Five Minutes

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

She didn't use the bath salts this time. The water was lukewarm. And she'd been sitting until her fingers had pruned.

The bruises around her inner thighs had faded; there was no longer any trace, not physically anyway. Mentally, she had worn herself out to the extreme.

While soaking in the tub, Sam sent her a text saying thanks for the present. Another said this: I don't know what's going on with you but I'm here. I'll be here no matter what.

She didn't doubt that and she appreciated that her friend held no ill will towards her.

She could feel him on her sometimes, like that itchy sensation one gets when something crawls over their skin, something that shouldn't be there.

She grabbed her phone and searched through her Instagram account. Over the last few weeks she'd been tagged in some photos. Not many. It was difficult for there to be much activity when she never went online and hardly set foot out her house.

Most of the ones that were taken on set she'd already seen. In them she looked happy, ignorant of what lay in her path. A happiness that would be ultimately shattered by devastation.

Some others were posted after the cast and crew were done filming. A few were of the wrap party. Her chest was suddenly constricted by unease. One was of her, Sallie, Carson, Daniel, as well as Darwin and Harris, who also played major roles in Extraneous.

The caption beneath it read My favorite people. Carson posted it the same day Veronica had come back to LA.

In the photo, Sallie was standing on the far left. Daniel was right next to her, his arm around her. Veronica frowned at the positioning of his hand. It was practically grazing Sallie's lower breast. She scanned Sallie's expression. She looked uncomfortable, her smile oddly phoney.

She scrolled through the pictures that were taken on set. And one specifically caught her eyes.

Daniel liked to touch, this was readable through every photo he was in. He was touching someone's shoulder or arm. And there was one of him and Sallie that had Veronica's heart beating noticeably quicker.

His hand was on Sallie's lower back, so low he might as well have been touching her ass. There was no awareness of it on Sallie's face, but it was possible she was conditioned to compose herself because that was Daniel!

She hadn't spoken much to Sallie these past few weeks. There was the occasional conversation, planning to see one another, but Sallie was apparently just as busy as Landry was. She began working on an independent film called Going Gone Getting Out, which she was set to both act in and direct.

But Veronica had to see her. Are there any days you're free? I need to talk to you about something. She thought it was vital to emphasize the urgency in her wording.

Hey!!! I can do tomorrow and after that probably the 25th. Is something wrong?

She wanted to tell her friend the truth, then immediately decided it was better reserved for face to face conversation. Everything's fine. Tomorrow's good for me too. Come over?

Sure! What time?

Around five?

Okay! See you tomorrow.

For the upcoming hours that lead up to Sallie's visit, Veronica beat herself up over how to segue into the topic. She also thought maybe it was a mistake and a waste of time. What if she froze up? Hesitated and used some other excuse for cover?

She took out her stash and her bowl, the first time in a long while. She couldn't have the discussion with too focused a mind. The weed could help relax her. Or go the opposite way and induce extreme paranoia and general feelings of restlessness.

No. She couldn't take that chance. She placed it back into the drawer and settled on pizza instead.

The pizza already arrived when Sallie showed up. They placed the box outside on the table located in the terrace and ate right out of the box.

"Are you sure it's okay to eat without plates?" Sallie asked. "I feel like I'm going to stain your couches." She pushed herself forward, off the couch, and crouched down until her knees hit the floor and she was much closer to the table. "This is so much better."

"Won't your knees hurt?" Veronica asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Sallie replied. She pulled out a slice. "What was so important that you had to talk to me about today?"

Veronica vacillated before she addressed the question. "When we were filming did... Daniel... seem a little creepy to you?"

"Oh... yeah. He's a total creep," Sallie replied as she ate at her slice. "He put his hand on my ass all the time, it was annoying. And when I told him to stop and he got all, Oh sorry, I didn't realize I was doing it." Her voice got a few octaves lower when she tried to imitate him. "He accidentally grazed my tits a couple of time too."

"What a fucking dick," Veronica spat. Was that why she hadn't wanted Veronica to go off with him for drinks at the wrap party?

"My friend was the one who kept pushing me to do the role. You know Igor? I talked about him a couple of times?"

"Yeah."

"You remember how I said he's pretty much the reason I took the role because he's got such a hard on for Daniel? When I told him about it he was like, Oh, that's just he is, like it wasn't a big deal."

"Seems pretty douchey." The definition of a terrible friend.

"We're not friends anymore." She was now working on the crust. "Was he a creep to you too?"

"Uh..." At that second she couldn't muster the bravery to say it. "Yeah... he touched my ass a few times too. I never said anything though."

"Can't trust anyone, right?" Sallie asked.

She wished she could say no, there was some people she could trust, but who was there? Her parents maybe. Definitely not her husband.