Chapter Thirteen
Bella was ushered onto the couch beside Edward. She sat demurely, her hands clasped on her lap. Edward glanced her way momentarily before turning back to their host, Tim Dolle.
She turned her gaze briefly to the live audience, her nerves kicking into overdrive as they stared back at her, every single one of them remaining silent.
She'd assumed that they'd be screaming for Edward, waving banners and begging for his hand in marriage. But this stony silence felt like an omen to her that this interview would not go as well as she had thought it would.
Sam finished up his call and wandered onto the set, sitting down beside Bella, sandwiching her between himself and Edward.
Make-up artists flitted onto the stage, touching up Bella and the three men with her and then all too soon, the countdown began and Tim began to speak, his eyes on his audience as he stood up and welcomed them.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Celebs Tonight, I'm your host, Tim Dolle and tonight I have a special treat for you." He took a step to the side and Bella watched from the corner of her eyes as the cameras changed angle, focusing on the couch they were sitting on.
She tried to remember everything she had been coached on earlier in the day.
Smile, give a little wave, make eye contact with the camera, laugh at Tim's jokes, talk about the film positively, mention how excited you are to work with the team, talk about Edward and how he's mentored you, helped you.
It had taken all the strength Bella had not to laugh out loud when Sam had come up with that one.
No one could possibly say that Edward had done anything to help her.
It still seemed to Bella that Edward would much rather she left so that they could hire someone else in her place but time was definitely running out for that.
Production was only due to run for eight weeks before promotion kicked up. The film was due to be released within four months. It was a tight schedule.
Considering all the work that had already been done, replacing Bella really didn't seem like a valid option, at least to her.
"Academy award winner, Edward Cullen…" The crowd roared and Bella laughed lightly, a dazzling smile flashing across her face. That was more like what she had been expecting. "Director Sam Uley and of course, debuting in the role of Mary Summers, Ms Isabella Swan."
The crowd clapped politely for both Sam and Bella, clearly the person getting people in seats was Edward, but that really was no surprise.
"So, let's start with you, Edward," Tim continued as he sat back in his chair, turning his upper body in Edward's direction. "How does this film differ from your latest achievements?"
Edward straightened up, a slow, half smile crossing his face as he winked toward the audience, causing another uproar. He chuckled and moved his attention back to Tim.
"It's certainly something different," he started. "Of course, I've done drama before, but they haven't seemed to be quite on this level. There's a lot of hard work and emotion going into Endure, it's a very difficult subject to cover.
"How are you dealing with the subject matter, is it something close to you?" Tim asked as he tried to pry a little personal information from Edward.
Bella leaned into Sam slightly, cutting her eyes to him in the silent question of 'I thought you said this would be easy, is he going to ask me questions like this?'
Same shook his head.
Edward laughed lightly and shook his head. "You're such a joker, Tim. No, as everyone knows I haven't been romantically involved with a woman in a number of years now so the subject isn't something that I have personally been through, having never been a father nor tried to be."
Tim smirked a little with a slight nod in Edward's direction before he turned his blue gaze on me, "And how about you, Isabella?"
"Um… no… I've…" She swallowed hard and straightened up her spine, refusing to allow the nerves to take over. "I've never been through something as emotional and tragic as Mary, but there are many women who have suffered such a loss and my heart truly goes out to them. I only wish that my portrayal of the character is realistic."
"Do you believe that the tragedy is only with Mary?"
"No, of course not," she said, looking to him with a determined expression. He would not succeed in trying to cause a scandal. "An expectant father would feel just as much loss as the mother would but I think anybody would agree that it's not the same. A woman can feel her child grow inside her, she knows the changes her body is making and there is a bond there immediately, between mother and child. Both parents grieve for the child but in different ways."
"Are you enjoying your first experience in the world of showbiz?"
"Immensely," she stated. "I can't explain how nerve wracking yet fascinated I was on my first day. Despite the nature of the film, I'm enjoying learning and growing."
"How are you finding working with the infamous Edward Cullen?"
"It's like working with your best friend." I smiled brightly, falsely as I placed my hand on Edward's knee momentarily. "Honestly, he's been so helpful, so encouraging and we have such a laugh between shots."
Tim's eyebrows rose before he turned to Edward.
Edward took Bella's hand in his, squeezed tightly and then removed it from his knee.
"And Edward, are you enjoying working with such a novice, is it refreshing or is it holding you back?"
Edward glanced to Bella, smirked and turned back to Tim.
Bella held her breath, waiting for the moment where Edward gave his real thoughts.