Seeing their car pulling into my drive was like taking a breath of fresh air in a stagnant world.
“Hey, guys!” Jenson gave me a nod, but didn’t say hello like usual. As he passed me, I couldn’t help but notice the bruise under his eye.
“Don’t ask,” Alessandra huffed, and grabbed her bag, which I took from her and carried into the house.
“Fight?” I couldn’t not ask. This was a big deal, if it was. She took a deep breath and went straight for my liquor cabinet.
“Yep. Some kid at the beach that goes to Jenson’s school made some comment, and Jenson punched him. Thank God it didn’t happen at school; he would have probably been suspended. This was just on the beach, so they were pulled apart, and he came home.” She grabbed the tequila and took a long sip. Shit. That wasn’t good.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, feeling like hell that this was happening because of her relationship with me.
“I know. It’ll blow over one day. Jenson is still good with us, that is all that matters to me.” I heard her words, but it didn’t stop that nagging feeling.
After she got buzzed, and her worries disappeared for a night, she was smiling and laughing again. I missed her. This Alessandra had been buried beneath the stressed mother that had a life to protect. Jenson was acting normal again, too. We surfed, and had dinner together. I talked about how I was going to appear in a few panels at the big Comic-Con convention at the end of this month, and told him that I would get him and Alessandra some passes. He was nothing but grins after that.
When Alessandra crashed in my bed from the alcohol, I sat there looking at her with a heavy heart.
Maybe I was being selfish, wanting a life with them, all while dragging their family through the mud.
I knew it was going to blow over, but at what cost will it take to get there?
Jenson getting in more fights? He was thirteen, hormones and everything else going on was hard enough.
Her job? I hoped it didn’t have any effect on that. Lisa liked her, and said she would always recommend her. She didn’t have a contract with a particular studio. I’d hoped with this past movie under her belt that she would land a studio gig, but she hadn’t heard anything yet. Leighton said he’d talk to them about it, since he agreed she did a good job.
I felt like I was destroying them.
Feeling the need to breathe some air, I left her sleeping peacefully in my bed, and walked outside. I dialed the only person I knew would answer at this hour.
“Hey,” Killian answered, on the third ring.
“This shit sucks.”
“Care to be more specific?”
“I’m destroying their lives.” I heard him huff at my statement.
“A little dramatic.”
“They can’t go anywhere without trouble. Jenson got in a fight over gossip about him and his mom. Alessandra headed straight for the tequila bottle when she got here.” My head fell in my hands as I sat on the chair by the unlit fire pit.
“You’ve been through it before; this time you just care more.”
Well, he was right about that. I had cared about past girlfriends, but not this way. I would have never contemplated letting them go so they could be happier without me.
“I’m thinking of ending it, so they don’t have to deal with it anymore.” As soon as the words came out, I hated it. I didn’t want to do that.
“We both know I’m not the best at this shit. I gave Livia space and time. I took her to the airport myself. But in the end, we were all that mattered. The space was needed on her end, and when she came back it was like the time apart never happened.”
I was with him after he let her go. He fell to shit, but still managed to live as best as he could, which wasn’t much. She had her space to figure out her life and then she came back to him. Now they were getting married.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Wish I had the answer. You’ve always been there for me. If I can help, I’ll try.”
There was silence between us, because there was no advice to be given on his end, and I didn’t have any answers. He was just being there for me, if I needed it.
“I’m gonna talk to her.”
“Good plan.”
It was the only plan I had. Alessandra and I needed to talk it out like adults.
Killian and I hung up the phone, and I went to the water and stuck my toes in the waves, thinking about what I was going to say to my sleeping beauty when she woke up.
I didn’t go to sleep that night. Instead I walked the beach. When the sun barely started to light up the sky I decided to continue walking to the little convenience store to pick up some fresh bananas for my signature banana pancakes.
Alessandra and Jenson both loved them, and I was happy to make them breakfast.
While I was looking over the bunches of bananas, a woman approached me.
“Hey, you’re Joel Kline, right?” I smiled, giving her the official Joel Kline smile.
“Yep. How are you doing?” I held my hand out, and she shook it.
“I’m doing great. I’m sorry to bother you at the store, but I don’t think I’ll get another chance to do this.” She was blonde, pretty toned, with green eyes, and most likely in her late thirties. She was wearing scrubs.
“What can I do for you?” I was polite.
“I work at All Children’s Hospital.”
She went on to tell me about this big fundraiser they were doing and trying to raise money to help families who needed a little extra assistance when paying for medical bills and lodging. The whole fundraiser was going to be a carnival, and some of the kids could go and participate, but some wouldn’t be able to leave their rooms. She wanted to know if I would be interested in dressing up and entertaining the kids that couldn’t be around crowds or go outside. I asked for her card and told her I’d call,then walked her to her car. It sounded like an exhausting day, but totally worth it.
By the time I made it back to the house, Alessandra and Jenson were up already.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Alessandra
“Hello, honey, I’m home!” Joel’s voice echoed through the house to the kitchen table where I was having coffee, and Joel was eating some yogurt he found in the fridge.
I wasn’t sure if he had even come to bed last night; he wasn’t there when I woke up in the middle of the night to pee, and he wasn’t there when I woke up this morning. I was used to not waking up with him, but he was usually making breakfast or working out.
“I got bananas for pancakes.” He set them down on the counter and leaned down to kiss me, earning a snicker from Jenson at Joel’s display.
“Awesome!” I exclaimed once he pulled back.
He got to work on them, and I enjoyed my coffee while watching him cook. It was the little things.
Yesterday was not a good day for my sanity. Everything was getting to me, and I needed to drink it out. Which I did. Not that I was wasted, but I was buzzed enough not to care for a few hours.
This morning I was a little better.
We ate our breakfast and then Joel had to disappear into his office to make some phone calls. I went upstairs to get dressed for the day. Maybe we could go for a drive or something fun.
I got dressed and then decided to check and see what else was being spread about us on the internet. I wanted to be prepared if anyone said anything to Jenson. Hopefully I could diffuse the situation before it started.
Then I saw all these pictures of Joel hugging a blonde, by a car that wasn’t his. It was from this morning. Early this morning.
I tried to remain calm, there had to be more to this story, but I could feel a little red haze start to cloud my thoughts.
“Give him a chance to explain.” I told myself, really trying not to lose my shit right now. I marched into his office just as he was hanging up the phone.
“Lips.” He held out his hands for me to come sit in his lap. I did and waited for him to tell me about the blonde.
&
nbsp; “I wanted to talk to you about something.” His face looked stressed. My stomach started twisting in knots. I stayed quiet and waited for him to explain.
“I’m worried about you and Jenson, with all this shit going on. I know it’ll all blow away soon, but I wanted to see if you needed anything from me. Maybe we need to lay low for a little while, until things calm down.”
Are you fucking kidding me? I jumped up from his lap and my head popped.
A small part of me knew I was about to overreact, but I was past the point of no return. My blood was on fire, and with all the stress, and Alex’s words still ringing in my head, I felt nothing but rage.
“You’re breaking up with me?” The look on his face was one of surprise.
“No, I was thinking maybe we should just lay low, and everyone would leave us alone.” He stood up and tried to approach me.
“No, I get it. Loud and clear. When were you going to tell me about your little tromp this morning, huh?” His head tilted to the side at my question.
“I’ve been beating myself up over how shitty things have been for you and Jenson, so I took a walk and went to the store. Jesus, Alessandra, put the loco back in the box.”
And I lost it, grabbing the closest thing to me and throwing it at him. He wanted loco? He was going to get it. Full Brazilian bitch, coming his way.
“What about the fucking blonde that is all over the internet with you? When you should have been in bed with me, you were out with someone else!” I screamed and threw something else. God, Alex was right, how fucking blind was I? I thought we could do it, could handle the madness because we loved each other. But it was all just an act.
“Fuck me.” He ran his fingers down his face, and I took that as an admission. Turning around as quickly as I could, I yelled for Jenson to get his shit and meet me at the car. He knew my tone and did as asked, quickly.
“Seriously, Alessandra, whatever you saw is not what you think.” He chased me and then grabbed my arm.
“Don’t fucking touch me. God, I knew it. I should have never trusted an actor again.” I grabbed anything of mine that wasn’t in my bag and shoved it in, heading down the stairs with Joel on my heels. He didn’t let me get close to the door before gripping me and pushing my body back against the wall.
“You think I’ve been acting with you this whole time? I could have had your mouth on my dick back in the trailer when you threw yourself at me a while ago. We are real, and that shit you think you know is not what it is. Just calm your tits, and let me explain.
“‘Better Together,’ Jack Johnson,” he growled and kissed me hard. I pushed him back, not willing to let him seduce me out of this. I was done.
“You want a theme song for how I feel this moment? ‘Take a Bow,’ Rihanna. Now let me leave. I don’t wanna be here right now.” The look on his face was like I smacked him. What a fine actor he was.
I opened the door, and Jenson was there waiting for me with the keys in the ignition. He asked if I needed anything, and I told him loud music. So together we listened to loud music, and he would put his hand over mine on the gear shift to comfort me. He didn’t ask a single question.
The curtain had fallen over the Alessandra and Joel show, just like Alex said it would. Actors can’t be trusted. Joel wanted space apart from me and now he had it. He could be with whoever he wanted, and I had a date with Jack tonight after Jenson went to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Joel
Jacob and Bella?
Jack and Rose?
Rick and Ilsa?
Joel and Alessandra?
What all do they have in common? Epic-failed couples.
I thought I was doing the right thing, suggesting that we lay low, but with everything that had been churning in her head, then seeing pictures of me and that nurse, it had broken the cuckoo from the clock. She wouldn’t even let me explain. Those walls that I fought so hard to knock down just shot back up and created a fortress.
I thought about how horribly wrong everything turned while floating in my pool on a unicorn tube. It was a joke from my sister, but it had a spot for my vodka bottle so in the pool we went.
Did Alessandra ever truly let me in? I thought so. Maybe I was wrong.
I woke up the next morning face down on my couch, feeling like shit both physically and mentally. I grabbed my phone and saw a bunch of texts I didn’t remember sending.
We need to talk. -Joel
Alessandra, get your sexy ass back to my house. -Joel
That ass is going to be so fucking pink for this shit. -Joel
Just kidding. -Joel
Maybe. -Joel
Please just let me explain. Call me. -Joel
Ims gonnnn caleeeeeeeee tommmmmm. . . . .. I lerv u. -Joel
Obviously that last one I was too drunk or on my way out of consciousness to really text.
She still hadn’t called or texted me back, and it was killing me. She thought I cheated, and hadn’t been real with her. My only thought was, whatever screwed with her head our last day in Kauai really messed her up, even if she didn’t want to admit it. Alessandra was so strong. I knew she and Jenson could have outlasted the paparazzi crap. Something had to have been stirring the pot and seeing those pictures just confirmed the worst in her head. Her fears got to her.
I rolled off the couch, needing to take a piss, and try to be human for the day.
As soon as I showered and forced myself to eat, I kept thinking of all the times I called her crazy and laughed about the type of woman she was. She’d never really proved it until yesterday, and it didn’t lessen my love for her. I still loved her so much I could barely breathe without her.
I had officially spooned the lioness and gotten bit.
One thing that mattered now was how I reacted. She didn’t want anything to do with me in her head. So where did that leave me?
In the same place I was before our date. Annoying the shit out of her until those walls broke, and she falls in love with me again. I’d wait forever. I really didn’t care as long as the outcome was her back in my arms.
My phone lit up and “Love on the Brain,” by Rihanna came on. It was Alessandra’s song! She was calling me!
I answered as soon as I could reach the phone.
“Alessandra,” I sighed in relief, elated that she was calling me.
“I can’t fucking believe you. You orchestrated this whole thing! Me in your life. God!” She was not just fuming, she was lit up with an IV of gasoline in her veins. Shit, what now?
“Explain.”
“I got a call from the studio today about a contract with them, and they couldn’t talk enough about how you talked them into hiring me in the first place, and how that was such a brilliant idea. How the fuck did you know who I was in order to get me that job? What did you do?”
Shit on a stick. This was something I knew could come back and bite me in the ass. I prayed it wouldn’t, but of course life was like “fuck you, Joel.”
“I had to see you again. I knew you were different.” I sighed, with hopelessness in my breath.
“You had to see me again. So you somehow figured out who I was from the bar, and got me a job so I would be forced to be around you. Right?” When she put it like that, it sounded bad. Couldn’t we think of it on a more romantic level? I went to difficult lengths to show the woman I cared about her and could be trusted. Apparently not.
“Right.” Today was not going well at all.
“Goodbye, Joel.” She hung up, and it was like a stab to my chest. One minute ago I was feeling good about winning back my fair maiden’s heart, and now I was back to square one. No, I was further back than that. I was in the negatives. She really wouldn’t want anything to do with me now that she found out I was behind getting her the job on the set.
“I can still win her back.” I knocked my head against my table over and over, trying to drill the statement in.
The rest of the day was spent eating pizza and watching movies, hoping
to find a trick that would work on winning Alessandra.
On my list so far:
One, humiliate yourself while singing to her, getting the marching band involved, proving you are an asshole, but will sacrifice your pride for her;
Two, take her out of the corner and dance the night away;
Three, get her a big library, because bitches love big libraries;
Four, get a bigger boat;
Five, ride up to her apartment in a white limo with roses and an umbrella, and rescue her.
There were many more after my ten-hour movie spree, but I thought those were the best. Ultimately it seemed humiliating myself would be the way to go. But that was a toughie. There would need to be some groundwork put in first; I just had to figure out where to start.
Back to the drawing board.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Alessandra
“Holy shit!” Jenson cursed from the living room, holding up two laminated cards in his hands.
“Mouth!” This kid. I walked over to look at them and saw Comic-Con passes for the whole week.
Joel.
“Can we go?” He looked at me with stars in his eyes.
I wanted to say no, because the chances of running into Joel was high and I couldn’t promise that I wouldn’t maim him in some way. I was running on high fury when it came to him, after finding out about him playing stalker after the bar incident to get me the job. I wasn’t hired because of my skill as a makeup artist; I was hired because he wanted me to be there. They trusted him and then just happened to like my work, after the fact.
“Fine,” I told Jenson, and he ran off to his room so he could tell all his friends that he was going to the highly sought-after convention.
I plopped on the couch and listened to his happiness at having those passes in his possession. Jenson’s happiness is what matters. I’d be happy another time.
Although he wasn’t happy seeing me unhappy, and he thought I should talk to Joel—which I wasn’t going to do—he dropped it, and was hanging closer to me, more than normal. I guessed he was either trying to comfort me or making sure I didn’t curl up in a ball in the apartment.
How You Get The Girl (Theme Song Book 2) Page 13
