A ride to Los Angeles

Chapter 6

Jessica

I don’t think I’ve had such a laid-back week in a long time. I’d almost forgotten what it’s like to be seventeen, to live with your parents (or with just one parent, in my case), and to have no career obligations.

My new life in Mississippi is quite interesting. Tiphanny’s parents, Kassandra and Marko Meelver, came to visit me at the hospital shortly after Martin had left. She seemed extremely worried, but after she saw that I wasn’t that badly injured, she relaxed a bit. Mr. Meelver was concerned too, but he was much calmer than his wife.

From the beginning, I noticed something in the two of them that I’d never seen in my own parents. It’s like a fire that burns brightly and, no matter how much water you pour on it, it doesn’t go out. They both run a small, successful business. The coffee at Meelver’s is known as the best in town, and it really is. Even though I’ve had the chance to taste some of the most expensive drinks, including coffees, the Meelvers’ is truly delicious.

I’ve always wanted to have that kind of partnership with my husband. Even though we’re both actors, we’ve had very few chances to work together. He’s never been excited about doing anything with me. He’s told me that, at home, I’m his wife, and the same in public, but when it comes to career, we’re on our own. I never understood why he thinks that way.

As for Karlos, Tiphanny’s younger brother, there isn’t much I can say. He spends most of his time in his room, playing video games. Sometimes he has friends over, and I can hear them laughing or getting frustrated late into the night when they lose. Last night, I had to press my pillow over my head to block out the gunshots and shouting coming from the room next door.

I’ve always been an only child. Dad left Florida when I was just ten years old to work in New York, and a few months later, the divorce followed. Their relationship was complicated anyway, but the distance made things worse. Mom never found another partner, so it was just the two of us. And honestly, I never felt the need for a brother or sister. Even if someone else had come into the family, they would have never been a true friend to me. I was already mature, and the age gap would have been too big.

Martin comes by almost every day to check in on me. He keeps me updated on what’s going on with the group of friends I haven’t even had the chance to meet yet.

Even though my arm is healing quickly, I still can’t ride a motorcycle. Not that I mind, but from what I understand, it’s Tiphanny’s biggest hobby, so I’ll have to pretend I’m eager to get back on it.

Speaking of pretending, Tiphanny seems to be doing a pretty good job herself. I’ve spent the whole week glued to screens, watching her interviews and, of course, that famous video on social media. Even though it’s clear she’s uncomfortable giving all these speeches in front of cameras and thousands of people, sometimes talking really fast and looking elsewhere, people will think this anxiety comes from the fact that someone tried to kill me—not that I’m not really her.

But I can’t lie; the pressure weighs on me. My whole career is in her hands now, and the poor girl doesn’t even know what kind of miserable world she’s just stepped into. Without asking for it, she found herself in Hollywood overnight. She’s only seventeen.

After watching a show where Tiphanny had been a guest, I decided to try reaching out to her, so I opened Instagram and searched for the verified account @jessicaelishon_official. I went into the DMs and wrote a simple, We need to talk.

Even though I’m almost sure she won’t see the message, considering she probably gets thousands of messages daily, I decided to give it a shot anyway. Still, after seeing no notification come through, I realized it was foolish to try.

I didn’t delete the message, but I tried to forget about it.

The next few days were pretty much the same. The Meelvers were at the coffee shop, Karlos was in his room, and I was glued to the TV, watching whatever news they were still reporting about the gala incident. But after a week, the topic wasn’t as widely discussed. There were still some filler updates, but that was about it.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps and pulled my gaze away from the TV. Next to me, Martin sat down on the couch, once again checking on how I was doing.

“Since when do you like watching the news?” he asked.

He glanced over at the screen, where the focus had shifted from me to some kind of political scandal.

“I’m forced to stay home until I’m fully recovered. No bike, no friends.”

The best part about being an actress for so many years is that I can easily play the role of a person I don’t even know. Martin doesn’t seem to have any doubts. I’m clearly behaving exactly like his girlfriend.

He looks into my eyes and gives me a playful smile.

“Well, you’re lucky I’m still around. Just you, the news, and the brother who plays CS all day. I think you’d die of boredom.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” I replied, smiling.

He leaned in and gave me an unexpected kiss. I liked the feeling of his lips on mine, and his warmth, too. But I can’t let myself get distracted. He isn’t mine. My husband is in Los Angeles, and he’s Tiphanny’s boyfriend.

I spent about an hour with Martin, and then he left to go home. Every time he walks out the door, it’s like his mood changes, as if he wants to stay longer. This guy really loves Tiphanny a lot.

After his bike fades off my driveway, I head upstairs to my bedroom and throw myself onto the bed. It’s already dark outside, but I decide to check my phone for a bit before going to sleep.

When I open Instagram, I notice a tiny red dot next to the paper plane icon, signaling a new message. When I check who it’s from, I nearly jump out of bed and quickly open the conversation.

Tiphanny replied to me.