bed chem | drew starkey

CHAPTER 18

EARLY - MID DECEMBER 2023

aurora had just changed into her favorite pair of comfy pajamas—oversized sweats and a hoodie—and was about to dive into her precious phone time. she climbed onto her couch, tucking her legs under her, when there was a sudden knock on her trailer door.

she groaned, glancing at her phone longingly, before reluctantly getting up to answer it. pulling open the door, she was met with odessa standing there, arms crossed and an expression that immediately put aurora on edge.

"what—" aurora started, but before she could finish, odessa barged past her into the trailer without so much as a word.

aurora's mouth dropped open in shock. what the hell? she thought. quickly closing the door, she pulled out her phone and hit the record button, keeping it low and discreet as she turned back to face odessa. whatever was about to happen, she wasn't taking any chances.

odessa was standing in the middle of the trailer now, her arms crossed tightly as she shot aurora the dirtiest look imaginable.

"listen," odessa started, her voice sharp and cutting, "i need you to stay the fuck away from drew."

aurora blinked, stunned by the sheer audacity. "so, you want me to not talk to my costar, who i happen to have basically all of my scenes with?" she asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"yeah," odessa replied bluntly, her expression unchanging.

aurora raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "no."

odessa's face twisted into a scowl. "why not?"

"because," aurora said, tilting her head slightly, "why should i listen to you? drew is my friend. i don't see any reason why i should stay away."

"because i like him," odessa snapped, her voice rising.

aurora stared at her, unimpressed. "good for you."

odessa's eyes narrowed, clearly not the response she wanted. she stepped closer, her tone turning almost desperate. "as long as you're with him, next to him, he won't spare me a look. so i need you to get the fuck away from him."

aurora bit back a laugh, her grip tightening on her phone. "drew's not a little kid," she said firmly. "he can decide what he wants. and if he doesn't want you, then maybe you should take the hint."

odessa's face flushed with anger, but before she could say anything else, aurora stepped forward, opening the trailer door. "you can see yourself out now," she said, her voice calm but icy.

odessa hesitated, glaring at aurora one last time before storming out of the trailer, slamming the door behind her.

aurora exhaled deeply, locking the door for good measure before stopping the recording on her phone. she watched the screen for a moment, shaking her head in disbelief.

"what the hell was that?" she muttered to herself, flopping back onto the couch.

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the next morning, aurora woke up still reeling from the chaos of the previous night. after everything odessa had said, aurora had spent half the night on the phone with mia, venting about the entire encounter. mia, of course, had been livid.

"you better hope i don't run into odessa anytime soon," mia had said, her voice sharp and full of menace. "because if i do, she's not gonna see the face of the earth again."