Since I'll be flying out EARLY in the morning, I figured I'd update tonight.

Thank you to Team Harpy.

Chapter 7

Bella

I'm going to kill Alec. We're at the read-through of the newest episode we'll be shooting on Monday, and who is sitting directly across the table from me? Dr. Hottie himself. Only those who are considered "regulars" sit at the main table. All the guest stars and extras with lines sit at surrounding tables since there's only so much room, and we have a big ensemble. Looks like it just got bigger by one.

I mean, I knew this was happening from our meeting the other day, but seeing him sitting there, his eyes glancing over at me in well-timed thirty-second intervals, is unnerving.

"Okay, everyone!" Alec claps his hands. "This is the episode entitled 'Something to Talk About.' Turn your pages."

The sound of papers rustling is all you hear as everyone gets settled.

"Bella, begin your voice-over."

I dive in. "Communication. It's the first thing we really learn in life. The funny thing is once we grow up, learn our words, and really start talking, the harder it becomes to know what to say. Or how to ask for what we need."

The scene starts with Maggie and Riley arguing about his ex-girlfriend who showed up last episode. Maggie storms off and gets to the hospital, hoping for a gory trauma case to take her mind off Riley and his ex. Luckily, one comes up and she grabs it, but the chart is taken from her.

"Not so fast."

The cockiness in which Edward says his lines isn't lost on me or anyone else, for that matter. We all look up at him, but he's looking at me. I look down at my script and scramble to find my place.

"I was here first, and now it's my case," I read.

"Actually I was here first, and I'm your boss, so it's my case. Now you might be able to convince me to have you join in, but that might cost you."

"Cost me what exactly?"

"A date."

Victoria audibly gasps, and I can tell she's itching to read forward, but Alec would have a shit fit. He likes his work to be revealed one page at a time.

"I have a boyfriend."

"Do you? 'Cause it looks like he's otherwise occupied at the moment."

"Maggie looks over her shoulder to where Liam is staring and sees Riley chatting up his ex" is what stares back at her from the page.

I glare over Edward's shoulder to Alec, who is smirking. He's loving this.

"She's…just a friend. And that's my chart."

"It could be our chart."

"Coffee," Maggie states firmly.

"Drinks," Liam counters.

"One drink at Emerald City."

"Deal. Looks like we have a twenty-four-year-old male who played chicken with a semi. Should be fun."

As each page goes on, there's usually flirting between "us," and Maggie is blocking it at every turn. There's a fight between Riley and Maggie in which she ends the relationship.

We're nearing the end, and Maggie walks out of the main entrance. Liam is leaning on a pillar waiting on her.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."

"I always keep my word. And I agreed to one drink and one drink only, so let's get this over with, so I can go home. It's been a long day." My girl ain't wrong.

"You say that now. But I should warn you I'm quite irresistible sober. Wait until alcohol is added." I look up at him because I can hear the smirk on his face, and I roll my eyes.

"You're not that irresistible. In fact, you've been a pain in my ass all day," I say with feeling. Maggie walks ahead of Liam, and he follows.

The next morning has Maggie realizing she's naked and looking over and finding Liam next to her. Fades to black. End of episode.

"What the hell?" I say over the other commotion after that reveal, staring at Alec. "You had her cheat on Riley?" Riley and Maggie were the OG couple on this show and have a strong following.

"They broke up, and she's hurting. It will be revealed in the next episode that more than one drink was had."

"This is some bullshit." I throw the script aside in disgust.

"Don't go all diva on me now, Swan." To everyone else he says, "Good job. And welcome, Edward, to your new storyline."

Alec leaves, so I take a cue and get the hell out of dodge, escaping to my trailer before we do some reshoots.

Ang is right behind me, huffing a bit. "Damn, Bella, slow down. Where's the fire?"

"In Maggie's pants apparently," I retort.

"Come again?" Assistants aren't allowed in the read-through. Less liability.

"She probably did. With Liam."

"Be kind and rewind. What's going on?" Ang asks.

"Fucking Alec has me and Edward in bed together."

"You mean Maggie and Liam?"

"That's what I said."

"No, it's not. You and Edward will not be in bed together."

"Unless Alec is willing to hire body doubles, yes, we will. Ugh." I groan, flinging myself dramatically on my couch. "And it was going so well," I whine.

"You call avoiding your ex-boyfriend—the guy you brought onto set in the first place—going so well?"

"Ang, don't start," I warn.

"I'm going to start because you need to be called out. You realized some things about yourself that you don't like, so, as always, you retreat."

"I do not."

"You do too. When it comes to fight or flight, you will choose flight every time. I've seen it for the past two years. And it needs to stop."

"What do you propose I fight for, huh? A married man?"

"No, you fight for your friend. You were friends first, right? It doesn't have to be all or nothing. It can just be something."

There's a knock on the door, and Ang turns around to answer it.

Edward looks up at us from the bottom of my steps. "Is now a bad time?"

Ang beats me to an answer. "No, it's just fine. She doesn't have to be in hair and makeup for another half-hour." She looks at me. "I'll come get you when it's time." She trades places with Edward, who is now looking down on me in my spot on the couch.

"Hi," he says.

"Hi."

Seems neither of us can find the words, so it's silent.

"Did I do something?"

"I'm sorry."

We nervously laugh as our words overlap each other.

"No," I sigh. "You did absolutely nothing. I did."

"What did you do?" He seems so confused, so I pat the couch next to me, and he sits.

"I may have come to the realization that we ended on my terms with no input from you, and that I am so terribly selfish sometimes."

"You're not selfish."

"No, no, I am. It's okay. I took a long look in the mirror, and I didn't really like what I saw."

"So you thought you'd deal with that by avoiding me?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. It's just too much, you know? I thought we'd just be on the outskirts of each other when you got this job, and now we're hopping into bed next week."

His face reddens a little. "This has been a whirlwind for me. I don't even know if I did well today."

I'm suddenly ashamed that he's found himself with no one to assure him that he's doing a good job, and as his friend, that's on me.

"You did too well today."

"What do you mean?"

"You made Liam into this charming, flirtatious doctor who the audience will eat up. And honestly, I think that just comes naturally to you."

"Not much anymore," he admits. I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn't, so I drop it.

"I'm sorry for getting lost in my head. I'll try not to let it happen again, but I can't promise ."

"I'm used to it. You did it all the time when we were dating." He laughs like it's not a big deal. He's used to my idiosyncrasies. Which, I guess, he is.

"Still, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"I did wonder what I did wrong, but I wasn't going to push. I don't have that right." Anymore is left unsaid.

"No, as a friend you do have that right. Ask Ang. She's forever pulling my head out of my ass."

"Sounds like she deserves a raise."

"She totally does."

Ang must know we're speaking about her because she pops her head in. "Time's up. Gotta turn Cinderbella into a haggard-looking medical professional."

I roll my eyes as I get up and grab my phone and my snacks for later.

"Have fun with the reshoots. I'm going to escape to my office for the rest of the day."

"Lucky you. See you Monday."

"Yes, Monday. I'll be the one lying in bed next to you," he teases.

"Get out of here," I demand, jokingly. He acts like he's tipping an imaginary hat, then disappears.

"Must have been a good talk," Ang says.

I ignore her hints for information and head to hair and makeup. Luckily, Ang doesn't press. Not like she won't find out later.

The rest of the day is spent doing reshoots until after nine o'clock at night, and I'm exhausted by the time I reach my hotel. I order room service at the front desk and head up to take a quick shower.

My food is ready about five minutes after I get out, and I eat my salad, leaning against the kitchenette countertop. I swig some water, brush my teeth, and go to bed, hoping my weekend is stress free.

It is, which is refreshing. I lounge around the suite, memorizing lines and ordering take out. I call Charlie, and we talk about fishing and casseroles from the widow Clearwater, but as he isn't one to pry, I'll give him the same courtesy. I don't call Renee because she is one to pry, and she's already left a few messages about my ex working with me. I don't want to dwell on that right now.

I arrive on set Monday, dread settling in my stomach. I don't usually worry about bedroom scenes, but the call sheet says it's the first one on the schedule.

I approach the bedroom, and if I think I'm dreading it, Edward is dreading it more. He's pale and appears to be swallowing back vomit.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," he says, giving me a weak smile. I raise my eyebrow, and he folds. "I'm terrified. I don't work out. I have a few stretch marks from gaining some weight then losing it. I knew I should've laid off the pizza and fries."

"Pizza and fries are great, and it's fine. It's just me. And a cameraman, director, and boom operator. It's mostly a closed set. Just look at me, act like you're sleeping, and it will be over before we know it, then we can get fully dressed."

"What do you have on under there?" he asks.

"Strapless bikini, and I imagine you have on shorts."

"Yes."

"It will be like a day at the beach, without the beach." I notice everyone has arrived. "Come on, let's get in position."

I take off my robe, approach the bed, and notice him looking at me. "Looks a lot different, doesn't it?"

His eyes are warm. "Still beautiful."

I blush a little and slip under the sheets. He quickly does the same after shucking off his robe. I lean against the pillows as they finish the lighting.

Anton approaches. "Okay, so close shot of Bella, then we'll pan out wider as she realizes she's not alone. And Edward delivers his line. Then we're done. Everyone ready?"

Our eyes meet, and we both nod at him.

"Okay, positions, everyone!"

"Does he mean missionary or doggy?" Edward teases.

I laugh under my breath as I turn on my left side, and he settles close to me. Like really close. I stay relaxed, though it's taking all my strength to do so. I feign sleep and so does he.

"Action!"

I keep my eyes closed and my breathing even. The alarm on the bedside table goes off, and I slap it quiet. I'm hyper-aware of Edward's breathing in my ear, but Maggie has to come to that realization more slowly, so I go through the motions and make my eyes snap open as I slowly turn to my right where Edward is this close to my face. The camera moves around as I do to capture my expressions.

He's looking at me with a smirk, then delivers his line. "Told you I was irresistible after a few drinks."

My character reacts with an eye roll, then someone yells cut!

"That was great, but I need a little more shock, Bella. Edward, perfect."

I try not to scowl at Anton and instead return to my previous position. We go through it three more times before Anton is satisfied. "And that's a wrap. See you two later."

I get out of bed and put my robe back on.

"Did I do good?"

I focus on tying my robe and nod.

"Then why aren't you looking at me?"

I do, and then smile. "You did better than me, and I don't know how I feel about that," I admit.

"Okay, Miss Primetime Emmy nominee."

"I lost," I point out.

"You sure did," he teases, so I grab a pillow and throw it at him. He dodges it easily and throws it back on the bed. We stare at each other for a moment.

"I should go," he says.

"You should. I'll see you a little later in hair and makeup."

He makes a face at the thought of makeup, and I laugh. He smiles, then makes his way off the set. I wait until I know he's gone, then face plant on the bed and scream into a pillow.

Why is this my life?

I think I've seen this film before

And I didn't like the ending
You're not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town
Now I'm in exile, seein' you out
I think I've seen this film before - Exile, Taylor Swift ft Bon Iver