Between the Raindrops

by Schussler, Susan

  Remi spoke up. “Jon, we were just wondering about this girl you were with this past week—Sarah, is it? Were you serious when you said she was the love of your life, or were you just saying that because she was sitting next to you?”

  “Well…” He paused, trying to figure out where this conversation was headed. “We’re getting married next week in Vegas. You’re both invited, of course.” He was getting more irritated. “We’re going to Beatrice Island for the honeymoon, but don’t worry, I’ll only be a week or two late for The Demigod’s production.”

  Isaac and Remi looked at each other. “Wow. Where is all this hate coming from? We’re just wondering where you stand with her,” confessed Remi.

  “Sorry. I guess I’m a bit sensitive about her. Honestly, she means the world to me, and I can see myself marrying her, but I don’t have any plans—yet,” Jon admitted. “What does Sarah have to do with anything?”

  “Really? Marriage? You?” Remi twisted her long neck questioningly.

  “Why is that so hard to believe?” Jon asked, looking at them, and they both rolled their eyes at the same time.

  “Well, you don’t usually let anyone get close to you.” Remi held up her hands apologetically and gave him the look.

  “Don’t give me that look. She’s not after my money or fame. She didn’t even know who I was when she met me.”

  “Does she live in a shack in the woods?” Isaac said, poorly hiding his amusement.

  “No.” Jonathan paused. “If either of you ever repeat what I’m going to tell you or make any rude comments, you’re both fired.” He glared at them and continued. “I met her on the Internet.” He noted the change on their faces, then added, “Not on one of those sites. It was totally innocent. I’ve known her for months. She didn’t know who I was until the concert.”

  They both looked at him skeptically, but didn’t say anything at first.

  Then Isaac couldn’t help himself and, with a smile, said, “You know, if you wanted to meet a coed, even one from the Midwest, I could have hooked you up. You didn’t have to actually go there.”

  “I was serious, Isaac,” Jonathan stated, and Isaac stopped smiling.

  Then Remi spoke up. “At the very least, you had her sign an NDA, right? I know Leslie sent some with you.”

  He collapsed onto the back of his chair, frustrated. “No, I didn’t,” he answered curtly. “That turns it into a business deal. This is not business.” Jon knew the nondisclosure agreement would protect him from Sarah ever discussing their relationship with anyone, but the legal contract was far from romantic. He felt he was bringing enough baggage to the new relationship that he didn’t need to make Sarah more uncomfortable by involving lawyers.

  “It’s your funeral,” stated Isaac. “You’re going to wish you had one, though, when filming starts and she finds out that you hooked up with Rachel Marrero. Rachel, she is one hot piece of…” He trailed off as he caught Remi’s glare.

  Jon closed his eyes and sank deeper into the chair with a groan. He wanted to get up and walk out, but he knew it wouldn’t help. So, with his eyes still closed, he thought about Sarah’s sweet smile, and it relaxed him. When he opened his eyes, Remi and Isaac were both staring at him wide-eyed.

  “Regardless, this week was great publicity. Your name and face were all over. You looked like Prince Charming the way you were courting this girl. I didn’t even know you could sing, Jon. I saw the footage. You were good.” Her tone became slightly cross. “I’m still mad at you for not letting me know about your singing debut. We could have milked that concert.”

  “That wasn’t my intent. The song was for Sarah, but if it makes you feel any better, I agreed to record it on EXpireD’s next album. You can milk it then.”

  “Oh!” She perked up. “We could film the recording. It would be good for both you and the band.” The smile grew on her face, and she nodded several times. “I think we could get you some gigs if you want. Isaac’s been fielding some offers.”

  Jonathan shook his head no.

  “How about Bono? I have a great screenplay here somewhere on the early days of U2,” Isaac added as he dug through his desk drawer.

  “Aren’t I a little tall for that role?” inquired Jonathan.

  Isaac stopped digging, and Remi asked, “Tell me, what was that all about at the airport? You abandoned your flight for her?”

  “She was being swarmed by paparazzi. What’s there to understand? I guess I wasn’t ready to leave her with that,” Jonathan said as he brushed the hair out of his eyes. “I could have told you this over the phone. Why am I here?”

  “With you presenting at the Teen FAV Awards on Sunday, we were wondering if your plans had changed. Are you planning to bring Sarah? Because Isaac and I don’t think that would be the best idea. It is a very public appearance, and your fans don’t want to see you with some nobody, Jon. If she were a model or an actress and had media training, it wouldn’t be an issue. Besides, you’re going to get slammed with questions about her as it is, and if you were worried about her being overwhelmed by a few photographers at the airport, that was nothing compared to what she would face on the green carpet of the Teen FAV Awards.”

  “I know that, Remi, and she’s not a nobody. Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on bringing her. I’m not ready to put her through that. I’m still going by myself. I know just about everyone who’s presenting, so I’m sure there will be someone there I can talk to. You can sit with me, if you like.”

  “I’ll sit with you, Jon, and I’ll meet you at the stylist’s at one o’clock the day before, like we planned. You know, Mia will be at the awards too. Any chance I could get you two to walk the carpet together?”

  Jon knew that anytime he and Mia were spotted together, it doubled his exposure. He laughed. “I can’t believe you just asked that. No, actually, I can. But the answer is no. I’m done living lies.”

  “Just keep your contract in mind,” said Isaac. “You can’t do anything that could undermine the promotion of The Demigod’s sequel. You’ve got until next fall before that commitment is up, so keep your head in the game.”

  “What does that mean, Isaac? Are they dictating who I can and can’t date now? Because I don’t remember that line in the contract,” Jon asserted accusingly.

  “I’m not saying that.” Isaac moved to the front of the desk and leaned against it, facing Jon, his hands stirring with exaggerated movements like a motivational speaker as he continued to speak. “I just want you to be careful. Remember, acting is just half the job. The other half is promoting. Your image is what sells and gets you work. You go tying yourself to some unknown girl, and your image will suffer. The fans want to see you with someone worthy of Jonathan Williams.” He emphasized Jonathan’s name in a commanding voice. “Just keep it on the down-low. That’s all I’m saying.” Isaac tucked his hands into his suit coat pockets and shrugged his shoulders. “Just being honest. The studio has expressed some concern. Nick Paulson called asking about your erratic behavior. They don’t want some nutcase on the film. It’s a twelve-million-dollar-plus contract. Are you ready to give that up?”

  “How much of that is yours, Isaac?” Jon rolled his eyes, still irritated by their insinuations.

  “You know I’m only looking out for you. You’re my number one priority,” Isaac backpedaled.

  “Are we done here?” Jon stated with tight lips.

  “Are we on the same page, then, Jon?” Isaac asked, tapping his fingers on the desk behind him.

  Jonathan combed his fingers through his hair. “Yeah,” he said, then left the office without another word. He knew that they were just managing his career, doing their jobs, but he wanted to live his own life, the way he wanted to live it—with Sarah. He didn’t see how he could wait a year until his commitment to Demigod Forbidden was over to be with her. He got into his BMW, sank into the tan leather seat, started the engine, and turned up the music. He needed to clear his head. He knew Isaac was right. Being with Sarah could hurt his
career, and he needed to ensure it didn’t, but he wasn’t going to give her up. She meant everything to him.

  In reality, Jonathan knew that, once he started filming, the press would link him to his new costar, Rachel Marrero, and the hype about Sarah would blow over. He just hoped Sarah could get past the hype about Rachel. She knew about the pressures of acting—the gossip, the ridiculous hours—but Jonathan wasn’t naive. He recognized that knowing about something and being able to deal with it were miles apart. It had taken him almost two years before he was comfortable on the red carpet or doing an interview, and he had grown up on movie sets. Maybe it was best if he and Sarah did take it slow. It would give her a chance to ease into the craziness. If he really was going to make this relationship work, he needed to do all he could to make it easier on Sarah.

  At the Teen FAV Awards, Jonathan was questioned endlessly about “the Birthday Girl.” He answered by saying that he didn’t talk about his personal life. He made jokes and very diplomatically steered the questioning to his career or the awards show. He got away with it by using his charm and quick wit, but there was much speculation about Sarah in the press after the show.

  Will gave Sarah some information about the awards show for her article. It wasn’t anything outrageously embarrassing for anyone, but it was something Sarah never could have found out on her own. The host, Alyssa Mason, accidently ripped a chunk out of her skirt during a dance sequence onstage. Her dance partner, rapper TZ, grabbed her skirt and purposefully ripped it into a miniskirt, all while they were still dancing. It was like a scene from an old movie. The audience thought it was part of the show, but when Alyssa got off the stage, her skirt practically disintegrated. She needed to make an unscheduled costume change, as the show was targeted toward teens. Will and two other male celebrities were backstage preparing to present when they were asked to be a human privacy shield for Alyssa’s costume change. The story helped Sarah, but she felt bad that she was using Will. He assured her that the show’s host had talked about the incident in an interview after the show and that he had just added more details. The article made Sarah a hero for the week, but it also escalated her problem of people asking about Will. She wanted to be with him, more than anything, and it hurt just to hear his name.

  She ended up having to work the next two weekends, so by the time she was able to visit Will, he was in preproduction. He was busy training to do his stunts for the film and rehearsing lines with his costars. Sarah remembered what he had said about getting to know his costars. Even though they talked every day and had video chats whenever they were able, Sarah was nervous about Rachel. She tried not to make it obvious how much it bothered her, but he could tell. Will was honest with Sarah and told her everything. He and Rachel spent several days together going over lines and went out to dinner with other cast members. Will even introduced Rachel to Sarah on the phone one day, and Sarah talked to her for about fifteen minutes. That helped. Sarah trusted Will, but being away from him was making her crazy.

  By the beginning of the third week of her internship, Sarah’s supervisor was getting greedy and wanted her to dig up dirt on celebrities. She was supposed to scour the Internet to locate articles of interest, then try to confirm or refute information through the various networks she was provided. Sarah didn’t want to do this kind of reporting—it wasn’t writing. She wanted to be working on real stories, not following up on gossip. Sarah had thought the internship was going to be more writing than reporting garbage. She wasn’t a journalist. She had expected to be an unpaid, abused gofer, not someone who actually contributed to the gossip problem.

  That night, she spoke to Will and told him all about what was happening at the magazine. She complained just a little too much about her situation, and his curt response shocked her.

  “If it’s that bad, why don’t we just break up?”

  “What?” Sarah asked, confused.

  “Why don’t we break up? Then your boss won’t bug you so much.”

  “Shut up!” she replied. “Why would you say that?”

  “Not for real, Sarah, just a break. I’m not letting you get away that easily. We’ll just take some time off. We won’t be able to be together anyway. If people think we broke up, then they won’t ask you about me. You can do what you want. Our relationship won’t hinder you.”

  “Do you really want time off from each other?” She stared into an empty corner near the ceiling of her room, wishing they were Skyping and not talking on the phone.

  “No. I’d rather be with you, but since we can’t see each other anyway, what difference will it make?”

  She was so confused. A break? What does that mean? she wondered. She wished she could see his face and read his beautiful pale eyes. She didn’t know what to think, so she stayed silent, listening for any clues in the inflection of his voice.

  “I’m going to be gone for more than two months filming halfway across the world in a few weeks. It would help me out too. My head is so messed up thinking about you all the time that I can barely concentrate. Maybe if we only talk once a week, I could get into my role better.”

  “We’ll be together in the end, when you’re done filming, right?” Her voice was almost inaudible.

  “Yes. It’s just a break, because we’re on a forced break anyway. Just tell everyone that you couldn’t handle the stress of the long-distance relationship and you broke it off. Then they’ll leave you alone. Don’t forget to tell them I was devastated, you heartless shrew,” he said with a soft chuckle.

  “Just until we can be together?”

  “Not a second longer. It will go fast, you’ll see.”

  “I love you, Will,” Sarah said seriously.

  “I know.” Will sighed.

  The next day, Sarah told everyone she knew that the distance was too much for her and that she had broken up with Will. She tried to sound like it was the toughest decision she’d ever made. In reality, this break wasn’t what she wanted. She was genuinely sad about it. It was easy at the magazine office to convince everyone that they had broken up, and her supervisor even gave her the afternoon off. The magazine put a two-sentence blurb on their celebrity gossip page, and that helped to give Sarah’s story credibility.

  Back at her parents’ house, Sarah contacted Jessica with the bad news and let her call the other girls. Of course, they all came over to console her and get the details. She thought about being honest with her friends, but they were half the problem, so she stretched the truth.

  “No way did you break up with him. You were way too into him,” said Alli.

  “I thought you guys were in love. He must have cheated on you. Did he cheat on you? He cheated, didn’t he?” Megan asked, smugly wrapping her arm around Sarah.

  “No, he didn’t cheat on me. You were right. The distance is just too much,” Sarah told them. “It’s too much stress being with him and not being able to see him. People are always bugging me about him, and they won’t leave me alone. Long distance just doesn’t work.”

  None of her friends believed her until she locked herself in her room and wouldn’t come out. They knew she wouldn’t talk to anyone when she was really upset. So, as they tried to coax her out of her room, she pondered what Will had said. Did he want a break for her, as he said, or was that just an excuse so he could have a break? What did a break mean? Not being with him was bad enough. Now she wasn’t even going to talk to him? How was that going to make it better? At least her friends would stop asking her about him.

  The day after the breakup announcement was easier. Only a few people asked her about Will, because no one wanted to upset her. It got easier and easier as the news perpetuated itself. She felt relieved not having to talk about Will all the time, though not talking about him didn’t stop her from thinking about him.

  Her internship ended two weeks later. Ellen gave her a glowing letter of recommendation. She completed all the paperwork for Sarah to get full credit at school for her month of work and offered her a job even before she f
inished her degree. Sarah had gained a ton of experience in the real world of web magazines and felt like she had a better understanding of what she wanted in a job, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to work for a magazine at all anymore.

  The evening that her internship ended, Sarah was feeling especially out of sorts. The magazine office had taken her out to happy hour for a going-away party, and she found herself in a posh downtown bar seated next to a bunch of people she didn’t know. The ones she knew, including Ellen, were seated at the opposite end of the long table—the couples section. When the significant others joined the group, the single people, somehow, had been segregated to the other end. Sarah longed to be able to bring Will to this kind of gathering, but deep inside, she knew that it would never happen.

  She sat next to Brandon from marketing, which was a big mistake. He kept touching her. It started off innocently enough. He grasped her arm to get her attention. But as she listened to him drone on about himself, she realized his touches were not so innocent. Each time his hand lingered just a little longer, and by the fifth skin-on-skin contact, Sarah was irritated. Feigning that she had forgotten to tell Ellen something important, she grabbed her drink, politely excused herself, and beelined down to the other end of the table.

  After about thirty minutes, when Sarah was seated with the couples and immersed in conversation, she felt a large hand on her shoulder. She looked up, and there was Brandon, her phone clinched in his hand.

  “I think you might want to hold on to this. It buzzed a couple of times, and then he called.”

  “Who?”

  “The Demigod. His picture popped up on your phone. I had to wrestle it out of Keera’s hand. She was going to answer it.” He raised one eyebrow as he handed her the phone. “Funny, my exes never call me.”

  “Um, thanks.” All the conversation at the table had stopped, and Sarah shrank under their stares. “We’re still friends,” she said, hoping no one would see through her ruse. How could she have forgotten her phone on the table? She needed to be more careful and needed to figure out how to set the password lock on it. She read the texts that Will had sent, aware that everyone was still watching her. Then shot him a reply, letting him know she still wanted to talk, but she wouldn’t be home for another hour.