Guys, I'm sorry I'm late. I wanted to finish up everything I had left to do.
Leave me your comments.
BirdsandStars
This is definitely not my day. I don't know if Grace is upset with us. But we've been at the same scene all morning, and we haven't made much progress. We're on a lunch break.
Christian and I are sitting at lunch, laughing, kissing, caressing us. Smiling at each other like two idiots in love.
And I know there's trouble coming, when I see the studio owners walking in our direction.
Oh, God! Not again.
My food just got paralyzed in my stomach.
Again.
They stop in front of us.
—There will be no more filming today, please leave the studio immediately.
Everyone around us is starting to get up and leave. And And I know that the scolding is with us. So I don't make the slightest attempt to get up from my seat while Christian runs an arm around my shoulders protectively.
When it's just the two of us, Grace and the management, they decide to talk.
—Can you tell me what they were thinking last night?
—To be happy. —Christian answers very seriously.
— At this very moment, the two of you are going to go out and call off that marriage.
—I beg your pardon? —I ask him in astonishment.
—As you're hearing it. We just gave a statement that both of you were under the influence of drugs and alcohol when you got married.
—That's not true! —I rise up in anger. —Can't you just accept that we love each other?
— Miss Steele, you'd better sit down. With your current financial situation, I don't think it's in your best interest. Much less with your brother's accident.
—You know damn well I haven't done drugs since I got out of rehab.
—That's not what the latest tests showed.
—What tests? I haven't had one recently.
— Let's get something straight, Christian. In two hours both of you will make a statement. You' re going to clear this whole thing up for the press and say you were under the influence of drugs. That it was all a set-up for the fans, to draw more attention to the film.
—But... —Christian squeezes my hand and makes me shut up.
—Here's a script about what to say in the interview. And please, at least once, learn the lines you must say. —and they turn around and leave followed by Grace.
—What are we going to do? —I ask Christian as I drop back into my chair.
—What we've been told to do. —he says to me in defeat.
—Are you going to get our marriage annulled?
—I don't think we have much of a choice, Anastasia.
—I thought you loved me. That we would fight together against anyone who tried to come between us.
—If the circumstances were different, I would do it.
—But.
—But I don't want your life and your family's life to be ruined by my past.
—But I...
—No Ana! No! I've done a lot of stupid things in my life. This time I'm going to do what I've been told to do. —I'm putting my head down. —And I'm going to protect you no matter what the consequences. —he says to me, lifting my face up by my chin. —As soon as we give the interview, we'll go and get our marriage annulled. Now let's learn these lines. —he says, looking away from me.
I can't believe this is it. I have to do something. This can't be over. But what do I do? I need to think clearly. I need to find a way out of this, other than getting our marriage annulled.
The studio is completely empty, it's just the two of us sitting, each in a chair. Christian stares at his script. I can see he's focused on what he's reading. I can't concentrate on anything. The sound of footsteps makes me look up. Grace is coming in our direction.
She stops next to us.
—Christian. —he looks up from his paper. —I just want to inform you that they've opened the investigation into Jolinne's death again. I've just been informed by a detective.
—Great, just what we needed. —he says he's frustrated.
—If you hadn't been so impulsive, none of this would have happened.
—What did you want me to do, mother? Not fall in love? Put my career ahead of my feelings? I'm sorry, but I can't do that, I'm not like you.
His mother raises her hand and hits him hard on the cheek. Shit! I didn't expect this. Christian runs his hand over his face and smiles at her.
— The truth is hurtful to hear, but it's the truth.
—You'd better stop all this nonsense once and for all. —and then she looks at me. —You know, with the investigation, they won't leave you alone now.
Grace turns around and leaves, but as she leaves the studio I see Jolinne walking in our direction.
And then I see everything very clearly. The answer has been right in front of me all this time. She's the one who can clear all this up. The one who can confess that she's alive.
—They're waiting for you for the interview. —she says to us as I get out of my seat.
—You must tell everything. — I assault tell her before she gets to us.
—What are you talking about?
—You must tell that you are alive, clear all this up at once.
—I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I had a hard time changing my life for the one I really wanted.
—But they're going to look into it again, they might hold it for a few days. Or in the worst case, they'll find evidence and put him in jail.
—I'm sorry, but no. —she says as she turns around.
—I thought he was your friend. —I tell her as she stops and turns to me. —That you owed him a big favor for what he'd done for you.
—It is. But ruining the perfect life that I have and that I've worked so hard for, is not in my immediate plans. —and she turns around again and walks away.
That was the only chance we had left. Christian hugs me, gives me a kiss on the neck, and then we leave for the interview.
Everything is a disaster. I had to lie in front of the cameras. And for what? To ruin our marriage and protect the studio owners' asses. All because they think Christian is going to ruin the movie again. All because they've invested millions in him.
Christian goes quietly while driving home. He hasn't talked much after the interview. Outside the house there are many paparazzi, which he ignores as he drives straight into the garage. He's pensive.
—I'm going to make some dinner. —I tell him as I watch him go up to the bedroom without saying a word.
I start to prepare dinner until I feel his footsteps rushing by. I turn and see him with his leather jacket on as he walks towards the garage.
—Christian! —I yell at him but he ignores me.
I leave what I'm doing and go after him. I get to the garage just as he's getting on the bike.
—Where do you go?
He pulls down his helmet visor, starts up and accelerates at full speed. I stand there watching Christian leave the house with no idea where he's going. I go back inside the house. I better calm down and wait a while. Maybe the road air will clear his mind.
I go back to the kitchen and continue with dinner.
Half an hour later I'm beginning to worry. Christian hasn't come back. I find my phone and dial him. But I feel it ringing in the living room. He left it.
I dial Elliot's number and he answers quickly.
—I can't find Christian anywhere! He left without his phone and rode off on the bike at full speed. I'm worried about him.
—Ana! Calm down! Christian is here at the club.
—What's he doing there?
—He arrived in a rage with some papers in his hands and right now he's soothing his anger with a bottle of Jack Daniel's.
—I was worried that something had happened to him.
—You'd better come and get him out of here, Ana. Because in half an hour he's going to be putting on a show.
—I'll be right out. Can you keep an eye on him for me until I get there?
— I am, but I can't promise that he'll do anything stupid.
—Thank you. —I'll tell him while I hang up the phone.
I take Christian's car keys and go out to the club.
As soon as I get to the club I find Kate waiting for me right in the lobby.
—What happened? —I ask her when I see her angry face.
—Come on. —she says, pulling my hand.
She leads me through the club to the top floor and from there to an office. As I enter I see Elliot sitting in a chair, his head tilted back as he presses a bloody cloth against his nose.
—What happened? —I ask, horrified to see him in this condition.
—Christian broke his nose.
—He did what?
—Elliot tried to stop him from continuing to drink, and he started saying things to him, and eventually they got into each other's hands.
—Where's Christian? —I ask not seeing him anywhere.
Elliot pulls the cloth down from his nose. In addition to the broken nose, he has a split eyebrow.
—I've locked him in one of the VIP rooms. —he says as he puts the cloth back on his face.
—Come on, I'll take you to it. —says Kate, pulling me out of the office. —What's happened? —Kate ask me as we walk to the room.
—The owners of the studio have demanded that he annul our marriage, and we have lied to the press in an interview that is due tomorrow.
—But why?
— Because they're afraid Christian will ruin the movie by having a relationship with me. He already did once.
—But that's totally absurd.
—And now, they've reopened the investigation into Jolinne's death in which he was involved.
—And did he have anything to do with it? — Kate asks me, stopping in front of a door.
—I don't want to talk about it Kate, I just want to know if it's okay. —I tell her in a pleading tone.
—I'm warning you, Elliot's beaten the crap out of him. —she says to me as she opens the door. —I'll wait out here in case you need me for anything.
I enter the slightly lit room. This one is totally different from the others I've entered. It has a bed at one end of the room, which has the sheets a bit untidy. Christian isn't there. I feel the sound of water falling from a door at the end of the room. Underneath the door is light coming out.
I slowly go over there, try to open it. I turn the knob and it opens slowly as I push in. The first thing I see in the bathroom is Christian's clothes lying on the floor. They are stained with blood. I see blood on the sink. I look up into the shower of smoky glass, steamed up, and I can see his silhouette inside. I undress and without warning enter the shower.
Or he's too drunk to notice that someone has entered. Or he doesn't care at all who did it.
He's got his back to me, his whole body under the waterfall shower. I can see his shoulders moving smoothly with a cadenced breath.
—Christian. —I call him gently.
Then he turns towards me.
Oh, my God! What did Elliot do to him?
He has, like Elliot, a split eyebrow. But that's not what shocked me the most. He has a swollen cheek and his eye starts to turn purple. His lip is split and swollen. I keep looking down. He has two more blows to the sternum. Apparently Elliot beat the crap out of him.
I see his hands next to his body. His knuckles are red and cut. Like he hit a wall instead of Elliot's face.
I take a step in his direction and get under the shower next to him. I take his face in my hands, careful not to hurt him. He complains a little, but he doesn't take my hands away.
—What happened?
—I don't know.
—Why did you leave? Why you drank so much? —I ask with curious.
—I went to get the divorce papers. —he says to me quietly. —I got here and ordered drink after drink. I just wanted to forget about the papers.
And then I ask him. I need to know how far he got.
—Did you sign them?
Christian stares at me before answering.
—No. I couldn't do it.
I get closer to him and hug him around the waist. I feel him complain, but he doesn't pull me aside and lay his head on my neck.
— For the first time I want to get away from all this. —he says to me as he holds on to me tightly. —I would like to disappear and not be found.
Is he serious?
—Are you still drunk?—I ask him as he laughs at my neck.
—Just a little. —he says, laughing and complaining.
—Come on, let's get out of here. Let's go back to the house. —I tell him as I close the shower.
—I don't want to go back to the house. —he says, staring at me.
For a moment, just a moment I think about what he's asking me. What if we both disappeared without a trace? If we were off the radar of the media and the whole world.
And as I think about the consequences of staring at him. For that one little moment he doesn't look so drunk. He looks sane.
