Starbird

Chapter 33

The next week of filming, I didn’t bother coming. Once I found out that they were going back to that tight space in the house and just the surrounding areas, I didn’t find it necessary. James allowed me to wander a bit and, as long as I was back before ten, I could go pretty much wherever I wanted. A morning spent on Sacré Coeur and Mont Martre, an afternoon meandering around the Opéra where I stared at it longingly because I’d have to pay to go in, and an evening just strolling the narrow paths of Paris.

Then a week before my birthday, they wrapped up filming in Paris with a fancy dinner and we were on the train to the Mediterranean the next day. The ride wasn’t more than a couple hours and when we arrived in the early afternoon, the director decided there wouldn’t be any work so once we were all checked into our ridiculously expensive hotel in Cannes, we changed into shorts and tanks with bathing suits in our bags and took off down the streets. I’m not sure where all the others went, but the entirety of the day it was just James and I, plus two lingering bodyguards who I wished would go away. However, I forgot I was in the presence of a celebrity and if anybody tweeted that he was out and about Cannes, there could be a hoard of people. But it was nice to just be the two of us again. I felt like so often we got caught up with everybody else we never were able to have sibling time.

“Excited for your birthday next week?” James asked a little later in the evening when we sat down for dinner. I got crab which was abnormally delicious and James picked away at his oysters. How he could wolf those slimy things down made no sense to me.

“I guess. 18 isn’t that big of a deal, is it?”

“That’s when I started my career.” I always forgot about that. James hadn’t even graduated when we moved out to Los Angeles and he began professionally acting.

“Yeah, I guess so. Any chance someone is on the look out for a photographer with really embarrassing photos of people?”

“That’s called ‘paparazzi’ and if you sell any of your photos of me, I would kill you. You have too many of me either sneezing or yawning or with wet pants.”

“I told you, I’d be a millionaire if I got in that line of work with you as my brother.” James shook his head, trying to look serious, but failing miserably.

“So what do you want for your birthday?” He asked again, cracking open an oyster and stabbing at it with his fork. Yuck.

“Becs and Riley here?” I asked hopefully.

“No way, you can Skype them. Oh right! Mom and Dad are coming on… Thursday, I think.”

“Really? I’ve missed them,” I said and it was true when I thought about it. I’d just been a mite preoccupied with other things to think about them a lot.

“Do they know about Liam?” I glared at him.

“Do you think I’d tell Mom and Dad about Liam? Not a chance, bro.”

“Don’t you think they should know?”

“Weren’t you the one to tell me that I should tell no one?”

“That was when I thought you were going to do something about it.”

“I am!”

“Yeah, sulking. Maybe Mom and Dad could help you out maybe.” James shrugged as if it was that easy.

“Umm… no. I want to deal with him on my own, thank you.”

“Yeah, because you’re doing such a great job of that.”

“Shut up, I’m working on it.”

“Cam, you are literally doing nothing. You’re just waiting.” I glared at him, knowing he was right.