by Koko Brown
I had to read the headline twice to process it. "What? This...this can't be real."
I pulled out my own phone and searched for Jack’s name. The story was picked up by all the usual garbage sites, but also places like CNN and NBC, which meant he really was detained and there really was a problem.
"There's no way he did this." I pictured how tortured his face was when he told me about his time in prison, and what got him there. The Jack that I knew, the Jack that bared his soul to me last night, would never do this. "I need to go see him."
"Go," Sarah urged. "I'll grab an Uber. He needs you."
"I'm sorry." I grabbed my things and shoved them into my bag, already halfway out the door. "I'll call you!"
Bobby was my first call. "Tell me you know where he is."
"This is the biggest pile of bullshit. Were you at the party last night?" Bobby sounded pissed. "I need as many character witnesses as I can get. I need your help."
"Whatever you need. Just tell me where to find him."
I was there in twenty minutes because Los Angeles traffic was a goddamn nightmare, but I went as fast as I could, calling everyone I could from the set to ask about last night. No one saw anything. Half of them didn't even remember seeing Holly there. The whole thing was painfully suspicious, but I didn't want to leap to any conclusions until I saw him and heard his side of the story.
Walking into a police station was something I never felt comfortable doing, and they certainly didn't make the process welcoming. I was on edge enough as it was, but my heart sank when I finally got to see Jack. He looked awful.
"I know you didn't do it," I told him, passion dripping from my voice. "I know you didn't do this."
He flashed me a bright smile, but I could see the hurt underneath it. "I was worried you'd never talk to me again."
"I came as soon as I heard. Bobby and I are working with your lawyer to clear all this up. We'll fight this, okay? We'll do this together. It won't be like last time. It won't."
All I wanted to do was hug him. He squeezed my hand. "Thank you, Alison, for believing in me, even when you don't have a reason to."
"I have every reason to," I promised. "What happened last night?"
His head dropped to his chest and his voice went quiet. "I don't know. After you left, it's a total blur. I sort of remember pissing on a car in the parking lot, but after that...nothing. I think I talked to Josh, but it's all fuzzy as fuck. I didn't even think I drank that much, Alison. I have no idea what happened."
"Josh, eh?" Of course. Of fucking course. "No one seems to remember even really seeing Holly there. I guess she came in late or something, and no one saw you two together."
He just shrugged and looked at the door, like all he wanted was to escape.
"Look, I'm not saying this is for certain, but..." I frowned. "A few weeks ago, after you and Josh had that last big fight, I came across Holly and Josh talking in his trailer. He made Holly promise to do something when I walked in. I didn't hear what. After that, he went on a tirade about the script and…you. Did they do anything to you after that?"
"No, nothing. We got our shit together and finished filming. What would he make her promise?"
I chewed on my lip. "I don't know, but I wonder if it had something to do with this. What if he set this up with Holly to tank your reputation, and only pretended to play nice with you last night? He could’ve somehow forced her to go along with it. Convinced her she’d never work in Hollywood again if she didn’t. After all, his dad has that kind of power. And if he got you convicted, you wouldn't be able to go on the promo tour. He'd step up. He'd be given an opportunity to save everything that you allegedly ruined.”
“I dunno.”
I pressed on. “What were you guys talking about last night when I got there?"
"He was showing me stupid dog videos. We both like Huskies and he found a whole series. He didn't look at all like he was going to fuck me over. Why would Holly even do this?" His eyes were wet. "We were always cool, you know? She never really hit on me, I treated her like a little sister. I never...I would never..."
"You know, maybe Josh has something on Holly that he threatened to leak. That girl is pushing hard to be taken seriously and if she felt like her opportunities could be ruined... maybe it was self-preservation. I don't know. But I really feel like Josh has something to do with this. He never liked you, and all of a sudden, he's trying to be pals? It doesn't add up."
"Maybe."
"I hate actors." I rubbed my eyes. "I'm meeting with Bobby after this. I'll tell him what I know and see if there's anything your lawyer can do." I took his hand again. "Jack, I'm not leaving you, okay? I'm staying here with you. I'm going to work to prove your innocence."
His smile lacked warmth, full of sharp teeth. "We can't even say I didn't do it, Alison. They have pictures. They have proof."
"Don't you know, Jack? This is Hollywood. If they can make a dog talk, they can make a photo look incriminating."
His tough guy act finally broke. I could only see it in his eyes, but it was there, that warmth I missed. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for believing in me."
"You mean so much to me, Jack," I whispered back. "We'll get through this."
Bobby and I decided to help dig up as much dirt as we could on Josh. His involvement was written all over it, we just needed to figure out how. What I really needed, more than anything, was to talk to Holly. Unfortunately, she was constantly surrounded by paparazzi and press, the vultures desperate to get more dirt for their story.
I didn't trust her as far as I could throw her, but I needed to find out what Josh had on her and see if she'd be willing to confess the whole thing was bullshit. The fact that no one at the party saw or heard anything, or saw them go off together, really made me think this was heavily orchestrated. I just couldn't prove it outside of a gut feeling.
So that’s what I needed to work on—I needed to find real proof.
But god knows how long that would take…
I visited Jack as often as I could over the next couple of months, trying to lift his spirits, but not much seemed to work. He looked completely broken and there was nothing I could do but keep trying as the trial date approached. I did my best to keep his spirits up, but it got harder as the weeks passed.
Finally, Holly agreed to meet me. She’d picked up a small guest appearance on a TV show on the lot, so I hurried over to meet her on a break.
"Thanks for meeting me." I hugged her. "I'm sure this has been really difficult for you."
"So hard." Holly looked distressed. "I just want to forget it, but everyone keeps bringing it up."
"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to do the same." I tried to look apologetic. "The studio is trying to deal with liability, you know, for the film. What happened?"
She almost looked annoyed, but instead took a sip of water and gave me a rundown of the exact same story she'd been telling all the news outlets. She stopped by, was fed a few drinks, and wanted to go home. On the way out, she spotted Jack and he offered to take her home, but instead took her back to his trailer and tried to have his way with her. She was too terrified to say no for fear of her career.
"It was so scary, Alison. I just want to do my job, you know? I've heard stories about people getting propositioned like that for roles and stuff, but I never thought it would happen to me."
Oh, she was good. Very good. Except I didn't believe a single thing that came out of her mouth.
"I don't know if you remember, but there was a day on set when filming was temporarily shut down because of a fight between Josh and Jack. I found you and Josh running lines in his trailer afterwards."
"Oh, I remember. I guess we should have seen this coming after that fight they had. I just... you vouched for him, you know? And I trusted you. But please don't think this is your fault! The show ended and your job was done. He waited to take advantage of me when he was free. It's not your fault."
She looked at me with big, wet eyes, and I had never felt so
murderous in my life. I swallowed it all down, though. I needed her on my side. "Thank you so much. I've just felt terrible. Look, this might be a weird thing to ask, but it's one of those silly things I couldn't forget about. When you were with Josh that afternoon, I heard him make you promise something, but when I walked in, he started ranting about Jack. What was it that you guys were talking about? What did he make you promise to do for him, Holly?”
Holly kept her expression carefully blank, but there was a very slight tremor in her lower lip that I didn’t miss. Ha. I knew it. I knew there was something.
"I…I don't think I remember a conversation like that. I mean, we were running lines, so are you sure you didn't just hear us doing that?" she said in a small voice.
"You know, that's what I thought, but I don't remember that being in the script."
She cast her eyes down, almost whispering now. "Josh was always looking to improvise. He didn't like the script much."
"I thought about that, but I couldn't figure out what he would be referring to, either. I mean, it's not really something his character would say, you know?"
She looked up. "Well, that's why he's the actor and not you, right?"
“Holly, what does Josh have on you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes and cutting right to the chase. “I know he threatened you, made you claim Jack did this. Just tell me how he threatened you. I can help.”
Holly ignored my question, offered a tight smile and slid off her chair. "I’m sorry. I have to go. It was good to see you again, Alison, but I'm afraid my break is over. Thanks…um…thanks for coming to say hi."
Holly left before I could stop her, and in that moment, I felt completely and utterly powerless. I desperately wanted to help Jack, more than anything. An innocent man going to jail once was horrible. But twice?
Things had never looked so terribly bleak.
SEVENTEEN
JACK
These shitty wooden chairs looked to be universal in all shitty courtrooms. Not that I knew what every courtroom looked like, or what all the chairs felt like, but it certainly held a quality that punched me in the nuts and demanded I remember what it felt like the last time I was here.
Last time, I went in confident. The guy was a pervert who tried to hurt a child. Open and shut. It didn't end that way, but I had no idea I was walking in front of a firing squad. Today, I walked in knowing they were going to fight like hell to lock me away forever.
I had no memories, no proof I was innocent, and a record to kick my ass with. I was fucked. This was all just a pony show for the press. Even my lawyer was concerned, and usually that dude was goddamn unshakable.
"We'll just keep pressing that she refused a rape kit." Andy tried to reassure me, but that didn't mean shit. "And poke holes in everything they've got. Don't worry. I've seen worse."
"Right." I ran my hands over my head. "Sure. Except no one believes I didn't do it."
"Are you kidding? Teenage co-star who is desperate to make a break? Secret connections with a co-star who hates you? I'll frame it right. Don't you worry."
"Easy for you to say, champ. You'll get paid either way."
Andy tapped the top of my fist with his. "You'll see."
Andy Corbin was a hell of a lawyer who got people out of shit. That was why I hired him on retainer as soon as I made my first break in Hollywood. I knew people would try to come after me and I wanted to have a line of defense. He was used to handling things in the courtroom. And if it didn't go his way, no skin off his back. Another case, another dollar.
I'd been through the system. I'd seen how no one gave a shit about you once you left the courtroom. I'd been in the cold transport vans and shoved into a hole of a cell. I'd experienced firsthand the destruction caused when someone bought their way to innocence, and what happened to those of us left to suffer on their behalf.
In the midst of all this, all I could see was Alison's face. The way she looked at me when she told me she would fight for me. The way her nose crinkled when she got angry against the reporters following her in and out of the building. She fought so hard to help me and I knew none of it would matter.
She would forget about me. She said she wouldn't, insisted she'd stand by me, but it was easier said than done when you weren't in the situation. I had a girl back then, the first time I was in court after beating up the congressman’s son. Her name was Tina. Tina said she'd stand by me, wait for me. She fucked my best friend as soon as I was cuffed in court.
I know in my heart Alison was different, but I didn't think she knew what she was committing to.
She was sitting somewhere behind me during the trial. I could feel the heat of her gaze during the opening statements. I clung to that heat, fiercely, when the first few witnesses came up. It looked okay, a few cast members confirming they never saw Holly and me in any sort of inappropriate way, and that no one saw us together at the cast party. Wasn't great, wasn't bad. I kept Alison in the forefront of my mind the whole time.
And then it was Holly's turn. That evil little bitch.
She was dressed modestly in a long dress and cardigan, like she was some sort of nun. She routinely wore shorts that let her ass hang out and tube tops on set, but whatever. Her dark hair was pulled back in a librarian's bun and looked very somber. She staunchly avoided looking over at me, which would have been otherwise very fucking fine by me, except it was causing whispers behind me that she ‘couldn't even look’ at me.
Maybe Alison got to her. Maybe Alison was able to get her to reconsider whatever Josh was pushing on her because lying under oath was a fucking felony. I watched her like a hawk when she was sworn in and recounted her version of the story.
"Can you tell the court, in your own words, what happened that night?" her lawyer, some pit bull looking dude I didn't recognize, asked kindly. "Do you think you can do that for us?"
Like she'd been so fucking victimized while I was sitting in a goddamn cell for the last several weeks, waiting for the trial date to come.
She launched into a ridiculous tale that sounded exactly like what Andy read me. How she'd been pressured into drinking—cue a ridiculous apology about underage drinking—how I'd allegedly flirted with her and pressed her to stay, but she'd had too much to drink and wanted to go home. How Josh offered to drive her back and told her to meet him in the parking lot, but on the way there, she found me drunk in the parking lot and tried to get me back to my trailer, where I took advantage of her.
Just hearing her tell this story made my stomach churn. There was no way I could have done this, but the entire courtroom was eating out of her hand.
Andy stood to question her. "I understand you refused a rape kit. Why is that?"
Holly didn't hesitate. "I was scared after it happened. I didn't want to be just another victim, and I didn't want someone to think I was just trying to sleep my way to the top and regretted it. So I went home. Scrubbed myself raw. I hoped…I hoped if I could just wash the night away, then I could forget it all. And they can’t do a rape kit if you’ve showered off like that, I was told.”
"But you reported him hours later. Doesn’t sound like ‘forgetting’, does it?"
"After I got home and cleaned myself, I told my mom what happened and she said he needed to be turned in. I realized she was right. I needed to be strong for myself, and all the other victims out there."
"That's very admirable, Miss Fisher." Andy rapped his knuckles against the wooden railing. "Who took the photos?" he continued. He pointed to the board holding the selfie-style pictures of the two of us, photos I couldn't bear to look at. "Did you?"
"Yes." Holly started to cry for real now. Maybe she was going to confess that this was all fucking bullshit? "I thought...I was so stupid. He told me I needed to take them so he could have proof that he...he fucked me."
I felt sick. Never. What was this bullshit? I kept my face calm but my fingernails dug into my palm. The rest of the questioning went on exactly like that: Holly crying, discussing how I abused her, how scared sh
e was. The judge looked unhinged by the whole thing.
Fucked.
I was fucked.
EIGHTEEN
ALISON
This was a nightmare.
Holly had the entire courtroom up in arms and Jack, at least from behind, looked devastated. I knew in my heart, though, there was no way he did these terrible things. Okay, yes, the afternoon he tried to get me to touch his dick while in his trailer was a point against him, but we'd already sort of had a thing, right? I'd stripped for him, we made out in the casting room. I'm sure he thought I'd be into that. I was also very, very legal. And he was totally into me. But this? This was outrageous.
It was outrageous every time I heard it, but to see Holly ham it up this time? Disgusting.
Josh was next on the stand and my stomach was in total knots. Andy knew everything that I did about his ‘promise’ with Holly and his feud with Jack on set, so I could only hope that this would put all the bullshit aside.
Holly's lawyer asked some softball questions about their feud on set. Josh seemed almost gleeful to recant all the stories he'd harbored about Jack's ego and the way they fought on set. Josh even pointed to me, saying I had to be used as the set Babysitter because of Jack's reputation.
Bile rose in the back of my throat. How dare he try to pull me into his lying web of bullshit? I wanted to kick his ass eight ways to Sunday. Even Jack looked rigid when my name was mentioned in court.
Andy, though, was ready to fight. He had Josh tell his side of the events, which mirrored Holly's well enough: there was a party, Holly was drinking, he saw Jack talking to her and was concerned, and offered to drive Holly home. He didn't find her, and assumed that she'd found another ride home.
"I just feel so terrible for leaving her there." Josh, despite his animosity, almost looked pale. "If I'd only been there...."
"You didn't go look for her?" Andy asked. "A sixteen-year-old girl, lost in a sea of drunk adults, and you didn't try to find her?"
"I did." Josh sniffed defensively. "It's a really big lot. Cars and people everywhere. Since she was nowhere to be found, I assumed she'd gotten a ride home with one of the other girls on set."