Hollywood Heartthrob

by Clarissa Carlyle

  “I’ve already done all I can. As have you. He needs professional medical care.”

  “There’s no other option?”

  Seeing how distraught Amy was, Matt sighed and resigned to give some other less reliable advice.

  “If you are so set on not taking him to hospital, your other option is to take him back to wherever he’s staying and spend the night with him.”

  “You mean watch him?” Amy queried.

  “Yes, watch him. If he loses consciousness or develops a fever, call me.”

  “Oh Matt, you’re the best!” Amy beamed.

  “No, I’m just stupid and a sucker for a damsel in distress.”

  Together Matt and Amy returned Josh to the back of her car. He was moaning much less than before now that he had the morphine in his system but he wasn’t out of the woods yet.

  “You seriously can’t take your eyes off him, even for a moment,” Matt warned as he shut the car door and turned to face Amy.

  “I won’t.” Amy promised.

  “Any idea who did it?” he glanced briefly at Josh, referring to his assailant.

  “Not a clue,” Amy lied, not wanting to mention how she thought she’d seen John’s car near the scene of the crime as Matt would immediately start making what could be false allegations. Any of her family would jump at any opportunity to see John behind bars.

  “I guess a guy like him must have a lot of enemies.”

  “Because they’re jealous of his fame and fortune?” Amy quipped.

  “No – because he sleeps with their women. I don’t even read the tabloids yet I know that Josh Roberts has been around the block more than a few times. It’s common knowledge.”

  “Mmm,” Amy answered non-committal.

  “Don’t do something stupid like get involved with him. I want to believe you’re just helping out a guy in a bad way, that there isn’t anything else to it.”

  “There’s nothing else to it,” Amy told her second lie of the night.

  “Then why don’t I believe you?” Matt frowned.

  His watched his cousin and her famous passenger drive off and felt his fatigue dissipate and give way to worry; he feared that his impetuous younger cousin was headed for disaster.

  Chapter 5

  Amy pulled up outside the most luxurious hotel in town, realizing with a tinge of sadness that she’d only ever driven past and admired the grand structure, never actually gone in.

  Behind her the painkillers were kicking in and Josh seemed more animated than before. He’d manage to sit himself up and was behaving more coherently.

  “Okay, well we are here,” Amy called out.

  “We are?” Josh asked, still feeling out of it.

  “I should have guessed this is where you’d be staying. It’s like a palace.”

  “Is anyone outside?” Josh asked anxiously.

  “Sorry?” Amy felt confused.

  “Outside, at the front, are there any reporters?”

  Leaning forward Amy looked out her windshield and scrutinized the entrance to the hotel.

  She saw the lavish floral displays, the red carpet to greet guests, and the dozen or so people hovering around with cameras around their necks.

  “There’s some people with cameras,” she explained flippantly, assuming them to be tourists milling about.

  “Shit!” Josh exclaimed.

  “What?” Amy asked, alarmed.

  “It’s the paparazzi.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, they’ve been camped outside ever since I got here. I was kind of hoping they’d have had a night off. How stupid was I?”

  “Is there a back entrance we can use?” Amy suggested.

  “There is but…” Josh sighed and let his head fall in his hands. “I can’t use it. I’ve not exactly been a model guest in the past.”

  “Okay…” Amy tried not to dwell on what Josh could possibly have done to be denied access to the other entrance.

  “Could you sneak past? Maybe put on a baseball cap or something?”

  “Are you joking? There’s loads of them! They are hovering like flies round shit!”

  “Well then what do you want to do?” Amy demanded impatiently.

  “Erm…” Josh continued to hold his head in his hands as he tried to figure out a solution.

  “Where do you live?” he asked at length.

  “Oh no!” Amy quickly replied.

  “What?”

  “You’re not coming back to my place!” she said firmly.

  “Why not? It would be perfect.”

  “Perfect for you maybe!”

  “I’ve nowhere else to go,” Josh admitted, his voice small.

  “What about the co-star you’re banging? Caroline Not-So-Demure?”

  “She wouldn’t help me.”

  “Why not?” Amy asked, feeling her posture tense as she did so.

  “Because she’s a bitch.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “So please, can you take me to your place?”

  Glancing in her rear view mirror Amy saw the desperation in Josh’s eyes and knew she couldn’t turn him out in to the night and to the vultures who were waiting with their cameras.

  “Fine” she sighed, already fearing she’d made the wrong decision.

  “Thank you!” Josh beamed.

  “But let’s just be clear that I’m taking you in as a Good Samaritan. There is to be no monkey business.”

  “Amy – I’ve just had the beating of my life. The last thing I want is any monkey business.” Josh laughed.

  “Good – then at least we are clear.”

  ****

  As Amy let the movie star into her apartment she suddenly felt acutely aware of just how lowly her home must seem.

  She had one large living area which encompassed the sitting, dining rooms and kitchen, adjoining which was a tiny bedroom and equally minute bathroom. She had done her best to liven the place up with art prints on the walls, candles and scatter cushions everywhere but there was no denying that it was much less than modest compared to Josh’s usual accommodation.

  “I’m sorry it’s so-” Amy began to apologize but couldn’t figure out exactly what she was sorry for.

  For it being small, or cheap? She didn’t know.

  “Don’t apologize,” Josh said warmly, though he was holding his side as he walked in as it was beginning to hurt once more.

  “It’s a nice place you’ve got. It’s cosy.”

  “Please.” Amy said sarcastically, not believing him.

  “Honestly, it’s a nice relief to come stay in an actual home rather than an endless string of hotels which are always so soulless and sterile in the rooms.”

  “Where’s your home?”

  “Malibu. But I’ve not been there in months.”

  Josh lowered himself on to the couch and winced in pain.

  “Do you need some more painkillers?” Amy asked quickly.

  “Please,” Josh said, holding out his hand for them.

  Amy gave him the pills and quickly dashed to the kitchen for a glass of water.

  “I’m so tired,” Josh told her as she returned and knelt beside him. He looked so pale compared to his normal tanned self, as the bruises on his face were beginning to come out.

  “Let me get you some frozen peas to put on your eye, it’s looking sore,” Amy suggested as she headed back into her kitchen.

  “You’re very caring,” Josh noted.

  “Well if you die on me your hordes of fans will never let me live it down, so it’s more about self-preservation than caring.” Amy joked.

  “I need to sleep.”

  “Is that wise?” Amy asked, concerned. “You might have a concussion.”

  “Well how do you plan to keep me awake? Talk to me all night?”

  “If I have to.” Amy admitted.

  “I’d rather have the concussion,” Josh teased.

  “Hey! Remember I’m the one with the pain killers!”

  As Am
y knelt beside her sofa and the movie star sprawled on it she realized it had been such a long time since she truly had a man in her apartment, in her life. And rather than feeling strange as she thought it would, it actually felt really good.

  They talked about anything and everything. Amy covered any topic she could think of in an effort to keep Josh conscious.

  But by three in the morning his eyes kept closing and it was obvious he wasn’t paying any attention to her.

  She knew that he was out of the woods in terms of a concussion and that he should sleep, so as he slipped into dreaming she knew she could leave and get some rest herself but she just couldn’t.

  Despite all the painful marks upon his handsome face he still looked amazingly peaceful as she slept.

  Amy watched the hypnotic rise and fall of his chest, loving how each movement meant that his heart was beating, that he was alright. She’d never watched someone sleep before.

  All the while she kept worrying that he might stop breathing, that he might take his final breath there on her couch, in her tiny apartment and she couldn’t handle that.

  “Just be okay,” she said, and as he slept she leaned down and gently kissed his forehead.

  ****

  As morning sunlight crept beneath the curtains Josh stirred and awoke.

  Everything ached. His arms, his chest, even his face ached. He felt like he’d been hit full on by a freight train.

  “Argh,” he let out a labored sigh as he sat himself up.

  “Are you okay?” Amy was immediately alert, reaching out to steady him.

  “Did you sleep?” Josh asked concerned, as he noticed the bags beneath her eyes.

  “A little…well no,” she admitted. “I was worried about you.”

  “I feel like crap.”

  “You look it.”

  “Thanks,” Josh tried to smile but it hurt to do so.

  “Let me get you some more painkillers,” Amy offered.

  “You didn’t have to do all this you know,” Josh called to her as she got the pills and a glass of water.

  “Do what?”

  “Take me in. Be so kind.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “It’s just…I’m not used to people being nice to me unless they want something,” Josh admitted sadly.

  “Well all I want is for you to get better. Here,” she handed him the painkillers and the water and he gratefully accepted them.

  Swallowing the pills Josh knew he couldn’t wait for them to kick in and ease some of the throbbing and aching which was pulsating around his body.

  “Did you see who did this to you?” Amy asked gently, watching how the sunlight caught his cheekbones and cast a slight shadow upon his face.

  “No, wish I did!” Josh said, becoming angry. “It happened so quick. One minute I was walking across the parking lot and then smack! Someone hits me from behind around the head and I’m on the ground.”

  “How awful!” Amy gasped.

  “It could have been worse.”

  “How could it?”

  “They could have had a gun.”

  They were both silent on that sobering thought.

  “I really need to shower,” Josh said after a while, a little shamefully, feeling well enough to become self-aware of his own odor.

  “Too right!” Amy laughed as she wafted the air between them.

  “Yeah, yeah I stink. I’m a guy, deal with it.”

  “Well the shower is just through there in the bathroom.” Amy pointed at the door across the way and Josh knew that the door might as well be in China as he lacked the energy to get over there, let alone shower and clean himself.

  “Right,” he said, his voice small. He began playing with his hands, seeming nervous.

  “Do you – do you need help?” Amy asked gently, placing a caring hand upon Josh’s leg.

  “I’m a grown man,” he said on the verge of tears.

  “But you’ve been hurt, it’s okay. You’ll get your strength back soon.”

  “You don’t have to wash me.” Josh felt ashamed of his wounds and limited mobility.

  “I don’t mind.”

  “I mind.”

  “Then stop it. I’m here to take care of you so stop being so proud.”

  Amy helped Josh get to his feet and together they headed over to the bathroom.

  “You know I normally at least take a girl out for dinner before giving her the full show,” he joked, glancing down to his crotch.

  “I’m obviously a very cheap date,” Amy smiled, pushing open the door with her foot.

  “Seriously, I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Can I…can I stay until I’m…better?” Josh asked shyly, not meeting Amy’s gaze.

  Butterflies danced in her stomach at the prospect of Josh Roberts remaining in her apartment for a few more days, but Amy kept her composure.

  “You can stay as long as you like.” She told him. And together they entered the bathroom and tore down any and all barriers which may have been lurking between them.

  Chapter 6

  It had been four days since Amy Prince brought beaten Hollywood heartthrob Josh Roberts back to her apartment to recuperate and she’d learned a lot about the most famous man in the world in that time.

  Like how he buttered his toast on both sides and laughed whole heartedly at any retro sitcom which came on the television.

  “I can’t remember the last time I just sat and watched TV!” he remarked happily from his perch on the sofa while gorging on a bowl of Lucky Charms, another of his secret loves.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone quite so happy to sit and watch daytime junk!” Amy retorted from the kitchen table where she sat doing work.

  She’d called in sick to give her the flexibility to be at home and look after Josh. She didn’t dare leave him; at least that’s what she told herself. The truth was, she didn’t want to leave him.

  “Infomercials actually offer some great deals!” he chirped with a mouth full of marshmallows and cereal.

  “Maybe you should quit this whole film lark and get into infomercials instead,” Amy laughed.

  “If things ever went sour with the movies I definitely would!” Josh enthused.

  Amy watched him as he sat happily eating and watching the television. He sat wearing a pair of sweat pants she’d picked up for him from the local Wall-Mart, and no shirt.

  Even covered in cuts and bruises there was no denying that he was amazingly fit.

  “I’m not normally allowed to eat cereal,” he said aloud, as if reading her mind.

  “No carbs. So no hamburgers, no fries, no cereal, no fried chicken. Basically no good stuff!”

  “I didn’t realize men worked so hard to stay in shape.”

  “It’s so strict. If you put on even the tiniest bit of weight you risk losing out on parts and not getting cast.”

  “That seems harsh.”

  “The movie business is all about how you look. The more handsome and in shape you are, the more roles you’ll get.”

  “How shallow,” Amy said sadly.

  “That’s just how it is,” Josh replied flatly.

  “Does it bother you, just being seen as a pretty face and some pecs?” Amy probed.

  “Yeah,” Josh admitted between mouthfuls. “Surely it would bother anyone with a mind? Isn’t that why you became a teacher?”

  “Huh?” Amy suddenly felt on edge as the questioning had turned to her and she couldn’t understand why.

  “I mean, you are really hot, yet you use your mind to make money, not your looks. I respect that.”

  Amy found herself blushing profusely at the notion that Josh Roberts found her hot. She wished she could grow up and stop feeling like a stupid school girl around him, but he had that effect on her.

  “Are you done grading papers yet?” Josh asked.