Behind The Scene

CHAPTER 10

It was strange to have Charlie at my place. Among my modest furniture and old nick-nacks, he stuck out like a sore thumb, his expensive suit and immaculate appearance a far cry from everything that littered his surroundings.
"Sorry about the mess," I said quickly, scooping a pile of scripts off of the kitchen table and depositing them into a nearby chair.
"Don't mention it," He said kindly, folding his jacket over the back of a chair and glancing at the photos on top of my cabinet.
"Ugh, yeah, we'll not show you that one," I said quickly, sidestepping a pouffe and taking up the photo he'd just reached for.
"Oh come on, it's by far the most charming one of you," He laughed, stopping me from escaping with it.
"Yeah, you're right, the blueberry pie filling all over my face is such a classy look," I said sarcastically, wincing as I looked at the photo taken after the block party pie-eating competition I'd entered when I was eight.
"I think it's pretty adorable," He shrugged, turning to the next one, a family photo from a barbecue a few summers ago. "Your family?" He asked.
"Yeah," I answered, getting closer and looking at the photograph now clutched in his hand. "My mom, dad, and that's my brother, Quincy," I added, pointing each of them out in turn.
"You're close?"
"To my brother," I shrugged. "My dad sometimes. But my mom, she's... intense."
"How so?"
I groaned, there were too many to list.
"She's never approved of my acting, thinks I abandoned my family coming out here," I explained, deciding to keep it simple. "My parents both have similar ideas about it, but my dad knows I'm passionate about it, he's a little more understanding, and less heavy with the guilt trips."
"I can relate to that," Charlie said with a knowing look. "My parents had their moments with the guilt trips, especially to me."
He placed the photo back down, then inclined his head toward the one next to it. Mine and Ross's faces smiled up from the frame, the sun shining brightly overhead as we stood on the beach. I smiled fondly as I remembered the moment the photo was taken. I'd just jumped on his back, and he'd almost fallen. A friend of ours had snapped this photo, and to this day, it remained one of my all-time favourites.
"This one's cute," He observed.
"Thanks."
"Boyfriend?... Ex-boyfriend?" He inquired, turning to face me.
"Boyfriend," I confirmed, "He's still back home at the moment. With his job, it's been a tricky process."
"How so?"
I dropped into a chair, letting out an exasperated sigh as I remembered all of the issues with Ross's transfer.
"He's an EMT, so transferring out of state meant he had to enquire about job availabilities within the LAFD, and on top of that, he's had to wait for information on whether he can just come over or has to complete re-training. It's taken longer than we hoped."
"I can imagine," Charlie said, sitting opposite me. "How long ago did he look into the transfer?"
"He started looking into it as soon as we made the decision to move out here. But he didn't want to get the ball rolling until we had the money to move, and I wasn't financially there yet. We put it off a little while longer, and then he applied, but by the time I had the money together, it still wasn't very far along, and so it was a case of wait it out, then come over together, or..."
"Or you coming out here first?" Charlie finished for me.
I nodded, remembering the struggle that we had back home. Ross was upset that it was his job standing in the way of my happiness, and my fresh start. I didn't want to come out without him, but at the same time...
"I didn't wanna wait any longer," I confessed. "I'd waited for so long already, and it was finally so close, right within my reach. I couldn't put it off whilst a bunch of paperwork went through and we waited for a position to open up."
"How did he take that decision?"
"Better than he should have," I said, getting back to my feet and heading for the fridge, grabbing us both a drink. "I'd expected a fight, but he just promised we'd make it work, told me to do what I needed to, and he'd follow as soon as he could."
"He sounds like a good guy."
I smiled to myself as I poured a measure of vodka into each glass.
"He is."
Placing the glasses on the table, I sat back down, tucking a leg underneath me and looking up at Charlie.
"Anyway, we aren't here to talk about my life. What's with you and your brother?"
"Diving right in are we?" He joked.
"Might as well," I said swiftly.
"Okay," He nodded, "Dalton's a complicated person, a few years older than me, and a big name in the music and dance scene round this way. Popular go-to within the industry. But he has a dark side that not many people know about," He took a mouthful of vodka, then continued: "When I was twenty-four, I was engaged, and I went home to introduce her to my family. Dalton was there, and they hit it off right away. I never thought much of it, and when we went back home, It completely went out of my mind. Our wedding was on Christmas Eve that year, and the entire family got together a week early."
My grip on the glass got tighter as I waited awkwardly for the story to unfold, sure that I had a good idea where this was going, and not liking it one bit.
"I came home one night, it was a few days before the wedding, and the place seemed empty, I thought she was out or something, and so I went upstairs to take a shower. But as soon as I walked into my bedroom, there she was. Screwing my brother in our bed."
"Shit," I breathed.
He dipped his head, chucking back more of his drink.
"It gets worse," He added bitterly, "They began dating, he always treated her like crap, but she went along with it. She ended up pregnant about six months after we broke up, but maybe it was the lifestyle she was living with him, I dunno. But she lost the baby shortly after, and it sent her into a spiral."
I didn't know what to say. I couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for him to have to watch his ex-fiancee, with his own brother.
"Many people don't know, but my brother has a serious thing for drugs. He's a highly functioning guy, most people wouldn't suspect it. But when he parties, he hits the booze and the drugs hard. She followed suit, and... it killed her."
His eyes glistened as he chucked the last of his drink back, then stared into the empty glass. I didn't speak as I got up and retrieved the bottle, pouring another measure into his glass.
"I am so sorry, Charlie."
"Yeah, me too," He muttered. "She didn't deserve that ending, being left behind, alone and discarded."
I winced at the idea, hearing the harshness of his tone as he pressed on.
"I've always suspected Dalton was there when she died."
"You think he left her?" I gasped, "Surely no one would do that."
"He would," Charlie laughed coldly, "It would have been an inconvenience to him. Being dragged into an investigation regarding drugs. She wouldn't have been worth the trouble to him."
I had to bite my tongue to keep from reeling off a long list of harsh insults for his loathsome brother.
"Can I ask, if you hate him so much, rightly so by the way, then why was he at the club?"
"Because unfortunately, it's more hassle than it's worth to bar him. He holds power among his sort. If I barred him, he'd go out of his way to tank my business's reputation," He said sombrely, "And as you know, in a place like LA, your reputation is everything. He could break me purely because he wanted to. So I allow him to come in and take extra precautions when he's there."
"I definitely understand you hitting him now," I exclaimed, taking a drink from my glass.
"Mentioning Jenna was just a step too far, I'm not proud of it, but... he isn't worthy of saying her name."
Jenna?
I blushed suddenly as I remembered Dalton taunting Charlie. He'd said there was a resemblance between me and Jenna, and if that was the case, and he knew that this was a sore spot for his younger brother, then did that mean that Dalton wasn't done yet?