Just Like the Movies

Chapter Twenty-Two

Unsurprisingly, I barely got any sleep. I kept dreaming of Theo, waking up startled, and scolding myself, only to dream about him again. When Rowan came to pick me up, I was more zombie than usual, and could barely make small talk. The fatigue lasted throughout the day, but filming on a stage made my job easier in general, so I managed to make it through without incident, aside from nearly falling asleep as I rested my weight on my crutch a few times. But we were wrapping up the scene, too, which meant I didn't have to keep track of where anything was as we finished filming, so I didn't need to pay as much attention as usual.

I took Theo's advice and asked Rowan to jump my car for me before she left as she dropped me off back at my apartment after filming ended.

"You know how to do this, right?" I asked her, trying to remember what Theo taught me, and failing

She gave me a wary look. "You really should learn, Maisie."

"I did. Kind of."

"Like this."

We went through the steps together and I was proud of myself for being a little less scared this time. We got my car started in no time, and I smiled widely at her. "Thanks, Rowan!"

"Yeah, yeah." Her red lips twisted as she leaned against her car, not making any move to leave. "Theo told me he told you about Mackenzie."

I stiffened. "O-oh, yeah? Did he say anything else...?"

"What do you mean? Like what?"

I guessed he didn't. "Nothing," I said quickly. "I just thought he would have, um, said something about dinner with his parents."

"He said it went well, but I don't really care about that." Her words were sharp. "What did he tell you about that crazy bitch?"

I tried not to outwardly react to Rowan's harshness. I knew it wasn't directed toward me, but it still made me squirm. "About how she set up the robbery and tried selling intimate photos of him."

She laughed without any humor. "I'm sure he made excuses for her, too."

"He—"

"Did he tell you how paparazzi camped out at his house while he was in the process of trying to move so he didn't have to live in the house he was almost killed in anymore? All because she posted his address online for anyone to find?" Rowan said, cutting me off. "Did he tell you that bitch used to post where he was staying during filming and his crazy stalkers would wait for him in front of his hotel room door? How she gave away his room key on multiple occasions and those same stalkers would walk in on him while he was in there, or be on his bed when he returned to his room after filming?" Rowan's voice grew louder and angrier the more she spoke. "She was fucking insane. He won't ever tell you the half of it, either. Because he thinks it was all his fault and will still try to defend her."

My breath caught in my throat, watching as Rowan's nostrils flared and anger cloud her green eyes. "No, he didn't say any of that," I said quietly.

"Of course he didn't." She ran a hand through her hair, tugging it through the ends. "Sorry. I'm trying not to get worked up here."

"Seems a bit too late for that," I said lightly, trying to break the tension.

It worked. She rolled her eyes at me. "Oh, you haven't seen me worked up. You don't want to, either."

I didn't think I did, either.