Foreign

Chapter 26

During the third week we only had night shoots so there was no way I would run in to Melany or Hero. During the shoots at the estate, I would hide in the kitchen. During the shoots in town or at the beach, I would stay in the hotel. That week was the first time Diego spoke to me and I woke from my zombie like appearance.

"Grandma should really stay at the hotel and get some rest," Diego grumbles behind the wheel.

"Yeah, she should but she won't. Luckily, this is the final night shoot for a while." Diego looks at me in surprise.

"So it speaks!"

I look at him with an apologetic smile.

"Of course I do."

"We've been working together for the past three weeks now and it's the first time I hear your voice."

"Sorry."

"Don't be." He has a cheery voice and I can tell he's a very laid back person. I look at him now. He's actually really hot. Chocolate satin skin and black hair. He reminds me of Jacob in the Twilight films. What did Brody and Isabella say again? Oh, they were wondering if he was gay. Right. Let's see what we can find out?

Diego turns out to be really easy to talk to. Unlike others, he's not afraid that I might break like a delicate porcelain doll.

"You're really fun when you're not a zombie."

"Gee, thanks!" I give him a slight push and then I'm silent. We're approaching the set.

"I'll bring the boxes to grandma, okay? You can stay in the car." He seems to feel my mood and I smile at him with gratitude.

It takes him a while to come back to the car. I'm really tired. It's three in the morning and it's hard to stay awake.

"Sorry, I wanted to be sure that grandma is okay."

"No worries. How is Sue?"

"She's fine. She gets to watch during the shoot so she's happy."

By the time we arrive back at the hotel, I'm not sure if he's gay or straight so I decide to help him clean the kitchen before we go to bed. I ask him a million questions.

"Wow, I didn't know you could talk THAT much!"

"Sorry," I shrug.

"It's fine," he smiles. "I was just teasing you." I hit him with a wet cloth. He throws lettuce at me and we start a fight.

"God, now we have to start all over again," Diego pants after half an hour. I look at the mess we made. We better clean this before Sue arrives.

"I'm sorry," Diego says after cleaning up in silence. We're both so tired.

"Oh, don't be! I was the one who started it."

"No, I mean, I'm sorry about what happened to you."

"Oh."

"Grandma told me. I was very curious about why you were like a ghost but she warned me to leave you alone."

"Oh, I didn't realise..."

"Are you kidding?! You're so pale and you're eyes are so... dead. It's like all the life has been sucked out of you."

I assure Diego I would be fine but his words did shock me. Was it that obvious? Did everyone know that my life was pointless now?

The next day I decide to visit my spot for the first time in ages. We had a short day and Diego's words made me think. He was right. My skin usually is a bit tanned but somehow the colour has disappeared from my face. I need some fresh air, I need some sun. I take a bottle of beer out of my fridge and walk to my bench under the willow tree. I don't hear the footsteps behind me because I'm staring at the lake.

"I knew you'd come here at some point," a soft voice behind me says. "I've been coming here every day just in case." Just the sound of his voice is enough to break my heart and rip my chest open. I close my eyes. I wasn't ready to talk just yet. I stand up and face him.

"Oh, Charlotte!" His eyes look so sad when he sees me. "You've lost so much weight!" Have I? I'm not sure. I haven't been eating properly, that's for sure.

"I'm so sorry," he softly continues. It's not more than a whisper.

I don't reply. I don't know what to say.

"Nothing happened between us. We were in my room, yes, but only to discuss some scenes. I wanted to take a shower and she was going to leave. I swear! I didn't know she was still in my room." He drops his head.

"She didn't have any clothes on!"

"I swear I didn't know. She must have taken them off after I went to the bathroom."

"I didn't hear from you."

"I know," he sighs again. "I was really busy, we had like 14 hour shoots." He looks very sincere and I really want to believe him.

"Nothing happened," he repeats. For a second I feel like I might believe him. Why would he lie?

"That's a lie, Hero!" The voice startles me. I turn around and see Scott in his jogging outfit.

"What?" Hero glares at him.

"What do you mean?" I ask Scott.

"Something did happen!"

"What the fuck?!" Hero yells at him.

"You can't deny it, Hero." Scott's voice sounds calm. "This is my usual jogging route. I ran past here a couple of weeks ago, when you were away Charlotte and I saw Hero and Melany. They were kissing." The blood leaves my face and my heart drops. I actually stop breathing for a second. Hero's eyes are wide, horrified.

"I.. She kissed me! I pushed her away!"

"You kissed? At our spot?" I whisper. I can't hold back the tears.

"I swear she kissed me and I pushed her away!"

"Why would I believe you now?" I drop my head. This is too much.

"Nothing happened between us, Charlotte!" Hero desperately yells.

"Something did happen, Hero," another voice behind me says. This voice makes my skin crawl and the hairs on my arm stand up.

"I'm pregnant." Melany says. She holds up a pregnancy test.