Hollywood Bleeds

fifteen

AMINA WAS A nervous and sweating mess. She paced back and forth backstage as Mavis tried calming down the anxious woman.

"I don't get paid enough for this." Mavis admitted frustratedly, causing Luca to snort and Amina to roll her eyes.

Everything that could go wrong would go wrong knowing Amina's luck. She had to make a well respected woman respect her-even though she was told she wouldn't earn her respect no matter what.

Beverly was a well known interviewer. Being known as the first woman to have her own show, she's grown a large fan base and viewers to have more than thirteen seasons of her show. She's earn respect of feminist and woman all over the world for not being the afraid to speak her mind and be herself.

Amina exhaled deeply, pulling at her fingers as she looked between Mavis and Luca.

Mavis was typing away on her phone as while Luca leaned against a wall.

"You okay?" Amina asked him, pulling on her pointer finger nervously.

Distract herself from being nervous-focus on someone other than herself in an uncomfortable situation. Call someone out when you want to know answers.

He had been acting distant since he came with her and Mavis to the studio. He acted how he was around Brandy and Mavis-and Amina was t sure how to think of him doing that around her.

Luca opened and closed his mouth. Sighing, he winced slightly as he stepped closer to Amina. "I'm sorry if I pushed you or made you feel obligated to do something about my needs."

He wasn't upset at her or their night-he was guilty. What for? She still couldn't understand.

Amina knew he was drunk-Luca was always drunk. He handled himself and at times seemed and acted sober when he was anything but. Drunk people talk nonsense but Luca didn't-every word he spoke was a plead to her, Amina just switched it back to him.

Give a hopeless person hope-make them believe in themselves when no one else is willing to do what they need.

"It's fine, Luca. Really," she soothed, putting her hand on his shoulders. "It's fine."

Luca shook his head. "I'm sorry for even mentioning it to you. It was ignorant and selfish of me to put my problems on you. Especially on a special night for you."

Amina put her hands into her pocket as she gave Luca a soft smile. "Trust me Luca spending the night with you was way more fun than being in the club."

She didn't know if her want her to mention everything he told her that night. How he wanted to burn Hollywood to the ground. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to bring it up.

Hollywood did something to Luca, something that changed him to the man he is today-a man who was on the brink of going to prison or dying from alcoholism.

Amina clenched her jaw as she quickly began to blink. Just thinking about all the horrible rumors she heard about Luca and other artists was making Amina sick. Hollywood was a place, and yet this big place did so much damage to a young Luca and many other young artists and shaped them into the depressed people they were today.

She needed to change the subject-for both her and Luca's sake.

"Is Beverly that bad?"

Before Luca could say anything, Mavis's voice suddenly cut in. "She's the worst." She stood one front of Amina with a stern look. "Make sure to rethink everything before saying it."

"Okay."

"Don't say anything snarky." She moved a curl behind Amina's ear as she lifted her chin up higher. "She doesn't like being called out or feeling made fun of. You can't sound smarter than she is or try to correct her, even if she's wrong."