On the Outside (Caught Inside #3) (17 page)

I shrugged. “After having my name dragged through the mud, I’ve basically lost any humility.”

Kacy nodded. “Gotcha.” She took one deep breath and continued her story. “After shooting, Charlie immediately was cast in that show on TV. You know the one that catapulted him to the top?”

“Yeah, kind of hard to forget that one. Everyone found out who Charlie was by that show.”

“Exactly. That included a ton of fans—
groupies.
So, when Sheila realized that she wasn’t the only apple of his eye, she tried to go back to Xavier. He was, after all, becoming a big name in the business on his own.”

“Shut up!”

“Mmhmm. At this point Xavier was completely done with her and I guess she was so butt hurt about it that she started spreading lies about him. The fucked up part about it—”

“You mean besides everything else that she did wrong?” I snorted.

Kacy smirked. “I have to agree with you there. Anyway, the worst part about it all was that even though she was trying to get back together with Xavier she did so behind Charlie’s back. I guess she didn’t want to drop Charlie until she was sure Xavier would bite.”

“What a bitch.”

“You got that right. As horrible as it was that Charlie dated Sheila knowing she was with Xavier, he never once cheated on her himself. That doesn’t mean that she trusted him with all those women. So she did what any insecure woman would—she played the pity card. She told Charlie the reason why she left Xavier to begin with was because he threw her to the side once he started getting big and some other bullshit to make sure Charlie wouldn’t do the same thing to her and leave her.”

“That totally explains what Charlie said to me!” I gasped.

“Doesn’t surprise me.” She shook her head and growled. “Either way, Sheila’s insecurity was like a self-fulfilling prophecy. She became so crazy that she couldn’t stay with Charlie either. So she dumped him. Heard it broke Charlie’s heart too. I think a small part of him even blames Xavier for fucking with Sheila’s mind, but we all know he had nothing to do with it. Crazy is as crazy does.”

“Okay, can I just say that was the most complicated story I ever heard?”

Kacy shrugged and laughed. “Told you I’d give you the background to that rivalry, but I didn’t say it would be pretty.”

“And how do you know all this?”

“Wyatt.” Kacy grinned wickedly. “This business is really small and the fact that Wyatt was a family friend, well…”

“Let me guess, did Wyatt sleep with Sheila too?”

“Psh, no. I swear he’s as asexual as they come. He’d probably allow his cells to duplicate and split into two if he could reproduce that way.”

“Good to know.” I pushed my bottom jaw forward and bit at my upper lip. “That certainly answered a few questions. Thanks for sharing with me.”

Kacy tilted her head to the side. “But?”

“Explain why you are with me and not trying to rip my head off.”

Kacy’s face went blank before scrunching up into pure laughter. “Okay, yeah I guess I deserve that.”

“As I deserve an explanation.”

“Yeah you do.” Seeing as we were in gridlock, she put the car into park. Whatever she was about to tell me was probably going to be really serious. “Xavier never told any of the girls that he loved them. Not the first girl, who I honestly forgot the name of, and certainly not Sheila.” She paused for a beat and stared directly into my eyes. “When he was blaming me for ruining his life—for ruining his time on set, for attracting bad press, and more importantly, ruining things with the girl he
loved
—”

I gasped out loud.

“—I knew I screwed up. You see, earlier I just thought you were some stereotypical actress. I know you said not to believe the rumors, but it’s hard not to, especially since you admitted that you
did
sleep with Aaron. I thought you were just playing my brother like you did Bennington, Aaron, and Riley.”

Even hearing her name hurt me to no end.

I swallowed back a lump in my throat. “So you tried your best to keep us apart because you thought you were protecting him.”

She nodded. “Yeah. He’s always looked out for me and I just wanted to return the favor.”

“So it had nothing to do with Riley?”

“It did,” she admitted. “I hated to think my brother was with someone who purposely hurt family.”

“But I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“I know that now…” her voice trailed off and her eyes grew foggy with thought. “Since we’re being honest and everything, I have to admit I hated thinking Riley had another best friend. I grew up with her and we were like sisters, you know? I hated to think she had another BFF across the country.”

As much as I didn’t want to be affected by her words, I couldn’t help but soften. “I was jealous of you too. Just to get that out there.”

She let out a soft laugh. “Good to get that out in the open.”

“Yeah…”

“Anyway, back to my brother—hearing him say he actually loved someone was such a big deal! That was when I realized I crossed the line.”

“Wow. This is certainly news to me.”

“Which part?” she asked with suspicion.

“All of it.”

“Is it safe to assume that you guys never spoke those words to each other before?” Her waxed eyebrow arched.

“No, we didn’t,” I whispered. Frowning, I shifted in my seat and turned to get a better look at her. “Wait a minute. If you thought I was playing him to begin with, what makes you think I’m not playing him now?”

“Oh, I’ve known for a while,” she replied in confidence.

“How?”

“The fact that Xavier avoided
me
for a few months to be with you spoke volumes. After Sheila, he wouldn’t give any girl the time of day unless she was worth it. Not to mention the way you look at him any time he’s near you. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

I stared out the window, watching random water droplets drip down. The brake lights of the cars in front of us glowed against the water, momentarily blinding me. “Where is Xavier now? Can I talk to him?”

Kacy gulped. “He’s still pretty mad. I think you need to give him a day or two. I know he calls me stubborn, but we are family, after all.”

“Great.” I frowned and felt a familiar pinch in my heart. “How’s Riley doing? You called her family…does she have your stubbornness?”

“Like I said, I kind of added fuel to that fire and I’m sorry about that. Regardless, Riley was pretty hurt.”

“But I never was interested in Aaron.”

“Yeah, I think she knows that, and besides, she’s really happy with Blake and wouldn’t care if you and Aaron did hook up…”

“But?”

Kacy shook her head and held an index finger against her lips, prompting me to be silent. “The thing that hurt Riley the most was that it happened the same day she tried to get you out of your funk, right? The day she was trying to
help
you?”

I winced and nodded.

“You have to admit, timing couldn’t have been any more shitty. She helps you and you do this in return.”

I needed to stop denying my fault in everything. “I know…”

“She felt disrespected. I know she’s over the whole Aaron thing, but she’s not over the fact that she doesn’t feel as if she can trust you.”

My bottom lip quivered. “What are the chances that we’ll fix things?”

“Riley is an honorary Greene. Just like Xavier, it’ll take some time.”

“How about if I don’t want to wait? For either of them.”

Kacy looked at me with pity. “Unfortunately, you have to. At least with Xavier. He packed up and drove up to Mistcoast this afternoon after you were booked.”

“
What?”
I screeched.

It was over. It was officially over.

Kacy nodded her head slowly. “He always runs back home when he needs a few days to think, so don’t assume he’s completely ending things with you. He’s just pissed off right now. Give him some time to cool off. I’m sure he’ll be back. I can almost guarantee it.”

I shut my eyes, fighting back a wall of tears. “I’m not too sure about that.”

“If it makes you feel better, he’s not speaking to me either.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “Yup.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re right. That does make me feel better.”

Chapter 35

The talk with Kacy ended up going pretty well and though I still felt as if I were walking on eggshells around her, I had to admit our conversation elevated my spirits. I could also see myself actually liking her…one day.

Now that shooting was also over, I had no choice but to take Kacy’s advice and wait a couple of days to contact Xavier. Luckily—or rather unluckily—it helped that I had to meet with a lawyer to negotiate a plea bargain for my misdemeanor. After a few back and forths, I succumbed to paying a pretty high fine, but at least it wasn’t jail time. Either way, it was great to finally put that eventful day behind me…
almost.
Once again I graced the cover of every magazine with a rather unflattering picture of myself. The wide mouth, snaggle-toothed picture certainly brought my old billboard to shame. Oddly enough, I didn’t mind it. It was rather sad to think I was actually growing used to the scrutiny, but somehow it felt like a comfortable pair of old gloves—a long lost frenemy you both loved and loathed. Despite what Robert and Monique barked in my ear, any publicity was
publicity
. The incident even landed me some auditions for some future action films. Yup, everything seemed to be going fine. Everything except for Xavier.

“
Xavier, please call me.”

“Xavier, I’m sorry.”

“Xavier, I miss you.”

It was déjà vu all over again, only this time it hurt a bit more than the first time around with Riley.

“It’s because you love him.” I sighed and threw my phone to the side. “So what now? Do I fight for him or forget about him?”

I was a strong, independent woman. I didn’t need a man, especially one who hated me and wouldn’t give me the time of day. Yet, love isn’t about pride. It never is and never will be. In fact, sometimes you have to allow yourself to be vulnerable for the chance to experience something so pure and beautiful. Sometimes you have to risk being hurt—not to mention look like an idiot—for the chance to be with the one person you truly care about.

“So why does this fucking suck?” I murmured.

I looked outside my window and felt myself wilt. I had exactly a week before I had to move out of the corporate apartments and I had no idea where to go. Sure, I had my apartment waiting for me in New York but it didn’t feel right to leave, especially without speaking to Xavier first.

“Okay, let’s say you do speak with Xavier, what will happen next?” I knew what I
wanted
to happen. I wanted him to say he forgave me. I wanted him to say he missed me and he loved me. I wanted him to ask me to stay with him in California.

New York had nothing but bad memories and bad company left for me. California was the land of new beginnings—not to mention the home of Hollywood—and I could really see myself settling down in the Golden State. However, I wouldn’t stay in California knowing both Riley and Xavier hated me. Their hatred weighed more than that of the whole city of New York.

I shut my eyes and said a silent prayer for some clarity. I hadn’t felt this torn up since I dropped out of college and was faced with the daunting task of figuring out how to pursue my dream of acting.

“You survived the age of twenty; you can survive at twenty-nine. All I need is just one sign of what to do.” Groaning, I jumped onto my couch and turned on the TV.
Blowing air out of my mouth, I flipped through the channels. “Boring, boring…oh wait…nah, boring.”

I continued my perusal and for some reason or another landed on the Vacation Channel. Sinking back into the cushions, I listened to a rather perky voice describe what she made out to be the best beach town in the world.

“The aquamarine waves coupled with soft sand makes this little town a hidden gem. Mistcoast, California, is the perfect location for sun, surf, and romance.”

My jaw practically scraped the carpet. “Well, if that isn’t an in-your-face sign.”

I watched the show switch between scenes of the beach, restaurants—
shit, is that Kacy’s place?—
and…

“Double fucking Overhead!” I gasped, spotting Blake’s rather tacky looking store. “But where is Riley’s store? This must be an older show.”

As the program continued I grew even more excited—and anxious. Nevertheless I felt more confident in what the next steps of my life would be.

“Looks like I’m buying a ticket to Mistcoast, California.”