I Remember You

Chapter 2

Lily stopped short as the receptionist showed her to a room with uncomfortable chairs, a fake ficus tree, a low table with magazines, and four beautiful women. Everything about the women was perfect.

They turned to stare at Lily in her baggy t-shirt and jeans with her hair a mess of frizzy curls and her glasses dominating her face. She had kept her makeup to a minimum in an attempt to stay true to the character summarization that Petra had given her.

Finding a seat, Lily held her purse on her lap, feeling incredibly self-conscious as she took in all of the beauty that surrounded her.

The door across the room opened, and Petra appeared, escorting a giddy woman out the darkened room behind her. "He's so handsome!" she hissed as she passed by the other women in the room.

Lily's eyes looked over at Petra, shooting her a death glance that she ignored as she called the next name. A beautiful redhead stood and followed Petra while the others all went back to staring at their phones.

As often happened when she got nervous, her mind wandered, and she started to think about silly things that didn't matter, like why was there a ficus tree? Was it a feeble attempt to decorate the room, was it left over from someone's remodel job and they needed somewhere to put it? And why were there magazines? Almost no one read them anymore because they were gross and covered in germs, and everyone had a phone to keep them busy.

Lily reached into her purse for a piece of candy. It would help keep her throat from drying. Lemon drops were her favorite because they were sour at first but then turned sweet, she knew there was an analogy in there somewhere. Then she started to think about the Sourpatch commercials and smiled.

Her phone buzzed, and she looked down at it, she had a message from her little brother Henry wishing her luck, and it made her smile wider. It was a group text and soon Aunt Kate and Uncle Lee chimed in with their uplifting words, and she suddenly felt a lot better. They loved her no matter what.

The door from the entry hall behind her opened, and Mason Stevens walked in, stopping short when he saw her; a great big grin lit his face. The three remaining women were as shocked as Lily was by his arrival, but they were shocked to see a famous movie star whereas she was shocked to see family.

"Ladies," he greeted before giving Lily a wink and walking through the door across the waiting room.

She bit back a groan, not Uncle Mason, anyone but Uncle Mason! Why was he here, was he part of the production? And just like that, her positive mood was replaced with doubt.

The other three women all took their turns, and every time Petra called the next one, she would look for Lilly to make sure that she hadn't left. Lily didn't doubt that she would hunt her down and drag her back kicking and screaming, so she stayed put, but if the smug smiles the other actresses were giving her as they left were anything to go by she should have run anyway.

"Lily Mercer," Petra called, suppressing a grin at Lily's sour look.

She entered the room, placing her purse on the small table by the door as she looked around her; it wasn't as dark as it appeared from the waiting room. Four people were sitting on one side of the room with a row of windows behind them. The shades were semi-open to give them enough light to see the notes that they took. One of the four people was Mason Stevens, who was looking at his phone, not at her.

In the center of the room was Finn Baxter, who sat in a pool of light. He was leaning forward in his folding chair, looking cold and foreboding; his hair was long and dark and curved around his collar. His eyes were also dark, they were so dark they were almost black, and his five-o-clock shadow looked scruffy enough to make him appear dangerous, he was her perfect man. He was beautiful, but the look he gave her was not. His usually full lips were compressed into a thin line, and he looked as if he expected her to fail and wanted her to hurry up and get it over with so he could be somewhere else.

"Hello, please take the other chair, did you get a chance to review the sides you were given?" Petra asked all business.

She opened her mouth to speak and immediately started to choke on the lemon drop that she had tucked in her cheek. Her arms flailed as she looked for help, and her eyes grew wide as her cheeks grew red.

Finn Baxter stood up and smacked her hard on her back and it popped back into her mouth, but her eyes hadn't stopped watering. Petra pushed a glass of water that sat on the table towards her, and Lily was forced to cross the room and take a sip with a trembling hand. As she sat her glass down, her eyes collided with Uncle Mason's amused ones, and he winked at her again but didn't say a word.

She wished the ground would open up and swallow her as she abruptly turned. Suddenly things got worse as she felt her ankle pop and twist, and she winced. Ignoring the pain, she walked back towards the handsome man who was watching her curiously. At least the look of boredom had left his face.

"Please give us your name?" Petra requested, taking her seat next to Mason.

"Lily Mercer," she said in her soft and clear voice.

"Thank you, Lily. Now, I'm going to give you a little bit of information about the show and your character before you read for us."

Lily nodded mutely, moving back to the other folding chair. She felt it hit the back of her legs and was about to fall into it when Finn's arm reached out and pulled her towards him. She was shocked by the contact and confused, and as she opened her mouth to ask why he turned her and pointed to the chair which was not a chair but the small table between the chairs.

Lily cleared her throat, feeling a blush steel up her cheeks as she pulled her arm from his grasp. "Thank you," she said softly, unable to meet his eyes.

Once she was seated, she looked over at the table, and they all appeared to have perked up by the near miss she had had. She'd bet that they were waiting to see what mistake she made next.

She stole a glance at Petra, and she looked smug. "The show is a southern gothic detective show, the lead detective, played by Finn, can speak with ghosts, and they are the ones that help him solve the crimes. His home base is an old abandoned church because it is on hallowed ground, which keeps the ghosts away. In the second season, he needs a secretary, someone to manage his business and keep him in line." Petra paused, looking at everyone. "Are you ready, Lily?"