Flashing Lights | Cillian Murphy x Reader

Chapter Seven

If I thought the letter was some sick prank, I was sorely mistaken.

Rehearsal was nearly over, and I felt heavy on my feet as I stumbled to grab a bottled water and chug it, my throat dry from reciting lines over and over. Cillian, from the other side of the room, raised his eyebrows as if to silently ask me if I was alright. I replied with a forced smile and mouthed "just tired" in his direction.

Melody approached me, handing me another water bottle as I had completely emptied the first one. "You've been quiet off set. Is everything okay?" Melody asked gently, a small frown on her lips. I nodded eagerly. "I'm just exhausted from all these long rehearsals is all." I said, standing up straighter and giving her arm a reassuring squeeze.

"Take it easy, don't work yourself too hard." She said, hugging me gently before letting me walk back onto set. I conversed with Michael, going over our tone of voice in a scene we planned to do when suddenly Mark's commanding voice hollered for me. "(Y/N)!"

I turned, walking toward him. "Yes? Is everything alright?" I asked, a bit surprised that he would call on me so suddenly and without warning. "Yeah, I got a letter for you." He said, handing me a pink envelope.

I felt my heart sink into my stomach with fearful anticipation. "Oh." I muttered quietly. "W-who gave this to you?" I asked, trying to control the shake of my voice. "It was delivered with the scripts. Nancy found out and told me to give it to you." He explained.

I took a deep breath and opened the letter, reading the letters. I felt my mouth dry and my stomach drop when I saw the unintelligible writing slathered across the page.
We both know you don't belong here. You aren't remotely talented enough to be a part of something this big. Why are you still trying? Do you seriously think anyone is going to want to spend their time with you for any reason other than the filming? Save yourself the embarrassment and resign.

In place of a signature, there was a photograph of me in my hotel room, sitting on the bed and reading. I felt like throwing up. Who was this person and why were they stalking me? I looked around frantically. If they somehow could see into my hotel room that meant they were stalking me. Could they see me right now?

Mark must have noticed my distress. "Is everything okay?" He asked. I forced a smile and nodded. "Y-yeah."

He gave me a skeptic look before waving for me to go back to rehearsal. I stumbled back to my position beside Michael, throwing the letter into the trash and trying my best to tell myself it was nothing more than a crazy stalker, and that I was safe.

I couldn't help but look in Cillian's direction and see that he continued to look at me, eyes focused in on me. I looked at him from across the room, lowering my head slightly to avoid showing him how nervous I felt under his gaze. I couldn't help but glance back up, head still lowered as I saw his face gently relax into one of a smile, one that was almost reassuring me of any kind of anxieties I might be feeling. I returned a shy smile before looking away.

"Alright, let's take an hour and a half break." Mark announced and I let out a deep breath, finally relaxing as I stretched my arms out. I stood up, walking to grab a coke when suddenly something cold and slightly wet was pressing against my cheek. "Wah!" I shrieked, turning around to see Cillian pressing a cold soda can to my face. "Boo." He smirked, handing me the can.

I smirked and took a quick sip. "You scared the shit out of me." I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms to look up at him. "Well we can't have that, can we?" He said, his voice deep and sending a chill down my spine, as I felt myself crumble yet again beneath him.

"Why do you look so scared?" He finally asked as we walked outside of the studio. His voice got quieter, his irish accent even thicker when he whispered. I inhaled sharply through my teeth and shook my head. "It's nothing, I promise." I said, forcing yet another smile through my teeth.

Cillian didn't look remotely convinced but shrugged anyway. "Want a cigarette?" He asked as he pulled out a cigarette, holding it between his thumb and forefinger and offering it to me. "No, thank you." I said quietly. His lips curled into a smirk as he lit the end and took a deep drag of it. "Good girl."

I felt my knees get weak when he praised me, having to consciously tell my own legs not to give out from under me. His voice was like a drug, and I wanted to keep hearing him talk. No, I wanted to keep hearing him talk to me.

He noticed my sudden change in energy and turned to me suddenly, standing in front of me. Before I knew it my back was pressed against the outside wall of his trailer. His arm moved to the side of my head, trapping me, but he kept the other arm down so I could still leave if I wanted. His face was close to mine, his height towering over me as he leaned close to my face. "You like being talked to like that, don't you, (Y/N)?" He said, his voice gravelly and rolling smoothly from his lips. I almost forgot how to breathe, my mouth falling open as he honed in close to me. His icy eyes never left mine, examining me as if he was searching my very soul for answers.

"I-I-" I began to stammer, unable to form coherent sentences when he had me in such a compromising position. "You...?" He whispered, tilting his head ever so slightly as he lifted his other arm that was by his side, and placing it on the wall beside my head, trapping me completely.

Suddenly his phone rang, and he let out a breathy curse as he removed his arms and pulled out his cellphone. "Yes?" He asked, annoyance evident in his tone. I let out a breathy exhale, watching as he talked to someone on the phone, clearly irritated. He finally hung up and turned to me. "I gotta go. Nancy needs me." He said softly, looking at me as if he wanted to touch me in some way but didn't know how, and then walked away without another word.

Leaving me standing outside his trailer, completely enamored with him.

(A/N! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 100 READS! I can't even believe me stupid little book has already gotten this much attention! I love each and every one of you so much and hope you continue to tune into this story <3)