Book 1: Echoes Of The Past

Chapter 10 - Trip Down Memory Lane

It was pretty warm outside, compared to the eventful weather Ivy had experienced yesterday. From how everything was to look at, it was almost as though the deluge of rain that had influxed LA yesterday afternoon had been an excerpt from a fantasy novel.

Ivy and Tom chatted as they made their way down the sidewalk to a local patisserie to get some sandwiches for lunch and afterwards walked to Grand Hope Park.

"So, what was all that about yesterday. I heard something about some photos of you with a guy called Shannon Leto. Who's he??" Tom questioned Ivy as he drank some of his apple juice.

Ivy sighed, stretching out her legs in front of herself adjusting her sunglasses. "He's just an old childhood friend."

"But why were there photos of you in the gossip magazines? Is he famous?"

"Erm...yeah, I guess. He's in a band called 'Thirty Seconds to Mars'"

"OK, but Leto. Why's that surname so familiar?"

Ivy groaned internally, she was waiting for the cogs in Tom's head to start whirring and for the dots to eventually join for him to then realise that maybe Shannon was somehow connected to Jared. Then, no doubt he'd never shut up.

She kept her mouth shut and took a bite of her salmon and Philadelphia bagel.

"Is he related to the actor Jared Leto by any chance?" Tom finally got it. Bingo!

"He's his brother."

"What? That's awesome!"

"Erm...Tom, can we please not talk about Shannon?" Emily picked at some of the grass by her leg.

"Oh. OK. I'm sorry." Tom was a bit stumped at Ivy's sudden coldness with wanting to talk about Shannon and Jared.

"It's OK. Sorry."

"So, tell me more about yourself?" Tom asked Ivy.

"Well...I'm originally from Louisiana. I was born and grew up there. Have an older brother, Bryce, who now lives in New York and is married with two kids. Never knew my dad. My mum still lives back in Bossier City with her partner Jeff. I don't visit as often as I should though. I just haven't found the time if I'm honest. What about you? Do you have brothers or sisters?"

"Yeah. I have a younger sister, Britney and an older brother. Mark. We were born here in California, but in Monterey, but I moved to LA for college and just stayed.

Britney lives in Santa Barbara and works as a personal trainer in a gym there and Mark still lives back in Monterey working for a restaurant there."

"Oh nice. Were you all close growing up?"

"I was closer to my sister than my brother, but as far as siblings go, I'd like to say we all got on. No blood was ever shed." He laughed and Ivy smiled.

They sat and talked for a while longer before realising it was nearly the end of lunch and they needed to start heading back to work.

Ivy found herself smiling as she left work for the day. She had enjoyed her lunch with Tom, more than she thought she would have and they had agreed to do the sane for Monday afternoon and as she caught the bus home, her thoughts turned to tonight and going to Jared's house.

As she thought, she started getting quite anxious about things. Who else would be there? Just him and her? What should she wear? Was it going to be awkward as they hadn't seen one another for almost a decade? What would they talk about? Were they going to get on? How did she treat an Oscar winning actor who was globally known? What did he even want from her?