Julienne was able to create fake tears. Showing her face to Jose, she answered, “I told him to get out of my face. I slapped him once in the face and ran out of the apartment with you. That’s what was bothering me the most today.”
Now, his anger was too large for him to handle, so he ran out of the room, shouting, “I’m gonna kill him.”
She ran out of the room, following him, and saying in a low, subtle tone, “Oh shit. Julienne, remember, don’t screw this one up.”
She ran down her hallway with her nightgown flying in the wind, hitting the walls, flowing over each step she took; she resembled a princess, a princess with an evil mind. Julienne ran in front of him, stopping him in his furious tracks, and listened to him as he shouted, “I knew he would try something like this.” She just looked at him, knowing that she went too far with this lie. She knew, if Jose approached Damen about this situation that was a lie, then Damen would deny it, and every lie that Julienne said would come out; Jose had to be stopped.
Julienne made a desperate attempt to catch Jose before he destroyed, dismembered, and blew up her evil and intricate masterful plan, yelling, “No, you can’t tell him anything. Please, Jose, I just want to put this behind us.”
Jose ran down the grand staircase, shouting, “Listen, maybe you could put this behind you, but I can’t.”
Julienne ran to the edge of the staircase, looked down at him, and said, “Baby, maybe we could use this to our advantage.” Jose stopped on the last stair.
Jose slowly turned around, looked up at her and asked, “What do you mean?”
Julienne thought of more lies to say, knowing she couldn’t stop lying now, or everything would come down on her. But, at that moment, no lies came to her evil-oriented mind, except for a loss of words. As she gazed off of the staircase, entering her eyes into his, she spoke with a low, calm voice, “Just trust me, Jose. One of these days, we could use that incident to our advantage.”
He sat down on the last stair, asking, “How?”
“Listen to me, let’s just go and get your movie over with. After that’s done, then we could get Damen back for doing that to me. Please, baby, I know what I’m doing.” Julienne realized she didn’t know at all what she was doing; all she wanted Jose to do was hate Damen and Darell. Her wicked mind didn’t want them in Jose’s life, because she knew they would cause him to never accomplish his dream. She knew they would never allow his mind to be strong, the strength he needs to devour Hollywood. But, the reason why she didn’t turn Jose against Darell yet was because she knew Darell was already taking drugs. Julienne discovered it when she saw Darell at the apartment; to her, she felt Darell wouldn’t last in Hollywood for much longer. Julienne thought of how she wanted Jose to develop a mind that only thought of fame, a mind that was addicted to fame, a mind like hers. All Julienne wanted was to use him, coveting Jose’s good looks to give birth to her fame again, a rebirth that would allow her to become a Goddess in Hollywood. She understood that Jose had to develop a cruel, strong, uncaring, and ruthless mind, in order to be famous himself, in order to give Julienne her fame back.
As she walked down the staircase, Julienne thought of how she’d gone too far into this vicious plan, the plan of achieving fame again. She sat next to Jose on the staircase, stared at the side of his face and said, “Please, Jose, let’s go back to bed.”
Jose looked at her beauty and then looked down again. “Alright, I trust you. But you have to promise me, that in the future you will allow me to approach Damen about this situation.” Jose put his head on her lap, adding, “Will you?”
“I promise you, I promise you we’ll both get Damen back for doing this to me,” replied Julienne before she gave a sigh of relief. She rubbed her head full of sweat and said in her mind, Thank God.
They both returned to her bedroom and lay back in bed.
Jose’s soul vanished and the trance of fame took over for good. The second button stayed down completely and locked in place, the button of jealousy, hatred, and envy. As they both lay in bed, Jose spoke, “I’m a better actor than him, Damen’s dead.”
Miss Wells faced away from him, smiled, and said, “Goodnight, Jose.”
“Goodnight, Julienne.” The anger built up inside of him again, abruptly showing itself through the thought of Damen’s face. Julienne’s smile grew more when Jose spoke out loud, “Damen can go to hell.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Walking slow, consuming every moment, staring at the beautiful textures that formed on her face, holding onto her hand, and grasping ahold of every glance she gave him, and every breath she gave out, he heard, Damen walked with Vivian through the airport, with thoughts that collided in his mind, blocking out everything around him, and only thinking of her, on how she’s leaving him to go somewhere far away.
Maybe I should go with her.
He didn’t want her to go, and she felt it, the way his eyes would sink down like a ship being eaten by the sea, she saw in his pupils, everything that he was thinking, and everything that he wanted at this moment. Sitting down with her and looking out of a big window, at the airplane which she’s going to leave on, he got up from his seat and lingered over to the window’s glass; the thought of going back home went through his mind. Damen stared at the plane and then stared at Vivian’s reflection, seeing her walking up to him gently, hugging him tightly as he asked, “When does your flight leave?”
She looked up at him while still grasping onto his hips, wanting his eyes to never leave her sight, but knew that she had to go, for reasons of her own will. “In about ten minutes.”
He turned around and looked at her eyes, seeing out of his peripheral vision, Helen was approaching, and he questioned, “What should I do about all the rest of your things at the apartment? Do want me to send them to you?”
Helen stepped up to them. Still seeing them staring at each other, she spoke in a happy fashion, “Hey, guys, did you know that they have a candy machine in the bathroom?”
“Helen, could you excuse me and Damen for a little bit?” Vivian asked in a nice manner, having Helen smiling at her, knowing what she was thinking.
Helen walked away from them and sat down in their terminal. Damen and Vivian still gawked at each other’s eyes, with him saying in a whisper, “So, do you want me to send you the rest of your things from the apartment?”
“Damen, I don’t even know if I’m getting the role yet, I’m just going for the audition,” she responded with a smirk.
“You know you’ll get the part, you’re beautiful and talented.” Damen started to smile, a low one, but still a smile, that was when tears began to shield Vivian’s eyes. She knew right then and there that she truly loved Damen, but she didn’t want her love for him to screw up her dream. A single tear fell from the shield of her right eye, trying to catch it by putting her hand on her face, she missed, and it fell in Damen’s right hand, splashing and traveling into all the cracks and wrinkles that his hand and his long lifeline made up. She turned away from him and realized that she was making a big mistake, a mistake that she would regret in the long run. But, craving her dream more than Damen, she turned back to look at him and said, “I tell you what, if I get the part, then you could just keep all of my stuff.” She stopped, smiled and added, “You could even keep that old couch.”
Damen gave a low laugh, but the sadness caused his smile to only last for a second, coming back into the situation that reality showed him—his love leaving. “Call me as soon as you finish the audition.” Tears, and how they formed a shield, broke from both eyes, and fell down Vivian’s face, after hearing his words of tenderness, empathy, compassion, and love.
Vivian attempted, and tried desperately, to catch the tears, but there were too many. So she gave up and spoke, “Alright, it’s a deal.”
Helen got up from her seat, and spoke with a laugh, before she walked over to them, “Hey, you could keep my stuff also.”
“Helen, take good care of my girl out there.”
&nb
sp; “Don’t worry, Damen, I’ll guard her with my life,” Helen said, penetrating Damen’s face with her soft hands, caressing it like he was her own little, benevolent son.
A woman came over the intercom of the large airport, and promulgated their flight, announcing it with blaring, shrieking loudness. “That’s us, we better get going or else we’ll miss our plane,” Vivian stated, grabbing her suitcases from Damen. “Listen, Damen, I want you to go back to Chuck and apologize to him.”
Damen started walking to the terminal with them, explaining, “No, I don’t want to work there anymore, I want something better than that. I didn’t come to California to work at a coffee shop.”
“Listen, you need that job. You don’t have enough money to afford the rent, and it’s due in two weeks. After two weeks, you don’t have a place to live,” Vivian confirmed in a serious fashion.
“I’ll be fine, I’ll just find a new job.”
“Damen, even if you did find a new job, you still won’t be able to afford the rent. Chuck said you can live with him, I already explained that to you. If I get this part, then you...” Vivian explained, having Damen to cut off her words.
“I’ll be fine, baby. Listen, I survived out here this long and I’ll survive out here longer. Trust me.”
They reached the terminal, and Vivian and Helen handed the flight attendant their tickets.
Helen walked past the gates, and toward the airplane, while Vivian spoke, “Alright.” She paused, for a brief intermission of thoughts, and then yelled to Helen, “I’ll be right there.”
Vivian turned to face Damen by the beginning of the terminal, seeing a shield of tears forming in his eyes, and hearing his choked voice saying, “Well, um, this is it.”
“Yeah, this is it, for now at least.”
They gazed at each other once more, recollecting, remembering all they had, and what they would still have in the imminent future if their love was strong enough to see its reality. “Um, I ah, I want you to promise me you and I will never lose what we have. You promise?” he questioned.
Vivian grasped onto him, hugged him tightly, constricting herself to his warm silhouette, and said into his ear with a whisper, “I want you to promise me that first.”
“I promise.”
“Well then, I most definitely promise.”
She kissed Damen on the lips as he held onto her hand, feeling the tender pressure of her scrumptious kiss, never wanting it to end. “Goodbye, or so long,” he said with vigor, still holding onto her hand, feeling her warmth that made him comfortable through cold nights.
Damen’s tears broke, and fell from his eyes, so he turned away from her, not wanting Vivian to see them and acknowledge his pain.
“I’ll call you after the audition.”
Damen turned his face toward her, laughing out, “You know, ever since I came to California, I have been crying nonstop.”
Vivian smiled and spoke, “Well, you better get used to it.” She then slowly walked away from him and entered into the airplane, leaving him there to stand alone, not knowing if they were ever going to see each other again.
He slowly walked away, turning around to see her plane once more, he walked back up to the big window and watched as it took off into the air. He watched the plane disappear into the clouds, whispering, “I love you.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Vivian walked out of a room that had four people in it, promenading her body slowly through the door and into a waiting room, she had a sad look on her face, giving out a silent yawn to describe her mood. The waiting area was filled with girls that resembled her, like a town of look-a-likes, sharing the same feeling of nervousness as Vivian. All the girls were sitting next to either older men or older women, showing Vivian’s eyes that they were their agents, preparing them for the audition of a lifetime, holding scripts in each of their shaky hands, revising and practicing their words. She sat down next to Helen as Gloria, her agent, asked, “How do you think you did?”
The room was uptight; everyone that sat in it had one thing on their mind: winning this part. It was stuffy, and extra hot, being that New York was still cold, they pumped up the heat a lot, so much that Vivian’s California flesh felt like it was outside on the beach. She looked at her agent, nervousness embroidered on her face, and responded with her nerves showing through her shaky teeth, “Well, I don’t know, I screwed up a lot on my lines. Gloria, I didn’t know this audition was for a big part in Lovers Leap, that’s a big-time soap opera.”
Gloria smiled at her, saying, “Don’t worry, they probably loved you.”
“Yeah, you’re perfect for the part,” said Helen, rubbing Vivian’s back and trying to calm her down.
Vivian started biting her nails, stating toward Gloria, “You told me it was for a TV show; why did you lie to me?”
“Listen, look at you now, you’re a nervous wreck. That’s why I lied, I knew that any girl would be nervous to try out for Lovers Leap. I mean, if I told you what the name of the show was, you would have probably gone in there and vomited on the casting directors,” Gloria explained with a smile still on her face, pulling a long piece of black hair away from her mouth. “Don’t worry so much.”
A woman with a clipboard stepped out of the casting director’s room and entered into the waiting room, announcing to everyone, “Um, excuse me, but would a Vivian Gryer please step in here.”
Vivian turned to Gloria, grabbed her hand, and questioned with excitement, but fear in her voice, “Oh my God, what does that mean?”
“It means they like you. Now, go on,” Gloria replied. Vivian slowly approached the woman. Putting her hands together as she approached her, she prayed to God that she would win this part in the soap opera. Passing each of the girls who also were there to try out, she felt all of their stares, gawking at her face, and body, pressing their jealous and angry sockets against Vivian’s flesh. Before she came up to the woman, she stopped and turned around to face Gloria and Helen, trying to block out the other stares from the room. She crossed her fingers and proceeded to turn her head to face the woman again, stepping up about three feet away from her, that’s when she said, “Um, hi.”
“Go get ’em, Vivian,” Helen yelled out with happiness.
Vivian turned around, telling Helen to be quiet through her gaze toward her, and then turned back to face the woman with the clipboard, uttering while she fidgeted, “Um, I’m Vivian Gryer.”
“Hi, my name is Jenny. Would you please follow me?”
Jenny put her clipboard up to her big chest, and started walking toward the Casting Director’s room, hearing Vivian saying, “Sure.” She crossed her fingers again and hoped for the best, and followed Jenny toward the door where every girl in that waiting room wanted to be, but yet didn’t, because of their nerves.
They both entered the casting room, seeing all the casting directors gawking at Vivian as if she was a naked statue, she became even more nervous, hoping that they liked what they saw. “Okay, here she is,” Jenny announced.
One of the directors took off his glasses and itched his long, white beard in a frantic frenzy, as if he had a form of lice living and rooming in his enormously hairy face. The room was dark, only having four lights over the four directors and a single light in the middle of the room, over a chair where Vivian started to walk to. She sat down on the chair, faced the directors, as well as a camera that was directly lined up with her face, and waited for instruction from anyone who was willing to give them to her fast. She was scared, being that it was dark, and not an object could be seen, except for the directors, and her own flesh; she was timid toward the abstraction caused by this darkened, nervous room. The director with the beard lit a cigarette, still itching vigorously, and finally explained, “Alright, Vivian, what we want you to do is read the last line of the script for us. Now, this is a different line from the one before, but we just want to see if you could handle it. A lot of the times, writers tend to change the script momentarily, and the actors have to know ho
w to remember the new lines quick, and at the same time, act.”
Her face began to form sweat upon it. Feeling a choking sensation in her throat from fear, she was able to swallow loudly and squeeze out, “Sure.”
Three hours passed by, and the morning turned to evening, as Helen and Gloria waited patiently in the waiting room while watching girls of all ages leaving the room, one by one.
It was now down to one girl, in this room, with nerves of steel, staring at Gloria and Helen, thinking that Helen was there for the audition. She stared at Helen, trying to explain through her eyes that she was going to get the part, and Helen was not, this silent gaze allowed her to turn to Gloria, and stray away from the single actress. Helen looked at Gloria’s face more, explaining, “Gloria, there’s only one more girl left for the audition. The rest left, what does that mean?”
“It means that Vivian is about to get the role. You see, for these past hours, while Vivian was in there, that women with the clipboard came out and said something to each girl. Do you want to know what she said to them?” she asked, putting her black hair in a ponytail with a black rubber band.
“Yeah.”
“She said that the casting agents, or directors, aren’t interested in them. As soon as this last girl gets sent home by that woman, Vivian gets the role, or else a callback in a month or so,” Gloria explained, seeing that the woman with the clipboard came out and walked up to the last girl auditioning for the show.
“You mean, that’s all? After this, Vivian either has the role or not?”
Gloria watched as the last girl auditioning ran out of the waiting room with tears in her eyes, explaining to Helen, “Well, there’s a little more to it than that, but that’s the main concept of it.”
Vivian ran out of the casting room and up to Gloria and Helen, showing tears in her eyes and sweat on her face. Helen thought for sure that Vivian didn’t get the role, but she was wrong when Vivian’s frantic voice said, “They want me for this role. They said something about a callback.”
Sugar Valley (Hollywood's Darkest Secret) Page 48