“Today really sucks huh?” Hannah sympathized. I let out a disgruntled breath in response. Since I joined her at our spot, I had planted my head permanently on the table with my eyes closed. To open them would mean I acknowledged my existence, and if I did, then my thoughts would stray to my evening with Pierce. And God, I wanted nothing more than to forget how willingly I gave myself to him. “And you refuse to tell me what Pierce did this time?” She poked my arm with a perfectly manicured finger.“I don’t wanna talk about it.” My voice came out muffled.“Gelato?”I propped my head up with my palms and watched as she gently pushed a bowl towards me. Pistacchio flavored. I grabbed a spoon.“You’re not ready to talk about Pierce, so let’s talk about work.”I let out a defeated groan and planted my head on the table again. Hannah chuckled, “Oh come on.”“My life so far has been one mistake after the other.”“Oof, that’s a bit harsh.”I raised my head. “I went through my script, Hannah
I shrugged and pulled him along. The conference room contained over two dozen people. Excitement buzzed the air as we all waited for O’Malley’s briefing. “Oh my God, that’s Sophia Bennett!” Jeremy gasped, tapping me in excitement. “She was in my favorite show. Too bad they had to end it prematurely. And now I’ll never know if Brady was in love with Sylvia or Jesse.” He sighed dramatically.“You could ask her.”“Why didn’t t I think of that?”I chuckled and glanced around the room in search of one man.“O’Malley’s not here?”“He was, but he had a bad coughing fit and left for a bit. But he’ll be out in…” -he checked his phone- “two minutes.”“How about Jace? I can’t see him.”“He stepped out after O’Malley. Speak of the devil.”I turned towards the door and found Jace weaving his way to us at a leisurely pace. He stopped beside me. “Room looks fuller than when I left.”“How’s your sister by the way?” Jeremy asked. “I heard we’re shooting stunt scenes first. We could sneak her in on o
I blinked rapidly, no I wasn’t seeing things, it was really her.“Did you say… assistant director?” I asked. Her eyes met mine, accompanied by a gentle unsure smile. I understood why she glanced in my direction before introducing Tami. If she had done her research, then she had probably seen the rumors about me and Pierce.“Yeah, apparently her parents encouraged her to put her degree to use. I can’t tell if she approached O’Malley or he approached her.” She shrugged. “But I have a hunch that says she’s one of the sponsors for this film.”Sophia spoke animatedly while Tami smiled sweetly and listened. I stopped hearing Bianca’s words, the ringing in my ear, overshadowing the noise around me. So far Tami had only wielded Pierce’s attention to hurt me, both of us on set would be bad for me.My mind flashed to my evening with Pierce and I winced. Was this going to be a regular for the three of us?“Okay everyone, grab a seat around the table.” Rhonda announced. I didn’t notice when O’Ma
O’Malley’s words had brewed a new worry for me, and for the dozenth time during my pregnancy I got nervous. As Lily got ready in the room, I chatted with Hannah in the kitchen. I moved my head to the side to make sure Lily wasn’t coming out before I raised my top up to show her my belly.“Look at me, do I look pregnant to you?”“Myra, I just think you have a little Houdini, it’s perfectly normal. A simple google search would tell you that.” she scrolled through her phone. “This is like a cryptic pregnancy.”“Isn’t that like, bad?” “No, I don’t think so…”She tugged on the hem of her T-shirt and my eyes were drawn to the texts scrawled across. ‘I watch you while you sleep.’ A gift from Damien, no doubt. These two were kooky. “You should see a doctor if it’s bothering you so much. They’ll put your fears to rest.”“I know, this week had me choked up with rehearsals. I’m glad it’s over, and I’ve made an appointment already.“My phone rang in my bag and I rushed to get it. With reh
The room went deadly silent. A nurse passed outside the door with a trolley before a word was uttered. “P-pregnant?” Mum asked, wide-eyed.I nodded. Lily chortled. She looked at my sober expression, chuckled again, and resumed flipping her magazine. “I am.” I deadpanned. Lily ignored me while mum laughed, her eyes shining“Tiny? You’re pregnant. Well are you sure-how long have you known?”“A couple weeks.” I smiled. Lily finally put down her paper and frowned at me. “You’re actually serious.”Excitement built in my chest. “Yes. You’re gonna be an aunt soon.”“Oh Myra!” Mum arms went around me, startling me. She squeezed my shoulders tightly. “And I’m gonna be a grandmother.”I chuckled, relief flooding my chest. They were taking the news better than I expected. Lily looked confused for a few more second before she stretched to hug me too.“You’re actually pregnant? No faking.” she whispered on last time. “No faking.” I whispered back.“Boy or girl?”Mum released me so she could
I spared at glance at my stunt double as she did a backflip to escape her ‘enemies’I was in luck today, because the rehearsal didn’t require any emotional acting from us today. Just for the actors to find their groove with the doubles.All I could think about was my sister and mum and Genevieve…Jeremy nudged my shoulder. “You okay?”I forced a smile to my face. “Yeah.”“It’s last days of rehearsals she’s probably worried about it.” Bianca concluded on my behalf. “From next week we start the real thing.” She bounced on the spot. “And we make possible movie history.” Jace added, stopping beside us. He hoisted himself up the speakers we were sitting on, his arms sheened with sweat. While the rest of us had stunt doubles at ATLEAST one point of the film, Jace had opted to do his own stunts. I thought of O’Malley’s admission the last time we spoke. He was counting on this movie being a part of movie history. “Okay people, great job so far. That will be all for today, see you next week
“Nahh, that’s something that takes years of practice.” I argued. “You don’t just wake up one day and think you can perform stunts, this shit isn’t parkour.”Bianca burst into hearty laughter, while Jeremy grinned.“I’m just saying, Take Jace for example, he doesn’t have any training and he’s doing great.” Jeremy argued back.“I’ve always suspected that fucker of secretly being a government spy. That would explain a lot.” My friends laughed. “But I bet, if they needed a scene where he had to act fast, like protect his head from getting hit while, making it look like he did. He would get seriously hurt. Even stunt doubles get hurt.”“Whatever wound he gets would match the next scenes.”“Yeah but they have to be gone in record time. Did you forget we’re quick healing wolves?” Bianca added, waving her hand mystically.“Boy would I kill for that type of skill in real life. It would save me from a lot of dance injuries.”“You dance?” Bianca and I asked simultaneously.I remembered the fril
I watched O’Malley with a worried expression as he was escorted offset by Rhonda. He had managed the whole day without incident, but his body had definitely reached its limit. “This is the best first day ever. We did pretty well today.” Jeremy said with a grin. He did not have any scenes today but O’Malley said it was fine for him to show up. I had swung my bag over my shoulder before Tami in a black blazer and cargo pants jogged into the set. Lucky me, for the entire day, I had no personal interactions with her. But throughout my scenes I could feel her eyes burning into my back. But of course they would, she was the assistant director. She had to watch our every moves. If I kept up with my paranoia, I would turn into my mother. I recalled my conversation with Lily where she asked about of being crazy like mum. “Okay people!” Tami clapped her hands to get our attention. “O’Malley thinks there’s time for us to shoot one more scene before you leave. We’re gonna need M
I’d prefer we not talk at all, but refusing him could cause unnecessary drama.I led the way to the changing closet and shut the door, then moved to a wardrobe to keep the distance between us wide.“It’s good to see that you're back at work. Hopefully O’Malley hasn’t been working you too hard, what with the wound-““What do you want, Pierce.” I didn’t want to have conversations that sounded normal. I could not trust myself not to be pulled to him again. “Just wanted to check if you’re alright.” He removed his bandaged right hand from his pocket and scratched the back of his ear. “I know Sarah wouldn’t be dumb enough to find you again, but I couldn’t stop worrying.” I looked away from him, refusing to fall for his false display of emotion. Pierce always knew just what to say to keep me hooked while we were together. I wasn’t going back to that Myra. “I uhhh…. I also wanted to tell you that your dad is back in the penitentiary. He got into a bar fight with some old buddies of his. And
I dodged just in time, avoiding her knife as it slashed across my hoodie. Suddenly, the memory of the press assailant clicked into place - Sarah was the woman with the knife who tried to stab me. I didn't have time to process the thought, though, as her blade sliced through the air again. Everytime she missed, she let out a frustrated scream. I threw my bag in her face, and lunged, tackling her to the ground. We wrestled, my hands desperately trying to pry the knife from her grasp, and then her knee slipped between us and struck me with a sharp blow to the stomach.Wincing, I let go of her cluthef my stomach. That gave Sarah all the opening she needed. With a swift motion, she rolled on top of me, pinning my hands under her knees, her eyes gleaming with a sinister light.“You should’ve taken the deal.” She laughed, and drove the blade down towards me.Just as it reached my face, a hand came into view and the knife sank into it, stopping mere inches from my face. My rescuer growled in
After finding Ruth’s body in her apartment, I stayed indoors for the rest of the week, just waiting; waiting to get my baby’s urn, waiting for O’Malley to call me in.Sometimes I would seem perfectly fine. I would be making coffee one minute and the next second I’m shoving the coffee machine off the table.That was something I had to repair now before I left the motel. I just had so much anger in me and sometimes it would boil over. Ruth was not supposed to be dead. She was not supposed to be liquified, in her bedroom, with a suicide note beside her.The note had been an apology. And not just to me. It said that even while she worked under a hospital, she had this weird need to poison mothers. She had said that she was twenty three when doctors told her that she could not have a child of her own, and she held that grudge, taking children from what she termed ‘undeserving mothers’.My Yvette was just one more kid in a line of deaths. It made me furious . But why would she kill herself
I kept on walking, missing the rest of their conversation. My sole focus at that point was getting Ruth. “Jace, could you call the cops.” I threw over my shoulder.He said nothing but from the corner of my eye I saw him pull out his phone. We climbed into the car again and I typed in Ruth’s address into the gps. Pierce was in his car by the time Jace rolled out of the compound. I vibrated in my seat, as the seconds ticked by, checking the gps to make sure we were still going the right way. Once again, I opened the door and got out as soon as Jace slowed in front of the apartment building, taking steady steps towards the entrance. Two teenages lounged close to the door smoking, and looked at our little party inquisitively as I passed them. I hurried up the stairs ignoring the burn in my legs. Finally, I reached the top floor and stopped at Ruth’s door. “This is it.” I told Jace and tried the lock. It didn’t budge. “She can’t be gone.” I tried the door again. “Fuck!” I cursed and s
“Open the fucking door!” I yelled and pounded on the door again while Jace watched. “Hey! Myra?” I heard Pierce’s voice and turned to look at him. My eyes raked over him with hate.He was barefoot and in a simple pair of jeans and t-shirt. “Where is she?” I yelled “where are you hiding her!”“Who? Ruth? She left a day after the baby…she’s not here. What-““Left to where? Oh, I see. Her job is done, so she can just waltz out of here? How much did you pay her, Pierce?” I yelled, “How much did you pay her to slowly kill my baby. What price did you put on the death of our child?”His hands moved to grab my shoulders but I shoved him away. He took a step back but it had nothing to do with my strength. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”“Just stop it. Stop the fucking act! I can't take it anymore!” Angie hurried to us, clearly drawn by my yelling, and stopped close to Jace. “Myra,” she said softly and started walking towards me.“Stay away from me!” I screamed, and she stop
I rolled my eyes at her. “Not my fault. She started it.” She started it from the moment she tried to drown me on set. “Can’t say I blame you. The nerve of her trying to rub it in. So cruel.” “I still think it was a foolish reaction.” Lily added. “And Pray tell how it is?” She looked between the three of us like she didn’t realize she had said it outloud, then she shrugged. “I donno, maybe don’t annoy the crazy psycho who has been trying to kill you for so long.” “Okayyy,” Hannah butted in and grabbed my hand. “Let’s get some food into our systems and not talk about this anymore. But while I ate, I kept glancing at Lily. My phone rang and answered. “Hello?” I said, still sounding irritated. “Miss Myra thompson?” A woman asked. “Yes, this is her.” I heard some noise in the background and then Liwayway’s voice. “Myra.” She said and I sat up. Hannah and Lily looked at my change in posture and stopped the conversation. “Hey Liway. What’s wrong? Are the test results back?
It took me a week of constantly ignoring texts and calls from well meaning people to decide what I wanted to do. Among those calls and texts were reporters or journalists who wanted the gist about me and Pierce’s engagement.“We broke up.” I said simply the first time I answered a reporter’s call before I ended it.Throughout the week I had slept, wept, and ate in the dark. I didn’t want to listen to any other sounds except the beating of my own heart. I chewed ibuprofen in my mouth as I climbed the flight of stairs to get to the new set O’Malley was working in. After all the sympathetic looks I had gotten walking into the building, I did not want to interact with anyone who thought the bags under my eyes were because of my so-called broken engagement with Pierce. When I walked into the set, I was greeted by different shades of brown and green. The room had been decorated to look like the woods, not to mention all the green screen background. The first person that noticed me was t
I placed my hand over my belly as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was tied down in a bun at the back of my head and there was no trace of makeup on my face. The simple black dress I had on matched my puffy eyes and mood overall. Lily knocked on the bathroom door softly. “You can’t keep them waiting forever.” She said softly and I let out a breath. It had been two painful days since Yvette left and it was time to talk about burial arrangements. I had clearly stated what I wanted for my daughter but the hospital had refused, stating that since Pierce was the father, it had to be both our decision to make. He and the doctor were waiting in the office for my arrival but I could not get my feet to move. To walk into that room and talk about the…the disposal of my child.“Myra?” Lily called again.“I’m coming.” I answered and brushed my hand over my face, before I opened the door. I smiled at her before I passed her and led the way to Dr. Eli.When I stepped in the offic
I slid down to the floor opposite the door and waited, watching as people went out and others moved inside the room. Ignoring others that glanced at me as they passed, and with every second that passed , I felt my heart sink. I had to call someone. The first person on my mind was Pierce. I tried his number several times but got no answer. I tried Lily’s next and after the fourth time, she answered. I could not help the sob that escaped my lips immediately I heard her voice.“Yvette is having siziures.” I told her after she asked what’s wrong. “I don’t know what to do, I-I’m scared Lily.”“I’m on my way, M. Is Pierce there yet? He called me a while ago, to tell me to meet you. Is he back?”“He’s not even answering his phone.” I sobbed. The doctor came out of the room, spotting me immediately. He removed his gloves as he approached me. “Miss Thompson. Are you alone?”“Is Yvette okay?” I asked ignoring his question. He looked down the hall ignoring my question and I felt a piece of my