Starburst

by Jettie Woodruff

  STARBURST

  JETTIE WOODRUFF

  BOOK 1 - STAR SEQUENCE.

  This book is dedicated to Nikki, Zack, Josh and Cortney, truly my inspirations.

  I love you guys.

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, dead or alive are a figment of my imagination and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s mind's eye and are not to be interpreted as real.

  STARBURST

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Trevas Evans had just gotten home from a long five day work week. He had just kicked off his shoes and plopped to the sofa with a tired breath. He propped his feet up on the coffee table and then groaned when his cellphone rang, seeing who it was.

  “Hey Chase, what’s up?”

  “Where are you Trevas?”

  “Just got home from New York, literally, like ten minutes ago.”

  “How did that go?”

  “Long, very long,” he whined. “What’s up?” He asked again, sensing that this was not a social call.

  “What’s on your plate now?”

  “Not much of anything. I have to go to do security for the McAlester’s kid’s birthday party Saturday, but I was hoping to get a couple days to chill a little. What do you have?”

  “I need someone to go to the Fletcher residence and stay there with his kid for six to eight weeks while he finishes up filming in Fiji.”

  “Fletcher?” Trevas asked, wanting more information.

  “Nicholas Fletcher. He needs someone to stay at the house and keep his kid Alex out of trouble until he gets back.”

  “What? Is the kid like a trouble maker or something?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t had time to do any research. All I know for sure is that he had Kim Lipscome there, and she up and quit. He has to fly back out tomorrow and is in desperate need for someone now.”

  “Tomorrow? I just got home Chase.”

  “Well, actually you need to be there by seven tonight. I will send Chip to do the birthday party thing. Come on Trevas. You are the only one without a family that can stay away that long.”

  “I was hoping to see Selena tonight. I do have a life too you know.”

  “I don’t think Selena is as into you as you are her. She was at the Breeze last night, and she wasn’t alone.”

  “I’m not that into her. You know what that is.” Trevas explained, knowing that his latest modeling friend was nothing more than someone who liked to party and have sex, and that too was all that he was interested in, at that time. He would have never gotten serious with someone like Selena White.

  “Do this for me Trevas.” Chased begged, not wanting to leave his own family to go and babysit someone’s kid for six weeks or longer.

  “What’s it pay?”

  “Ten thousand.”

  “Keep talking,” he coaxed, sounding more interested.

  “You just need to stay there and keep his kid out of trouble. He wants you there tonight because he is having some guests over and will go over the details with you then. I will pick you up around six,” he added without giving him time to object.

  Trevas looked at the clock and decided he had better get started on his laundry, not believing that he was going to do this. He was beginning to wonder why he even paid the rent on his place anymore.

  He seemed to be gone more than he was home. He thought about what he would do for the next month and a half or so. Was this kid a freak or would he just hang out and play video games? At least the rich and famous had plenty of luxury, worldly possessions to occupy his time, and hopefully this kid was a cool kid, and he wouldn’t mind hanging out with him. He could handle a nice long assignment with no traveling.

  “Why can’t I just take my own car?” Trevas asked Chase as he threw his bags into the back seat, not wanting to be stuck without a car for six to eight weeks.

  “Fletcher has a car that you will be using.”

  “What? Do I have to take this kid to school and like baseball practice and shit?”

  “School should be just about out, and I’m not sure of any more details, I told you. He will explain everything to you when you get there.”

  “Where’s this kid’s mom?” Trevas wanted to know.

  “She is an actress, I think she is filming in Africa or Asia or something like that. Stop asking questions, you’ll find out when you talk to Fletcher.”

  Trevas was racking his brain trying to figure out who the mother was. He knew that Nicholas Fletcher was a big time movie director but couldn’t think of an actor whose last name was Fletcher. She probably kept her own name; he decided and let it go when Chase started bragging on his son’s golf tournament the previous weekend, and his wife’s newly dented fender.

  They arrived right at six thirty. Chase took the card from his wallet and typed in the four digit code that would let them through the iron gate. “Here, you’re going to need this,” he stated, handing him the card.

  There weren’t a lot of cars, and Trevas was glad of that. He was tired, and jet lagged from his previous trip, and wasn’t in the mood for a party or a bunch of high class social climbers. Chase told him to leave his things for now, and they were let in by a well-dressed older man, who they both knew by Simon, and had heard stories about him and some of the security legends that he had maneuvered around leaving his mark.

  They stood off to the side, and both took a glass of wine from an extremely attractive young lady dressed in a short black pencil-skirt. They both watched her walk away with wandering eyes.

  “Damn, I want to babysit that,” Trevas joked, and they both laughed.

  The house was incredibly huge, and of course beautiful, but neither of them were fascinated with the LA mansions. They had both been to enough now to where it didn’t seem to faze them like it once had. The floors were a beautiful white marble with a thin gray line strung about in a swirl design with a luxurious staircase harmonizing. The living area was large and spacious and was where most of Fletchers guests mingled.

  There were people out at the pool area, and they had a clear view through the glass doors. Trevas recognized Nicholas Fletcher when he laughed loudly in a circle of friends.

  He looked around and noticed a young girl standing awkwardly off to herself. She stood by the island that separated the kitchen from the open dining room. She was a small framed girl with long, dark hair, flipped to one side. Her pale skin had just a touch of makeup and her eyes were darkened with smoky gray eye shadow and eyeliner. She had on a short white, buttoned up shirt that showed her midsection and a long flowing pale yellow skirt with white converse sneakers. Definitely out of place here, he thought. The girl looked over to him, and he stared at her briefly, trying to put a finger on who she was.

  He knew he had seen her someplace before, but couldn’t quite figure out who she was just yet. He watched as the hottest teen actress around at that time, came in from the pool area and walked up to her.

  “Hey that’s Brooke Austin,” Trevas told
Chase as he watched her say something to the other girl. She pressed her lips together and twisted her mouth, slightly to the side and rolled her eyes at whatever Brooke Austin had just said to her.

  “Yes, that’s Brooke Austin. She’s flying out with Fletcher in the morning. She’s the star of his latest movie.

  “Who’s the other girl?” He asked, wondering if Chase new, still looking at the young girl as he tried to figure out who she was.

  “That is Alley Fletcher,” he replied cautiously, waiting for his reaction with raised eyebrows.

  Trevas contemplated his words, and it only took a moment to register, what Chase had just said.

  “Oh fuck no Chase. I’m not babysitting some teenage girl,” Trevas knew exactly who she was, and it hit him smack in the face as he remembered. He had just seen her in the tabloids not too long ago at the Breeze Nightclub in West LA. “Why didn’t you tell me? You low life, I would have saved you the trip.”

  “Trevas, its ten grand, he’s in a fix, and if you don’t do this, I have to, and I prefer not to stay away from my wife and kid that long.”

  “Chase you stupid son of a bitch, what the hell am I supposed to do with a teenage girl? I thought Alex was a boy, and I would be skateboarding and playing Halo. I don’t know what to do with that,” he stated, nodding toward the girl who had just looked over to him again, and he knew that she knew he was the one that would be staying with her.

  “Trevas you don’t have to do anything just don’t let her out of your sight and keep her out of the tabloids until her parents are home.”

  “Her mother is Peyton Paxton,” Trevas said as that too dawned on him.

  “Yes, they are divorced, and she is not home to look after her either.”

  “Wouldn’t you rather have a female looking after your daughter?” Trevas asked.

  “They tried that, she quit, remember?”

  “And what if I quit?” He asked, wondering what in the world he had gotten himself into.

  “You won’t” Chase stated, more as a threat than re-assurance. Chase wasn’t really his boss. He didn’t really have a boss, but Chase did throw plenty of work his way, and he did need him, for now anyway.

  Nicholas Fletcher finally made his way over to speak with them.

  “Fletcher, this is Trevas Evans,” Chase told him, and he shook his hand.

  “I hear good things about you. You come highly recommended,” he added.

  Yeah, highly recommended because I drew the short straw and got the short end of the stick. “Thank you sir, it’s nice to meet you,” he replied.

  “Come into my office and let’s have a chat,” he said, gesturing toward a room behind the staircase. “Simon could you bring in Mr. Evans’s things?” He asked his own personal security, and Simon followed Chase out.

  “Have a seat,” he told him and opened a cabinet and poured two glasses of whisky from a fancy gold bottle. Trevas took the glass and thanked him. He could definitely use a drink, right about now.

  “I know you have to be feeling a little apprehensive about this,” he began, and Trevas nodded, letting him know that yes, he was undeniably apprehensive about this.

  “She has a week, and three days of school left, she has got to be there and stay there for the last of her finals,” he said emphasizing the word stay, which made him even more apprehensive.

  “Are there any other extracurricular activities that I should be aware of?”

  Fletcher snickered, and Trevas dug a little deeper into the apprehensive hole.

  “No, Alley spends most of her time in her room. She has one friend and that is Brooke. If you can get her to go do anything, I’m fine with it as long as she is with you. She is known to throw a tantrum here and there, but she usually just storms off to her room.”

  Tantrums, great, he thought as he got the shovel out for the apprehensive hole again.

  “Why did Kim Lipscome quit, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Because she couldn’t handle the job,” he said matter-of-factly, with an irritated tone, and Trevas knew that was all the only answer he was going to get, but made a mental note to give her a call himself.

  “Are there any help that will be coming and going, that I need to be aware of?”

  “There is a house keeper that comes on Wednesdays, and I have a cook that I will call for you too.”

  “If it’s okay with you sir, I will decline on the cook. I rather enjoy cooking, it’s one of my favorite past times.” What else am I going to do here for weeks?

  “Hmm, very well, I will add her salary to yours. There are two freezers in the pantry and more food than you could use in a year, but if you need anything else I prefer you go out of the city or just call Rita and she can bring you what you need on Wednesday’s.”

  “I visit my grandparents in the nursing home a couple hours away from here, every other Wednesday. Do you prefer I take her with me or leave her here with the house keeper?”

  “No,” he almost yelled, “she goes everywhere you go. You don’t leave her for five minutes. I hate to make it sound as you are going to have your hands full. She really does just keep to herself in her room, but as soon as you get comfortable she will do something. I’m getting ready to promote a really big movie. I don’t want any distractions of my personal life taking away from that. Do you understand what I am telling you?” He asked, wanting his daughter to be kept out of the grocery store magazines and the World Wide Web.

  “Yes sir, I will be sure of it. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Trevas told Nicholas Fletcher exactly what he wanted to hear, but was having an extremely hard time convincing himself of it.

  “Good, is there anything else?” He asked, and walked to the door. Trevas watched as he waved his hand, in a come here motion out to the room full of people.

  “Yes, do you require that I wear this?” Trevas asked, waving his hand down his black suit attire.

  Some of the other condescending famous people required that they look professional and wear nothing but formalwear while escorting them. He was hoping that his jeans would be sufficient since he would mostly be hanging around the house.

  Fletcher snorted. “No, but I would prefer it when you drive her to school.”

  “Alley this is Trevas Evans. He is going to be staying here with you while I am away.”

  Alley rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, and Trevas stood to shake her hand.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Fletcher,” he tried, with no hand in return.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” She asked, and Trevas dug another foot deeper in the apprehensive hole. He was practically buried now. What the hell was he supposed to do with this girl?

  “Alley!” Her dad scolded.

  Alley did the mouth thing again, pressing her lips together and twisted her lips to the left side.

  “Whatever, it’s not like I have a say in my life anyway,” she countered. “Just stay out of my way,” she demanded, looking at Trevas and he wasn’t sure what to say.

  Alley dismissed herself and Trevas never saw her again. He was pissed at Chase because he had dumped his bags in the downstairs guest room and disappeared.

  Trevas explained to Fletcher that he was going to turn in because he had just gotten back from New York earlier that day, and was exhausted. He excused himself for the night and didn’t return to the party.

  His room was very nice and had its own private bath. The king size bed was made in a white down comforter and Trevas couldn’t wait to crawl into it. He peaked out the sliding glass doors, opening to the pool, but he quickly closed the curtain when he noticed the people walking around and talking with their drinks in hand.

  He took his laptop from his bag, and while he waited for it to power on, scrolled through his contacts in his cellphone and dialed Kim Lipscome.

  “Lipscome,” she answered with a hard ass tone.

  “Hey Kim, this is Trevas Evans. I was just calling because I just got thrown into the job that you just
walked out on, and I was hoping you had some pointers.”

  “Oh man, you’re at the Fletchers?”

  “Yes, afraid so.”

  “I have some pointers, run, get the hell out of there. That girl is a little bitch.”

  “I’m afraid that is not an option. Chase didn’t give me a choice. What is she like? Help me out here.”

  “Honestly, she pretty much lives in her room. She comes down late at night to eat. Sometimes she would come down to the pool. She was kicked out of school twice while I was there and I had to get calls from Fletcher, which were not pleasant,” she added. “She took his car in the middle of the night because I didn’t know that I had to sleep with the keys. She went to the Breeze where she was photographed, dancing very provocative with a much older man with barely any clothes at all. The last straw was when she snuck out and was again in the tabloids, drinking beer with a bunch of thugs on the beach.”

  “Why don’t they just put her in some boarding school?” He asked, and she snickered.

  “They have, she has been kicked out of all four of them too.”

  “This is just great, there goes my career.”

  “I feel for you man, good luck.”

  “Yeah, thanks for nothing.”

  Trevas Googled Alley Fletcher and clicked on images. He saw the photos that Kim had told him about and read the articles. He wondered how a kid with everything turned out this way. Her mother was one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood and her father had won numerous awards for his accomplishments.

  He read about her for over an hour until his eyelids couldn’t take it a second longer. He went into his personal bathroom, showered, brushed his teeth and crawled into bed and was asleep within minutes. He was woken at four in the morning when he heard noises. He stuck his head out and saw Simon carrying Fletchers bags and, went back to bed.

  He woke around eight and pulled on a pair of jeans, started a pot of coffee and walked around the house. He opened a door to a gym and was glad of that. Next to gym was a theater with six comfortable theater seats and the biggest movie screen he had ever seen. He hoped he would be able to get away long enough to watch a movie in there. Across the hall from that was a game room with two pinball machines, a Nas-Car racing game, a hunting game with an orange gun, a tabletop Pac-Man game with a chair at each end, and a long bowling alley with one lane down the back of the room.