by Kasie West
“I think it’s mostly fresh,” she answered back.
“So comforting.”
“I’ll put the ranch on it for you,” Sydney said, retrieving it from the fridge.
As she poured it on my salad, coating each and every item in the bowl, Colby said, “We got a cat! It lives in your room!”
“Colby,” my mom said sharply. “That was going to be a surprise.”
My head whipped over to my mom. “What?”
“I know, I know, you’re not a fan of animals. But you weren’t here, and it’s good for the kids to learn responsibility, and it’s really cute.”
“So you got a kitten?”
“It’s not a kitten,” Mom said. “It’s a rescue cat.”
My sister pushed the salad across the island to where I stood. My stomach flipped. I wasn’t sure if it was from the smell of ranch that now overpowered me or the thought of a cat living in my room.
“Does it sleep on my bed?” I asked.
“We put a cat bed in the corner,” Mom said, which didn’t answer my question. She pulled a fork out of the drawer and handed it to me. “Eat up.”
Three very ranchy bites later I crept my way down the hall. So what? A cat lived in my room. It couldn’t be that bad. People liked cats for a reason. It couldn’t be their constant shedding or sharp skin-piercing claws, so something else.
I opened the door, and the smell hit me first. Some sort of urine mixed with Lysol. People absolutely couldn’t like animals for their smell.
“I haven’t had a chance to clean the litter box in a couple of days. It’s Syd’s job, but I usually double-check,” Mom said, following behind me. “But I did vacuum when you called. Pepper hates the vacuum.”
“Who?”
“The cat.”
“The cat’s name is Pepper?”
“Yes, she came with that name. Come here, kitty, kitty,” Mom said, walking around me and into the room. “She takes a while to warm up to a new person. Also she likes to jump out at legs when you walk by.”
My mom continued to talk, but I was busy looking at my room that wasn’t my room anymore. It was a cat haven. There was some sort of tower in the corner, rope was tied around each of the legs of my bed, creating scratching posts, a plastic mat with a litter box on top was tucked beside my dresser, and cat toys were scattered all over my bed. In my closet, my beautiful closet, all my clothes and shoes were gone, replaced by stacks of boxes. I couldn’t decide if I was more angry or sad.
My mom must’ve noticed my gaze because she said, “Pepper was batting at your hanging clothes and she peed on a pair of shoes, so I decided to pack away everything in your closet.”
“Why do people like animals again?” I mumbled.
She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. We were just getting the cat used to the house. She has trust issues, and they said it would be good to keep her in one room for a while and slowly introduce her to the rest of the house, and your room, seeing as how it was empty, seemed like the best option. She doesn’t really like people.”
“You adopted a cat that doesn’t like people?”
“She has the potential to like people. She wasn’t treated very well in her last house. Are you mad? You’re mad.”
My mom looked so stressed, and my siblings had seemed genuinely excited about this, so I said, “No, of course not. I’m only here for one night.”
“Thank you, honey. I promise by the time you get back, your room will be cat-free.”
“Sounds good.” I pointed to the boxes in the closet. “Do you remember which one might hold my sweats and tees?”
She gave me her sad eyes again. “I have no idea. You’ll just have to go through all of them.”
“Okay. I will.”
I went to the closet and pulled down the first box. My mom left the room and closed the door behind her, presumably so the cat wouldn’t get out.
“Is now the time you’re going to jump on me?” I asked the air around me. The cat didn’t respond. I snapped a pic of the litter box in the corner and sent it in a text to Amanda with the words: I’ve been replaced by a cat.
Your dad got a cat? Maybe it will divert some of his attention.
I smiled. I wish. No, my mom got a cat.
She needs to play the card game with you so she knows the important details about your personality.
Right? What are you doing with your day off?
I have escaped my trailer and am going to crash at a friend’s place.
Have fun!
I sat down and opened the first box from my closet. It was everything that had been on my dresser and taped onto my mirror—mainly pictures and jewelry. My mom hadn’t mentioned packing away the top of my dresser but when I looked over there now, sure enough, it was bare except for a weird-looking ball. The cat must’ve gotten into my things up there as well. It was fine. This was fine.
I turned my attention back to the pics and flipped through them. Most were from a musical I had directed over the summer—The Music Man. I had been a good director; I encouraged the actors and gave positive feedback. At least most of the time.
I dropped the pics in the box. No, I wasn’t going to let myself obsess on my day off. I needed a distraction.
Fourteen
After digging through five boxes to find clothes, reading my brother and sister a book before bed, and filling my mom in on the exciting world of moviemaking, I asked, “Do you mind if I hang out with some friends tomorrow, Mom?”
My mom sat next to me on the couch with a big glass of ice water. “No, of course not. You should.”
“Thank you.” The clock on the wall said it was close to ten. “Where is Bill? I thought he’d be home by now.”
“It’s that case I was telling you about. It keeps him late almost every night.”
“Tell him I said hi, then. I’m going to bed.”
She squeezed my arm. “I will. I’m glad to have you home, Lace.”
“I’m happy to be home.”
The cat hadn’t shown her face the whole time I’d been in my room—her room?—earlier. Mom had said she hid under the bed a lot. “Don’t jump out at me,” I said as I walked in the room this time. It didn’t smell anymore because my sister had cleaned the litter. “We’ll just have a mutual understanding, yes? You leave me alone. I leave you alone. It will be for the best.” I tiptoed to my bed, then hopped into it quickly.
It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.
It had been a while since I’d been to a milkshake or burger place, but Abby had suggested the place in town that served both in equal quantities.
Abby jumped up and gave me a hug. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Just for a couple more hours.”
Cooper offered a wave and a smile. I didn’t know Cooper as well as Abby. I’d gotten to know her mainly in the time where she was trying to get over him because she loved him fiercely and he didn’t know he loved her back yet. He’d obviously come to his senses. He was cute. His look screamed surfer boy—blond hair, tan, athletic build.
“Do you surf, Cooper?” was the first thing I asked when I joined them at the table.
“No, I do not.”
“Huh.” I sat down and put on my smile. “Hi.”
“What’s with the surfing question?” Abby asked. She had her hand in Cooper’s, and their chairs were close.
“He just looks like a surfer boy. Don’t you think?”
“Is that an insult?” Cooper asked. “It felt like an insult.”
I laughed. “Do you have a problem with surfers?”
“No, but it feels like you do.”
“It does? I don’t. Surfers are cute.”
“She thinks you’re cute, babe,” Abby said.
“I do,” I said.
Cooper winked at Abby. “Are you going to let her flirt with me like this?”
“I will defend you with my life if I need to,” Abby said. “But not until after I have a milk shake.”
I picked up a p
lastic-covered menu from the table. “No lives need to be sacrificed. I was just pointing out beauty. I also think Abby is cute, and I’m not trying to steal her either.”
“Speaking of beauty,” Abby said. “How is Grant James?”
“You find Grant James attractive?” Cooper asked Abby.
“You don’t?” she said back, as though this was the most shocking thing he’d ever said.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve seen hotter.”
As they proceeded to get into a debate about Grant James, I realized the last time I talked about Grant was with Donavan. That conversation came back to me—his admitting he’d been the writer of the viral review. The review that was messing with Grant’s head and in turn messing with our chemistry on camera. Even if Grant didn’t think it was him too, Amanda thought it was and so did I.
“For the record,” I said out loud, maybe too loud, “I liked his last movie. I thought he was great. He’s a good actor.”
They both paused in their discussion and looked at me, confusion on their faces. “We didn’t say he wasn’t,” Abby said.
“Oh, I thought that’s what you were talking about.”
Abby tilted her head. “No, we were being much more shallow. Are you okay? Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.” Apparently I was letting Donavan get in my head now.
“Has the infamous kissing scene happened yet?” Abby wiggled her eyebrows.
“Soon.” I remembered when I first read in the script that I had to kiss Grant James I thought it would be fun. Now it sounded like a test I wasn’t prepared for. Something I needed to study for. Something I’d been studying for. Well, except in the way Amanda had suggested—by finding someone in my real life to have real feelings for. I wondered if I kissed someone for real, someone I wanted to kiss, if that would help. No. I shook my head. I didn’t need to do that. I was an actress. “I just have to become Scarlett,” I said.
“Who’s Scarlett?” Cooper asked.
“My character. I need to channel her and it will be fine.”
“Order number seventy-two!” the worker behind the counter said, and Abby jumped up.
“Oh, you already ordered. I better go place my order or you’ll be staring at me while I eat,” I said.
I ordered grilled chicken and a water, even though the guy behind the counter looked at me funny, then I sat back down. Cooper’s fries looked so good I almost stole one, but I kept my hands to myself.
“So talk to me,” Abby said. “You seem stressed about things. Normally when you talk about a project, you’re overflowing with excitement.”
“Overflowing? Really?”
“Is it that chemistry thing you mentioned?”
“I hate chemistry,” Cooper said.
Abby laughed. “The other kind of chemistry.”
“Oh, I take back my statement, then.” Cooper squeezed Abby’s hand, and she made the slightest movement toward him, their shoulders brushing.
Speaking of chemistry, they’d had more in the last ten minutes than I’d had with Grant in two weeks.
“Is there someone else you’d rather be kissing? Is that the problem?” Abby asked.
“What? No!” I knew my mistake the second I’d spoken it. I’d been too quick and adamant in my response. I should’ve just rolled my eyes or waved it off. After all, there wasn’t someone I’d rather be kissing, but I’d just made it seem like that wasn’t the case.
“Spill,” Abby said.
“There’s nothing to tell. I live, eat, and breathe my script and zombies. Who would I kiss?”
“For an actress, you aren’t a very good liar,” Cooper said.
“I take offense to that statement.”
“You want to be a good liar?” Abby asked.
“Absolutely. But I wasn’t lying, so that means I wasn’t acting, so your statement was false anyway.” I waved my hand. “Enough about me. Tell me everything about you.”
“Everything?” Abby said. “That would take forever.”
“At least tell her about the float at homecoming.”
Abby laughed, and Cooper followed suit. “It’s a long story,” she said after a minute.
“I like long stories,” I said.
“Abby jumped on the float and lip-synched.”
“You what?” I said, surprised.
“That was a very condensed version of the real story, but basically the girl who was supposed to lip-synch vomited in the end field and—”
“That’s a condensed version too,” Cooper interrupted with a laugh.
“True, but it was an important detail.” They went back and forth sharing other details that made zero sense. Details that I wished I could’ve seen, been part of. It sounded like my kind of night.
Abby finally turned back to me and said, “So I had no other choice but to jump on the float.”
“No other choice,” I said, and I could hear the hollowness in my voice.
Cooper and Abby met eyes and laughed again.
I repacked the clothes I had taken out back into their boxes and pushed them into my closet. Then I got down on all fours and looked under my bed. It was too dark under there to see much, but no glowing pair of eyes shone back at me. I pointed my phone flashlight all around. Nothing. “Mom!”
She came to my open doorway. “Yes?”
“Are you sure you actually still own a cat? Maybe it escaped.”
“I’m sure.” She looked around. “Wait, are you leaving?”
I sat back on my heels. “Yes, I want to be back before it gets dark. I have an early call tomorrow.” Plus, I hoped getting home early would make up for the fact that I hadn’t responded to my dad’s texts. Technically, I didn’t think they’d required a response. The first one had read, Long-distance trips are something we should discuss before they happen in the future. The second had read, I talked to your teacher, she said your last packet wasn’t your best work. Statements did not require answers.
I climbed to my feet, picked up my bag, and gave my mom a hug. “You should come with me, see the set, meet Grant and Amanda and my director. It would be fun.”
She nodded slowly. “It would be fun. But . . .” Her eyes looked around my room as if searching for the invisible cat.
“You can’t,” I finished for her.
“I’ll find the time. Just not this week.”
“Okay. Soon though.”
“Soon.”
I hugged her, then found my siblings in the kitchen. They sat at barstools eating frosting on graham crackers. I squished them each into a hug and assaulted their cheeks with multiple kisses. “Try not to have too much of a life without me.”
I made it all the way to the door before I realized I’d forgotten my charger on my nightstand. I turned to tell my mom as much but she hadn’t followed me to the door like she always used to do when I left the house. I backtracked to where she had joined my siblings at a barstool of her own and was spreading pink frosting onto a cracker.
“Tonight, we should have a movie night in your room,” Sydney said to Mom.
“Absolutely,” Mom responded.
“Can I pick the movie?” Colby asked.
“We’ll do the hat trick,” Mom said, and they both laughed. The hat trick? I had no idea what that was. I swallowed a lump that wanted to form in my throat and quickly retrieved my charger before leaving.
I walked through the door after my four-hour drive, not feeling at all how I’d hoped I would after my visit home. I hadn’t anticipated feeling like such an outsider in my own house. Like life worked perfectly fine, if not better, without me. Dad stood at the counter, and we locked eyes. I was too emotionally drained for a fight tonight.
“Next time I’ll tell you before I go to mom’s,” I said, defeated.
He pulled a plate out of the fridge that was covered in plastic wrap. “You hungry?”
I nodded, and he removed the plastic and put it in the microwave.
I plopped onto a barstool at the counter.
“Thanks.”
“I’m not trying to hover, Lacey. I want what’s best for you.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe this is what’s best for me?”
The microwave beeped, and he placed the plate of pasta in front of me. I took a few bites.
He sighed. “I’m worried about you.”
“Why? I’m fine.”
“I’m worried something is going to happen that will shatter your spirit. Call it a gut instinct or a—”
“Overprotective father.”
“Sure, you can call it that. I just want to make sure you have a life to go back to if this experience ends badly for you.”
“This experience? Meaning, starring in a movie?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the worst that can happen, Dad? Bad reviews?” I asked, thinking about Donavan and his viral smackdown on Grant.
“I don’t know.”
“Even if the worst happened, I wouldn’t give this up. I’d try again. I’m tough.”
“I know you are.”
“This is what I’m supposed to be doing.” Now I just had to prove that was true. Maybe when this was all over, when my dad saw the results, he’d finally realize I could do this.
He shook his head, indicating that I was searching in the wrong place for the support I needed. It was never going to come from him.
Dancing Graves
EXT. FOREST BEYOND THE MANSION—NIGHT.
SCARLETT leads a group of zombies to a cave near the mountains, where she is hoping to gather them all and barricade them to keep them and the humans safe while her father works on a cure. She feels like she belongs with the zombies but still understands that she shouldn’t feel that way. She has moments where she is more aware than others and this is one of those moments. BENJAMIN follows her and waits until he can speak with her alone.
BENJAMIN
Scarlett. Is it safe?
SCARLETT
Never fully safe with me.
BENJAMIN
I know you would never hurt me. Why have you led them here?
SCARLETT
Buying time until my father can work a miracle.
BENJAMIN
This might not be a good idea to have them all together like this in the same place. If the wrong hunter finds out it could be disastrous.