The Best You Ever Had

You Find A Way To Run Away

I didn't wait long. I stared in awe at the script in my hand. It was ambitious, it was action packed, it was still somehow heart-warming, and they wanted me. Not for the lead, which was fine. I'd never been on any shoots before, and casting me would be taking a chance on a project this big anyway. But the character! Oh!

She was a badass, yet she was soft. She was stubborn, and she was always looking out for the people she cared about. She was a lot of things. And she was all for me. I could do things with her, make her my own. Form a relationship with her. I could picture her clearly in my head, and yeah, she even sorta looked like me when I saw her in my mind.

I was beyond excited.

Brendon looked it over. "Baby, you gotta do this." There was a certainty in his voice that was reassuring.

I felt relief wash over me, hearing what I felt coming out of his mouth. I wasn't crazy. I could do this.

"Right? I've read it four times. Every time, I'm more sure I was meant for it. It was meant for me."

He grabbed me by the waist and planted a kiss on my forehead, laughing. "It's happening! You're gonna live your dream!"

I laughed too, happy tears threatening to fall. "This is real, right?"

He pulled me close and held me tight. My excited heart beat against my chest. I was sure he could feel it against his own.

"It's really real," he assured me. "When do they start?"

"I don't actually know. But it has to be after tour, right? That's what I told Billy."

"I just wonder if you're gonna get any down time between touring and filming. Could be exhausting."

I chewed my lip a moment. "Could be. I don't know if I care. I think it would be worth it even if I had to hit the ground running."

I broke away from Brendon and picked up the script again. The one stamped with my name on the paper cover. The one that I was excited to memorize and analyze and find nuance in. It felt alive in my hands.

"I'll be honest. I didn't expect the perfect project to come along so soon," I mused. "I didn't want to get my hopes up. But here it is, and I'd cut off my arm if they wanted me to do it, just to play this part."

"It's exactly the right fit for you. Like they wrote it with you in mind." He ran his hand over the cover I was staring at, stroking my name, stamped in bright red ink. "Have you called Billy about it yet?"

"Wanted to show you first. Wanted to get stupid drunk in celebration. I have until day after tomorrow to let them know my decision, so I thought tonight, we'd drink real champagne. Lots of it. And dance and yell and howl at the moon."

"That," he said, grabbing me into his embrace again, "sounds like a wonderful idea. I'll get the champagne. I'll even get you the moon. Let's do this."

****

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry, I don't know how that one snuck through."

My heart sank at Billy's words. "What do you mean?"

"They film in two months."

I could have vomited. "I'll be touring."

"Not if you take this part, you won't."

My head hurt. My heart hurt too. I sank into a chair. There had to be a way. This couldn't slip through my fingers. I needed this part. It was perfect. It was mine. The thought of somebody else taking it just about knocked the wind out of me. I couldn't breathe.