Rachael: March 13, 2014
There I was, stuck in the same hotel which was becoming like a second home to me. Every month, my company sent me on a plane to endure the 5 hour flight from Cincinnati to Los Angeles for a half-day meeting that, frankly, could be done over the phone. Didn't they know that the economy is shot to hell? Haven't they ever heard of Skype?
Maybe I was in a bad mood because it was almost that time of the month and PMS tuned me into a worse version of Mr. Hyde, or maybe it was due to the fact that my now ex-fiancee broke the news that he actually wasn't ready to get married yet and that he "needed his space" a week prior to my trip to LA. It was 2 months before the big day, the invitations had gone out, everything was paid for, my dress had just gotten back from the tailor and he had the audacity to drop the bomb on me.
When the meeting finally paused for lunch, I felt so out of my element and under so much stress from everything, so I called the one person I knew in LA who made me feel normal in every sense of the word, Josh Hutcherson. Not seeing or hearing from him in months, it was like a breath of fresh air just hearing him say my name for the first time.
Josh: March 13, 2014
"Hanna, I gotta get up, that's my phone! Come on, babe! Stop!" I gave her a quick kiss and pushed her off and ran to the kitchen to grab my phone. I smiled when I saw the name Rachael Wallace on the screen along with picture I had of her stored with her contact info.
I stole the picture from her Facebook profile when she was ballsy enough to post a picture of herself when she was 8 or 9. She wore an over-sized kitten t-shirt, mom jeans and had a hair cut that had seen better days. If she ever got a hold of my phone and saw it, she'd throw it at me for sure.
"Rachael Wallace! Where the hell have you been all my life?"
"Funny, I should ask you the same thing, Josh," she scolded. She sounded just like my mother, only my mom would have called me Joshua Ryan. Hanna mouthed for me to tell her hello.
"Oh come on the life of a movie star is a busy one these days! By the way, Hanna wanted me to tell you hello."
Rachael let out a heavy sigh on the other end, "Ugh you guys are doing this again? What is this like the 3rd time you've gotten back together?"
"She said hi back!" I pointed to the phone and told Hanna, who was sitting on the couch in the living room looking at her phone. "It's different this time, I swear," I whispered.
"Yeah, we'll see. So thanks for leaving me hanging the last 2 times I was out here, asshole. I called and texted you but there was no answer. I can't believe you'd leave your dear old, loving friend out in the dirt to rot. I see where your true feelings lie, Joshua."
"I didn't know you even had time to hang out, ya know, with all your.....wedding planning." My mom told me a few days ago that her douchebag fiance, Sam, who I never really cared for anyway, called the wedding off.
"So I'm guessing you spoke to your mother?" She let out a sigh.
"Yeah," I breathed into the receiver, "I talked to her a few days ago and she told me what happened. Are you ok?"
"I'll be alright, in time. He's moving his stuff out while I'm gone so I don't have to see him. My dad's taking care of the wedding stuff."
"Well, time heals all wounds, I suppose." I was awful at finding the right words to say in situations like this.
"Yeah, so does alcohol. Listen, I'm here for the rest of the afternoon, but what are you up to later? Can we go get a drink or two or three?"
"We can actually hang out here. I had a little paparazzi run-in last night and don't really feel like going out. The guys said they'd be coming by too. I'm sure they'd love to see you."
"Ahhh, the guys. How are Avan and Andre these days?"
"They're doing good. I'll have Andre swing by and pick you up on his way over, because I assume you don't have a car, right?"
"Josh, the airport shuttle driver practically knows my whole life story. You know I never rent a car. Just make sure your bar is fully stocked, ok? I gotta get back inside to my meeting."
"Alright, later Rach."
Rachael: May 4, 1996
"Here, honey hold these, we have to leave soon." My mom handed me a plate of freshly baked cookies that I just wanted to devour myself but she told me that they were for the new neighbors down the street and that I couldn't touch them.
We walked the 2 blocks down the road, passing a few neighbors mowing their lawns and planting flowers. Every time we had new neighbors we hurried up and baked something and introduced ourselves. Needless to say, everyone in the neighborhood knew me.
"Hi, welcome to the neighborhood! I'm Donna Wallace!" My mom just waltzed up to a brunette woman who was walking outside to the moving truck.
The woman wiped her hands on her jeans and shook my mom's hand. "Hi, so nice to meet you, I'm Michelle Hutcherson," she looked over at a man who was in the garage, "that's my husband Chris," He waved over at us, "and....where are they?" She looked around the front lawn and spotted 2 young boys, wrestling on the ground. "Hey! Boys, come over here!" They picked themselves up and the older one chased the younger over to us. "These are my boys, Josh," she patted the older one's head. "and Connor, he just turned 2." Connor hid behind his mom's leg.
"Hi Connor!" I handed my mom the plate of cookies and bent down to introduce myself to the toddler.
"Hi!" He held his hand up to wave and went back behind his mom. Josh smiled at me, then bashfully ran away.
"Aww they're so cute! I'm Rachael." I shook Michelle's hand.
"They're going to be little heart breakers someday!" My mom laughed. If she only knew how right she was.
