Love Unscripted

by Reber, Tina

  “I guess I should call Gary. Are you feeling up to playing poker tonight? It’s okay if you’re not…” she trailed.

  “Yeah, I’m feeling up to it,” I answered with a firm nod. “I need to get back into my familiar routine.”

  “Good! Okay then,” Marie said as she stood up from the table. She looked at her watch and grabbed her coat. “Do you smell that? Whatever Tammy is baking down there smells fantastic!”

  “I know! Let’s go beg for samples!” I snickered.

  I decided to stay in the kitchen with Tammy after Marie left.

  Tammy pointed to a tray on the large cooling rack. “You can have one of those too, if you’d like. I made extra.”

  I was eyeing the chocolate-dipped strawberries when my doorbell rang several times in a row. Marie had just left a few minutes ago; I wondered why she didn’t let herself back in through the kitchen door.

  “What did you forget?” I chuckled, opening up my new back door to my apartment.

  My smile instantly faded to shock and panic when my eyes caught sight of Kyle. I leaned hard into the door, trying to close it as quickly as I had opened it, but Kyle shoved his heavy black boot in the doorway.

  “Taryn, please! Just hear me out!” Kyle pleaded. His fingers were wrapped around the edge, pushing the door open. I leaned all my weight into the door, but it was useless to fight him. He was so much stronger then I was. My planted feet slid unrestricted on the smooth flooring.

  “No!” I yelled. “Just go away and leave me alone!”

  Kyle gave the door a good shove and it clocked me right in the forehead. I staggered back a step while still trying to maintain my hold on the door to block his entry.

  “Taryn, come on. I just want to talk to you… give me a chance to explain.”

  Most of his body was already through the doorway. He shoved the door again, more forcefully this time, tossing me like a ragdoll into the wall behind me. I quickly righted myself and lunged for the opposing door to the kitchen as my next means of escape.

  I managed to grab the doorknob but Kyle was quicker. His hand wrapped around mine tightly, preventing me from twisting the knob. He used his body to cram me into the doorframe, trapping me in place. I kicked the bottom of the door with my foot.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” I begged, pleading for my life. The grip he had on my hand was already sending messages of pain.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered in my ear, chuckling slightly from my fear. “Just don’t do anything stupid, okay… Taryn?”

  I felt the doorknob jiggle slightly. I hoped Tammy would run for help instead of trying to rescue me. I didn’t want Kyle to have two hostages.

  I was absolutely petrified, fearing he was going to harm me, or worse - kill me. His aggressive stance and the way he breathed hard on my neck terrified me. I nodded quickly. It was the only response I could give.

  “You don’t mind if I check you for weapons, do you?” he said, slightly amused, taking the liberty to pat the front and back pockets of my jeans. “I’d hate like hell to get maced today.”

  My pockets were unfortunately empty. Kyle appeared to be pleased with that revelation, almost enjoying the fact that he caught me unarmed and completely helpless. I felt like the doomed rabbit, caught by my unlucky foot in the big bear trap.

  My mind started to roll in fast forward, trying to remember the self-defense moves he once told me about. His knee was pressed into my leg, holding me off balance. Could I stamp on his foot and then elbow him in the nose? Just give me some space and I’m going to kick you right in the balls, you son-of-a-bitch!

  “You don’t need to be afraid of me!” He laughed, lessening the pressure of his fingers on mine, but still not letting me go. “Sweetheart, I’d never hurt you. I’m just worried that you might try to hurt me.”

  “Let go of me and we’ll find out,” I replied, a hard edge accompanied my tone.

  “Feisty!” Kyle snickered in my ear. “How about you let go of the door so we can talk?”

  “What do you want to talk about?” I breathed into the wood molding, still unable to move. My eyes glanced, noticing the glowing green buttons on the security system keypad. I was pretty sure I could hit the police call button before he would be able to stop me. My fingers were only a few inches away from it.

  “I came here to tell you that we caught Angelica. She was picked up in Florida and is being extradited back to Rhode Island on a bench warrant. Baby, she’s in police custody now, so you don’t have to worry anymore.”

  A tinge of revulsion ebbed up my spine when he called me “baby.” Kyle eased up slightly on pressing me into the door. He effortlessly peeled my straining, clenched hand off of the doorknob.

  “You can relax now,” he said reassuringly, obviously pleased with himself. “I told you I would get her and I did! You’re safe now.”

  “Am I?” I whispered; tears of fright were dripping down my face. I felt so fragile in his grip; it would only take one quick twist and he could easily re-break my left wrist that he now held in his powerful hand.

  “Sweetheart, I would never hurt you. You have to believe me,” he said softly, resting his forehead on my shoulder.

  “Taryn, I had nothing to do with what happened to you in Florida,” he said smoothly, convincingly. “I was there because Angelica followed you to Miami. Why do you think I was in the airport? My spotters lost track of her for a few hours, so I made sure you were protected at all times.”

  My breath hitched. Kyle was such a manipulator.

  “She’s really in jail?” I whispered, asking for confirmation that my first stalker was locked up from my second stalker that now held me captive.

  “Yes,” he said softly in my ear. “She can’t hurt you anymore.”

  “What about you?” I asked, my breath stuttering from fear.

  Kyle scoffed in my ear. “I’m not the one who broke your heart. He did that all on his own,” he groaned and took a few steps back, finally releasing me.

  I turned slightly to look at him. I was wondering if he’d be able to look me in the eyes while he spewed his lies. I found myself shifting from fear to anger.

  “So which one of you came up with the panties idea? Was it you or Lauren who thought that one up?” I asked angrily as I rubbed my throbbing wrist. “It was a nice touch, actually. I didn’t check the wastebaskets, but I’m pretty sure I would have found a used condom lying out in the open too… am I right?”

  “There you go, jumping to conclusions again,” he said emphatically.

  “How much did you pay the bellboy to deliver it? I hope you paid him well to be part of your devious plan, or am I to believe that Lauren masterminded the whole thing?”

  Kyle stared at me incredulously, like I was crazy.

  “So you’re telling me that pretty boy was caught red-handed with some other chick’s underwear laying about and yet he still managed to convince you that he didn’t fuck around on you?” he asked, laughing slightly while questioning my sanity. “Boy, are you gullible!”

  I looked down at the garnet ring that Ryan had placed on my finger, remembering the words he had engraved inside it – “My heart is yours.” I became furious for allowing myself to fall victim to Kyle’s underhanded plan.

  “Ryan loves me,” I said in defense while random memories and different voices flashed through my thoughts. Taryn, you’re the one he wants to…; there are other things I can’t say – yes, I believe him; better that all this happened now instead of having Ryan leave you after you’re…; if you only knew…; get used to spending your husband’s…

  “Ryan was going to propose to me,” I whispered out, finally realizing what everyone had been keeping secret. “You found out he was going to propose, didn’t you?” My eyes locked on Kyle’s, watching his reaction. Kyle’s lips pursed together. I obviously hit a nerve.

  “Ryan told Lauren, thinking it was safe to tell her about his plans since she was already in a committed relationship… and Lauren told yo
u! That’s why Ryan wants proof that Lauren lied about still being with Lucas!”

  It was all making sense now.

  Kyle frowned. I could see the expression change on his face as he switched tactics.

  “I don’t give a shit about them! I only care about you. There is something here, Taryn!” He gestured between us. “It’s powerful, and I know that you feel it too. Just give me a chance to take care of you… to love you like you deserve to be loved and have a normal life without all the public scrutiny, maybe even raise a family. You’re kind and caring, smart and strong…”

  “Oh, cut the bullshit, Kyle. You knew! Didn’t you? Just fucking admit it!” I yelled at him.

  “Admit that I knew what? That Christensen is all wrong for you? How being involved with someone in a different league unnecessarily risks your life every fucking day? Do you know how much it pains me to see the woman I love wasting her efforts on some sleazy, two-bit actor?”

  My mouth dropped open from his admission.

  “There, I said it. Now you know,” he uttered in defeat. “I’m in love with you, Taryn.”

  Kyle took one step forward, but I held my hands up to stop him before he got any closer.

  I was shocked. How could Kyle possibly be so in love me? We never spent any quality time together, getting to know one another on any deeper levels. Our relationship was so superficial, we were barely even friends.

  There was an attraction, but it was purely physical – at least it was for me anyway – and we never acted on it. “They scream that they love me… how could they even say that?” I heard Ryan’s voice say. Kyle was just as pathetic as some of Ryan’s fans.

  “You don’t love me, Kyle,” I said softly.

  “Don’t tell me how I feel!” he shouted angrily.

  “You don’t really want the shiny toy – you just don’t want the other boy to have the shiny toy,” I concluded. “You’re jealous and angry that someone like Ryan would fish in the same pond as you.”

  “You don’t belong in that world, Taryn! If you truly believed you did, you would have never left Florida! But you walked away, devastated, because deep down inside you know how easily you can be replaced!” he said irately, pointing his index finger at me.

  “I’ve had unemployed losers easily replace me with strippers, Kyle! Ryan’s career choice has nothing to do with this! Besides, whether Ryan is still in the picture or not, it wouldn’t matter.”

  Kyle’s eyes narrowed, confused by my direction.

  “I’ve submitted the driving directions you wrote for me and the letter I found in Ryan’s hotel room to a handwriting expert,” I informed. “That along with the threat letters I got in the mail were all express-mailed this morning.” I was getting better at this “acting” thing. I almost believed myself!

  “You still think I wrote them? Doesn’t matter; they won’t match up,” Kyle snidely remarked. His reply was too confident. It was as though he was prepared to have to answer this accusation eventually. “You can dust them for prints too. You won’t find mine.”

  “Why? Is it because you charmed some unwitting girls to do your dirty work?” I probed.

  “I had nothing to do with that love note or any letters for that matter!” he barked.

  I had never told Kyle about the letter I found in Ryan’s hotel room until now. How did he know it was a love note?

  I smiled. “You couldn’t find any dirt on him, could you? That week you were there poking your nose around – you came up empty-handed! Ryan has been completely faithful to me, and when you couldn’t find any evidence, you fabricated your own.”

  Kyle scoffed. “Maybe if you’d bother to open your eyes for two seconds and look at reality, you’d see that actors never stay in relationships for very long. They trade up every chance they get. The way I see it, things couldn’t have happened at a better time. You needed a wake-up call to see how things really are.”

  “You’re incorrigible!” I bellowed.

  “You think that someone like Christensen is going to stay with you for the next forty years? I highly doubt it. There were so many hot women walking around down there on his movie set… he may be strong enough to resist now early on in this thing, but give it time and he’ll cave. You should be happy that you didn’t waste a lot of time on him - save yourself from further humiliation when he dumps you for one of his own kind.”

  I stared blankly at him for a few minutes while I concocted my next plan.

  “You’re right, Kyle. You’re absolutely right,” I sniffed, pretending to finally give up hope and faking sudden extreme sadness. I leaned up on the wall. “I’ve been deluding myself to think that I could have a future with Ryan. How could I be so naïve? Lauren is gorgeous. I can’t compete with her.”

  I wiped my eyes, hoping my acting was Oscar-worthy. “I’m going to end it,” I murmured, nodding to confirm my decision. “Then I won’t be in Lauren’s way anymore and I won’t get my heart broken again.”

  I took an embellished, stuttering breath. “I’m not even close to being in the same league. Lauren is so much more sophisticated and cultured than I am. She’s a famous celebrity and I’m… nothing,” I said sadly, playing up my self-deprecation. “A nobody from Seaport.”

  I inconspicuously placed myself next to the security keypad as I continued my dramatic performance.

  “I can’t blame any man for not being able to resist her. You’re right… Ryan will be better off with her. I realize that now. Lauren knows what it takes to have a high-profile relationship. She’s probably a much better lover than I am too,” I said, acting completely dejected.

  Kyle scoffed. “I’ve had better,” he muttered.

  As soon as the words slipped from his mouth, he realized he had made a fatal mistake. “Babe, you are so much more desirable than she is! Don’t ever put yourself down like that,” he encouraged, approaching me slowly.

  “Stop,” I breathed out, ordering him to stay where he was. “I know I’m better than she is, after all, you just confirmed that she’s nothing more than a manipulative whore. I’m surprised you two aren’t madly in love with each other, considering that you are so much alike!”

  “Taryn!” he bellowed, taking another step.

  “Don’t come any closer! All I have to do is tap it and the police will come immediately,” I informed confidently, my index finger hovered over the illuminated button on the security keypad.

  “Forced entry, the bruise on my forehead from when you hit me with the door, a few tears and you’ll be handcuffed in no time. Can you still be a bodyguard with a police record?”

  “Taryn, please, don’t! It was an accident! I’ll lose my job!” he pleaded.

  “That didn’t seem to concern you while you were fucking Lauren in her trailer or conveniently waiting to rescue me in Miami!”

  “Just hold on, all right?” Kyle requested urgently.

  “I’m done holding on! Start talking or so help me I’m going to press it!” I threatened.

  “She came on to me – not the other way around,” he informed, holding out a cautioning hand to keep me from being hasty and pressing the button.

  “You’re such a liar!” I said mockingly.

  “I’m telling you the truth! We had a few drinks. She threw herself at me!”

  I laughed. “And of course you took her up on her offer! Your final gesture to Ryan to make sure that if he did take her back, he got her back… used.”

  I heard my front door open; it was easy to distinguish subtle sounds in my home.

  “And the letter?” I bellowed.

  “The letter was her idea, not mine. She planned it. Just don’t…”

  “I’m sure you can run before the cops get here, but where would you run to? I’ll petition the court to grant a PFA order on you. It probably won’t take more than an hour or so, after all, this was assault,” I mused, rubbing the tender spot on my forehead. “I wonder what a protection order would do to your career.”

  “Okay, okay! Just d
on’t,” Kyle begged. “I can’t have a record. I’ll lose everything. Baby, please…”

  “I’m not your baby!” I firmly stated. “Kyle, how could you ever think we’d be able to have a healthy relationship with you hurting me like this?”

  “I love you, Taryn! Everything I did, I did out of love! I just couldn’t stand idly by and watch him destroy you! It was killing me!”

  “This isn’t love, this is sickness. You destroyed me, Kyle. Not Ryan. You! You ripped my heart out!” I screamed at him.

  “I never meant to hurt you!” he said with conviction.

  “Taryn, are you all right?” Pete yelled from the other side of the door.

  “Yes,” I quickly replied, watching surprise and shock coat Kyle’s face.

  “The police are on their way. Is he armed?” Pete asked. I could hear the sirens.

  Kyle’s eyes widened with fear. “No,” he uttered.

  “He says he’s not armed,” I yelled back to my friends.

  Pete plowed the door open; he had my baseball bat in his hand, ready to swing. Marie was right behind him.

  “You just keep away from her!” Pete threatened, waving the bat at Kyle.

  “I’m not going to hurt her.” Kyle’s derisive inflection was noticeable.

  Marie tried to pull me out of the hallway and into the kitchen – to safety, I presumed.

  “Taryn!” Kyle called out. “Please? I’m sorry! I can’t go to jail!”

  “Well you should have thought about that a long time ago!” Pete yelled angrily.

  I touched Pete’s shoulder to calm him.

  “Kyle, I’m sorry too, but I just don’t trust you. If I let you go free, then what’s to keep you from coming back and starting this crap all over again? You know I don’t feel the same way about you, but yet here you are... again!”

  “I’ll stay away. I promise! I’ll leave you alone and never bother you again. I swear!” Kyle’s pleading was urgent. He knew his time was running out. The police sirens were in the alley.

  I had to make a decision, quickly.

  “So what happened then?” Ryan asked.