Three Months and You're Mine (In Too Deep)

by McMillin, Casey

  "I'm on my way to the pool."

  "It's Sunday."

  "I have to take two days off next week."

  "For what?"

  "I have to take care of an ingrown toenail, if you have to know."

  "Gross."

  "It's not gross, it's just a toenail."

  I just watched them go back and forth like a tennis match.

  "Aren't you going to ask Zack how he's doing? Or are you too worried about me being here to care about your friend?"

  Collin rolled his eyes at her before looking at me. He was standing on the opposite side of the bed of Meredith, and he leaned in to give me a barely-touching version of a hug.

  "I'm glad to see you're up, dude. I saw you last night after your surgery for a few minutes, but you were really out of it."

  "Yeah, I don't even remember that," I said.

  "I saw your mom in the hall. She told me what happened. Sounds like you can make a full recovery."

  "I wouldn't call it a full recovery," Meredith cut in, "we're pretty sure he's got ground meat under there. She gestured to my bandage.

  Collin gave her an incredulous look. "Christ, Meredith."

  She giggled and pointed at me. "He knows I'm joking," she said. "Besides, it's probably just a scratch, anyway."

  I thought about the doctor telling me my face was being operated on for two hours but didn't mention it.

  "Where'd the accident happen?" Collin asked. "Did you go somewhere after we left Joel and Gretchen's?"

  Again, I thought better of telling him the truth of the matter—that I was on my way to see his little sister.

  "No, I'd just left their house when it happened," I said. I figured it was okay for me to leave out a few details. "I was just about to tell your sister what the damage was, or at least what I understand it to be. I took some piece of the rearview mirror to the face." I pointed to my bandage. "And I have a couple broken bones and some ligament and tendon issues in my knee. Both of the bones in my lower leg are broken, right up near my knee, and apparently he had to work a few miracles in there, but they're hopeful I'll be fine."

  "What'd he say about swimming?" Collin asked. He was never one to beat around the bush, but then again, neither was I. They both looked at me, waiting for my answer.

  I shrugged, looking a little discouraged. "I just talked to him on the phone right before your sister walked in. He said if he was being honest about it, he'd give me about a 50-50 shot at a full recovery. It wouldn't surprise him if I made a full recovery and another Olympic run, but it also wouldn't surprise him if the long term repercussions from the accident were too great for me to overcome. He said it was a hard case to call and it could go either way."

  "I think those are wonderful odds!" Meredith said. "People overcome much worse every day. You'll totally do it."

  Collin was nodding like he agreed with her, and I was thankful for their encouragement, but at that point I didn't feel as optimistic as they seemed to.

  "I guess it's just hard to see past the—" I gestured at the huge contraption on my leg.

  "That's temporary, man," Collin said. "Just enjoy some rest, watch some Lord of the Rings or something."

  "I'm gonna have to do that," I said. "The doctor said I'll be here for at least a few more days, maybe a week. I just woke up, and already I want to go home."

  "Just chill. You've gotta let them take care of you if you want to get better."

  "You sound like my mom," I said.

  "Amen!" Meredith agreed.

  "I wouldn't have to tell you guys what to do if you'd quit acting like fuckin kids."

  "Collin Blake was that you with the potty mouth?" My mom had come in with my step dad while we were talking. She'd seen him say it, and was just asking to embarrass him.

  "I'm sorry." Collin said. "Oh, hey Mr. Moseley."

  Collin reached out to shake my stepdad's hand.

  "Chip. Call me Chip," he said smiling as he shook Collin's hand. His focus shifted to me. "How's it going there partner?"

  "I've had better birthdays, but good, I guess, with all things considered and everything."

  He gave me a warm smile, but then shifted his gaze to the far side of the bed where Meredith was now sitting straight-backed and as proper as a lady on the chair she'd been kneeling on a few minutes before. "Who's this?" he asked.

  "It's Collin's little sister Meredith. You remember her from swim meets, honey."

  He flashed Meredith a bright smile. He wasn't obnoxious with it, but he loved the sight of a pretty girl, and he was a harmless flirt from way back.

  "I can't believe this is the same little girl who used to paint her fingernails black just to piss off her mother."

  "I still do that." Meredith said, returning his smile.

  "See how, uh, grown up Collin's little sister is, Zack?" my stepdad asked.

  "Yes I have noticed that, Pop, and just in case you forgot, she and her brother are both still standing right here."

  "No, I didn’t forget. How could I forget, when I'm standing right here looking at her pretty face?"

  "Oh, my God," Collin exclaimed. "Seriously, Meredith, I really do wish you'd consider moving back to San Diego." He smiled at my stepdad so we all knew he was joking. "I love having her here, don't get me wrong, but I'm having a hard time dealing with the way guys have started coming around since she grew up."

  "What guys are coming around?" I asked.

  Collin smiled at me like I must be joking, but I just stared back at him, waiting for him to answer the question.

  "All guys, I'm sure," my mom said.

  Chapter 11

  Meredith

  I started work at Paradise Island the day after I went to see Zack in the hospital. Some of the most surreal experiences of my life had happened to me already, and I still had about two hours left before I could leave for the day.

  Before I'd even stepped foot inside the building that morning, I'd been accosted by a lady named Bernie who worked at the gate of the parking lot. Apparently, she'd been notified that it was my first day, and decided it'd be funny to mess with me a little bit. She acted like she wasn't going to let me in, and I thought I was about to be late for my first day of work. I was barely able to hold back from crying or cussing her out or both.

  Thankfully, she could see how quickly I got nervous, so she responded by telling me the truth and offering me her hand in a truce. She was impressed about me being Collin Blake's sister, and told me that while PA's aren’t really encouraged to have guests, she'd make a few exceptions for me as long as I called ahead to let her know I was expecting someone.

  Bernie, the hilarious gate-lady, was the beginning of a long list of total characters I'd met on my first day. Not characters like actors on the show, (although there were plenty of them) but characters in general. I'd been on set at Paradise Island before when my mom and I took a tour with Gretchen, but I hadn't really been able to take in the personalities of the crew.

  The P.A. who I was supposed to be shadowing during training was a guy who went by the name Kermit because he both looked and sounded like none other than Kermit the frog. Apparently, he was the best in the business, and was more like a right hand man to Max Mitchell, the show's producer. Bailey told me to listen to everything Kermit said because everyone really liked and respected him around there. I could see where people would respect him, but liking him was a different story. Maybe the actors liked him because they didn't have to be trained by him, but being schooled and corrected by someone all day wasn't my idea of fun.

  I could already see that there were about a dozen jobs I wanted to be doing on set besides mine, but I had to get a foot in the door any way I could. I watched the other employees, imagining myself in their positions. I could honestly say I'd trade just about any of them for their jobs. The lady Bernie at the gate was maybe the only person here who I wasn't envious of. Okay, so maybe that was a little dramatic. But seriously, it wasn't just acting that appealed to me. I could see myself thriving in
this environment, and I couldn't wait to start figuring out where I could fit in. I didn't mind that I had to be a P.A. to start out. I felt such a sense of potential at the possibilities that lay in front of me, and I was in the best mood because of it.

  "You can take twenty if you want." Kermit said.

  I looked at my watch. "Sounds good. Do you happen to know where Bailey is? I've barely seen her today."

  Kermit referenced an app he had on his iPad with the filming schedule. "She should be in the mansion's kitchen, but it'll take you ten minutes to walk over there. Go ahead and take thirty. That will give you ten minutes to catch up—if she's not filming, in which case, you do not interrupt."

  "I totally know that, Kerms." I put my fist to my heart a few times in a thankful gesture for the thirty minute break and took off in what I hoped was the direction of the mansion.

  "What are you doing here, Chica?" Bailey asked. Looking over my shoulder for Kermit.

  "I had a break and I hadn't seen you all day."

  "I know. I just can't believe Kermit let you out of his sight. That's not his style."

  I shrugged. "Me and Kerms are tight."

  "Just don't call him that to his face," she laughed.

  "What? Kerms? I call him that all the time. Kerms is my boy."

  Bailey just gave me a confused smirk before changing the subject. "Where have they had you all day?"

  "I've been on two different sets. The first was in the park at the gazebo with Theo and Mary, and the second was Maddie and Gunner in the café. We've been on that one for the past four hours."

  "Four hours? What took so long?"

  "Kermit said it was a long scene, but it didn't help that the director called for about three rewrites. It was so hard for me to hold my tongue."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Things weren't running efficiently at all. I saw several things that could have been done better, but I didn't think it was really my place to say anything."

  Bailey looked at me like I was a little crazy. But then shrugged a little and somewhat reluctantly said, "Max is usually pretty open to suggestion, that's part of why he's so successful. I think he'd listen if you had a good idea."

  "I'll think about it," I said. "You just hate to come out with guns blazing, you know?"

  "Hey what'd you think about Maddie?" Bailey asked.

  She was talking about a girl named Chelsea Harris who played the role of Maddie Banks. I'd been hanging out with her for the past three hours while we were filming in the café.

  "I know she's got a reputation or whatever because you and Gretchen have both mentioned her before." I shrugged. "I like her, though. She seems nice to me."

  "I'm not trying to tell you who to be friends with, but if there were anyone on set I'd warn you about… I shouldn't say it like that, but I'm just saying… be careful."

  "Why? What's wrong with her?"

  "Nothing's wrong with her per say. She's just not the nicest person sometimes."

  "I don't understand. Has she done something to you specifically?"

  "No, Mere, but you have to just take my word for it. She's bad news. Be careful."

  "Well, just so you know, she only had nice things to say about you," I told her.

  Bailey shot me a disbelieving smirk. "Even if that were true, which I doubt it is, I wouldn't regret telling you to be careful of her, Mere."

  "Okay," I said, hands raised, "I've been warned." I was a little defensive about the whole subject because I'd already made plans to hang out with Chelsea the next weekend. I definitely didn't tell Bailey that. Our friend Caleb who played Ashton on the show saw me talking to Bailey and crossed the set to join us.

  "What's up Miss Meredith? I forgot today was your first day," Caleb said. "I had fun at your birthday party."

  "Me too," I said. "Thanks for coming."

  "Hey did I tell you what happened to Zack?" Bailey interrupted. She was talking to Caleb and we both waited for his answer.

  "No. What?" Caleb asked.

  "He was in a motorcycle accident that night after we left Gretchen's."

  "You're kidding. Is he okay?"

  Bailey shook her head as if to say she didn’t know much. "I know he's gonna make it, but I don’t really know any details. I think he had surgery. Gretchen went up there yesterday, but I didn't talk to her when she got back."

  "I saw him yesterday too," I said. They both looked at me. "His knee is pretty messed up. It's got a lot of pins and it's up in this brace thing. He had to have surgery on his leg and his face. There's a bandage covering the side of his face, and you can't see what's under it yet."

  Bailey sucked air in through her teeth. Caleb winced too, probably because he owned more than one motorcycle.

  "What if he's missing an eye or something?" she asked.

  I pushed at her. "He's not missing an eye, stupid. His eye wasn't even under the bandage."

  "Both eyes were showing?"

  "Yeah," I said. I sounded more sure than I was. I tried to remember if I'd seen both eyes. Surely I would have remembered if his eye were covered, right? Was Zack missing an eye? Holy hell, I couldn't say for sure if I'd seen both eyes or not.

  "Tell Meredith to steer clear of Chelsea," Bailey said, snapping me out of my daydream. She was talking to Caleb, trying to get him to back her up.

  "I'm not gonna tell her that," Caleb said. "Me and Chelsea are cool."

  "Sure you are," Bailey said. "I forgot all the guys just loooove her."

  "Don't listen to her," Caleb said, putting an arm around my shoulders. "She's just jealous."

  "I am not," Bailey defended.

  I looked at my watch. "I'd love to hang out, but I'm under strict orders to be back at two thirty, and I have to go all the way back to the café."

  "Who are you working with?"

  "Kermit."

  "Kermit let you out of his sight?" Caleb asked.

  "I know, right?" Bailey added. I hugged them both and took off in the direction of the café. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint Kermit since he was apparently being uncharacteristically easy going with me. If this were easy going, I'd hate to see his idea of strict.

  I thought about Zack during the entire walk from the mansion to the café. I'd been doing a good job of concentrating on other things all day—it was actually pretty easy since I was at a brand new job. But, Bailey's mention of his accident made thoughts of Zack start falling into my mind.

  I felt the urge to go see him after I got off work. I told myself it was because I wanted to see if his eye was covered or not, but the truth of it was I just wanted to see him.

  There was one little problem. Yesterday morning when I'd been at the hospital, I told everyone in the room (Zach, Colin, Zack's parents, everyone) that I was glad Zack was doing so well, and I'd see him once he got out of the hospital. I wasn't sure why I said it, but now I couldn't go back on my word without seeming to overzealous. I was thinking about him on the drive home after work, so I decided I'd send him a text to check on him sometime that evening.

  Four hours later, I typed out a text.

  Me: "I was thinking about you on my way home from work earlier. Wondering how you're doing. My first day at work went well. I met some new friends, and what's better is that I think I'm going to love working there… eventually. Once I find the right position. ;)"

  I waited for ten minutes for him to text me back before giving up and deciding to take a shower. It was one of my favorite time-wasters. When I got out, I sho' nuff had a text from Zack.

  Zack: "I thought I was supposed to be the one to show you the right positions. Just kidding. I'm glad you enjoyed your first day at work."

  I read the text three times, smiling at the screen. The mention of teaching me positions made a flood of warmth wash over me. I was glad he couldn't see me because I was definitely blushing.

  Me: "You didn't answer about how you're doing."

  Zack: "I'm as good as you can be for someone whose leg is in pieces."


  Me: "Damn it, Zack. Just get over it and get better."

  Zack: "That's a great idea, Meredith, but right now my ass is asleep because I'm stuck in this freaking bed, and my mom forgot to bring my bathroom stuff up here when she went home earlier."

  Me: "Can I bring you something? Bathroom stuff (whatever that is) or a movie? I'd really love to do that."

  Zack: "It's all right. My mom already packed a bag of stuff I asked her to get from my house. There's a bunch of movies in there, she just forgot it at her house. My stepdad's coming in the morning. He'll bring it."

  Me: "You sure he'll know what to bring? I'll get you some good stuff. There are at least three Redboxes between me and you, and I have good taste in movies."

  Zack: "I really don't want you to have to do that. I was going to try to go to bed soon anyway."

  Me: "If you change your mind, I'd be happy to come up there."

  Zack: "I'm sure you're tired after your first day of work, and I'm good. Thanks for the offer. I might take you up on it if my stepdad forgets in the morning."

  Me: "Okee Dokee. Well, I'm thinking about you, and I know you'll be up and around really soon."

  Zack: "Thanks."

  Me: "You're welcome."

  I sort of meant you're welcome in a sarcastic way since he was being so formal with me. Thanks. I wanted to say "Hey it's me, Meredith. Just invite me over already."

  I didn't say that. I just quit texting after that last one I sent. Or maybe I should say he quit texting after that, since the ball was in his court. Oh well, what could I do? I wasn't going to the hospital uninvited, so the only logical choice was to try to forget about him.

  I was planning on doing that right after one quick peek on the Internet. I opened my laptop and typed the name Zack Larson into the Google search bar at the top right hand side of my browser. When Zack's search results came up, I clicked on the link for the images results. Thirty or more photos of Zack showed up on the screen. A lot of them were photos of him in or around a swimming pool or on a medal stand, but a fair amount of them were headshots or posed photographs he'd done for endorsements. He looked like a male model for crying out loud.

  I clicked on a black and white one that I was particularly partial to then I scrolled to the right to see the enlarged versions of a few of the pictures. I stopped on one where you could really see the beautiful color of his ice blue eyes. I said a little prayer, hoping his eyes had gone unscathed. I stared into them for a few long seconds before hastily closing the browser and then my laptop.