Through the Lens

18

Sitting was all I could do at the moment. I had a decision I needed to make. Allie was a friend, and I should tell her what happened. But how? I looked around his room but the details were all lost on me. The fascination for being here dimmed, in light of everything I would have to tell her.

They say time heals all wounds, but I wasn't given any time. It seemed like seconds later, Allie breezed in the room.

She came and sat by me on the bed undeniably calm. My hands were in constant motion on my lap, unable to stop the unease of what I would need to tell her right now.

"Ethan came and told me he messed up. He's really sorry," she pleaded.

Her calm demeanor confused me. Her stillness had me worried. Although Allie would normally be considered "bubbly" her emotions now came off of her was everything but.

I narrowed my eyes. Had he actually told her he kissed me? She didn't fully seem like a girlfriend who had just gotten that news. Why was she trying to get me to forgive him? What about her?

"Ethan's a little drunk. Forgive him," she said, continuing where she left off. Her smile seemed forced and I waited for the accusation from her that I'd made out with her boyfriend. "You should forgive him." Again she flashed me the fake smile, before finger combing her hair riffling through it.

This would be my moment. The spotlight seemed to fall on me. Yet words came at a high price I couldn't afford. I'd never been in a situation like this and I started to get a little angry at Ethan. He'd done this, yet I felt like I was on the hot seat.

"He's going to be alone you know," she said in earnest. She seemed resolved in her words. She and I were so close; I could smell her tooth paste. Her eyes implored me to get her meaning. Instead my eyes were wide with confusion because, no, I didn't know. "All these people only care about gossip and a place to party. And when I'm gone-" she began, as if that was old news.

"You're leaving," I said, sounding pathetic to my own ears. Her words were a shock to me for the second time tonight. "Where are you going?"

From within, her whole body brightened. She seemed to sit straighter, and her face beamed in anticipation of telling me some great secret. "I only just got the word not too long ago. I got the movie," she announced.

Not having any idea what she was talking about, at least the specifics, I asked, "Movie?"

"Well, I didn't want to jinx it, so I've kept it to myself in case things didn't work out. But I was cast in a movie as one of the main supporting characters. I'll be leaving tomorrow for LA, then off to Italy for at least a month initially. Probably more like three months when it's all said and done."

"Wow, congratulations," I said, giving her a big hug.

"It's pretty freaking awesome," she said. Then she sobered. "But I'll be leaving Ethan here alone. I feel like I'm abandoning him like everyone else in his life." She paused, looking into space as if she was reliving the moments. "First his Dad, then his Mom, then Carly," she began.

"Carly," I protested. Carly, if I had my facts right, certainly didn't leave him willingly.

"Yeah, Carly. That night when things...changed. She had broken up with him. He begged her to give him another chance. But I knew that it was over at least from her perspective."

"Why?" I asked.

"Ethan was insanely jealous over all the media accounts of her being with other guys. But being in the business, I know that tales get spun just to keep your name out there. Then there were pictures. A lot of that came from things that happened on set during rehearsals, but it's leaked to the media to create buzz."