by Marion Myles
“Awesome?” he finished Marisa’s sentence for her then grabbed her from behind and kissed her neck.
A knock sounded on the door. “Hey, Cindy. There’s a guy here from Rolling Stone for Liam.”
Cindy popped up from the table and let him in. “Thanks, Marty. Hi, I’m Cindy,” she said to the man as he entered.
“Jerome Williams. Nice to meet you.”
“This is Rebecca. She also works for Liam. Marisa Flare, a friend. And this is Liam. I thought I’d set you up in the sitting area.” She maneuvered through the space, picked up the remote, and turned the TV off. “Can I get you anything?”
“Just water, thanks. Hi, everyone.” He stuck out his hand to Liam. “Wonderful to meet you. I appreciate you giving me the time.”
Liam shook his hand and gestured for Jerome to sit. “Absolutely. I love your magazine. You don’t mind the robe, do you? I’m in the middle of shooting, and we still have a couple of hours to do on this scene.”
“I like the bruises,” Jerome said, putting a black digital recorder on the table. “It’s okay if I record our interview?”
“No problem. Cindy?” He glanced over at her before taking the chair under the flat screen.
Cindy was already rooting through her backpack. She came out with another recorder very similar to Jerome’s, except this one had a light blue stripe along the side.
“We make it a policy to tape all interviews,” she said. “That way everyone’s on the same page, and it’s less likely any liberties will be taken in the final product.”
“Sensible,” Jerome said. He produced a notebook from the pocket of his jacket and settled back into the couch, took the top off his pen and wrote something down. “Okay. Let me start with this. Why did you decide to split your career between music and acting?”
Back in the kitchen area, Marisa opened and closed cupboards. “There’s really no wine?” she asked. “I don’t mind if it’s warm.”
“No wine. Sorry,” Rebecca said before turning her attention back to the interview.
“I guess I’ll have a Smart Water,” Marisa said.
Cindy stepped into the kitchen, took another bottle of water from the fridge and brought it back out to Jerome. He smiled his thanks and continued scribbling notes in the book on his lap. Liam barely noticed when Cindy put a plate of heated food down on the table in front of him. He was talking animatedly, his hands gesturing and his body twitching about in the chair.
“Is Liam always like this when he’s being interviewed?” she asked Cindy. “Why’s he talking so fast?”
Marisa slid onto the counter, crossing one leg over the other. She swung it back and forth. “It’s probably the cocaine,” she said.
Chapter Nine
Rebecca spun around and lasered in on Marisa. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She lowered her voice. “Please tell me Liam didn’t do drugs.”
“We both did. I had some Oxy too. It makes the sex so much better. Hotter, you know?” She smiled as if this should be obvious and took a sip of water.
Cindy rubbed Rebecca’s shoulder. “Take it easy. He’ll be fine.”
“He doesn’t seem fine. He looks like he’s going to pop right out of his skin. This is all my fault. I never should have left him alone. An addict can’t be trusted.”
“Chillax,” Marisa said. “He’s not an addict. He only did a few lines of blow. I’ve seen him do that and more plenty of times.”
“Exactly,” Rebecca said. “Doing drugs is the definition of being an addict.”
“That can’t be right.” Marisa cocked her head to the side. “I do drugs all the time, and I’m not addicted. I can stop when I want.”
When Rebecca took in a deep breath, ready to launch at Marisa, Cindy took her arm. “Okay. Stand down. The interview will take a while. Why don’t you go for a walk or something? I’ll keep an eye on things here.”
Nodding, Rebecca exhaled. “Maybe that’s a good idea. You have my cell, right? Just text if I’m needed.”
Rebecca walked along the row of trailers until she reached the road. Traffic was sparse since the only people allowed in the area were local residents or cast and crew. She wondered idly how much the production company had to pay in order to make something like this happen.
If she had a house in the area, she’d charge a hefty price because…talk about an inconvenience. That was the thing, though, wasn’t it? When you have money to throw around, so many obstacles and problems just melt away. She wished she could pay Marisa to go away.
An idea sparked, and she pulled her phone from her back pocket. She couldn’t remember where Jack Miller was this week. Australia maybe? Shoot, what was the time difference to Australia? Hesitating another moment, she finally shook her head. Whatever time it was with Jack, she could at least leave a message.
He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, Rebecca. What’s up?”
“I didn’t wake you, I hope.”
“Nope. Almost lunch time here. Please tell me you’ve decided to go on tour with Liam.”
“Sorry, but that’s not it. Marisa Flare showed up on set a few hours ago. She and Liam have been…reuniting, and he’s already back doing drugs. She doesn’t seem to understand the problem. Is there any way to get her out of here?”
“Marisa, huh? Sweet girl. Not much going on upstairs.”
“Yeah. She told me there’s no way she and Liam are addicts. The fact they’re doing drugs isn’t a big deal because they can stop anytime.”
Jack sighed. “Okay. Lemme think about it. We can’t kick Marisa out, but maybe if I reach out to her agent, we can see about getting her another job right away. That might work.”
“Please, yes. I don’t think I’ll be able to control him while she’s around. We’re almost done shooting today, so at least there’s that, but God help me keeping him in decent shape for the rest of the time.”
“Do what you can on your end, and I’ll work the problem from here. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Back at the trailer, Jerome was sitting on the edge of Liam’s bed while Liam continued answering questions from the change area. Marisa, back in her jeans and blouse, sat on the couch flicking channels.
“How’s it going?” Rebecca whispered to Cindy who was at the other end of the trailer loading things into her backpack.
“Okay. He’s still pretty juiced, but I think it’s gonna be fine. They called us back to set.”
“That’s good. At least he can’t take anything while he’s shooting.”
“You feeling better?”
“Some. I talked to Jack. He’s going to try and get Marisa out of here. I’m really hoping for tomorrow.”
“That’s great.” Cindy zipped the bag closed and walked over to the door. “Liam, we’ve got to go.”
“Right here,” Liam said, coming through from the bedroom. “Jerome has some time, so he’s going to come along, too. Ready Marisa?”
She looked up vaguely from the TV. “I’m gonna stay for a while. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
“Sure. Whatever you want.” Reaching out a hand to her, he smiled seductively. “Don’t I get a kiss goodbye?”
Snapping her eyes away from the sitcom, she flicked her hair back over her shoulder and patted the cushion beside her. “Why don’t you come here and get it.”
Within seconds, they were all over one another like teenagers at a drive-in. Rebecca saw Jerome standing there taking it all in. She cleared her throat.
“Careful of the makeup, guys. Roz will freak out if she has to redo Liam’s face.”
“We’re going to be late,” Cindy said.
“Okay. Okay.” Liam sounded breathless. “I’m going.”
Placing his fingers under Marisa’s chin, he lifted her face to his and kissed her again. “Bye, baby doll.”
Marisa clung to him when he started to push up—then Rebecca’s sharp eye saw her slip something into his back pocket. Since there was a reporter from Rolling Stone ready to wi
tness the scene, she bided her time. The four of them climbed onto the golf cart with Cindy behind the wheel and zoomed off to the set. Liam checked in with the first AD, and when he came back, he flashed Rebecca a smile.
“I could go for one of my Cokes,” he said, lifting his eyebrows and nodding his head to convey the meaning more clearly.
“Sure. No problem. Actually, would you mind walking over with me? I need to ask you something.”
His eyes shifted away, and he shuffled back a few steps. “I don’t want to leave our guest alone. That would be rude.”
Cindy, quickly picking up on what was going on, turned to Jerome. “I’ll bet you’re hungry. Why don’t I take you to catering? I could do with a little boost myself.”
Jerome stepped down from his chair. “Actually, that would be great. I missed lunch.”
“Okay then.” She smiled up at Jerome as they walked away.
When Rebecca turned, Liam was also walking away toward the row of golf carts. “Hey, Liam. Hang on.”
He didn’t look back. Rather, his pace quickened, but she was no slouch on her feet. She sprinted toward him and caught up before he had a chance to climb behind the wheel.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded, holding onto his arm with all her might. He struggled, attempting to shake her off, but she held firm. “Liam, stop. This is stupid.”
“I need to go to the bathroom,” he said in frustration.
“I thought you wanted a drink?”
“Yes. That would be great. You mix it up, and I’ll be back from the john before you know it.”
“Okay.” She nodded and released his arm. “Sure. But first I just wanted to say I’m so proud of you. These last few weeks you’ve been doing a great job. Really getting yourself under control. I knew you could do it.”
He actually had the nerve to unabashedly meet her eye. His smile was sweet, and he bowed his head as though humbled. “Thanks, Rebecca. That means a lot.”
“Aw, come here.”
Stepping up to him, she pressed herself against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. After the briefest pause, he completed the hug, pulling her close and resting his cheek against the top of her head. Quick as a snake, her left hand shot down and carefully removed the item from his back pocket.
They pulled apart, and he smiled down at her again. Without thinking, not even realizing she was going to do it, her right hand slapped across his cheek.
He reared back, hand to his face and mutiny in his eyes. “Hey. You started the hug. I never would’ve touched you otherwise. You can’t make this into some kind of sexual harassment thing.”
She growled and held up the bag of pills. “I slapped you because of the drugs, you doofus. And for snorting cocaine back in the trailer. And for thinking I’d be stupid enough not to notice and just go on merrily handing you drinks for the rest of the day. I’m so mad at you right now.”
His arm thudded back down to his side, and his eyes slid away from her face. “I knew you’d blow this out of proportion. I’m just having some fun. I’ve been working hard like you said, and this is my reward.”
“No way, Jose. In case you haven’t noticed, you’re still working. For seven more days. You can do whatever you want after the movie has wrapped. It won’t be my problem anymore.”
Shaking his head, he crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re such a pain in the ass. Nobody’s getting hurt here. If you’re not having a good time, no one is, right? I’m glad we only have seven more days because right now, looking at your stupid smug face, you make me sick.”
Rebecca steeled herself against his words, refusing to let him know he’d scored a point. “Don’t care. If you have to go to the bathroom, you’d better hurry up ’cause I think they’re about to start.” She turned and took a step toward the chairs.
“Oh,” she called out over her shoulder. “About the drink. You’re cut off for the rest of the day.”
And the rest of the day turned out to be a long time. Marisa joined them after the first hour with her smoking and her non-stop vapid chatter. Jerome hung in there until almost six, subtly pumping all three of them for information about Liam.
When he found Cindy and Rebecca polite but closed-lipped, he turned his charm on Marisa who was happy to natter on about all the things she and Liam did on dates, the people they hung out with, and how much she loved Liam. Jerome lapped it up.
A streak of protectiveness ran through Rebecca, and she contemplated shutting Marisa down, but then she thought of everything that had happened today, including the stupid, smug face comment, and she sat back and enjoyed the show.
Eventually, Jerome judged he had more than enough for his article and said his goodbyes. Marisa, obviously no longer enthralled with the magical aspect of watching Liam do take after take of the same sequence, announced she would wait back at the trailer and flounced away leaving a cloud of smoke lingering around Rebecca and Cindy.
Rebecca sat back in her chair and waved her hands in front of her face to dissipate the smoke. “I don’t know how the director isn’t strangling Liam. He’s all over the map. They’re never going to match this acting to what he did earlier today.”
“Yeah, well. It is what it is. I just want to go home.”
“I’m betting blabber-mouth Barbie will be coming with us.”
Cindy snorted out a laugh. “She is a talker. Speaking of, how’d things go with Liam?”
“Apparently I’m nothing but a mean old biddy, and he’s a sweet boy who only wanted to have a little fun. He told me my face was stupid and smug and that I make him sick.”
“Isn’t that special,” Cindy said in a voice thickened with a fake Southern accent.
Rebecca shrugged. “I know. Who cares, right? I’ve had way worse said to me in the ER, but it still stung a little.”
Cindy wrapped her arm around Rebecca’s shoulders. “I’m sorry. It hasn’t happened a lot, but here and there, Liam has said some not so nice things to me, too.”
It was after eight when the director finally shut filming down for the day. Rebecca and Cindy then had to endure a forty-five-minute car ride back to the house with Liam and Marisa pawing at one another. When Larry finally held the door open so she could clamber down in front of the Hollywood Hills house, Rebecca’s whole body felt like a tightened coil, ready to spring on the most unsuspecting subject.
“Come on, stud, I’ll race you to the shower,” Marisa cooed, pulling Liam toward the front door.
Rebecca stopped directly inside, blocking their path. “Go ahead, Marisa. I need a word with Liam.”
After a long, lingering, and downright dirty kiss carried out right in front of Rebecca’s face, Marisa sauntered by, her platform shoes clicking on the tiles of the foyer.
“You’re not going to slap me again?” Liam said, pretending to block a blow.
“No, I’m going to ask you, beg you, not to do any more drugs. Marisa can do what she wants—but please, Liam—we’ve almost got this in the can. It’s only six more days now. Can’t you just wait?”
He tipped his head and ran his fingers back and forth through his hair. Roz had been layering product in it all day long, and it now stuck up all over his head in stiff, spiky tufts. “You should be the actor. You’re so dramatic. Why are you riding me so hard? I can stay in control of the situation.”
Rebecca backed away, raising both hands in front of her chest, palms out. “Okay. You don’t want my help. You say you’re in control. Fine. Go and do whatever it is you and Marisa are going to do tonight. But you damn well better be up and fully functioning tomorrow. We have an early call. Cindy said it’s six a.m., so we’ll be leaving right around five.”
“This is a jealousy thing, right? You don’t like that I’m with Marisa.”
She let out a frustrated yowl. “Oh my God. Get over yourself. All I’m doing is trying to keep you alive. Shoot me for caring.”
“See, you do care.” He grinned at her. “I’m going up to my room n
ow. See you in the morning, Ma Hen.”
Realizing the door was still open, Rebecca slammed it shut and leaned her forehead against it.
“You did what you could.” Cindy’s voice came from behind her. “You can’t force an addict to quit. They have to want to.”
“I know that,” she said, turning to face Cindy. “But he was so good these last ten days. I thought he was starting to want it.”
“Not tonight, he doesn’t. Come on, Simon will have food ready for us. Then I’m going to take a shower to end all showers.”
“Can you tell Simon I’m sorry, but I’m not hungry anymore? I think I’m going straight up. Get an early night.”
“Okay. I’ll tell him. Good night, Rebecca. Try not to think about it, okay?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Chapter Ten
It was just shy of four a.m. when Cindy shook Rebecca.
“We have a problem with Liam. He won’t get up. Says he wants to call in sick.”
Rebecca blinked and rubbed her eyes. “But…he has to go. Jack said he can’t miss another day of filming.”
“Exactly. Please, can you help?”
“Okay.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Give me two minutes.”
The lights were on in the master suite when Rebecca walked in and skirted around the end of the bed to where Liam lay curled on his side. Cindy, who knelt on the ground next to him, shook her head.
Rebecca pulled back the duvet and stared for one shocked second when she realized he was naked. He didn’t open his eyes. She nudged his shoulder and leaned down to speak directly into his ear.
“Time for work. Up you get now.”
There was no response. She grabbed his hand and tugged hard. His upper body jerked while his head lolled back. Letting go of his hand, she put two fingers on his carotid artery to check for a pulse. Slow but steady. Pulling back his right eyelid, she saw the pupil constrict on cue. She stood watching his chest and was relieved to see it rise and fall.
“Okay. He doesn’t appear to be overdosing, which is good, but I can’t imagine he’ll be able to work today.”
