Through Fire & Sea

by Nicole Luiken

  “I don’t. I hate him for this, but I’ll take my chances with Ruben over a dragon that roasts people alive,” her mother retorted. “All this is above our station. You and I shouldn’t be involved in the schemes of the nobility. Forget these foolish dreams. Come back and help me work the loom.”

  The dragon made another hop, landing a few feet away.

  “I’m sorry.” Tears ran down Leah’s cheeks. “But I have to stay.” Gideon needed her more than her mother did.

  Her mother’s face hardened. “You’ll regret this choice. I don’t know why I’m surprised. You’ve always been more his daughter than mine.”

  She walked away.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Siren

  “I got the part!” Ryan blurted out the news over the phone before he’d even said hello.

  “That’s great!” Holly was excited for him, even though it meant she wouldn’t see him for two months.

  “We start shooting in two days.” Ryan sounded dazed. “You would not believe how many lines I have to memorize.”

  “I wish I could be there to help you practice.”

  “I wish you were here, too. And not just to practice.” His voice lowered, heating Holly’s body.

  She cleared her throat. “So where are you staying?”

  “In a really nice hotel. I can’t wait to get out of here,” Ryan said tightly.

  Holly laughed. “Why, if it’s so nice?”

  “Everything is incredibly overpriced,” Ryan groused.

  “But isn’t my dad’s production company paying for everything?” Holly frowned.

  “Yes, but Mom keeps ordering steak and lobster and wanting to get pedicures and massages and—”

  “She’s driving you crazy?” Holly guessed.

  “Yes. My whole life all I’ve wanted is for her to be well, and now she is, but it’s not how I imagined it would be.” Ryan growled in frustration. “We need to get out of this hotel and back into the real world. By the way, your dad’s been really good to us. He put Mom in touch with a realtor, and he’s going to cosign our lease so we can afford an apartment.”

  “Great,” Holly said. “But, uh, I’ve heard he can be a bit of a tyrant on set. If you’re ready to strangle him in a couple of weeks, feel free to call and vent.”

  Ryan laughed. “I’m sure he’s not that bad.”

  Ha. Holly silently disagreed but changed the subject. “So, have you met the rest of the cast yet?”

  “Just Cassie Burns, for about five minutes yesterday.”

  Holly suppressed a pang at the thought of Ryan working with blonde, dazzling Cassie Burns, star of half a dozen teen movies. “And?” she asked. “Nice or snobby?” Say snobby.

  “Neither,” Ryan said after a moment. “Businesslike. But like I said, we barely spoke.” In contrast, he lingered on the phone with Holly for an hour.

  Ryan phoned every night that week, and the third time he gave her his new cell phone number. Holly teased him about joining the ranks of the well-to-do.

  “Yeah.” Ryan chuckled. “Mom wants to buy everything: a new car, flashy clothes, a condo. I keep trying to slow her down since I haven’t actually earned any money yet, but this cell phone is a necessity. I need my Holly fix.”

  In December, Ryan surprised her by flying home with her dad on Boxing Day. Her dad took a room in a hotel, but since Nimue remained in L.A., her mom invited Ryan to stay with them. A spate of nasty weather—rain and sleet and wind—conspired to keep them indoors. Holly happily cuddled on the couch and watched movies for three days.

  She hated saying good-bye to him and began counting down the days until he finished the movie. From her dad’s glowing account of the dailies, filming was going well.

  January proved to be rainy, lonely, and boring. Holly lived for Ryan’s phone calls. Whenever she missed him, she’d take out the pearl he’d given her or write, “Holly loves Ryan” in the sand. When the waves washed the words away, she pretended that his father, the sea god, bore the message to him.

  Shooting dragged on until February 10, but Ryan sounded buoyant on the phone that night. “It’s done, except for the wrap party at Cassie’s tonight. I’m free.”

  “You’re coming home?”

  “First flight I can get tomorrow,” Ryan promised.

  “I’ll meet you at the airport,” Holly said rashly. She’d skip school if necessary.

  But an hour later Ryan called back. “I can’t come.”

  “Why not?” Disappointment clogged her throat.

  “Nimue”—he bit the name out—“has committed me to another project—a five-episode role on a TV drama. Production starts tomorrow.”

  “What?” Holly had trouble understanding.

  Ryan talked fast. “I didn’t expect to get the part, and it wasn’t supposed to start this soon. They moved the schedule up because another show of theirs is tanking.”

  “What show? How come you didn’t tell me you had an audition?” Holly caught her breath. She’d thought Ryan intended to bank his movie money and finish high school here. With her.

  “Hang on.” Holly could hear someone laughing in the background. Was he at Cassie’s party? Jealousy bit into her.

  A door clicked shut. “There,” Ryan said, his voice clearer now. “I didn’t tell you because the audition left a bad taste in my mouth. See, Nimue sent me out—”

  When had he started calling her Nimue instead of Mom?

  “—all excited. It’s a real coup for a newbie agent to get their client an audition with a major network. But when I got there, the assistant said I wasn’t on the list. I knew how disappointed Nimue would be, and I got mad. I used my siren voice to get past him,” he confessed.

  Ah.

  “I didn’t use it on the casting director,” Ryan said quickly.

  “Of course not.”

  “But when I told Nimue what happened, she told me to stop being naïve and use my talents. She sent me there knowing I wasn’t on the list.” His voice sounded tight. “I told her if she ever tried that trick again I’d fire her. When I got the callback, I almost didn’t go, but it’s a good part and—”

  “And you got the callback on talent,” Holly said loyally.

  “Yeah. So I went, but I was up against a big name, and I didn’t think I’d get it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

  Holly was sorry, too. Sorry she’d been so stupid. She knew he loved acting. Of course he’d want to get his foot in the door. She wanted to be a good girlfriend and ask him about the part, but she just couldn’t right now. “Congratulations,” she said brittlely. “On landing the part. You deserve success.”

  “Holly—”

  “I better let you go back to your party. ’Bye.” She disconnected. Seeking reassurance, she opened her keepsake box, but her fingers closed on nothing. Alarm shot through her veins. The pearl Ryan had given her was missing.

  She ransacked her room but couldn’t find it anywhere.

  Holly sat on the hardwood floor in tears. Losing the pearl felt like a preview of losing Ryan.

  …

  At ten thirty on Valentine’s Day, Holly schlepped down to the kitchen in her pajamas. She intended to start her pityfest by consuming a box of chocolates for breakfast.

  “Good morning.” Her mom leaned against the counter, sipping coffee and looking way too amused. Couldn’t she—

  Holly stopped. A dozen pink roses and a gift box sat on the kitchen table. The card read, “Love, Ryan.” She ripped into the box and inhaled sharply. Her pearl nestled against black velvet, now mounted into a pendant.

  Holly looked up, eyes brimming. “How?”

  Her mother smiled. “Ryan asked me to sneak it out of your jewelry box, but he made all the other arrangements.”

  She had the best boyfriend ever.

  …

  In March, the first episode of Ryan’s recurring TV role aired.

  Holly, her mom, and Shannon all watched Eden together in the den. Shannon, the only one who’d watched the
show before, kept pausing the program to explain who the characters were until Holly threatened to dump popcorn on her. But from the moment Ryan appeared on the screen as the wild, moody new boy in town, Shannon fell silent. Holly barely breathed.

  It jolted her how dangerous he looked. She’d known he was a good actor, but…it felt more like he was showing another side of himself—the Ryan he could’ve been if he’d stayed friends with Kyle.

  “Wow,” Shannon said when the credits rolled. “Just…wow. I can’t believe you’re dating him. Are you going to call him? You have to call him.”

  Holly wanted to talk to Ryan but not in front of an audience. She excused herself to her bedroom.

  He answered on the first ring. “Did you see it?”

  “Of course, I did! You were great. You gave me chills,” she said truthfully. “You were so…dark.”

  “Cody’s a dark character,” Ryan agreed. “You find out more of his background in the third episode.”

  Holly peppered him with questions about the show then asked, casually, “So when will filming be over?”

  “Actually,” Ryan said cautiously, “they’re talking about making my character a semi-regular.”

  “That’s wonderful!” Holly said a beat too late. She had to do better than this, be happy for him, even if misery lumped in her throat.

  “It’s not final yet,” Ryan said quickly. “The producers are negotiating with Nimue.”

  “You know, I’m sure my dad could recommend an agent, if you wanted,” Holly said hesitantly. She didn’t want to offend him, but in Hollywood he needed a shark on his side.

  “No, thanks. I think Nimue’s finally found her thing. She’s an excellent negotiator.”

  “So she’s still staying on her medication?” Holly didn’t like thinking about Ryan’s mom. Doing so brought on strange flashes of Nimue lying on the floor while a dark figure with a knife stood over her.

  Holly hadn’t had a mirror episode since the night of the play. She was starting to hope she never would, but even so, she superstitiously avoided her reflection in every mirror except her bedroom one, which she’d rendered safe with her lipstick heart.

  “Not one slip,” Ryan said proudly. “You should see her new haircut and clothes. She’s like a new person.” He paused. “It’s amazing but also strange.”

  Holly’s fingers turned cold. A new person. But it was crazy to think that Ryan’s mom had been replaced by her mirror double. “It probably just feels weird because you’ve been taking care of her for years. You’re not used to her acting like an adult.”

  “That’s it, exactly.” Ryan sounded relieved at the explanation. “Not that she’s smothering me or anything, but she’s really pushing my career. And right now, that’s good. I’m sorry, Holly, but I don’t think we’re coming back to Vancouver Island except for visits.”

  “I understand,” Holly said softly.

  “Look, is there any chance you could move out here and live with your dad? I really miss you.”

  “I miss you, too. I’ll—I’ll think about it.” They said their good nights, and Holly went back downstairs.

  Shannon wanted to rehash the whole show, but Holly was no longer in the mood. She had a lot to consider.

  Holly saw Ryan’s performance a second time the next day—Ms. Prempeh had taped Eden for their Drama class. Everyone seemed impressed, except Dana, who watched with her arms crossed.

  Holly raised her eyebrows at Eleanor, silently asking what was up. Eleanor mouthed, “Jealous,” back.

  After Dana’s second snarky comment about how Eden had been cast on the basis of how good the actors looked in tight jeans instead of by talent, Holly leaned over and whispered, “Stop ogling my boyfriend’s butt.”

  Dana reddened but shut up.

  The news burned through the school like wildfire, and numerous girls asked Holly if it was true that “she used to date Cody.”

  In April, Shannon showed her an official fan group for Ryan on the internet. “Let’s join!”

  “No, thanks,” Holly said. She got all the juicy details straight from the source. She knew that Ryan was learning how to do some simple stunts and had gotten some tips from an actor he respected at Cassie Burns’s latest party. In turn, she told Ryan about her boring life: homework assignments and hunting down obscure items of set decoration for the second Drama play.

  Shannon joined his fan club. So did Eleanor and a lot of other girls—including, bizarrely, Dana. It was…weird. Worse, they would talk about how hot Ryan was right in front of Holly.

  In May, Ryan—or rather, Cody—kissed another girl on Eden.

  It’s just acting. She knew there was a whole film crew standing only a few feet away from Ryan and the actress—hardly romantic. And Ryan had told her he’d gotten an autograph from the actress’s basketball star boyfriend when he dropped by the set. But. Still. It made the pit of her stomach drop.

  At the next commercial break, she turned to her mother. “Could I spend a month with Dad this summer?” She didn’t mention the possibility of moving to L.A.

  “Of course,” her mom said. “But if your dad goes on location, I expect you to go with him, not stay alone in that L.A. monstrosity he calls a house. And your dad will be hurt if you spend all your time with Ryan, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  She phoned her dad that evening, and he agreed.

  Ryan was overjoyed. “I can’t believe I haven’t seen you since Christmas.” He sounded every bit as frustrated as Holly felt.

  “Me, either.” Holly’s heart lifted. It would be all right. She wasn’t going to lose him to fame.

  Her optimism lasted until the third week of June.

  The doorbell rang unexpectedly while Holly was getting ready for school. When she opened the door, Shannon was standing there, a picture of misery with no makeup and puffy eyes. “What is it?” Holly asked, alarmed. Had her beloved lapdog gotten run over?

  Shannon held out the newspaper she’d been hugging to her chest. “I’m so sorry.”

  The world seemed to stop.

  The tabloid page showed a close-up of Ryan and Cassie Burns. Kissing. The details burned into Holly’s brain: Cassie’s hands fisted in his dark hair. Their lips and bodies locked together. The black ink of the headline: A New Love for Cassie.

  Shannon said something. Holly didn’t hear. Her mom spoke; Holly nodded vaguely, then went up to her room. Shannon started to follow, but her mom stopped her. Good. Holly felt as if she was walking in some strange landscape, without sound or emotion. She kept waiting for Ryan’s betrayal to hurt, but all she could think was that she should’ve expected this.

  Ryan was going to be a superstar. Why would he date her, moderately pretty Holly Beecher, whose only claim to fame was being born Joseph Beecher’s daughter?

  Cassie Burns was California blonde, beautiful, and sexy. Not to mention mega-talented. She and Ryan fit together in a way that he and Holly never could.

  Her phone played a few bars of “Under the Sea” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Ryan’s special ringtone.

  The music broke the vacuum seal on her emotions. She gasped as if knives had been driven through her heart.

  No doubt Ryan was calling to apologize for not breaking up with her before the photos came out.

  “I’m sorry, Holly,” he’d say, “I didn’t mean to fall in love with Cassie. It just happened.”

  She shut the phone off.

  …

  By the end of the day, Holly had eleven missed calls from Ryan and four unread texts. She started to delete them, but the word “PBLCTY” caught her eye. Heart hammering, she read it.

  PBLCTY STUNT frm Cassie PR. NOT APPROVD. Movie pic. pls tlk. Ryan.

  A wild rush of relief weakened Holly’s knees. A publicity stunt. She should have considered that possibility. Heaven knew her dad’s name had been linked with a number of actresses he’d never actually dated to promote an upcoming film. With shaking fingers, Holly scrolled down to Ryan’s number, then
stopped.

  Against her will, she remembered the time during her dad’s second marriage that he’d been photographed with his head close to an actress other than his wife. He’d insisted they’d just been discussing a movie deal in a noisy restaurant, but two weeks later he’d been caught kissing the same woman. She’d become wife number three.

  Holly screwed her eyes shut. Ryan wasn’t her dad or Cody. He wouldn’t lie to her, but… She wanted to believe him so badly that she didn’t trust her own judgment.

  Holly hunted through the recycling box until she found the tabloid. In the photo, both Cassie’s and Ryan’s eyes were closed, their bodies entwined. The kiss looked passionate, but so did a lot of screen kisses.

  As hard as she peered at it, Holly couldn’t determine where the photo was taken. The short article with the photo quoted sources close to Cassie as saying, “This could be love,” but there were no actual quotes from Cassie or Ryan.

  Holly bit her lip, debating what to do. Maybe—

  Her cell phone went off in her hands, startling her so much she dropped it. It played “Under the Sea.” Her heart swelling with longing, she punched talk. “Hello?”

  “Holly?” Ryan sounded urgent. “Listen to me.”

  The sound of his voice reassured her. Ryan was the guy who wouldn’t even cheat to get an extension on an overdue paper; he would never lie to her. “I’m here. I—” Got your message, she started to say, but Ryan spoke over her.

  “The story was a mistake. Somebody on Cassie’s PR staff thought it would be a good idea to create some publicity for the movie, but they didn’t clear it with me. You have to believe me.”

  He was using his siren voice. On her.

  Like flipping a switch, all her burgeoning happiness turned to horror. She tasted bile.

  Holly found herself on her feet, trembling in every limb. “Believe you?” she choked out. “I have to believe you?”

  Silence.

  “How dare you Voice me to make me believe your lies?” The fact that he could break his own rule so easily told Holly how much he’d changed in seven months. He was backsliding, becoming Cody.