A/N: Hope everyone had a fine Memorial Day weekend!
Let's get back into the wild world of making movies!
Inside a tiny theater at the heart of Clearwater Entertainment sat a collection of characters:
Dorian Pierce (producer), Malcolm McGinley (director), Tony Hughes (production manager), Jade West (asst. production manager), and star Shelby Marx all were sitting in for a hasty incomplete assembly cut (more of a sizzle reel) of the action scenes and fight choreography captured so far in production. This raw footage was compiled by editor Janet Babcock.
To call this viewing room a theater was generous. With twenty-one seats facing a movie screen slightly larger than what some people have in their own homes; it was comparatively teeny. Even the crappy real theaters that showed second run schlock would call this setup pathetic.
Once the footage was finished, the lights came back up and the intrepid producer stood up to face his team.
"So, what do you think?" asked Dorian.
Everyone sat there in stunned silence.
Jade cleared her throat.
"It's very...uh..."
"DYNAMIC!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Janet did an awesome job."
"Did she though?" whispered Jade to Tony.
"It's customary to start some editing while in production as footage comes in," Tony softly explained. "Sometimes it can help us figure out what scenes aren't needed or what needs to be reshot early on."
Malcolm picked up on the lukewarm faces of newcomer Jade and star Shelby.
"I know, I know, it's very rough. But it will be so much better with all of the insert shots and final sound mix and music all cut together. Personally, this gave me the same chills when I saw the teaser for Batman back in '88. No music, no narration, just the raw production audio!"
"You're sure?" Shelby asked.
Honestly, she hadn't been this involved in the filmmaking process before. In the past she would do her part and that would be that; text her when the premiere was. But after working with Tori and seeing her ingratiate herself with the crew; Shelby started doing the same. She was learning more about other peoples' jobs every day. And it was fascinating to her.
"Hey!" shrugged Malcolm. "When George Miller made Fury Road, he didn't even have a finished script; just storyboards and his wife cut the film as it was being shot, too."
(Malcolm, I like ya but you're no George Miller.)
"When do you think we can expect a teaser edited and ready to go?" asked Dorian. "We could use a sneak peek."
"Next month for sure!" the director promised. "As long as no issues come up and we stay on schedule."
Tony leaned toward Jade.
"That puts the onus on us, huh?"
Jade nodded.
That night they went over to Tori's, despite her objections. Jade insisted on seeing it as they've always convened at her abode.
The stuntwoman was a little ashamed of how messy the place had gotten.
"It's fine, babe" Jade said with a hug. "My place is only clean because I just moved in. Give me some time."
Tori smiled at her.
"Tell you what, since you helped with my apartment, maybe I can lend a hand with yours?"
"Okay, I guess we can make a day of it" Tori conceded.
Jade folded her arms and leaned against the wall leading to the kitchen.
"Full disclosure; I don't dress up for a cleaning day. I'm talking basketball shorts, old t-shirt, probably doesn't fit anymore. Hell, I don't even bother with a bra..."
She gasped when Tori pinned her against the wall seductively.
"Alright, alright, you convinced me!"
After some takeout for dinner, the lovers retreated into Tori's bedroom. Again, she apologized for the state of it.
The girl from Jersey didn't mind at all. In fact, the shorter girl thought Tori's unmade bed was pretty sexy, like she was waiting for her.
They fooled around some, Jade a little hesitant about giving back to Tori. The Latina soothed her wary lover that she can take her time in that department. Jade asked Tori if she wanted anything specific for tonight and she wryly told her she wanted to suck on her breasts.
Jade blushed and straddled Tori so her chest was right in front of her face.
The stuntwoman fondled the soft mounds, watching them wobble like natural boobs only can.
(That's the good shit!)
Tori suckled the left, leaving the responsive nipple standing on end when she was done. Then she worked on the right while squeezing the left in her hands.
"Oh sh-sh-shiiiiit!" stuttered Jade.
"You know what makes you even sexier?" asked Tori.
"What?"
"How oblivious you are to your hotness! Even when you're buck naked, you're still modest."
When they were finished, Jade slid to her side and was the little spoon to Tori's big spoon, their default. Jade breathed in contentment while Tori's hand roamed about. First, she fondled Jade's right tit and then started playing with her long black locks.
"Jade?"
"Mmm?"
"What...is that?" Tori's voice noticeably lowered.
When her finger touched the back of her neck, Jade knew what Tori meant.
"Is that a scar?"
"Uh...ye-yeah," the dark-haired girl sighed. "I... sometimes forget it's there."
Obviously without a multiple mirror setup, Jade would have no way of seeing the mark with her own eyes. But it remained invisible to others the majority of the time as it was always obscured by her long black hair. Without any romantic partners prior to Tori, it remained pretty hidden until now.
Tori huffed with a small grin.
"So, you do have a badge of honor. Where did you get this one?"
Jade started shaking, her breathing erratic. She wasn't just crying. Her whole body seemed to shrink as Jade retreated into herself. Tori watched helplessly as her girlfriend went into the fetal position.
"Jade?"
Now her tone was deadly serious.
"What happened?" Tori asked. She then swallowed. "Who hurt you?"
The Latina scooted closer to her, attempting to get her arms around her. Jade went stiff before being met with a kiss where the scar was.
(Just breathe, Jade. Breathe. You're safe. Tori is safe.)
"Listen to me, Jade" Tori whispered in her ear. "I'm here. Whoever did this isn't. Let me help you; I can..."
"No!" Jade punctuated with a tender reaching back to Tori's hand. "This was from a long time ago."
Tori exhaled.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"I never told anyone before," Jade shrugged. "Not even my parents know."
"Jesus...I'm so sorry."
Jade sniffed and cleared her throat.
"I haven't thought about it in years...maybe time I get it off my chest."
"Are you sure?" Tori asked.
The pale girl rolled over to look Tori in the face.
"Yes...but...can you please hold me?"
Tori smiled with concerned eyes.
"Now what kind of question is that, West? You know holding you is one of my favorite things!"
The stuntwoman repositioned herself, so she was sitting up and drew Jade close to her. She guided her head, so she laid on Tori's chest. Jade listened to her heartbeat, her lungs filling with air. These sounds soothed Jade, driving home just how concrete this amazing woman was and how much she cared. The rhythm of the pumping and breathing helped Jade remember, like a metronome keeping a musician in time.
"I can't remember what day it was, but I was walking home."
[FLASHBACK]
The rain pelted on Jade's head, her grey hooded sweatshirt barely keeping her dry.
Jade couldn't find her boots that morning, so she was stuck with a pair of sneakers. That made her sidestep any spots on the ground where it might be a very deep puddle. Eventually the sidewalk ended, and Jade had to be even more careful. Not just with the water but also with having to watch for motorists on the side of the road.
As a kid, her parents always told her to walk against traffic. Some kids said to go "with traffic" but that made little sense to her. Jade would much rather see what was coming and act accordingly. She didn't like the idea of a big garbage truck or a motorcycle coming up behind her. This way, the playing field was leveled and both her and the drivers could see each other.
It was another two miles until she was home.
This week had been torturous in school, getting side-eyed at best and name-called at worst. She couldn't believe how everyone seemed to turn on her. Yesterday she ate her lunch in Mr. DiMartino's classroom. It was empty during that period, so Jade could eat in peace and quiet. She didn't mind that the lights were turned off. Though an overcast day like this made the room even darker.
Up ahead, over the hill came a red Ford F150 pickup truck. The headlights intensified as it drew closer and eventually whizzed by Jade. She didn't hear or see the red pickup turn around and start creeping back up the street.
This time, the high beams were turned on and the driver started honking the horn incessantly.
Jade snapped out of her thoughts and squinted at the truck seemingly following her. She couldn't make out the driver, but she was sure that truck was in the school parking lot. Ford F150's are one of the most popular trucks around and red is a common color. Had she noticed the license plate back then, Jade might have been able to confirm this.
She held up her hand, still walking forward.
"Who are you?"
HONK HONK HONK
"What do you want?"
HONK HONK HONK HONK
Jade got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and made a run for it. And with that, the truck increased its speed.
(Shit-Shit-Shit!)
Through the thundering storm, Jade could just hear snippets of what was being yelled at her:
"RUN, LESBO!"
"GROOMER!"
"FUCKIN' SICKO!"
The horn was intensifying, drowning out the bile being flung at her.
Suddenly, a horrible pain struck Jade in the back of the head, sending her down to the mud. She coughed, rain continuing to beat on her as the truck raced off.
Jade rubbed behind her neck, finding fresh blood. She looked around, worried that they might come back and in her scanning her surroundings found a decent-sized rock that was flat on one side. On the rock was a bit of red blood.
The reality of what just happened overwhelmed her and she just sat in the muddy waters and cried.
[END OF FLASHBACK]
"After I finally got home, I cleaned myself up and put a band-aid where they hit me. That night, my mom went to check on me and there was blood all over my pillow. So, they took me to the hospital to get stitches. I told them I fell but they didn't buy it. That was when they went to my school and found out how bad it was for me."
Fresh tears squeezed out of Jade's eyes as strong arms hugged her reassuringly.
"Fucking animals!" Tori seethed. "I hope they drove into a ditch and caught fire."
"You know what's the worst part?" Jade asked.
"What?"
"Gia was probably not in that truck. But what she did still hurt the most."
Tori flipped some of Jade's hair away from her face.
"Who is Gia?" asked Tori.
"A friend...or, she used to be. The first one I ever came out to and next thing I knew I became the school pariah."
Tori held her tighter.
"I can't do anything about the pain from the past, babe. But I can promise you all the care and attention you deserve."
Jade's breathing began to normalize as her girlfriend's love began to eclipse the horrors of her high school days.
(You cowards in the truck are lucky! If my girlfriend ever found you, you'd be eating through a straw!)
"Hey."
"What?" asked Jade.
"In the spirit of sharing things that aren't easy to share; I'll tell you what my beef is with my sister."
Jade adjusted herself so she was laying on her stomach, face to face with Tori.
"You're sure?"
Tori nodded.
"Our deal was over a period of time. I was...uh...maybe eight when my dad died. Trina should've been ten. Mom was never the same. She had always been a worrier when it came to the family business. Some of us were craftsmen, but our biggest claim to fame was our stunt work. It's what made the name Vega synonymous with death defiance. Goes back a long way with my father's family; from the circus to a little vaudeville to the movies."
Jade noticed the twinkle in Tori's eyes. She was proud of where she came from.
"David Vega, my dad, did it all. Car chases, sword fights. They even shot him out of a cannon as a warm-up act for one of Evel Knievel's jumps."
"Whoa!" the pale girl grinned. "Guess the apple doesn't fall too far."
Tori giggled.
"Haven't been shot out of a cannon, but I did do the human fly once."
"The human fly?" asked Jade with a raised eyebrow.
"You should have seen it; I was wearing this black Velcro suit, and they just launched me, so I stuck to a wall. Wasn't even a job; it was at one of those places you could rock climb and play on trampolines."
Jade chuckled.
"Anyway," Tori continued. "Mom tried her best to steer her only daughters away from this lifestyle. Trina, ever the people pleaser, especially when it came to mother's approval; gravitated toward her side of things. She coached her into becoming a makeup girl, costumer, anything but a stunt worker. She underestimated Trina's ambition because now she's a producer. The projects she helms are nothing major, but she is the head honcho, so good for her I guess."
Tori sighed, kissing Jade's hand.
"It would've been fine if that was all there was. She did her thing, and I did mine. But no. Once mom saw there was getting through to me, she spent all of her time with Trina. It's like she wanted to break her attachment to me, like she already wrote me off as deceased!"
Life was hard for Jade at times, but she always had her mother as a HUGE supporter. She couldn't imagine someone being so callous to their own daughter.
"I was too much of a wimp back in the day to call her out on how she was treating me, so I would lash out at Trina. And she would get into it with me because, according to her, I was making mother distraught. The apocalyptic fight happened...I want to say...seven years ago."
Jade leaned in.
"What happened?"
Tori licked her lips before going on.
"Mom told us that she was moving back to Baltimore to be with her extended family. She said she couldn't bear to see me get hurt or worse because of the life I had chosen."
Tori growled.
"I didn't choose anything! This life chose me! And at least my dad and uncle recognized that and tried to educate me in the trade. But not mom! Or Trina for that matter. Mmmm, Trina..."
Jade wrapped her arms around Tori, kissing her neck. She was a good listener and she tried to be the same for Tori.
[FLASHBACK]
"I knew this would happen!" exclaimed Trina.
"Look, Treen; if you miss her so fucking much, just go with her!"
Trina scoffed and folded her arms.
"Yeah, because it's that easy. I have film deals out here."
Tori chortled.
"Yeah, for Netflix."
"IT STILL COUNTS!" Trina stomped her foot.
"Guess we're both in the same boat," Tori shrugged. "I can exactly leave either. Face it, girly; we were born and bred for the movie business whether we like it or not."
Trina covered her eyes and exhaled sharply.
"It's not about that! Mom basically got tired of waiting for you to come to your senses, so she cut me out too!"
Tori threw the remote control, which broke against the living room wall.
"You're paying for that," Trina pointed to the mess.
"Put it on my tab," Tori teased with a raspberry.
"For fucks sake, how old are you?"
The stuntwoman stretched and leaned against the back of the couch.
"How old am I? How old am I? Old enough to be an adult standing on my own two feet without the fear that mommy isn't within arm's reach!"
Trina grunted and kicked the same couch Tori was at.
"You are IMPOSSIBLE! No wonder she left."
"The fuck did you just say?"
The older sister struck a nerve and being a sibling sought to exploit it.
"What's the matter, Victoria?"
It made her blood boil when she was referred to by her full first name. It wasn't a diminutive in her eyes, but a sign of disrespect.
Tori took a step closer to her. They were similar in height but one was way more built than the other.
"See, I didn't quite catch everything you said, so maybe you should repeat yourself. But make sure I understand good and choose your words...very carefully."
Clearly, this was a power play, but the older Vega was having none of this. Trina kept her arms down and leaned in her unguarded face.
(You don't have the STONES, baby sister.)
"Do I have to spell it out for you yet another time?" snapped Trina. "Mom is gone because of you!"
Tori surprised Trina by sliding away from the violent confrontation she was trying to instigate and sat on the couch.
"Mom and dad fought all the time," she huffed. "Or is your memory shit, too?"
Trina walked over to Tori, still standing to maintain control.
"Don't you think her moving, imposing a thinly veiled ultimatum on her children wasn't the least bit fucked up?!"
"You gave her no cho-"
"STOP DEFENDING HER, TRINA!" Tori shouted, standing up. This made Trina jump back like a tiger lunged at her.
Tori brushed back her hair.
"If I gave her anything, it was an excuse!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You don't like to remember, but I have those shouting matches between them burned into my brain! She wanted to leave and maybe she wanted us in the beginning to come along. But at the end of the day, it's easier to start anew without kids. So, Holly made sure we felt all of the guilt, so we'd be too scared to follow her."
"Don't call her Holly!" Trina sighed. "She's our mother!"
The muscular sister started laughing.
"Are you serious, bitch? We are talking about the same mother who, by the way, didn't even ask us to come with! I didn't make her leave. She wanted to leave us!"
Tori playfully knocked on Trina's head.
"Don't tell me you're this stupid! She brainwashed you, sis."
Her face softened and she sighed.
"Trina, I'm being real here. She convinced you that her bullshit excuses are your guilt. And you fell for it!"
The big sister was fuming at her younger sibling. It just came out.
"Fuck you!"
"Fuck me?" Tori pointed at herself. "Fuck YOU! And fuck mom, too!"
"Get out," she breathed.
"You want me to leave?" asked Tori.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!"
"Okay, FINE!"
Tori stormed out of Trina's living room and just left the front door open, feeling it wasn't worth slamming.
[END OF FLASHBACK]
"That lasted for about ten months. Next thing I knew, Trina was blowing up my phone with offers. Now that mom's no longer in the picture, she set her people pleaser laser square at me!"
"Not for nothing, Tori..." Jade kissed the corner of her mouth. "But you're the only family you guys have left."
Tori made a dismissive grumble to the idea.
"It might have been a little easier for me growing up if I had a big sister looking out for me."
"Yeah, same."
In the middle of the night, Tori woke up with a powerful thirst and carefully got up to get a drink of water without disturbing Jade.
She looked back at her sleeping beauty.
(Normally I would find a cleaning day to be a real drag. But with her...that girl can make a trip to the DMV fun.)
Tori saw the overturned picture frame and scooped it up on her way to the kitchen. She set it down and got a drink from the sink. Once quenched, Tori put the glass in the sink and finally faced the photo in the frame.
Staring back at her was the smiling visage of her mother. This was taken when her and Trina were younger.
The strong woman pondered if this smile was part of the lies and deceit. Everyone smiles for a picture; why would Holly Vega be any different?
Tori took a deep breath and eyed the plastic trash bin leaning again the wall between the fridge and the oven. She stepped on the pedal to make the top flip open and she threw her mother into the trash.
Feeling satisfied, she went back to bed with the only important person in her life as far as she was concerned.