CHAPTER TEN

To feel her so close again…

To hold her again…

Everything that he had felt for her came rushing back. All the love and desire, the lust and craving; and then, the guilt and regret, the devastation and longing. He wasn't good for her. He had to keep reminding himself that he had to stay away.

With his head already reeling, it didn't help that Audrey was harping at him the moment he left the set. He really didn't care what she had to say.

Lately, it was as if sex was all they had. He found it difficult to think of anything else that he was happy with. Had that always been the case? Had he allowed his dick to run his life – to ruin it?

He ruffled his hair and locked the door to the bathroom before turning on his camera. "Hey, Rory Monahan here. Day one back at this haunted – not actually haunted – place. Filming was pretty hard. I feel like I Had fucked up bad. The scene we had to do was like some old version of my real life.

"I never thought I could miss someone so much and she doesn't even remember me! How fucked up is that? Man… I really, really fucked up this time… I can't even stand Audrey, right now. She's been this crazy, jealous bitch and the one she's jealous of doesn't even know who I am, but…

"I think she might be starting to remember and it's hurting her. I never wanted to hurt her. I was young. I made a mistake. I don't think I can ever fix this. What am I going to do?"

He sighed. He was talking to a camera. What had his life become? Was there no one else he could talk to?

He took out his phone and scrolled through his contact list. Looking at every name, he couldn't find a single one he felt he could confide in. Hovering over Madi, he realised that she had been the only one who would listen to him bitch and moan. No one else cared about his bullshit.

With a growl, he tossed the phone to the side. It didn't have any signal, anyway.

He quickly washed his face, hoping that that would clear his mind, a little. It didn't work.

When he looked into the mirror, he gave a startled shout when he saw himself in full costume behind him. What? That didn't even make sense.

He quickly glanced behind him, but there was no one there. Was he finally going mad? No, it must've been the stress. He was seeing things. "You have to snap out of it! Go out there and stop thinking about the past! You have a beautiful wife out there, probably worried about you." But most likely not, but he liked to believe that it was true. "Go be a man. You can do this!" He pounded his chest a few times to psyche himself up.

He eventually made it out the bathroom when Matt came banging on the door. The other man gave him a strange look, but he flashed him his best aware winning smile. It may have made him look like al lunatic, but at least there weren't going to be questions thrown at him.

His feet brought him to the kitchen where most of them were congregated, chatting about this sequel they were filming and playing around with their cameras. The only ones who were missing were Luke, Madi, and Matt, but the latter quickly rejoined the group.

"That scene sure looked passionate," Monet laughed. "Whew! If I didn't know any better, I would've thought you and that petite model were a couple!"

"Monet!" Audrey gasped. "Don't even! She's nothing but a little girl trying to play with the big guns. I mean, just look at her! She has no curves. There's nothing womanly about her. And don't forget all the mental issues!"

Shelby frowned. "Weren't the two of you together before?" she asked him.

"I – "

"They were only kids back then" Audrey cut in before he could even reply. "He needed a real woman in his life! Look how much better he is now!"

Shelby turned her head away from the other blonde. There was a look of distaste on her face, but it was accompanied by guilt. Rory knew that expression well. He saw it every time he looked in the mirror.

"Can we change the topic?" he mumbled, hating the accusing eyes on him. HE had no doubt that they all knew the story that the media spun. For the most part, Madi was painted as a basket case and that was why he left, but they didn't know the truth of what he had done.

"Yes, precisely," Audrey agreed.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and everyone looked at each other in surprise. Who else was invited back?

Shelby was the one who ended up opening the door. "Dominic!"

"Hey, Shelby!" He smiled back, about to give her a hug when Matt went barrelling over. A punch to the face wiped off all traces of amity on his face.

"Stop!" Shelby cried out, trying to pry Matt off the other man.

Rory quickly went over and the two of them managed to break up the brawl. As he watched, he realised that Shelby had cheated on Matt. Although it was only for one night, he wondered if this was normal. Did fame and status really change a person this much? Was he bound to commit the same mistakes, again?

"Can everyone just calm down?"! Audrey shouted before shaking her head and storming upstairs.

He sighed. His eyes momentarily met Dominic's. The other man gave him a nod and went upstairs to find Audrey. Those two had always been close. He suspected that they also had an affair during the filming, but oddly enough, he didn't find himself too bothered. Sure, there was a pang of hurt that Sidney didn't find him enough, but emotionally, they had never been that connected.

His eyes caught sight of her coming down and his heart skipped a beat. Her long hair was damp and she was gazing curiously at the door where Shelby and Matt were quietly arguing.

When they swept the room and rested on him, she quickly looked away.

He sighed. It was no good getting involved with her again. As much as it pained him to see her walk by him as if he was a stranger, he knew he had brought it upon himself.

"Madison!" Shelby greeted her, relieved that she could break away from her husband.

"What happened? I heard the ruckus from upstairs. Is everyone alright?" she asked.

The blonde sighed. "It's fine. Dominic's arrived. I don't think you've ever met, but he's around here somewhere."

Rory hoped that the other man wasn't going to try to hit on Madi. She didn't need her heart broken.

Dominic's reputation of being a player was notorious and he'd hate to see her hurt, again.

He saw Shelby catch his eye before whispering something to Madi who also quickly glanced over to him. Just as quickly, she looked away, shaking her head profusely.

What were they talking about?

Just as he was about to approach them, Luke came sweeping in and took her into his arms. She let out a surprised laugh before kissing him. Rory felt his sight turn green. No, he had to let her go.

He had to let her go.

…

I kissed Luke on the lips. "Miss me already?"

He had his camera in his hand and was recording me grinning like a fool. "I always miss you." He smiled back.

"See anything strange, yet?" I asked. Sidney was hoping we'd be able to catch some paranormal activity, but it was just a very normal, albeit crowded house, right now.

He shrugged. "Strange, yes. Supernatural, no."

I laughed. Yes, the people here were pretty strange, but so was I. We were all very unusual. No wonder Sidney wanted us all in one house. IF anything, we'd be causing enough drama to bring the house down!

"Madison, here!" I shouted into Luke's camera. "We'll be having some sexy time and you'renot going to have any of it!"

Luke looked scandalized and quickly turned off the camera. "We are not putting that public!" he scolded, quickly fiddling with the device to either edit the footage or delete it all together.

I merely smiled at his antics and looked around. Everyone was already looking a little less tense. Alcohol was being passed around, but I knew better than to accept any. I recalled what happened the last time Id rank and my body had become a nasty concoction of chemicals that nearly killed me.

Thinking about it now, I wondered what made me do it. IT hadn't been a social setting. I had been alone. I had been… depressed. One thing led to another and of course, Luke had been the one to save me. I knew how much trouble I always caused him, but no matter what, he was there for me.

There was no one I could've been happier with, but there was someone else who had been on my mind, lately. I glanced over to the redhead who had been quietly nursing a can of beer.

Ever since those scenes I had to film with him, I couldn't stop thinking about him – the way he touched me, the way he felt against my body, the way he whispered into my hearts. Everything about him had driven me crazy and it shouldn't. We were both in our own respectable relationships. I was nothing but happy with Luke and Rory was married. I wasn't one to go after married men!

"What's wrong?" Luke kissed my neck.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. I'm tired, but I feel like I should stay awake longer. Everyone else seems so pumped. I want to join in on the fun."

"You don't have to be like everyone else," he told me. "You just have to be you."

How could I even think of anyone else when he was so kind to me? "I'm going to go upstairs, then. Probably read a book or something."

Luke went to leave with me, but I pushed him back down. "Madison – "

"Stay," I told him. "I don't want to ruin your fun. This is our first night here and I know you're dying to talk to some of these actors. See if you can recruit some into your company – convert them to the dark side." I laughed. "I don't need to be babysat. I'm a big girl, now."

He sighed. "If anything happens, I'll be right here."

"Yes. Yes." I leaned down to kiss him one more time. "I'm still expecting you to be up there later, got it? I need someone to warm up my feet."

A groan left his lips. "They're always like popsicles!"

I giggled before skipping upstairs. I went to the bathroom to wash my face. The cold water staved off some of the fatigue, but I still had enough of the crowd. As much as I wanted to be a party animal like them, Luke was right. It just wasn't me. I didn't have the same energy level as them.

Rubbing my eyes, I turned on the camera. "Hello, again. Almost bed time for me and…" I checked the wall clock. "IT's only ten fifteen. I'm just a regular party animal, aren't I?" I laughed. "Well, I just wanted to say good night and – "

My heart stopped when I spotted someone in the mirror. I turned around and saw nothing. Was I imagining things? Was Sidney's ridiculous notion of spirits finally getting to me?

I let out a deep breath. I had to calm myself. I reached into my pocket and took a couple of sleeping pills. New place, new bed… I was really going to need these.

When I slipped the bottle back into my pocket, I felt a tinge of guilt. Luke thought he had all of my medication, but I had secretly gotten another prescription for these. It wasn't as if I was going to overdose myself on these. I saw no reason for him to be cautious with my medication.

"Okay, I'm alright. Just had a false alarm there," I told the camera. "Did you catch anything? Maybe it was just a trick of the lights. Let's go back to the bedroom. This bathroom is starting to give me chills…"

I brought the camera with me down the dim hall. Alone in the night, this place was a lot creepier, but there was no such thing as ghosts. The only thing I had to worry about was all the other residents.

It was painfully obvious that Audrey Tindall hated me. I just hoped that she wasn't going to try to murder me in my sleep. Hopefully, if I avoided Rory for the remainder of the stay, everything was going to be alright.

When I reached my room, I stopped the camera and changed into my sleepwear. I took my novel out, relaxing on the bed with all the pillows around me like a fort. As soon as I was comfortable, I was relaxed, again. The meds were slowly kicking in, but I was determined to at least finish this chapter.

I was near the end when my eyes began to droop and it became difficult to read the small font or concentrate on anything. The words became meaningless and I sighed, allowing myself to finally close my eyes. It was so nice and warm beneath the covers. I could stay cocooned in here forever.

My mind was still on the novel I was reading when the bed dipped beside me. Luke was back. That was fast. I told him to stay down and mingle…

He took the book out of my hands and gently placed it on the nightstand. The blanket was tugged down. When I made a move to grab it, he replaced the warmth of the duvet with his body.

I hummed happily, enjoying the way he was running his hand through my hair.

"Madi…" he breathed.

That was when I realised something was wrong. Luke never called me that. It was always Madison.

My eyes snapped open and I stared into nervous, dark eyes. It was as if I had fallen back several centuries. "Wha – "

"Shh… Shh…" He placed a finger on my lips. "Please, listen to me. I'm here to warn you. You have to get out of this house. There are malicious spirits here who thrive on death and chaos. I don't want anything to happen to you, Madi."

"What… Rory? What are you doing here?! Get out!" I shouted, trying to kick him off, but I was sluggish from the medication. It was like being trapped in someone else's body.

"No, I'm not Rory. I'm…" He hesitated. "I'm… uh… Edward. I died here and my spirit has been trapped all this time. You must heed my warning. The others will come and they will try to make you join them, but I don't want that to happen to you. I need you to live." His soft hand stroked my cheek. "I've done you wrong once before, I will not do it, again."

"You're not making sense," I mumbled, trying my hardest to stay awake.

"You took something…" He reached into my pocket and pulled out my bottle. "Did you leave this unattended anywhere?"

"M-my bag…" My speech was slurred. I could feel my consciousness waver. "I took it from my bag after I showered…"

"Oh, no…" he breathed. "I'll get help. I'll – "

I managed to grab on to his long sleeves before he could leave. "Stay with me. If I'm going to die here, I don't' want to be alone." Oddly enough, the idea of dying didn't frighten me,. I was just dreading how Luke was going to react. All this time, he tried to save me from myself. "Hold me…?"

"Always." He maneuvered us so that I was leaning against his toned chest.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thank you HermioneandMarcus, Mystery Angle, Brookie Twiling, guests (Guest, anonymouscsifan, Guest) for reviewing!

Guest: Hehe… I love hearing about you guys' theories about the story! A reason why I never reveal everything is because of that xD

anonymouscsifan: Thank you so much! Not sure if this is what you were hoping for when Edward showed up to Madi… Oops!

HermioneandMarcus: Yay! Thank you!

Mystery Angle: Thank you! So good to hear from you, again!

Guest: I hope I don't disappoint you in the future! Or umm… Now… Ahahaha…..

Brookie Twiling: Michael is Michael :P Thanks for pointing out the typos! I'll be working on that… I'm so bad with them. Hahahaha! Yesss… Mrs. Mott had fun with her two boys. They definitely didn't want anyone else to know about that. It's gonna be their deep, dark secret.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

Please, leave a review if you enjoyed this!