Hollywood's Golden Runaway

(1 6)

The next day, it is as though yesterday's breakdown didn't happen. We are called in to shoot again after Liam and I's day of bonding. First thing in the morning we set about preparing our breakfast side by side, just like we were the day I found Finn. With each moment we spend together, our closeness is consolidated. The previous night's events remind me even more of how I am struggling to survive without him. On my own I am a victim of my own thoughts and I realise how much I am grounded by him. However, seeing Olivia, Finn, and Grandma makes me think of the rest of my family, of my parents and of Elsa and Hazel. They'll be in their senior year now. The same age I was when I left. I feel compelled to seek them out too. I feel as though their senior year experience is probably going a lot more successfully than my own. Considering the fact that I technically never made it to senior year.

The day of shooting flies by as usual and thanks to Liam's help, I face no issues regarding finding Selena again. I let her take over again, relieving myself of Isabella for a few hours. Between takes I debate whether or not to even break character I feel on such a high. I channel my emotions into hers, stronger than ever and when Ethan calls wrap for the day, everyone seems to be in shock at the intensity of my performance. The way I interacted with Liam, Sydney, and Phillip - one of the older actors in the cast who plays the father figure and senior advisor to Bridget - and just the feeling of being back to normal after such constant mood swings has me grinning for the rest of the day. The girls and I congregate in Sydney's trailer at the end of the day, all of us laughing and smiling over our Chinese takeout.

"So then I'm running to the set, trying to juggle all of these props and a guy comes out of nowhere and I smash into him, props flying and we both crash to the ground!" Sydney's story has all of us in hysterics.

"Who was the guy? Was it the cute one from the lighting department?" Tatiana asks as she pops another chip into her mouth. Sydney nods.

"You should have seen his face, he looked like he had just been caught killing someone!"

"You need to stop torturing the poor boy and speak to him already!" I interject, joyfully.

"Nah, I've got my eye on someone else," Sydney replies, having us all in anticipation as to who her mystery crush is, but she says no more on the matter and we remain silent.

Not long after, the boys join us and propose a night out, and since the last time we left the set was the disastrous trip to the Haunt, we're sceptical. But, presenting bottles of wine and champagne, it doesn't take much more convincing for us to join them on their escapades. I change into more appropriate clothes for drinking in bars and going to the only club in Matlin Falls, which is little more than a dive bar with a larger dance floor than most dive bars.

While I am changing in my room I'm not surprised that Liam takes the opportunity to corner me at last and I catch sight of him behind me in the mirror as I attempt to clasp my necklace. Without a word, he moves behind me and affixes the necklace for me. His fingertips grazing the back of my neck makes gooseflesh roll down my arms and I hold back my visible shiver. He lets his hands trail down by arms before he seems to correct himself with a deep breath and steps back.

"Can we talk, Iz?"

There it is.

"Yeah,"

"I'm not here to break my promise but right now, after last night, in turn you have to promise me something,"

He takes me aback then and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Anything,"

"You have to promise me three things," I nod, "One, that whatever is that's on your mind doesn't get in the way of the shoot, our job, and us, your friends. Two, that whenever you sneak out to do whatever is you need to do, you keep yourself safe, and three, you tell me what is going on in your head one day, if it ever gets too much for you again or whenever you're ready to tell me. You know that I would never tell the others, and I am always here to listen and to help."

He finishes speaking and I am struggling to find words to express my gratitude at his patience. I turn to face him, just looking him in the eyes.

"I promise, all of it, and I promise most of all that I'll tell you one day. I'm sorry that I'm putting you through this, you don't deserve it, not with everything else that's going on in your life." His eyes darken at the mention of his own familial issues. While I have been selfishly taking up all our time talking about my own imploding life, I've never once thought to ask about his own issues.

"Really, it's fine, Iz," I cut him off.

"No it's not, what's going on with you, is your dad still being a dickhead? How's Hayden holding up?" He sees that I'm not going to let my questions and that makes him sigh. He sinks onto my mattress and meets my eye.

As he thinks of what to say, I see more emotions pass over his face than I've seen in the last few weeks since we've been in Matlin Falls. His past with his dad has been rocky to say the least, with him micro-managing every aspect of Liam's career whilst trying to jump start his 13 year-old brother, Hayden's own career. His overbearing attitude and personality has more than a few times ran Liam's nerves short in the time that I've known him, leading him to crash in one of my spare rooms to get away from his family. Liam sighs again before speaking,

"When isn't he being a dickhead? Hayden's alright, Dad knows that he doesn't want anything to do with all of this, but because I've been such a financial success for my dad, he still wants to double his profits with Hayden. They've managed to find a compromise though apparently, if Hayden does at least one modelling shoot or commercial a month, Dad will pay for his college tuition next year. So that's something, I guess." His last sentence is nothing but sarcasm and I can feel the tension from across the room. Although, most of the time I envy his close relationship with his brother, I feel for him and his fractious parental issues.

"That's not fair on Hayden though, surely you can convince your Dad somehow." I press.

"Unless I double my own earnings to cover mine and Hayden's potential earnings, my dad is not going to be satisfied," he stays silent for a moment, "anyway, it's not the biggest issue right now, I'm going to deal with it as soon as we get back, but right now we need to make sure you make it through this shoot without another three breakdowns." He smiles. I give him an unimpressed look.

"Liam - you can't prioritise my issues over your own."

"I thought you'd have realised by now, Iz, we're in this together. Your issues are my issues." My heart nearly stops at his confession. He doesn't laugh it off, and the only hint of humour is the slight smile on his lips.

"You're too good to me, Liam Cohen."

"Oh trust me, Isabella Scott, I know." He jumps up, takes my arm and we rejoin our friends, "Let's give Matlin Falls a taste of Hollywood shall we?"

***
Author's Note:
Hola cariños!

Things are getting juicy! I've been on a bit of a writing spree with excitement over where Salem's story going - big reveals are coming up so stick with us to see what's coming next! You won't regret it!

Let me know what you think and as always please vote, comment and do all the socials!

Besitos,
-L