Time seemed to slow in my mind as I plunged downwards. My safety was far from my mind, all I could think about was what could happen to my baby if I fell the wrong way. I swung my arms around as I tumbled grasping the air till I caught hold of a railing. Then I gave myself a few seconds to process what had just happened. I sat on the bottom stair as I tried to assess the pain on my body and where they originated from.There was a bad scratch on my hand without the bandage that spanned from somewhere around my wrist to my elbow, my left side was throbbing with quickly mounting pain, I spotted another scratch on my leg that looked like it needed a bandaid, other than that, I was fine. I sighed in relief and hugged my tummy, ignoring my poor ribs.“Hey, are you alright?” A woman with a cleaning uniform asked with a worried expression. She held a mop stick between her fingers which she twirled absentmindedly. She stopped the movement when she took in my injuries.“There was a wet floor
Time seemed to slow in my mind as I plunged downwards. My safety was far from my mind, all I could think about was what could happen to my baby if I fell the wrong way. I swung my arms around as I tumbled, grasping the air till I caught hold of a railing. Then I gave myself a few seconds to process what had just happened. I sat on the bottom stair as I tried to assess the pain on my body and where they originated from. There was a bad scratch on my hand without the bandage that spanned from somewhere around my wrist to my elbow, my left side was throbbing with quickly mounting pain, I spotted another scratch on my leg that looked like it needed a bandaid, other than that, I was fine. I sighed in relief and hugged my tummy, ignoring my poor ribs. When I reached Lancaster’s office, I knocked low on the door. “Well don’t be shy now, come riiight in.” Lancaster drawled in a bad Texan accent.. At Least I thought it was him. When I pushed it open, I blinked in horror. He wasn’t
Smell of bleach and other cleaning chemicals clung to the walls of the hospital. The ward was not as crowded as I thought it would be, seeing as today was visiting day. We approached the reception desk. “Hi, I’m here to see a Mrs. Thompson?” She nodded and typed a message out on her phone. “Her nurse will see you shortly.” “Thank you.” A woman with a small mole on her forehead approached, smiling warmly. “Gooday, I am Genevieve, your mother’s nurse. Come, come. I show you to her room.” An orderly passed by us, pushing a woman in a wheelchair. Her head was hanging by the side and moved when he hit a small bump. I turned to my mother’s nurse. “How is mum? Off the record…what’s been going on?” “Ahhh…nothing! We increased medication. No problem. She sleep walk sometimes. First night we find her outside but no problem again.” “She hasn’t…she hasn’t had any violent episode?” “No, no. You worry too much. She has been waiting for you.” I let out a visible sigh of relief. Li
“What did you say?” I questioned Lily.“I’ve been speaking for the past twenty minutes and you didn’t hear a word.”“I’m sorry, just thinking about mum.”“I know. I wasn’t kidding about the topless woman though.” I raised my brow. “I swear. I filled mum’s cup, started to come back but this lady just strolled out of her room with her tits hanging out. And then a nurse apologized to me and led her back into the room.”“That’s…” I didn’t know what to tell her.“Very foretelling. I kept thinking, a month or two from now, some other kid is going to come here to see her mum, and when she gets a glass of water, our mum’s going to stroll out without a shirt.”“Lily-““I know…you’re right. She could be pantless too.” She looked at me with her straight face. Then she snorted, then I did, and we burst into a fit of giggles.“I should not find that funny.”“But you do, your humor is still juvenile.”The cool air brushed against my bare skin and I let out a long suffering sigh. “It’s in our blood
I tried calling Pierce later that evening, but hung up before the call went through. I paced the room till early hours of the morning before I crawled into bed, feeling alone and tired. The next morning, I checked to see if I had any messages from him on my answering machine. Nothing. Later that afternoon, after practices my lines repeatedly, trying several voices. I sat on the floor with my phone in my lap and brainstormed on a casual text I could send Pierce. Maybe that he left his stuff in the house? No, that was stupid. On the night before my interview I finally gave in and called him. It went straight to voicemail. I tried again, just to make sure. The same thing happened. I sat in the lobby on the day of my interview, with other women, some, here to audition for the same part as me. My phone pinged with a new text message from my sister. ‘Break a leg, Tiny :)’ “I usually turn my phone off before an interview. It can be very distracting.” Cynthia Rose, said beside me.
Everyone’s eyes turned from O’Malley to me. “Excuse me?” The woman said. “I want to read it again.” I answered, raising my voice. “You had your chance.” “I’m still here, technically that chance hasn’t ended.” She sat and leaned back in her seat while the other men rolled their eyes. “Another actress with a main character syndrome, like we haven’t seen that before.” “Isabel…” O’Malley called. She shook her head in disapproval but clamped her mouth shut. “You want to go again?” He asked me. “Yes, I do.” He picked up his pen and started scrubbing. We all watched in silence. “There you go.” He stretched the paper out to me and I hurried to grab it.!He’d written a short monologue. Nothing else. “Act that for me.” “What’s the context of the scene?” I asked. He shrugged, “Give it whatever context you’d like Miss Thompson. Wow me.” I chose an emotion I was already fighting and channeled it as I said the new lines he had given me. It was easier to use it than block it. When I fi
TAMI… She looked around the room of actors, producers, and other production members with a pleasant smile on her face. Sarah, forever the loyal mutt, hung at the back, even though she did not look particularly happy this evening. She had hinted at how much she wanted to be the main lead in the show Myra had auditioned for. And while she sent those pictures and the article to throw her off her game, she wasn’t particularly doing it for Sarah’s sake, Although she did tell Sarah to be patient In truth, Tami had no intention of getting her on the movie unless it benefitted her. She had also decided to keep the fact that Myra had failed at her audition a secret, just so she could enjoy Sarah’s misery for a little while longer. Lancaster approached them with a wine glass between his chubby fingers. “Mr. Pierce, Miss Tami, I’m so glad you decided to throw this party. “Certainly, gossip and dreams is an excellent show; it deserves this wonderful celebration.” Tami answered with a
“Pierce…long time no see, I see YOUR little fiancé finally let you off the hook.” When I got no response for a few minutes I thought he had left and turned to check. My cheeks colored when I found him staring down at me. ‘The man just broke your heart thirty minutes ago, what the heck are you doing blushing!’ I chided myself. “I heard your interview went badly.” How did he know that-oh right, he was a Blackwood. “You should‘ve mentioned it to me before the interview.” He shut his mouth, recalling the last time we were in a room together. “I’ll see what I can do to help you out. Or you could just stay with the main studio.” “I tried to call you.” Severally, and then I got a text from his future mrs.it was on the tip of my tongue to ask him if he knew of the texts but I kept my mouth shut. I had been humiliated enough, I wasn’t going to openly pine for the man. He pulled out his cell from his pocket and glanced at it. “Fucker.” He cursed and left without another word to me. I
Later that night Pierce curled up against me. I pressed my back into him and shut my eyes. After I left the art room, he had stayed a while before moving into his office where he stayed the rest of the day. I, on the other hand, gathered the snacks Angie had given me, and spent the rest of the day curled up in bed reading- that was until I started drifting off and Pierce joined me. “Finished your book yet?” He asked in my ear. “Not yet. Reading isn’t one of my strong suits. Especially self help books. But I’m pushing through, thanks for asking.” “What have you learnt so far?” I rooted in my mind for a non traumatizing fact I could remember. “It’s better to have the baby squatting than on my back. But most hospitals insist on laying down so…”-I shrugged- “doesn’t really matter.” “We’ll see about that.” “How was your painting?” “Turns out it was a vagina-ish drawing.” I giggled. “I like it anyway, so I added a couple other flowers, painted and called it a day.” “We both did good
It didn’t come as a shock that when I woke up he was gone. I wondered if he was still in the house, or had left for work. I went from hating when he was home to hating when he wasn’t, and I wasn’t sure when that change had happened. I stood up with the intention to look for him but changed my mind and decided to shower and brush instead. When I was through, I curled up in bed cradling my new book with a weird sense of excitement. I was so engrossed in it that I didn’t notice when Pierce entered the room, till he snatched it from my hands.“Hey!” I squealed. “The mama natural... cool.”He was wearing gym shorts and a tank top, and his body glistened with sweat. Pierce had a wonderful physique but his body appeared a little more toned of recent. He gave me back my book and I stopped ogling him.“Is there a dad version of that?” He asked casually, as he moved towards the bathroom. “I donno. Angie gave it to me.” I bragged, “and then she hugged me.” His brows furrowed, “I’m not big
I took my first step forward and felt an arm pull me in the opposite direction. “Hey little lady.” Pierce called. “Let’s not go that way.”“But my mum, she’s calling me.” Why was everywhere so freaking dark??“Open you eyes, love.” Open my- ohI did as I was told. To find Pierce looking at me, white as a ghost. My shoulder’s sagged, “I was sleepwalking again.” I could faintly remember my mum calling me. But she was in a hospital far away, and probably alone. “I have a favor to ask.” I started when Pierce led me back to the room.“Tell me.”“My mum, she’s alone there and I don’t want her to get hurt.”“I know Myra. I assigned security details to her room. She is safe.” I sighed in relief and climbed back into bed. “You in the other hand are a tough nut. I might have to tie a bell around your leg. You were very quiet today.”“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake anyone up?” That’s what was going through my head. “Maybe a house arrest collar would be more dignified-what are you doing?”“
Never was there a doubt in my head that I was anything but a stand in, of course towards the end of our relationship- end meaning when Tami returned-I began to think that he liked me for me.“Jealousy looks good on you.” He answered with a shrug. I furrowed my brows. He had said those exact words that night. But I didn’t pay attention to it because it rivaled everything I knew about him. Pierce didn’t do jealousy, or possessiveness. Not when he was on the receiving end of it.“You like it when I was jealous?”“That’s your fourth question, I think I’ve been charitable.” All I was left with was more questions. If he didn’t date me for Tami, it meant he dated me for me. Which was fucking annoying because I spent the majority of our time together trying to fit whatever mold she’d left in his heart. And it raised more questions on why he still insisted on keeping me around even though he was certain he was getting married to Tami! I took a deep breath, let it out, and when that wasn’t e
“Lily.” I called, going in to comfort her, but then she noticed my bloodied shirt. “What happened to you?”“Someone stabbed me when I went to the studio.”Her eyes widened, “dad?”“No, it was a woman.” She stepped out of the room and clasped me in a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay.”“Me too, I don’t want you going out.”“Alright.” She agreed immediately.“I’m sorry dad showed up.”“It was gonna happen sooner or later. I’m sorry about your interview.”“No harm done. Sweetie.”“I’m also sorry I didn’t do more after your nightmare. I didn’t know what to do-“I held her face with my good hand. “It’s not your job to know.” She nodded. “Do you wanna hang out with me? Pierce is ordering pizza.”“No, I think I’m gonna take a nap.”I understood she still needed time alone to process. “I’m over there. If you need me.”Pierce was back in the room when I returned, he was arranging two boxes of sweet smelling pizza and a sealed cup with mango smoothie. My heart softened at the gesture. I didn’t thi
The sound of sirens started and panic really spread among the crowd. The group scattered in different directions pushing me from side to side. While I followed with my injured arm pinned to my side and the other clutching my wound to stop the bleeding. In the chaos I saw Derek ripping people out of the way to get to me.“Shit!” He cursed when he saw all the blood. “It’s not a big wound, I just bleed a lot.” I assured him as men in uniform jogged to the area, and tackled some of the reporters. There were grunts and the sound of bodies hitting the ground around me, not to mention the moans of people who got trampled on, while trying to make their escape.I grabbed Derek with my bloodied hand to draw his attention to me. “I want to go home.” He eyed my arm again. “Please.” He nodded reluctantly and led me to the car, which was parked at the back of the building for some reason. The drive home was the most tense and quickest ride of my life, and I did not mind it one bit.“We’ll have
When I woke up the next morning to the sound of Pierce showering, I went straight down to turn on the television. My heart dropping with every channel that had my face or name written in it. Angie brought breakfast to me while I was still glued to the Tv.“What a pain that is.” Ruth said as she came to give me meds. “I never was a fan of TV, at the end of the day it’s all about the ratings isn’t it?” I didn’t give a response. “Are you still having bad morning sickness?”I shook my head.“Okay. I’ll leave you to it then.”My phone rang and I grabbed it, my eyes still glued to the television. “This is Rhonda, Myra. We need you to come in for a meeting this morning.”I chewed on my thumb and forefinger nervously. We’re they planning on recasting me because of the interview? “What time would be good?”She hesitated, “now.”I nodded, then realised it was a voice call. “Yeah, I’m on my way.”As soon as the line went dead I raced back upstairs. Pierce was slipping on a t-shirt when I got
My eyes filled with tears. “He’s the one I’ve been seeing in my nightmares okay?! The man who has me so scared that I get out of bed while sleeping just to get away from him.” His confused face morphed into concern then anger. “What did he do to you. Tell me, I’ll make him regret the day that he touched you.”“Like you did to Adams? News flash, that text you saw that night? it was from my dad, not Adams. And I don’t know what you did, but Adams is getting deported now.”His eyes changed, “It was going to happen sooner or later.”I scoffed and wiped tears from my eyes furiously. “You’re just like him.”“What?”“I said you’re a just like him! You both ruin peoples lives. Except you do it with money and he did it with his fists. Why did you do that to Adams? To protect your possession? Guess what? That’s what he thought of me, that’s what he thought of my sister. Property. Do you know how many times he tried to sell me off to his friends, I was just a thing! he could use.”“That’s not
He grinned at me as the audience below clapped. “Everyone, this is Myra Thompson’s father. We know how secretive our girl is, so what better person to give in ept to her life than her father.” Destan said jovially while my throat closed up. I glanced at the audience frantically in search of Lily or Hannah as I took a quick step back.Then back at my father. He looked unrecognizable, a far cry from the intimidating figure that loomed over my childhood. The man who had long haunted my dreams had changed; his gaunt frame had filled out, and his face was now smooth-shaven. But it was his smile that unsettled me the most - once a rare and menacing sight, now seemed cunning and deliberate, a calculated gesture that unsettled me more than his anger could.“Come on darling, won’t you give your father a hug.” His voice sounded smoother better than when he was drowning in liquor. He crushed me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “It’s a shame I have to go to such length to see you, doll.” An