Aurora - Pedro Pascal

ONE

Amelia was trying hard not to relapse. She had known about Top Gun: Maverick since Tom told her about it, but she couldn't figure out why she was so upset. They hadn't even started filming, but she told him that she wanted a cameo even if her dad couldn't do it. She needed to distract herself. Everyone seemed so busy. As she decided to organize her closet, she saw a dusty shoebox on the top shelf. The box felt empty as she brought it down and sat it on the bed. She could hear things rolling around inside of it, but they were pretty light. Curiosity got the best of her and she took the lid off of the box. What was inside of it made her heart sink, but it was also going to lift her mood if she let it.

Don't you want this?

No.

Come on. You'll feel better. Drink some of that wine that dad got you for your birthday with it.

She ran out of her room and FaceTimed Nikki. They mostly texted because of their busy schedules but she knew that he was home and she needed help. He answered on the first ring.

"You okay, kid?"

"No. I was upset and I was cleaning around my house and I got to my closet. I guess I kept a stash when I got out of rehab and forgot about it. Nikki, I don't know what to do. It's like it's screaming for me to use again and I can't do that. I have too much to lose now but it's so tempting to just go in there and shoot up."

"Okay. Listen, keep me on the line. I've been there more than once. Go out to your car and go through a drive-through. I'll pay you for whatever you get, okay? I'm gonna text your Tom and tell him what's going on. You're doing good, kid. I'm proud of you."

"Hey, before you text Tom, can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah."

"I don't want my dad to know."

"We won't tell him."

She stayed on the call until she got back to her house and saw Tom's car in the driveway. She ate a few fries before grabbing her bag of food and heading inside. Tom gave her a hug and she started to cry as he told her how strong she was. He helped her find something to watch while she ate the rest of her food. She was trying to postpone talking about it, but he wasn't going to let that happen.

"It's on your bed, right?" He asked. Amelia nodded her head. "And that's all you have? Don't lie to me, Amelia."

"Yeah. I practically turned this place upside down before I found it in my closet."

In an instant, he got up and ran to her room. A few minutes went by before he came out of the room with the box and walked into the kitchen. She watched as he threw everything away and tied the trash bag closed before taking it to the trashcans outside. Trash pickup was the following day so Tom wasn't really worried about anything happening.

"Do you know why you thought about using?" He asked after sitting on the couch next to her. She sighed and put her head in her hands.

"Not really. Maybe I just don't have enough hobbies but I could also be stressed. I'm still waiting for a callback. This project that I auditioned for seems like kind of a big deal and it'll hopefully be my first big project after rehab. But what if I don't end up getting the part? I wouldn't really be surprised because I almost lost everything to heroin."

"Hey, don't say that about yourself. You're a good actress, and we both know it. If they don't give you the part, that's not your fault."

"I don't know. I haven't had an opportunity this big in a while. I know guest spots on Criminal Minds aren't bad but I want something bigger than that. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that I even still have a career, but it's taking me longer to 'bounce back' than I thought it would. Anyway, I'm gonna start getting ready for bed. You can sleep in the guest room."

She couldn't look at her bed when she walked into her bedroom. She cried for a few minutes in the shower because she couldn't believe that she nearly lost everything again. And at what cost? A one-time high wouldn't compensate for the potential loss of her career. She came dangerously close to that once and she was not about to do it again. As she did her skincare routine, she decided that changing the sheets on the bed was probably the only option if she wanted to sleep in her bed that night. Tom didn't look too surprised when she came out of her room holding all of her sheets. She put the sheets in the washer and grabbed a new set out of the linen closet. It took her a few minutes to put the clean sheets on her bed, but the action made her feel better.

Looking around the room, there was a box of crochet supplies that her mom had given her after she got out of rehab. Amelia grabbed a ball of yarn and the right crochet hook before getting in bed and looking for tutorials on YouTube. Within an hour, she learned a few basic stitches and started making coasters. She got so excited about the whole endeavor that she ran out of her room to show Tom what she made.

"I thought you said you were tired," he said. She only smiled and laughed in response.

She woke up the next morning with the smell of bacon and eggs flooding her senses. Tom always cooked for her, regardless of how old she got. It was something that she loved about him. She decided to skip the coffee that morning and have chai instead. They ate together and talked about the dreams that they had (or didn't have) and Tom did the dishes while Amelia put her sheets in the dryer and threw on a pair of shoes so that she could put the trashcans in front of her house.

"I'm hosting a party at my place tomorrow night. You don't have to go but I don't want you to be alone."

"Who's gonna be there?"

Her smile got wider and wider as Tom told her a few of the names on the guest list.

"I guess I'm sold."