The Retreat (A Clean and Sweet Romance Novella)
Page 4
Chapter Four
The next morning, Thomas woke up to the sound of his alarm buzzing loudly in his ear. At first, he thought that he was still at the party and the sound was just part of some song. But when it didn't stop, he opened his eyes and saw that he was home. He couldn't even remember getting home. He looked around and was grateful to see that he was alone. But the mere movement of looking around caused a shooting pain through his skull. The memory of the green drink came to mind, and it took all his might not to run to the bathroom to throw up. Why was his alarm going off? And then he remembered - he had to meet Geraldine for a late breakfast. The thought of food made him feel as green as the drink that he had, and the thought of socializing was even worse. He still had an hour, so he walked gingerly into the shower and tried desperately to wash away the smell of alcohol that was permeating through his pores. Then, he took two headache tablets and sat still as he waited for them to work. He felt slightly better when he got to the restaurant and hoped she wouldn't notice. But, this was Geraldine - of course, she would notice.
"Another big night?" she said as he walked over to kiss her hello. She crinkled her nose. "Did you even bother to shower?"
"I did shower!" he said defensively. What was she on about? Not only had he showered, but he'd covered himself with deodorant. He smelled fine.
"Well, then you must've had a hell of a lot to drink. Because no amount of shower could get rid of that. Wow, Thomas? you really don't look so good."
"I'm fine. I'm fine. I went out last night, and it ended up being quite the party. But you should be glad that I'm getting out there and socializing. Isn't that what I'm meant to do?"
Geraldine sighed. She ordered two cups of coffee and then looked at him. "What you're meant to do is work hard and stay out of trouble. It's good to go out and meet people, and yeah, it's good to be in the headlines every now and again. But not if the headlines are only about you going out and getting drunk. I shudder to think what we're going to see next. You're taking this whole thing too far, Thomas. And you are not a well-established actor yet. This is actually going to be bad for you. People are going to start seeing you as just a party boy."
"Oh, come on, Geraldine. Surely, you don't believe that. I'm more than that."
"I know you are. That's why I'm your agent - because I honestly believe that you are talented. You're more than just a pretty face. I only work with clients that I truly believe in. But the world is just going to see what you're portraying. And all you're portraying is that you're a rich kid, who likes to go out and flaunt it. You're going to end up a washed-out actor before you even get the chance to make something of yourself."
Thomas couldn't believe what he was hearing. His head was pounding, and it wasn't just from being hung over. Geraldine was always very straight with him, but he hadn't expected this. "Uh? I'm sorry. I guess I just got carried away. I mean? I keep getting invited to parties. What am I supposed to do?"
"You're supposed to go and have a good time. But you're not supposed to get so drunk and do stupid things and hook up with every girl you come across."
"I don't do that."
"Were you with a girl last night?"
Thoughts of Jenna and the darkened room came flooding to the forefront of his mind. He sighed and nodded.
"Listen, Thomas? I know what we can do to fix this."
"You do?"
"Yeah. First, I actually have some jobs lined up for you that I want you to go try out for. I've managed to get you in, but I can't have you going like this."
"What do you mean? What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to get away for a while. Spend a week away from it all."
Thomas rubbed his head. He was far too hung over to be thinking clearly, and he had no idea what Geraldine was going on about. "You want me to go away for a week? And do what?"
"I found the perfect place for you. It's a retreat. They focus on health and wellbeing. They do yoga classes, cooking lessons, meditation - that sort of thing. I think it's just the sort of thing you need. A week is probably not enough, but I think it will do you good. You need to take yourself away from your life at the moment and gain a bit more perspective about what is important and what isn't. The retreat starts next week. After that, we can talk about work."
"Geraldine? you want me to go on a health retreat? Have you seen me? That's not exactly my sort of thing, you know."
"Exactly. That's why I think it will do you good. It's only for a week, anyway. Just look at it as a holiday."
"Do I have any choice in this?" Thomas asked, although he already knew the answer to his question.
Geraldine smiled at him and took his hand. She squeezed it. "I've already booked you in. Just do this for me, Thomas. Just one week. I promise."
Thomas sighed. It was the last thing he wanted to do. But he wasn't in the right frame of mind to argue with her, and he knew that he would lose, anyway. He needed to go to those auditions, and he had a feeling that Geraldine would only give them to him if he went to this stupid retreat first. He'd just play along. It was only a week. Like she said, he'd just view it as a holiday. "Okay, fine. I'll go!"