Night Beats: Ghost in the Vending Machine

Chapter 10: You've Got Mail

Ash sat at the bar of the nightclub they had rented out for the day. The owners were more than happy to make some extra cash while the place was closed, and Steven was happy to save money not building a set from scratch. Once the scene had cut, she'd made a beeline for the nearest stool to give her aching feet a rest. Her pink heels now sat next to her in the stool, and she was finally given reprieve from the itchy venetian mask she was given to wear. It hid her identity well, but she suspected the cheaply dyed feathers might also give her a rash.

There was a long sigh followed by the sound of a coffee mug settling down on the lacquered bartop. "I appreciate you standing in for the dancer I hired. Damn no call no shows." Steven pulled off his hat and ran his shirt sleeve over his forehead. Living under hot lights had made him perpetually sweaty, though drinking so much coffee and being under constant stress didn't help.

"It happens. I'll have to make sure my dad misses this one. I doubt he'd be too enthused to see me prancing around in so much—uh—lace." She pulled her robe a little tighter, though everyone on the crew had seen her in various states of both flattering and unflattering undress.

"Yeah. Sorry." He winced one eye before they both narrowed under the influence of a smile. "We should be able to cut up the scene enough to make it look like you know what you're doing."

"Excuse me?" She slapped his arm, and he chuckled. For a moment, Ash was afraid his face might break from the effort. Sometimes, when Steven smiled, it was as if his skin struggled to access the latent memory of real laughter. It would be a good look, if he'd ever let it linger for more than a few seconds.

"I'll have you know I watched four Youtube videos for reference. I think it went well."

Steven tilted his head back and forth while wrinkling his nose.

"Pfft, maybe we should have cast you as Dick."

His amusement echoed in his mug as he took another sip. "It fits." He looked down as her fingernail tapped the glass of her phone, the message still taunting her from the aether. "You've been doing that since this morning. What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit. I've waited for enough bad news to know what it looks like."

She groaned and tried to drown her misery in the kombucha Julia always demanded be on set. "What do you care?"

Steven frowned, his unkempt eyebrows knitting together in what appeared to be actual injury. "Look, I might be an asshole when we're on the clock, but I actually do give a shit about you—all of you."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm just-" she paused, and truth be told, Steven was the one she was least afraid to break the news to, assuming the news turned out to be bad. "-waiting on test results."

Steven stopped breathing for a second, clearly thinking he might have stuck his foot in a bear trap. "Is everything-"

"It's not for me." She cut him off, and his posture relaxed, though she hadn't even noticed it stiffen. "It's..." she held too long on the 's' before finishing, "...my dad."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Do you think you'll need some time off? I can have someone pull up the paperwork to get you family leave."

Ash exhaled so slowly her cheeks expanded. "I don't know yet. I can't bring myself to look." Her lips thinned and she could feel the thick coat of red, matte lipstick break into cracks.

Steven nodded slowly, eyes getting lost in his empty cup. "I get it. Opening the envelope is—hard. I can read it, if you want."

"Oh come on."

"I'm serious. We're about wrapped up for the day, so you can take off early if you need."

It was a good offer, so Ash unlocked her phone and slid it across the bar. Steven accessed her email and tapped the single message that sat unread in the inbox. His brown eyes darted back and forth across the tiny letters once, then twice before he allowed the screen to dim then shut off.

"Well?"

Steven paused, then shook his head.

"Shit." Ash whispered, but the words were lost to the raucous of the crew cavorting as they took their lunch.