoie's brother?"

  "Yep. And from what Zoie has told me, their parents tried to save face after his death by putting her in the business to pick up where he left off."

  "Ahh...so her behavior is her way of shoving it all back in her parents' faces."

  "Pretty much," I sigh and take a look out the window at the slowly darkening sky. "Are you sure you don't wanna come be my co-counselor?"

  "Yes I am" Kate laughs "You got this Kris, you know you do. Just take a deep breath, and remember how great you are at your job. Zoie might be strong willed, but you are too."

  I laugh and shake my head, "True....I never thought a teenage girl could be so much trouble."

  "I think that's the definition of teenager."