Page 7 of Stolen Hearts
Yes, we do.
You need to stop punishing us and get back with him.
I take a deep breath, temper my emotions, and fight back the irrational thoughts.
“I want answers. Not the ones he left on the voicemail, but actual answers. Why didn’t he let me know he had to go so abruptly? Why did he pay me off to buy my silence? But I’m still not ready to speak…”
“You got paid off?” Daniel interjects and reaches for his beer. “How much did he pay you?”
“A hundred k.”
A mouthful of beer flies out of Daniel’s mouth, covering the table, his legs, and his shorts.
“A hundred thousand dollars! Just to buy your silence? Fuck, I’d go gay for that kind of payday.” His smile cracks his chapped lips.
“Daniel! Stop being so insensitive.” Kelly whacks him on the stomach. “And go get some towels to clean up the mess you’ve made.”
Daniel heads to the kitchen, returning with a bunch of towels, and bends down on his knees to wipe up the beer.
“So why don’t you call him back? Meet up with him? At least that way you can say what you need to say and hear directly from him, rather than through an interview or from his team what really went down and how he truly feels.” Daniel’s narrowed eyes meet mine for a second before dropping away to clean up the last of the beer from the table.
The way Daniel logically lays it all out stops me in my tracks.
“Because his publicist, Connie, told me no contact. Part of the agreement was to never communicate with Alex again. To ignore any attempts from him to reconnect. Otherwise, the contract would be void and they could sue me for breach of contract.” My voice cracks.
“Well good job you’ve got a brother-in-law for a lawyer, who can go through the contract and spot any loopholes.” Daniel pushes me down on the couch so he can sit beside me, then slings his arm over my shoulder as a devilish look appears on his face.
“Plus, as long as you haven’t spent any of the money he gave you, and you aren’t calling him, but he’s calling you, then is that really breaching the contract?” Kelly asks as she pulls out the hairband from her hair, allowing it to fall over her shoulders.
A ping sounds from my pocket, and I pull out my phone to see a notification. It’s a Google alert, the one I set up to notify me about any updates on Alexander. I open my phone, click on the email, and rub my eyes in disbelief:
Actor Brian Rawlings rushed to hospital after an altercation on set with Alexander Morgan.
“What are you looking at?”
Kelly snatches the phone from my hand and scans the article.
“Jesus, he’s let himself go.” Kelly turns the phone toward me to reveal a picture of Alexander from the set of his movie.
I remember the first time I saw a picture of Alexander from the film and was taken aback by his rugged look. The dyed hair and the groomed, bushy beard makes him look earthy and desperate—a far cry from the popstar look he had in London. But after a few more articles came through, it grew on me, and now, apart from the recurring nightmares I have from London, I barely remember what he looked like before.
“That’s for the film,” I respond, a little too defensively.
“Let me see.” Daniel reaches for the phone as Kelly passes it to him.
“On second thought, scrap what I just said. You can do better than that.” Daniel grabs his Corona, knocks back the last mouthful, places it back down on the table, and slaps his legs. “Let’s go show off this revenge body of yours down in WeHo. What is it they say, babe? The best way to get over someone…”
“Is to get under someone else,” Kelly finishes. She gets up as Daniel does, then reaches out her hand to pull me up. “Come on, pigeon belly, let’s go find you some cock.”
“I think you’ll find the pigeon belly you refer to is now a cheese grater,” I say, and lift up my hoodie to reveal the six-pack I’ve been busting my ass off in the gym to get for the first time in my life.
“Fuck man. You are ripped. You’re definitely getting laid tonight!” Daniel laughs.
I grab my phone back from Daniel to read the article. I never had Alexander down as the physical altercation type. My thoughts are confirmed when I read that a witness on set mentioned it was an accident rather than an altercation. The article also states that Brian went to the hospital as a precautionary measure and was released, with filming to resume tomorrow.
Maybe Ishouldreach out to Alexander.
Just to check in and make sure he’s okay.
