“That’s film and TV auditions for you, Amy. Always exactly like that. They are very different from theater, and it’s almost as if it’s a whole different world. Film and theater actors sometimes don’t translate over. But you felt ok when it came down to the actual acting part, yes?”
“Yes,” I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “I just…” I closed my eyes for a moment. “I wish that I could have talked to you beforehand. I felt like an idiot. In fact…” I took a deep breath, knowing what I was about to say was powerful. “I think talking to you before the Gatsby audition was the only thing that kept me sane.”
There was a silence on the other end of the phone, but it felt comfortable. Now that I was talking to Liam, the panic of the audition had gone away and I felt fine. I hadn’t realized how much I needed him, and needed his advice and support, until this very moment. Yes, I could act, and that came easy, but he was right, it came down to so much more than just acting. I thought I had been ready for all this, but it was clearly going to be harder than I thought.
“Anytime Amy,” he said, and I could hear the noise behind him increase. “I have to go. I’ll see you soon, though?” It was more than just a confirmation, he sounded hopeful.
“Yes,” I said. “About 20 minutes. 30 if you are feeling generous and want to give me time to stuff my face.”
He chuckled at that.
“Make it forty. I’ll see you then.” He hung up quickly, and I put my phone into my pocket, continuing to walk down the sidewalk, and feeling more alone. The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping and I could hear children playing in a nearby park. The dark mood over me had lifted, and I felt a lot better. I had just finished one rehearsal, I had an audition and now I was headed to rehearsal for a spot I had won over hundreds of hopefuls. Life wasn’t so bad.
Although I didn’t want to admit it, I knew part of my mood was due to the fact that I was going to see Liam in a matter of minutes.
I felt that painful feeling in my chest again as I realized how little time I had left at the school. In a matter of weeks, I would be permanently moved out and in the world on my own. Gatsby would soon be on tour, and there would be no coming back to the school after that, no safe haven to look forward to. I had never gone more than two days without seeing my Dad in my entire life, and soon I would be going months. And after Gatsby, who knew? If I didn’t make it here, there were other cities, other theaters, other tours. It was a scary thought, and it didn’t seem real that my entire world was about to change.
CHAPTER 20: LIAMI realized when she walked in, I’d been watching the door for her the entire time. My head had been pounding all morning, and I was exhausted from last night’s excursions. If we didn’t only have a few days of rehearsal left, I would have already called it for today. I wanted a hair of the dog, enough water to drown a horse, and a nap that took fifteen hours. Unfortunately, those things had only been possible when I was a human movie star. Now, as a vampire headmaster, I supposed people expected me to be somewhat responsible. Still, I knew I hadn’t been as involved today as I should have been.
As soon as she walked in, I felt my heart beat speed up and I couldn’t help but smile. She was here, and I could relax.
“Let’s take five minutes,” I called to the fight choreography on stage. The boys stopped, panting, and headed off for their water bottles. I motioned to Amy to join me back stage. “How are you?”
“Better now that I’m here,” she said, looking around. “No, uh … unexpected visitors?”
“No, nothing,” I shook my head, watching her. Her hair was pulled up, but a few strands were falling into her fresh face. She looked beautiful and young, and I knew her future held nothing but promise and hope. “Porsche and I patrolled most of the night, but nothing came up. Selene is like that. She’ll show up long enough to scare me, but she has yet to do any harm. I suspect she’s just checking in to make sure I keep my promise.”
“Your promise?” Amy asked, reaching into her backpack as we talked.
“Why she turned me,” I said, keeping my voice down. “With such a public persona, I was guaranteed to keep the secret unless I wanted to ruin my life. Supposedly, I had it all. Vampires could always find me for help, I have a truck ton of money and contacts, but I also will make sure to keep it secret unless I want to ruin my own life. I was the perfect candidate. Hell, I should have predicted it would happen to me.”
“Liam,” she said, compassionately and I looked down to find her holding a container. “Do you want a cookie?”
I laughed, nodding.
“Yes,” I said, taking one of her father’s secret recipe cookies. They were so loaded with chocolate it was a wonder they had any other ingredients. I had them once or twice before and they never failed to make me feel better. At the moment, however, it was Amy’s smile that was assisting in that endeavor.
We locked eyes for a moment, and the intensity of the gaze was so fierce it almost overwhelmed me. I tilted my head down a fraction of an inch, and she responded, arching her neck upwards. Our lips were only inches apart when we were interrupted by a string of swear words.
“What the…” I pulled away the curtain. On the other end of the stage, Deon was standing there, his phone in one hand, his face the very picture of stunned. I didn’t even have to ask to know what the problem was, I recognized the look immediately. He wasn’t sad, or upset, or grieving. He wasn’t in pain or angry. That was the look of an actor who was simultaneously happy he got a part and stunned because he had a conflict. “Deon?” I asked, as Amy came to stand beside me. He turned his head towards me, waving his phone.
“I…the TV role…full time, Paris…Friday… 3 months, with extension.”
It would have taken a normal person half a day to figure out what he was saying, but I understood immediately. “You can’t do the show then,” I said, calmly. Deon had yet to change the expression on his face.
“Yes…no…But I…What should I…oh Man.” He seemed so overwhelmed he could barely get the sentence out. Everyone was gathering around him in excitement, but his gaze was locked with mine. I forced a smile onto my face as I stepped forward. Deon came over at once, looking much younger than his 18 years.
“Liam?” he said, unsure and I nodded.
“This is what I wanted for you guys, your whole lives. Why are you looking so unsure?” I asked. “Deon, you’ve been here for years, and you’ve been trained since you could speak to do this. Every day of school, every exercise and workshop was so you could be prepared for this day, this moment in your life.”
“But the show…” he said, and I put my hand on his shoulder. Beside me, Amy stood by, and I couldn’t look at her. The most talent in the entire school was now within two feet of me and I was about to lose both of them.
“Don’t worry about the show. You’re ready for this. For all of this.”
He nodded, although I could see the fear in his eyes.
“Amy,” He said, turning to her. “I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be sorry,” she replied, reaching up to hug him. “Don’t be. I almost did the same thing, remember? We’ll work together again, I’m sure.”
“You’re going to make it big, girl.” He hugged her tight, and then turned to me. “I guess I should…”
“Pack,” I said, nodding. “And go see Peter; he’ll be happy for you.”
“Right. Yes,” he said, a grin spreading across his face. “Thank you, Liam. For everything.”
“You won’t say that when your set call is at 4am,” I blurted out, and he laughed. After hugs all around, Deon picked up his stuff, and headed out the door, standing two inches taller than when he walked in. There was a silence that fell over the cast then.
“Well,” I said, turning to Amy. “I guess it’s you and me.”
Her jaw fell open.
“Every show? … I’m glad,” She said, quietly, her hand brushing mine. “I’d rather do it with you. With you, it feels like it’s just... a conversation. �
�
“I’m glad I get a second chance to do this with you.” I replied, and she met my eyes, seeing my meaning as clear as day. She looked away, and I turned to the cast. They were still shell shocked.
“Right. Everyone forget Deon’s blocking, right now. Forget it, erase it from your memories, it’s gone. We need to be happy for him, but we need to focus on our show now. From now on, every show is with me, and I want no more interruptions for the rest of the day.” I even reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, turning it off as an example. “You have three minutes to set yourself from the top. Ready, set, go!”
I watched them scramble to their places. Amy put down her back pack, and fixed her hair, heading towards her entrance. In the chaos, her phone rang, and although I should have scolded her, I let her answer it. At the moment, I was so happy to be able to perform with her; to still have her that I couldn’t have denied her anything.
“Hello? Yes? Wait, what? What? One second,” she turned back to me, and held the phone out, confused. “It’s for you.”
“Now what?” I sighed, going towards her and taking the phone. I didn’t recognize the number, but I assumed it was one of Shannon’s people. Seems like I had turned my phone off at exactly the right time.
“Hello?” I asked, and an unfamiliar voice spoke to me.
“Is this the same Liam that is in charge of the Leopard Spot Academy?”
“Uh, yes…” I felt a bit annoyed. “Who’s this?”
“And you know a Porsche De Ritter?”
“Yes?” I gripped the phone tighter, turning away. “What’s happened?”
“Liam, Porsche has listed you as her emergency contact. My name is Chelsea, and I work for Norfinch Health Care. She was admitted today after a fall at work.”
“Oh God,” I ducked behind the curtain. “Is she ok?” I knew that sending Porsche off to her own rehearsal after being up all night was not a good idea, but she had insisted.
“It appears she has a bacterial infection. She’s on IV antibiotics right now, and she’s asleep, but we thought her contacts should be notified. Visiting hours are from 5-7pm today and she should be awake by then. Her condition is serious, but stable.”
“I’ll be there. Please, you can call me on this number if there’s any news,” I said, biting my lip with worry. “Is she…going to be ok?”
The nurse sighed, and I could hear her clicking away at her computer.
“It’s an expected AIDS complication. Infections are common.”
“But also serious,” I said, my heart hammering in my chest. Could anything else possibly go wrong today? “Please, tell me the truth.”
There was a silence on the other end of the phone, and then Chelsea spoke.
“At the moment, we’re hopeful she’ll recover.”
The words hit me like a sledgehammer. Amy was beside me, taking my hand, wrapping her arms around me as I managed to hang up the phone. Just as I had been able to guess Deon’s news from years of experience, she could guess the information on the phone from her own years. She held me tight as I tried to get hold of my emotions.
“You can go to her,” she said, softly, but I shook my head, wiping my eyes.
“No. Porsche’s a theater addict, she’d kill me I interrupted rehearsal. Visiting hours are from 5-7, we can go after. Will you…will you come with me?” I asked, and she nodded, reaching up to wipe a tear away from my face. I hadn’t realized my eyes were leaking until then and I struggled to get it under control.
“Of course,” She said, and then our lips met.
The kiss was soft, and slow, yet needed. I didn’t want to break apart from her, and it seemed we were clinging onto each other out of necessity. I wanted her; I wanted her so badly that my muscles ached. More than anything, I wanted to forget the pain and get lost in the pleasure of her body. But now was not the time or place. Finally, we pulled apart, and my forehead rested on hers.
“It’s ok, isn’t it?” she asked. “I mean…you made a promise, to Porsche.”
“I did,” I nodded. “But I’ll mourn the human part of her all the time. This life, Amy, this life is a curse and why she wants it is beyond me.”
“To live,” she whispered. “She wants to live.”
I could hear Amy’s own heartbeat, loud in her chest, and feel her own warm skin against mine. It nearly broke my heart; that this beautiful young girl that I had come to fall in love with wanted to live just as badly. And here I was, handed immortality and I didn’t want it.
Amy’s arms squeezed my torso tightly, and I held on to her for all it was worth. I wanted her, above all else, and I had to keep her safe. If I was going to be alone for all eternity, I wanted her with me as long as I could have her.
CHAPTER 21: AMYI was nervous before I even fully opened my eyes. My alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but I knew I couldn’t sleep any longer. It was much later than normal, nearly 11am. It was opening day and in a few hours, I would be on stage, beside Liam.
The last few days had been exhausting. Between Deon quitting, Gatsby rehearsal, and Porsche, I was tired. She had spent the last few days in hospital, barely waking long enough to say hello. And I had no doubts, when she was finally released, that it wouldn’t be for long.
She hadn’t even wanted to be admitted, insisting it was useless. Liam had protested, and as usual, he got his way. I knew she was delaying her transformation for our safety. Liam was sure she wouldn’t be a Shield after her descent into vampirism. But all of it was still hard to watch, and just added to the stress of opening night.
I had the day off from Gatsby today, so I could be prepared for tonight. At 2pm, we had a press conference at the school, for Liam and I, and then at 6, a photo shoot before the curtain went up at 8pm. I was trying to stay calm, but nothing was working. Liam had walked me through every step of the day, explaining what to do and what not to do. He reminded me to breathe, and to say nothing that I didn’t want the whole world to know. There was apparently no such thing as “off the record”, and I wasn’t to trust any reporter, which made sense to me. But even with all of his instruction, I was still glad he was going to be beside me the whole time. Especially with the media frenzy surrounding the fact that he was going to be doing all the shows now, not just the one. The remainder of our shows had been sold out and there was a waiting list. It made me nervous and excited all at the same time.
Getting up, I headed for the shower, checking my phone on the way. There were about 50 Good Luck texts from my friends, and smiley faces. Last night, Dad and I had dinner at home. It was a nice break from the chaos that was surrounding me. He had told me he was proud of me, and wished me luck, which was music to my ears. I knew he thought acting was a risky career, but with Liam’s help, I felt like I could fly.
Except all that would be over soon. I tried to push that thought away as I got into the shower. I vowed to enjoy this day for all it was worth, and when the time came, I would face what I needed to.
I took extra care in the shower to make sure everything was shaved, washed, and clean. I scrubbed my face three times, and shampooed my hair twice, and then blow dried it with a round brush, something I had done about twice in my life. I was going to get my makeup done in the theater before the press conference, so I didn’t have to worry about it.
I chose tight jeans and boots, with a tunic shirt that belted at my waist. Satisfied with my appearance in the mirror, I picked up my purse, and slipped out the door, my heart beating fast.
“Ammmmmmyyyyy.” I wasn’t out the door five seconds when one of my floor mates, Charisma, attacked me with a hug. “Are you excited?”
“I feel more like puking, but I hear that’s excitement,” I said, giving her a hug back. “What are you doing today?”
“Being your slave,” she smiled at me. “Anything you need me to do?”
“Um…” I shrugged. “No. I was just going to get breakfast…or lunch… and then go to hair and makeup. We have a press conference and all.”
“E
xccccitting,” Charisma was possibly one of the sweetest girls I had ever met. She never had an unkind word for anyone and was always genuine in her responses. “Want me to come?”
“Sure, you can be my body guard.” I linked my arm in hers, heading down to the canteen. It was then that I saw Selene again, crossing the campus. She had sunglasses and a fashionable trench coat on, but I still recognized her. She carried herself in such a way that couldn’t be missed, with her nose high in the air and her shoulders squared.
I froze, making Charisma stumble.
“What?” she asked, following my eye line. “Who’s that?”
“No one.” I said, even as I took out my phone and frantically sent a text to Liam. Selene is on campus. I’ll be in the cafe. “Just…someone I thought I knew. Let’s go.”
I moved faster down the hall, practically dragging Charisma with me. We had barely grabbed food when Liam burst into the canteen, his jaw set.
“Are you alright?” he asked, and I nodded. Charisma looked from me to him and back again.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” he said, shaking his head. “Amy just needs…I need Amy to come with me. Sorry.” He apologized to her. “Last minute prep.”
“No problem.” She released my arm. “Break a leg tonight, guys! I have tickets for tomorrow.”
“Thanks,” I said, giving her a quick hug and then following Liam out into the hallway, my food long since forgotten. “Liam, it’s ok. I just saw her, she didn’t see me.”
“I should have known,” he shook his head, dragging me along the hallway to the staff quarters. “I shouldn’t have been so stupid.”
“What?” I asked, struggling to keep up.
“I’m sorry, Amy. I thought we were safe when she didn’t show her face. But she bought all the tickets to opening night, and I should have known she would show up today. She’ll be watching tonight, for sure.”
“Do you think she wants to hurt me?” I asked, fear leaping into my throat. Liam shook his head.
“No. Selene is not usually the...violent type,” he said. “And even if she does try, there will be truck loads of security there, to make sure we’re safe.”
Beautiful Monster Page 16
