by Emma Collins
Love Unscripted
Emma Collins
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Copyright © 2019
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Chapter 1
“Riley! Riley!”
Riley kept a smile plastered on her face as she turned, her arm around Adam’s waist as they made their way down the red carpet, camera flashes firing from every angle. They walked a few more paces before stopping to face the cameras again, her hand on her hip as she posed with Adam.
Riley’s cheeks ached from all of this smiling. She just wanted to get inside and get this movie premier over with. It felt like her dress was trying to suffocate her, the deep blue fabric wrapping itself tighter around her the longer she stayed in it.
She couldn’t wait to get home, to get out of this dress and put on her pajamas. Riley knew she should be grateful. This was her biggest movie to date, but her heart wasn’t in it anymore. She came to Hollywood ten years ago to be a screenwriter, not an actress.
They strutted a few more paces before stopping to face the cameras again, her hand on her hip as she posed with Adam. She glanced over at him, his distinct cologne surrounding her as the photographers continued to shout her name from behind the barrier. Unlike her own, Adam’s smile was genuine. He was absolutely buzzing about this movie, and he should be. He’d done an amazing job directing this one.
Adam was one of the very few people that she trusted in this business and the best work she’d ever done was with him. They were inseparable on and off set and the media loved to think they were a couple. Riley was happy to let them run with that story because Adam always seemed to laugh it off and well, for her, it was the perfect cover.
Somehow, after ten years in this business no one had discovered her secret. Year after year, her pay checks was increasing and the roles she was being offered more and more coveted, but there wasn’t even one rumor that she might be a lesbian, and for now anyway, Riley wanted to keep it that way.
“Riley? Come on,” Adam said, his hand lightly resting on the small of her back, leading her away from the crowd of media and photographers and into the theater. She carefully climbed the stairs, her fingers interlacing with Adam’s. At least two of her toes had gone numb thanks to these heels.
“Are you okay?” he asked her when they were inside. He’d managed to find a quiet corner, away from the steady stream of people entering the building.
Riley brushed a lock of blond hair away from her eyes. The air-conditioning wasn’t doing anything for her. Her palms were sweaty, and she was feeling a little lightheaded, but at least they were away from the chaos.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m just going to find the restroom. I’ll meet you inside.”
“So, should I wait for you? To say a few words?”
“No... Not this time. Go ahead. I know how much you love doing it,” she said with a smile that she hoped was believable.
“Okay.”
“Good luck,” Riley called after her as she found the sign for the restrooms and followed the hallway until she reached the last door on the right marked ‘Women.’ Thankfully, it was empty. Everyone else had probably gone straight inside to find their seats.
She stood in front of the long mirror above the sinks and wished she could splash her face with cold water. That was always her go-to coping mechanism when she was starting to feel panicked or overwhelmed, but tonight, she couldn’t. Her makeup would be ruined. Instead she took a deep breath, her hands pressed against the chilly marble counter, while she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.
This will pass... It always does. I just need to breathe.
A heat crept up the back of her neck and across her cheeks. If this was what a hot flash felt like, she dreaded getting older. Twenty-nine was far too young for a hot flash. It was just stress and the pressure of this business.
Her heart was thudding in her chest and she knew that if she didn’t get this under control quickly, she wouldn’t be able to. She hadn’t had a full-blown panic attack since... Since her family had gone on a homophobic rant while they were sitting around the dinner table.
Her brother, Mark, had just become a priest, and he was never one to keep his opinions to himself. He’d told them about how a member of their parish had come to him, asking for advice about the feelings he was having for other men. Mark had boasted that night about how he told him that being gay was the worst sin that one could commit and how he was able to convince this man to never act on those feelings.
Riley was only a teenager back then. She hadn’t even realized she was gay yet, but his words had struck her as appalling. Even if he didn’t think being gay was natural, how could he think it was the worst sin someone could commit? Surely, killing someone was worse? She’d stayed quiet that night and many other nights after that, even after she discovered she was a lesbian, and she moved out as soon as she finished high school, coming to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of writing screenplays.
Riley’s chest tightened as she remembered that night. She pushed herself away from the counter and retreated into one of the stalls, locking the door and putting down the toilet seat before slumping onto it. This is not what she thought her life would be like.
Just breathe...
***
Riley’s heart rate eventually returned to normal and after a few more deep breaths, she emerged from the stall and left the restroom, ready to face what was left of this premier, but as she returned to the lobby, a stream of well-dressed people was leaving, and her eyes found Adam’s from across the room.
“Hey,” he said as he took the last few steps towards her. “You okay? You missed the screening.”
“I’m fine. Exhausted... I think I’m going to head home.”
“You have to at least make an appearance at the after party.”
“Ugh.”
“If you’re serious about quitting acting, this could be your last one of these parties for a while. The learning curve is going to be steep,” Adam said as he ran a hand through his thick black hair.
“Fine. Let’s go.” She knew he was right.
“I’m not saying that you won’t be good,” Adam said in a rush as he followed her out, realizing that he might have offended her.
“I know. I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight. Let’s go to the after party and enjoy ourselves. What did the audience think of the movie?”
“They loved it. Lots of cheering, a few laughs... I hope this isn’t our last project together.”
“It won’t be. I plan on writing something worthy of your time,” Riley said with a warm smile. “Just be patient with me.”
“Always.”
Chapter 2
Riley poured herself another cup of coffee. She hated that restless feeling she always got when she was hungover. Her headache was almost gone but she still felt woozy, her mind foggy. She did end up having a good night at the after party. She hadn’t drank much but the few glasses of champagne she had went straight to her head.
Riley left the kitchen and padded down the hall across the wooden floors and into the spare bedroom that she’d turned into an office. When she bought this place just a few minutes outside of Bakersfield, she knew she wanted to have a place to work, to get back into writing between acting jobs, but year after year went by and the only
time she ever sat at this desk was to Skype a friend or book a vacation. She’d never actually sat down to write a screenplay.
If someone had told her nineteen-year-old self that she’d still be acting as she approached her thirtieth birthday, she would have told them that they were crazy. No way was that going to happen. Acting was just paying the bills. Writing was her passion but as she pulled out the black leather chair and sat down, she felt like a fraud.
Technically, there were no requirements for being a screenwriter. She didn’t need a degree or to intern with someone. It was a lot like acting. One good script could launch your career, but the odds were always against you. Riley remembered someone telling her when she first arrived in California that only one hundred and fifty screenplays were made into movies each year and thousands were written.
Things were a lot different now though. When that stat was thrown at her she was only eighteen. Now she had more than ten years’ experience in the movie making business and not only that, she wasn’t a starving artist. Luckily, Riley was never tempted by flashy cars or jewelry. She’d bought this three-bedroom house with cash when she was twenty and drove an entry level BMW. She didn’t have a vacation home or an apartment in New York. If she was going somewhere, she rented out a house on Airbnb. She never understood why anyone would spend so much money on a second or third house or car that they didn’t use.
Money wasn’t going to be a problem. She could work on writing something meaningful, something that she would be proud to have her name on. Riley waited for her desktop to start up and bent down to pull open the desk drawers one at a time. She knew she had some of her first attempts at writing here somewhere. She lifted three white binders out and put them on the desk in front of her. Maybe there was something she could work with here, so she didn’t have to start from scratch.
Riley flipped through them, the plots coming back to her but none of them grabbed her. She knew she was going to struggle with the first one. She hadn’t written anything in years so it would probably be like pulling teeth. That’s why she wanted something exciting to work on, something that would keep her up late at night and invade her dreams. None of these screenplays she’d written in high school were going to have that effect on her. She stacked the binders up again and returned them to their drawer.
Riley typed her password in and opened up a new document, the blinking cursor staring back at her, teasing her almost, daring her to write something, but she couldn’t think of anything. She took out a notebook and spent a few minutes jotting down ideas and locations, but nothing was really jumping out at her. Then she remembered something that Adam had said a few months ago. He’d said the best way to get good at something was to model someone who had already done it, to figure out what they did and work backwards.
What if I try adapting a book into a screenplay? I can work on my writing skills without coming up with the plot and characters.
Riley got up in search of her ereader. She had to have something on there that would inspire her, a book she read before and knew she liked. She found her ereader on the coffee table and got comfortable on the couch, scrolling through her books until her eyes found an old favorite. It was called Chasing Time by Laura Foley, and Riley remembered giving this one five stars a few years ago. This was exactly what she was looking for. She fluffed the cushions behind her and started reading.
Almost six hours later, with only two-bathroom breaks, Riley wiped away the tear that trickled down her cheek. She forgot how emotional the story was but instead of feeling drained she went back to her computer and the notebook that was still open on the desk. She already had a few ideas that she needed to write down before she forgot them.
Adapting a book into a movie wasn’t just about writing in stage directions. Some of the scenes would have to be cut and others added. Riley’s mind was racing. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this inspired. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she’d hardly eaten today, and as much as she wanted to keep going with her brainstorming, she got up and hoped there was something in her fridge that she could reheat. Riley had a feeling that she wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight.
Chapter 3
“You sure move fast,” Adam said as he handed Riley the script that she’d emailed him a week ago. She resisted the temptation to flip through the hefty stack and check out his notes. She slid it into her bag instead and sat down on the couch beside him.
Adam lived in what could only be described as a bachelor pad. The black, white, and red color scheme combined with the movie posters and the sports memorabilia that covered the walls left little doubt that a single thirty-four-year-old man lived there.
“I felt inspired.”
“Don’t you want to bask in the success of our most recent movie for a while first?”
“No. I’m ready for the next phase of my career.”
Adam nodded. “Well, the script has a lot of potential. I love the story. It’s so emotional, heartbreaking...”
“It’s powerful.”
“I know. That woman’s fight, her determination in the last few months of her life... I just can’t believe you got the author to agree so quickly. Did Maria make this happen or did you have to pay her out of your own pocket?”
“I uh... I haven’t actually spoken to the author yet,” Riley said, running a hand through her blond hair.
“What?”
“That’s why I didn’t want you to show it to anyone. I was having trouble coming up with an idea for an original screenplay so I thought it would be a good way to get back into writing, you know... By working on an adaptation. I loved the book when it first came out, so I read it again and then got down to work.”
“Well, I think it has serious potential but obviously we can’t do anything until the book is optioned. You know that. You may have written that for nothing,” Adam said as he draped his arm over the back of the couch.
“I know. But even if I can’t get in touch with the author or she doesn’t want to do it, it was still good practice. I hadn’t tried writing in years.”
Adam nodded. “There’s a lot to do with it still. The dialog needs to be stronger... Well, you’ll see my notes. I didn’t hold back.”
“Good. That’s what I need,” Riley said, glancing down at her bag, knowing that as soon as she made the two hour drive back home the first thing she’d do is pour over his notes.
“Even with a solid screenplay, there’s no guarantees the studio will want to take it on. So, don’t get too invested in this one, okay?”
“But we have connections, right?”
“We? You want me to work on this with you if it happens?”
“Of course,” Riley said with a warm smile. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Okay. Great,” he said, flashing his charming grin. “But this is all very hypothetical. Get the author to option the book and then we’ll get into the details and start thinking about our next move and who’s going to fund it.”
“Thanks, Adam,” she said as she stood up. “You have no idea.”
“No problem. You seem more like yourself. If writing makes you happy, I’m all for it... Do you want a game before you leave?” he asked, glancing over at the pool table on the other side of the room.
“Sure.”
Riley missed hanging out with him. Of course, they spent tons of time together when they were working but that was different. Crew and other cast members were always milling around, lining up to ask either of them a question or to see if they needed anything between takes. This was just the two of them, like it used to be before either of them were famous.
Chapter 4
Riley vowed to drink this cappuccino slowly. It was already her fourth of the day and it was only lunchtime. Plus, she knew caffeine sometimes triggered her anxiety and this was a high-pressure situation. She had to be patient and hope that she’d run into Laura Foley. Then she somehow had to introduce herself and eventually try and persuade her to option her book. Completely rea
listic.
She lifted her mug to her lips. This was definitely the right place. The wall behind her was the one from Laura Foley’s Instagram account. She immediately recognized the wood paneled wall and the whole coffee shop had that rustic feel that Laura always seemed to capture in the photos she took while she was working.
Riley had gone to the other two coffee shops in town earlier, but they looked nothing like the one in Laura’s photos. She’d opened up the map on her phone and found the next closest coffee house and that was this place. Now, she just had to wait.
She’d been to Philadelphia a few times, but she’d never made it to north east Pennsylvania. It was quiet, rural, and Riley found a lovely house on Airbnb that was tucked away in the woods.
Riley emptied her bag, taking her laptop out first and turning it on while she reached for her script and her notebook, laying them out in front of her. She really didn’t consider this stalking but that was probably what her stalker would have said, that he was just hoping to bump into her. Riley had no intention of mailing any creepy packages though. This was just about a business proposition.
Riley signed into her laptop and took another sip of her coffee. She could get used to this lifestyle. She’d woken up at eight o’clock that morning to the sound of birds instead of the blaring alarm that usually woke her at five in the morning.
The door opened and a young woman came in, along with a chilly breeze as the door shut behind her. Riley darted her eyes away when she realized it wasn’t Ms. Foley. She’d worn very little makeup today and dressed casually in a sweater and jeans. She added a beanie on her way out the door and she hoped that she wouldn’t get recognized. So far, she hadn’t but if she kept making eye contact with every person who walked in, she’d surely blow her cover.
Chapter 5