by Julia Bright
“I have it worked up and I’m sending it out,” Andrew said. There was a pause, and she was about to step into the room when Andrew started talking again. “It will be easier if you get rid of her now. Cam, don’t wait, trust me on this.” Another pause and Rose knew they were talking about her. “I know you’re exhausted, but this is the right time. End it now.”
Rose took off, running out of Andrew’s office. She was pissed that Cam had taken the time to talk to Andrew but he couldn’t even call her back. The story would come out. They would end their relationship and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Cam was ignoring her, Andrew wanted her gone, and Zach hated her. She’d pissed off Mike, and her old roommates were angry with her. Kady wouldn’t return her calls either, not that she could actually talk to Kady because then she would know how much of a liar Rose really was.
The drive home happened on autopilot. When she pulled into the driveway, she called Mike, and left a message stating she was leaving California. She should stay and work for a week until he could find someone to take her place, but she couldn’t stomach staying in LA for one more night. After the call, she hopped out of the car, leaving her phone in the passenger seat. She wanted to be gone before Cam got home. She could stay for a few more days, but what was the point? Having to see him again after he’d wanted her out of his life would drive her crazy. It would be best to leave before there was any chance he could come home.
Tears streaked down her face as she packed her bags, stuffing everything in so she never had to come back here again. Though everything didn’t really fit, she packed it anyway.
It took a couple of hours, but Rose didn’t stop. Once the car was full of her things, she drove away, not looking back once. Unfortunately, she had to stop by the apartment and pick up a few items, but most everything in the apartment stayed there. Both Presley and Kady would be gone to work so she wouldn’t have to deal with them, which she was thankful for. There was no way she’d be able to hold a conversation and not break down.
It only took her about twenty minutes to pack the rest of her things from the apartment and write a note, telling Kady and Presley to look for a new roommate because she wouldn’t be returning to California.
By three, she was on I-10, headed home via the southern route. It took her two hours, maybe more, to realize her phone had been taken, probably stolen when she’d run into Cam’s house. It was just another thing that proved her life was in ruins. When she got home, she’d buy a new one, but she’d change the number and leave this world behind. She couldn’t deal with having it rubbed in her face by hearing from Kady, Presley, or worst of all, Cam. There was no way she would ever be able to watch a movie with Cam in it. Her heart was shattered, her life in rubble all because of some stupid photo she hadn’t known about. Why had she fallen for Cam? He didn’t care, and now she had only herself to blame.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Cam had slept maybe three hours a night since landing in Paris. Anywhere he could catch some shuteye, he took it. He napped on a pile of suitcases, in the cab of a truck that had brought equipment to the set, on a park bench behind the director, anywhere but in a bed. He had a hotel room, but logistically he didn’t have time to make it to the hotel and get back for makeup.
They were running him ragged, but filming was getting done. He was proud of what he’d accomplished. Jason had asked if they wanted to take a break and he’d said no.
No one was cutting him any breaks. He did have a stunt double for the more difficult scenes, but most of the physical stunts he did on his own. They were wrapping up filming in Paris today and moving to Barcelona where they would shoot for four days. They were almost done and then he could go home. There would be some green screen work later, but not too much.
He really needed to talk to Rose, but every time he had a second to call her, someone ran up to him and told him he was needed on set. When he’d talked to Andrew, he’d tried to make his agent understand he didn’t want to release any statements about him and Rose, not while he was away.
When he’d left California, he’d been angry about Zach, but after a few days here, he realized he couldn’t help Zach, not really. He’d tried to get his brother to stop drinking and to take care of himself, but Zach was an adult and could make his own decisions. If Zach didn’t want to be clean, he wouldn’t be clean, no matter how hard Cam pushed him. Rehab had helped initially, but it had only taken Zach a few minutes, maybe twenty, to start searching for alcohol and drugs. Cam couldn’t babysit him. He hated to go home and see how much Zach had fallen since he’d been in Europe. If Zach could stay clean, he could get movie roles, but maybe that wasn’t what Zach needed. Maybe he needed to leave LA and the fast party life behind. Hollywood wasn’t for everyone, and Zach didn’t seem to be able to handle the temptations.
His phone rang, and he picked it up, answering without checking to see who was calling. “Hello.”
“Hi, is this Cam Harris?”
“Yes, who is this?”
“What do you have to say about your breakup with Rose?”
“I’m sorry, but who is this?” Cam pulled the phone away from his head and saw that the call was coming from Rose but the person on the other end of the line wasn’t Rose.
“Give me a statement or I’m selling her phone to TMZ. I’m sure they’d love to look through her personal stuff.”
“Shit, you little—” The line went dead and he screamed.
“Cam, you okay?” Calvin, his assistant for the day asked.
“Yeah, just—what’s up?”
“They need you on the set.”
“Okay, I’m coming.” Cam looked at his phone and thought about calling Andrew, but he didn’t have time. He was needed so they could make more progress on the film which was exactly why he was here.
Rose followed I-10 to Texas where she hopped onto I-20. The first night, she stopped at a rest stop and slept in her car. The second night, she found a Walmart where she parked and slept until the sun started to rise. She was almost home and she wasn’t going to stop for nothing. No one knew where she was, and she hoped to keep it that way. Even her mother had no idea she was coming home because she’d lost her phone and hadn’t bothered to call.
It had been three days since she’d run away from California and regret was setting in. She shouldn’t have left like she had, but the pressure was too much. Andrew was going to publish the story about the baby being lost and her and Cam breaking up. She had no say in what was going on in her life and it had made her angry. She hated that she’d been placed in this situation—actually, she’d walked into it with open eyes and now it had all gone to hell.
Before Cam had left for Paris, they’d been getting along so well. Really, the problems started when Zach came home from rehab. She didn’t know the dynamics between Cam and Zach, but obviously, they had some issues.
When she pulled into the drive leading up to her mother’s house, she saw the screen door pop open. Her mother stepped out onto the porch and stood with her hands on her hips. She’d expected a lecture, or some yelling, but that wasn’t what happened. Instead, her mom came over to the car and waited for her to step out before she pulled her into a hug. They stayed like that for a long moment and then her mom led her into the kitchen where Rose had grown up.
A fresh baked pecan pie sat on the counter. It smelled so good Rose wanted to cry. She was served a hefty slice and a cup of coffee.
It was like her mom had expected her to return home. Maybe she had. Rose’s life in California had been destined to fail. How could she have ever thought she would be a success? Hollywood produced more failures than successes and she knew that.
After she was halfway done with the slice of pie, she looked up and caught the pity in her mom’s eyes. Pity was the last thing she wanted, but she knew it was what she deserved.
“So, you lost the baby?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Rose didn’t know what to tell her mom. How could she reveal the
fact that they had lied? She’d not corrected the story when it had come out, and now she was stuck with people feeling sorry for her because her baby had died. But she didn’t deserve their compassion. Maybe coming home where everyone knew her and knew her business had been a huge mistake.
“Don’t worry. No one is really talking about you. A few of the mean girls you went to school with are gossiping, but everyone knows those women are bitches. You keep being yourself and life will return to normal.”
Rose feared normal. She’d not wanted normal when she’d left South Carolina, and she didn’t want it now. She wanted excitement and fun, not the slow existence that was Low Country life. She wanted Cam.
“Cliff, down at the store, says you can work for him.”
Her breath hitched in as shock pulsed through her. “You already found me a job?”
“Well, with the reports that have been flying around, I knew you would be home soon.”
She gasped. “Oh God, what has been going around?”
“Just that Cam ran off and left you for some other woman. It’s rumored that Mia and her husband are getting divorced, though I don’t believe that for one second. But someone did find your phone, and they called Cam. He said you two were over.”
Rose put her elbows on the table and covered her eyes with her palms. “Oh shit, someone stole my phone.”
Her mother grunted. “Yeah, well, it could have been worse. When TMZ got a hold of it and said they were going to start posting your texts and other stuff, Cam’s agent shut that down real fast. He’s called twice.”
“Who? Cam?” Her heart started pounding and her hands were shaking.
“No, not Cam, his agent. And he didn’t call here, he called the store, asking for you.”
Disappointment hit her hard. Cam hadn’t called. “Shit. I don’t know what to do, Mama.”
“Baby, it can’t be all that bad. Take a few days and then come work with me in the store. You’ll see. Life will go back to normal and you can find a nice guy to settle down with.”
Rose felt her stomach start to rise, and she thought the pie was going to come back on her. She shook her head and shivered, trying to hold the food down. There was no way she would ever find anyone to settle down with, not after experiencing life with Cam Harris.
“I need to find a job that pays more than the store.”
“Well, once you get settled, you can send out your résumé to some of those big hotels or one of them other places out there on that tourist island.”
Her heart twisted. She didn’t want to do what everyone else who graduated high school from here did. There had to be more out there for her. “I didn’t go to college to work at a hotel.”
“Well, you’re not going to find much around here with that fancy degree you got.”
Her mother had always questioned her decision to go to college. She’d had a partial scholarship, so paying for school hadn’t fallen to her mother, but her mom had considered it a waste of time.
“There’s always Savannah. And if I can’t find something there, I could go back to school and get a degree that would allow me to teach.”
Dishes clanked as her mother started unloading the dishwasher. “I don’t know. It seems kind of crazy. You should have just stayed here and never left. Really, working in Hollywood as a waitress didn’t net you much. How much money do you have now that you’re done?”
Agitation filled her but she tamped it down. “Mom, it’s not only about money.”
Her mom held out a wooden spoon, pointing it at her as she spoke. “Well, experience isn’t going to get you far. How is experience going to pay your bills? Do you think your landlord is going to care that you have experience when you don’t got no money for rent?”
She stood to help unload the dishwasher, but her mom waved her away. She sat, pushing the rest of the pie around with her fork. “I can always get a job working in a restaurant, but that’s not what I want to do.”
“Well, at least come work at the store for now. Then you can try for something else while you get back on your feet.”
“Thanks, Mama. I’m going to unload my car and head to bed.”
“You tired?”
She nodded and stretched. “I didn’t sleep much on the drive.”
“Didn’t you stop at a hotel?”
She shook her head, not wanting to tell her mom she couldn’t face people as she fled California. Embarrassment had led her and her bruised ego had kept her from doing more than stopping for gas and fast food. “No, I didn’t. I slept in the car.”
“Oh dear. Well, go get your stuff and take a nap.”
Rose gave her mother a hug before she headed out to grab her things. It took her six trips to get everything in, but at least she had that task completed and could rest. Her mom had been nice and made up her bed with fresh sheets, but it was still weird coming back to this room where she’d grown up. She loved her mom, but this wasn’t home. A sigh escaped as she sunk into the freshness, closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep where thoughts of Cam haunted her.
Chapter Thirty
Cam hadn’t been able to contact Rose after the mysterious call he’d received. Once he’d finished filming for the night, he’d called Andrew and left a message. He prayed something could be done. He was in Europe and his schedule was very tight. When they’d landed in Barcelona, he hadn’t even had time to check into a hotel. It was frantic because a huge storm was predicted for the end of the week, and Joshua wanted everything wrapped before the storm hit.
On the last day of filming, he was ready to crash when Joshua started yelling. Someone had done something behind the scenes that had tipped the scales and made Joshua lose his shit. Cam watched in frustration as the director blew up. It took another hour before everything was reset and they were ready to run through again. He worked hard to get everything perfect. When Joshua called cut, Cam was proud of how well he’d done. Joshua came over to him, his smile wide.
“You really are good. My next project, I’d like to have you.” Joshua shook his hand then pulled him into a back-slapping hug. “Really, you are the best.”
“Thank you. It was great working with you.”
Joshua chuckled. “Ha, I’m a temperamental bitch, I know that for sure.”
“You gave me a chance, and I appreciate it.”
Joshua hugged him again before walking away. Cam blew out a breath of relief. They were done. The crew was packing everything up, storing equipment and cleaning up, when Joshua got on this megaphone.
“That’s a wrap for our European filming. I want to thank everyone, especially the actors. Cam Harris, working with you has been wonderful. Thank you for being so professional. I really appreciate it. The way you came in every day and did your job even when you weren’t given an opportunity to sleep or get any rest is commendable. Jack, Tom, and Rich, thank you for doing such a wonderful job. The rest of the talent who worked as extras, thank you. Production, you were amazing. You made our jobs easy. Your professionalism has made all the difference in the world. I have to say this is the smoothest movie I’ve ever shot. This film is going to be wonderful. I’ve seen the dailies and I’m pleased. Thank you.”
Everyone cheered. Cam was happy that he’d been able to do such a good job on this film. He’d been in the business for a while, but most of his films hadn’t been shot like this one. One huge difference was that Cam hadn’t seen Joshua drinking like a fish. He may have had a few glasses of wine over the course of the film, but he hadn’t just drank for drinking sake. Also, there hadn’t been any drugs on set. The crew may have been using, but lines of cocaine hadn’t been laid out on the tables for anyone to partake. So far, this had been the most enjoyable film he’d worked on.
He did miss working with Zach. His brother had been a huge part of why he was in the business. Once he was back home, he would have to deal with his brother and his addictions. It had been too long since he’d heard from Zach and then there was Rose. He had no idea what was going o
n with her. Since they’d been working almost around the clock, he’d not checked on social media, or any other media. Andrew had told him that everything was okay, but Cam wasn’t sure.
He only had a few hours before his plane back to the states was set to leave so he didn’t have time to hunt down stories on the internet. Instead, he sat in the corner since his trailer had already been dismantled, and he slept. Someone nudged him at one point and told him it was time to head out. He woke enough to get into the car and then load onto the plane. The flight home went by quickly for him since he slept through almost the entire flight. They were about an hour out from landing when he woke. Refreshed and ready to go, he developed a plan. First, he’d make sure Rose was okay, then he’d head over to Zach’s place and see what was up with him. He wasn’t ready for everything to fall apart, and he would do what he could to get Zach the help he needed.
The plane touched down, and he grabbed his bags then caught a cab home. When he walked in the door, he noticed the house smelled stale like no one had been inside.
“Rose,” he called out. “I’m home. Rose, where are you?” Cam made his way through the house, searching for his girlfriend. When he got to the closet where she kept her stuff, his heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling before he opened the door, but once it was open, he felt like he’d been crushed.
Cam dialed her phone and Melissa answered. “Andrew McKellen’s office. How can I help you?”
He paused and pulled the phone away from his head, checking to make sure he’d called Rose. “It’s Cam, where is Rose?”
“Oh, um—I’m going to have Andrew call you.” Melissa hung up on him.
“Shit.” When his phone rang. He picked it up, anger rolling off him. “What happened?”
“Cam, where are you?” Andrew asked.
“Home.”
“Stay there. I’ll be over in a few.”
“Fuck. This is bad.” Frustration filled him. He needed to find Rose.