Lean Into It
Forgot to put my disclaimer in Chapter 1 ... I don't own anything (though if anyone wants to buy me my very own Deacon Clayborne, I'll take it!)
Also, I name check a few real life celebs in this chapter. No harm is intended ... Its Grammy week, so I had to do it! What's an award show without famous people! :)
No summary, just a request: Please don't throw things at me when you finish the chapter. Just trust me. Also, reviews are awesome!
"I think they all look nice," Avery said as Juliette stood in front of the large mirror at her stylists studio in a Los Angeles high rise, wearing a short silver gown by a designer Avery claimed he couldn't pronounce.
She turned to look at him, slightly pale after fighting a severe respiratory infection for the past week. "It's the Grammy's, Avery. I can't just look nice. I have to make a statement. At the very least I don't want to wind up on the worst dressed lists."
"Well, would it help if I said you looked hot in all of them?" he asked, blue eyes grazing down her body not-so-subtly.
She smiled at him from across the room. In the two weeks following their conversation on the bus, they had become inseparable. They would spend the hours on the bus talking about the future, making love, basically enjoying as much domestic bliss as two twenty somethings can have on a traveling tour bus. Neither one of them had ever felt so comfortable, so at home with anyone else. Juliette had never been happier. It seemed as though, for once in her Lifetime-movie-of-the-week life, things were going right. "You always know the right thing to say."
Moments later, Juliette's stylist Olga breezed back into the room, black stiletto boots clicking against the white marble floor. "The purple Marchesa gown is out. I just heard that Beyonce is wearing it. Also, Nicole Kidman is wearing a dress from the same Balenciaga collection as the grey gown you tried on and it's really similar, so you'll need to decide if you want to deal with the comparisons."
Juliette shook her head. "Yeah, I want to wear a dress similar to a six-foot-tall fashion icon at the same award show," she said sarcastically. "So what does that leave us with?"
"The green Elie Saab, the red Chanel or the black Dior," came the response from the other side of one of the numerous racks that filled the room.
Juliette turned to Avery. "I like them all. You pick. Green, red or black?"
"Uh ..." Her boyfriend looked distinctly uncomfortable being put in this position. "I like the green the best."
"Green Elie Saab it is," she said, turning back to Olga. "Make sure no one else decides to wear that at the last minute. I'm still set on the white Armani for the performance, right?"
Once all the alterations were set and the gowns had been put on reserve, Juliette and Avery headed over to the Staples Center for rehearsal. The driver pulled up to the backstage entrance and Avery got out of the SUV first and turned to help Juliette down. Their relationship was still under the radar and they intended to keep it that way as long as possible, so they relished the slight contact as he unceremoniously took her hand to help her down. As she did, the room began to spin slightly and her knees gave way slightly. Avery was the only one who noticed, but he moved his arm around her back to keep her stable.
"Are you okay?" he whispered in her ears as he supported her weight. Concern was written all over his face.
She regained her balance as she nodded. "I'm fine. It's just the antibiotics the doctor has me on. Its happened before. Really. I'm good." She gave him a pointed look and he released her from his grip. They walked side by side to the stage, where they met Glenn and one of the Grammy producers, John. Justin Timberlake was on stage, rehearsing his performance, surrounded by dancers.
John turned and greeted Juliette with a familiar hug. "Sorry about the delay. That's what happens with these big production numbers. You are saving my ass by keeping it acoustic this year, Jules."
"Well, I do what I can to make your life easier." She smiled charmingly at him and turned to introduce Avery as her co-writer/guitar player. As the introduction ended, Justin left the stage, pausing momentarily to greet Juliette with a hug, whispering in her ear to stay strong and to not let the tabloids get to her. Then he and his twenty dancers disappeared. A quick set change and Juliette was center stage standing a a mic, Avery sitting on a stool behind her, playing the opening chords to "Dreams." The rehearsal went perfectly, despite Juliette fighting off the dizziness that suddenly threatened to take her down. She won the battle though, making it through with no one the wiser. Almost no one.
"You need to go back to the doctor," Avery whispered as they descended the stairs. "You looked like you were about to pass out."
"Quiet," she mumbled as they approached Glenn and the producer again. "How was it?"
"Fantastic!" John said. "People are going to be talking about you the next day. It will be a highlight for sure. What a comeback from the whole Wentworth thing only a month ago!"
Juliette blanched a little bit at the backhanded compliment. "Well ... Thanks." Rehearsals then moved on to the next artist and Juliette, Avery and Glenn headed back to the exit.
"You should go back to the hotel and take a nap. You don't look good," Glenn said. Juliette ignored the pointed "See" that Avery said under his breath as they approached the SUV. He grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open.
"I am fine. But yes, I am going back to the hotel. If I take a nap, great. If not, I'm still fine," she fired back as she got up into the backseat. "What time is the Clive Davis party?"
"Be ready by 8," Glenn responded. He pulled Avery back before he could get in beside his girlfriend. "Seriously, she doesn't look good. Do what you can to make sure she takes a nap and eats something. Keep an eye on her. Emily is meeting you guys there." He nodded then got in to find Juliette with her eyes closed, leaning against the oppostie window. He could tell by the pattern of her breathing that she was way ahead of them on the nap thing. He just hoped she wasn't getting too sick.
He gently shook her as they pulled up to the hotel and followed her up to their suite. Juliette's assistant was waiting as promised, and she took one look at Juliette and knew something was off. "Oh my God?! Are you okay?"
Juliette lost it. "Will you people stop asking me that! I am fine. I am just tired and there is ... absolutely nothing wrong with me," she shouted with very little conviction. She tossed her purse on the couch and moved down the long hallway to her bedroom. She burst into tears as soon as she curled up on the bed. She hadn't felt this bad since Avery broke her heart. But this was a different kind of bad. She felt physically ill. And then ... she remembered the words of the Grammy producer. The Wentworth scandal had gone public a month ago, almost to the day.
Her heart sunk down into her stomach and more tears came.
Avery had left Emily to watch over Juliette for a while, so that he could go out and run an errand. He returned two hours later, a bouquet of yellow daisies and a box of her favorite chocolates in his hands. It wasn't much, but he hoped it would make her feel better.
He found the assistant sitting on the couch, working on an ipad. The sound of the door closing made her head pop up and she turned to look at him.
"Hey, Avery."
"How is she?"
"She was asleep a while ago. I think she probably still is. She hasn't been out or made a peep since before you left."
He nodded. "I'm just going to go check on her." He turned toward the bedroom still worried about Juliette.
He quietly opened the door, but didn't find her in the bed. He saw the light on in the bathroom. Placing the flowers and chocolate down on the comforter, he slowly peeked his head into the bathroom. There he saw Juliette sitting on the side of the jacuzzi tub staring at something on the vanity opposite her, eyes puffy and red. "Juliette?"
She looked up at him with a mix of devastation, fear and confusion appearing on her face. He moved toward her, his concern reaching a fever pitch. He knelt down beside her and wiped away a tear on her cheek. "Hey, baby, what's wrong. Are you okay?" She shook her head no, and, unable to say the words, pointed to the countertop she had been staring at. What he saw there knocked the wind out of him.
A pregnancy test, prominently displaying a bright red plus sign.
Neither one of them said a word for five minutes. Finally Avery couldn't stand it. He had to ask. "How far ..."
"Not sure," she mumbled, unable to look him in the eyes. "I ... um. I've missed at least one period. So ..."
"So there's no way this baby is mine," finished for her. He couldn't help the anger that suddenly boiled up within him. He knew that they had only been together for a few weeks and that there had been men before him. But to know that she was forever connected to some other guy, Avery had to work to keep his emotions in check. He wasn't sure he was hiding it well.
"God, I wish it was." She pushed herself off the side of the tub and in one sweeping motion, pushed the test into the trash can. Bracing herself on the counter, she looked up into the mirror and sobbed. "Oh my God. I cannot have Charlie Wentworth's baby. Not after everything. I don't want to have anything to do with him ... and now this!"
He pulled himself together and moved slowly behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, placing a gentle kiss against her temple. "It'll be okay. We'll get through this."
