THE EDGE ➶ JAMES FRANCO✔️

7. PLATINUM STATUS

This Love by Taylor Swift

"When you're young you just run, but you come back to what you need. This love is good, this love is bad, this love is alive back from the dead... These hands had to let it go free and this love came back to me."

~~~

"Guess what?" He shouts as he walks in through the door after a week-long trip to New York City. He went to try out for a voice role in Seth Rogen's Sausage Party.

"You're home," she says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That, and I got the job." His face lights up as he puts his hands on her waist.

"You did?" She shouts excitedly.

"Sure did. Who can resist this voice?" He asks smugly, placing three sweet kisses up her neck to her cheek.

"Not I," she answers innocently. "Who else got a part?"

"Well, since Rogan's directing it, Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill got one."

"Of course they did," she says sarcastically. "When's it coming out?"

"2016 at the very latest."

"Wow. That's only a year from now."

"Right? They said they've got most of the animation finished."

"Let's celebrate, shall we?" She asks, heading to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of wine she'd been saving for a couple of years.

Lana's out tonight so the two get drunk alone. They fall asleep, happy and wasted, on his plush leather couch, him engulfing her in his strong embrace.

~~~

An awful headache and three missed calls from her boss greet her when she wakes up. She groans and stands up to get some ibuprofen.

The tired blonde checks the one voicemail Tom left, which ordered her to see him immediately. Stumbling back from the bathroom, it's then that she realizes James is gone. Slightly annoyed, she goes upstairs to clean up. He hair is knotted and all of her makeup is smeared.

Entering the master bedroom, the room she shares with him, she finds a note on the bed that reads, "Called back to NYC for a day; be back in two days. Sorry :("

She just laughs, throws the note away, and heads for the shower.

She steps out of the bathroom, freshly showered, twenty minutes later. She dresses and dries off quickly, throwing her long curls into a messy bun before they can get knotted. Heading downstairs, she grabs her car keys and off she goes.

~~~

Walking into the record building, Allison asks to see Tom and she's immediately permitted. The second she warily stalks into his office, he turns in his black swivel chair, grinning.

"Congratulations!" He exclaims.

Startled, she keeps her distance from the dark-haired Tom. "For what?"

"Your album just went platinum, Allison! Platinum! It's only a matter of time until it goes diamond!"

She's taken aback. "Platinum? As in we sold one million of them?" He nods happily. "This is huge!"

"You need to get started on that headlining world tour!"

~~~

Practically bouncing in the door, Allison see that Lana's back and she's holding the phone.

"Oh, good, you're back. It's your mother."

She thanks Lana happily outwardly, but on the inside she's fuming.

My mother? How did she get this number?

"Mother," she greets coldly.

"Hey, sweetie," her mother says cheerfully.

"How did you get this number?"

"Oh, well, I asked your agent and she told me. I wanted to know if you were seeing anyone at the moment."

"My agent? Who the fuck do you think you are?" Her free hand curls into a fist. "Why are always up in my business? I'm not three years old anymore!" She knows any normal person may be gushing to her mother about a new boyfriend, but remembers that she's never had that relationship with her mother.

"Don't use that language around me, Allison Rose."

"Don't tell me what to do. It's none of your business who I'm seeing, if anyone at all, and it's not your business to go around asking for this private number. I'm hanging up now to change this number and call my agent."

"You can't hang up on me, Allison," her mother says, sounding a bit amused. "I won't allow it."

"Why? Did your dumbass boyfriend finally leave you and you're calling me because you have no one else to control?" She doesn't wait for a response. She simply hits the "end call" button and proceeds to block the number. When she finished, she places the wireless landline back on its charger.

"That sounded intense," Lana remarks, sipping her coffee and watching Allison with big, questioning eyes.

"Yeah," is all she has to say. She doesn't really want to talk about it, but knows that Lana will press for details anyways.

"Is she a sore subject for you?"

"Yeah," she breathes heavily, ready to spit out the truth, "she used to abuse me as a child."

Lana almost spits out her coffee. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry." She says, genuinely concerned. "I could've told her you weren't here."

"It's no use lying to her. She knew I was here."

"How?"

"She just knows. She's a master at detecting lies. Whenever I wanted to escape her, I would tell her I was going to visit a friend, but ten minutes later, she'd show up at the police station to sweet-talk the officers out of everything I'd told them." Allison sighs and looks at the countertop. "She always gave me time to tell the whole story before she'd come and tell how I'm mentally disabled and a perpetual liar. She knew that what she was doing to me was wrong and she also knew that I would try to tell someone about it."

"Sorry for butting into your personal history. I'm just curious."

"That's okay. I guess someone had to know the truth sooner or later."

Lana walks over and kisses Allison's forehead. "It'll get better. I can promise you that, hon." Then she takes her mug of heavily-sweetened coffee and slowly heads upstairs.

Allison remains downstairs, patiently awaiting tomorrow.

~~~

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