Derek stopped the car opposite the address I had given him before he peered at the park.“Closed.” He stated before he turned back to look at me.I opened the car door and slipped out immediately.“Woah Woah Woah!” He blocked my path, “where do you think you’re going, the park is closed.”I rolled my eyes. “There’s a coffee shop right there behind you. Could it not be possible that I’m going there?”He turned behind him and I used to opportunity to move closer to the empty road. “Miss Myra!” he called after me, following as I crossed the street to the closed park. Two men stood guard from the gates. I rooted in my bag for my ID as I said hello to them. After I showed them my card, the gates were opened.“What kind of park is this?” He asked with a frown marring his face.“The kind that is closed till filming is over.” One of the security guys answered, still holding the gate open for me. I turned to face Derek with an apologetic smile on my face. “I’m sorry I had to fool you into
I could just keep on walking. Pretend like I didn’t hear her voice past others talking but everyone had practically gone silent and were either watching us, or had gone back to work. I spun on my heel to face her. “Oh! you can’t believe my surprise when O’Malley said you called, ready to resume. The thought of me almost drowning filled my head and I flinched when Tami touched me.I could not tell if she had noticed it and she was ignoring it because she squeezed me into a hug. Lucky it was over quickly. “How are you? How is the…”The child I was carrying for your possible husband? “Great. She’s doing great.”I could not have imagined the look that flashed across her face, could I?She smiled, “it was such an unfortunate incident, I can’t help but blame myself, I should’ve done better as the AD. I owe you my heartfelt apologies.”“Oh don’t be silly miss Baker, it was an accident.” One of the workers spoke up.“Yeah, sometimes you make plans and life makes its own.” A woman added, bef
“What’s your favorite snack?” I questioned Derek before I got in the car.“Just a chocolate covered donut.”“Really?”“Yes miss, I’m a simple man. Why’d you ask?”“Oh, nothing!” I answered sweetly, “i would like us to make a stop though.Forty minutes later I headed out of my favorite cafe with three small bags. After another stop at a grocery store, I pulled out my box of chocolate covered donuts to munch on as Derek drove me home, humming as I ate.“This feels like some kind of punishment.” He said with an amused smile that I spied through the rearview mirror.“Punishment? Why? I’m just enjoying this very delicious box of chocolate soaked donuts, they taste amazing by the way.”He chuckled. “You ratted me out.” “It’s part of my job. Plus it wouldn’t have happened if you where just straight up with me.”“I apologized!”“After.”“Fine.”I grabbed the second bag and placed it in the passenger seat. “Your apology for snitching is accepted.”“I didn’t offer any.”“Do you want me to tak
I held my sister’s gaze. “You know that right? If he loved you, he wouldn’t try to keep you from your family, he wouldn't treat you like you’re some…” she sighed again. “I don’t want you to be like mum.”“What?” “I don’t want you to be like mum.” She said more fervently. “No, Lily, he's not like that. He has NEVER raised his hand to me.” And no matter his temper, I knew in my heart that he would never.“And I’m not mum. I won’t stay with a man that hurts me like that. Especially with a baby.”She looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself. “Lucky you, you have a sensible sister to call you out when you’re being insane.”“Very lucky me.” I squeezed her hand. “I’m visiting mum tomorrow.” I said tentatively. “Do you wanna…”“No, I told you already, I’m not coming, I think you should stay back too.”“I can’t. She’ll be expecting us.” Lily nodded. “I heard something about spicy cheesy tots?” I gestured to it, and she slid it into the room while I chuckled.I was positively
“Hey Derek!” I had on a beautiful flowery dress that screamed sunshine, cupcakes and life is magical. I was a bit overdressed for my visit to mum but I needed to force the optimism from outside into me.“Good morning miss.” He greeted back, sticking his fidget toy back into his pocket as he rose. “Are we going to the park today?” He asked, peering at me from his dark shades. I chuckled.“No parks today. I handed him my phone.”Hospital. Is this another sealed off movie set?” “No, it’s just a hospital. I promise you, no more tricks from my end.” He nodded and opened the car door for me. I snuck one last peek at my sister’s bedroom window. I caught a glimpse of her just before she hid behind the blinds.‘Please don’t make me go alone’, I prayed as I watched her window.“Go right in, miss.” Derek urged.Lily’s blind opened and she gave me a small goodbye wave. Today was going to be a solo trip for me then. I climbed in and waited for Derek to do the same. The car purred to life and
When I woke up that morning, I remained still and forced every happy memory I’ve ever had of my mum to my head. Today I did not need to be on set, which meant I had all day to wallow in bed, or play ’happy’ with my sister and tell her mum did great. But if I told her that mum was great it would make her believe that mum was like that because she wasn’t there. I let out a sigh and rolled to my side, folding my legs into a fetal position. A small knock on my door, had me cranking my neck. The door opened an inch and Lily poked her head in. “You don’t lock your door?”Force of habit from when we were small. Locking the doors meant it would take longer for me to reach mum incase of danger. And it infuriated dad, when he was moving around and doors ‘refused’ to work.“Yeah.” I whispered. She slipped in and shut it. Was this the part I told her how my visit went?“I’m heading out.” Lily said, halting my thoughts.“To where?”“A couple of my classmates are meeting up. Could be fun.”“Okay
“Visit?” Thoughts of Pierce’s skillful hands fled my mind and I was brought back to the present. “Yeah.” Pierce continued, “The one you paid to your mum? You seemed upset by it yesterday, and you came back late. The reason you live here is so I can keep an eye on you and ensure the safety of my child. Your unreliable schedule isn’t helpful.“ “I was with my mother.” I did not think I needed to explain myself further. “And you came back looking like you lost a pet, what happened? Is she good?”Several months ago I would be preening from this attention he was giving me. Now, I shifted uncomfortably on the counter. “Everything’s fine, my emotions have been all over the place since the baby.”We had to stay on common ground. Although considering we were going to have a baby between us, knowing more about each other’s family seemed smart. “Is it dementia?” He queried.“Alzheimer’s, PTSD, chronic pain…”“PTSD?”“Yeah, my da-“ it occurred to me that I was crossing a line. “Yeah, PTSD.”
Angie was back the next day like Pierce said she would be. And I did not have to deal with him that morning, thank God. “I might have missed you a little bit.” I confessed to Angie as I leaned on the counters with my elbow. I purposely avoided the stool Pierce had used. Angie didn’t seem to buy it, but she put four slices of frittatas on my plate, topped it up with parsley and dropped it in front of me. “That’s a lot of food.”“You need it to grow a baby.” She said simply as she reached into the fridge. Why was everyone obsessing over the size of my kid? “Is that gelato?” I gasped, when she pulled out a long plastic plate.“Yes, home made.”“I thought you hated gelato.”“I never said that.” I had a teasing expression on my face as she put a scoop of it in a small glass bowl. “Eat your food, you have your appointment in two hours.”Back down to reality. “Yes ma’am.” Angie removed a bottle of ketchup from the fridge and dropped on the counter. “No I don't want it.” I could not s