Starburst | |
Number I of Star Sequence | |
Jettie Woodruff | |
Jettie Woodruff (2013) | |
Tags: | Star Sequence 1 |
Star Sequence 1ttt |
This book is
dedicated to Nikki, Zack, Josh and Cortney, truly my inspirations.
I love you guys.
This book is a work
of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations,
or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used
fictitiously. All other characters, dead or alive are a figment of my imagination
and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s mind's eye and are
not to be interpreted as real.
Trevas
Evans had just gotten home from a long five day work week. He had just kicked off
his shoes and plopped to the sofa with a tired breath. He propped his feet up
on the coffee table and then groaned when his cellphone rang, seeing who it
was.
“Hey
Chase, what’s up?”
“Where
are you Trevas?”
“Just
got home from New York, literally, like ten minutes ago.”
“How
did that go?”
“Long,
very long,” he whined. “What’s up?” He asked again, sensing that this was not a
social call.
“What’s
on your plate now?”
“Not
much of anything. I have to go to do security for the McAlester’s kid’s
birthday party Saturday, but I was hoping to get a couple days to chill a
little. What do you have?”
“I
need someone to go to the Fletcher residence and stay there with his kid for
six to eight weeks while he finishes up filming in Fiji.”
“Fletcher?”
Trevas asked, wanting more information.
“Nicholas
Fletcher. He needs someone to stay at the house and keep his kid Alex out of
trouble until he gets back.”
“What?
Is the kid like a trouble maker or something?”
“I don’t
know. I haven’t had time to do any research. All I know for sure is that he had
Kim Lipscome there, and she up and quit. He has to fly back out tomorrow and is
in desperate need for someone now.”
“Tomorrow?
I just got home Chase.”
“Well,
actually you need to be there by seven tonight. I will send Chip to do the
birthday party thing. Come on Trevas. You are the only one without a family
that can stay away that long.”
“I
was hoping to see Selena tonight. I do have a life too you know.”
“I don’t
think Selena is as into you as you are her. She was at the Breeze last night,
and she wasn’t alone.”
“I’m
not that into her. You know what that is.” Trevas explained, knowing that his
latest modeling friend was nothing more than someone who liked to party and
have sex, and that too was all that he was interested in, at that time. He would
have never gotten serious with someone like Selena White.
“Do
this for me Trevas.” Chased begged, not wanting to leave his own family to go
and babysit someone’s kid for six weeks or longer.
“What’s
it pay?”
“Ten
thousand.”
“Keep
talking,” he coaxed, sounding more interested.
“You
just need to stay there and keep his kid out of trouble. He wants you there
tonight because he is having some guests over and will go over the details with
you then. I will pick you up around six,” he added without giving him time to
object.
Trevas
looked at the clock and decided he had better get started on his laundry, not
believing that he was going to do this. He was beginning to wonder why he even
paid the rent on his place anymore.
He seemed
to be gone more than he was home. He thought about what he would do for the
next month and a half or so. Was this kid a freak or would he just hang out and
play video games? At least the rich and famous had plenty of luxury, worldly
possessions to occupy his time, and hopefully this kid was a cool kid, and he wouldn’t
mind hanging out with him. He could handle a nice long assignment with no
traveling.
“Why
can’t I just take my own car?” Trevas asked Chase as he threw his bags into the
back seat, not wanting to be stuck without a car for six to eight weeks.
“Fletcher
has a car that you will be using.”
“What?
Do I have to take this kid to school and like baseball practice and shit?”
“School
should be just about out, and I’m not sure of any more details, I told you. He
will explain everything to you when you get there.”
“Where’s
this kid’s mom?” Trevas wanted to know.
“She
is an actress, I think she is filming in Africa or Asia or something like that.
Stop asking questions, you’ll find out when you talk to Fletcher.”
Trevas
was racking his brain trying to figure out who the mother was. He knew that
Nicholas Fletcher was a big time movie director but couldn’t think of an actor
whose last name was Fletcher. She probably kept her own name; he decided and
let it go when Chase started bragging on his son’s golf tournament the previous
weekend, and his wife’s newly dented fender.
They
arrived right at six thirty. Chase took the card from his wallet and typed in
the four digit code that would let them through the iron gate. “Here, you’re
going to need this,” he stated, handing him the card.
There
weren’t a lot of cars, and Trevas was glad of that. He was tired, and jet
lagged from his previous trip, and wasn’t in the mood for a party or a bunch of
high class social climbers. Chase told him to leave his things for now, and
they were let in by a well-dressed older man, who they both knew by Simon, and
had heard stories about him and some of the security legends that he had
maneuvered around leaving his mark.
They
stood off to the side, and both took a glass of wine from an extremely attractive
young lady dressed in a short black pencil-skirt. They both watched her walk
away with wandering eyes.
“Damn,
I want to babysit that,” Trevas joked, and they both laughed.
The
house was incredibly huge, and of course beautiful, but neither of them were
fascinated with the LA mansions. They had both been to enough now to where it didn’t
seem to faze them like it once had. The floors were a beautiful white marble with
a thin gray line strung about in a swirl design with a luxurious staircase harmonizing.
The living area was large and spacious and was where most of Fletchers guests
mingled.
There
were people out at the pool area, and they had a clear view through the glass
doors. Trevas recognized Nicholas Fletcher when he laughed loudly in a circle
of friends.
He
looked around and noticed a young girl standing awkwardly off to herself. She
stood by the island that separated the kitchen from the open dining room. She
was a small framed girl with long, dark hair, flipped to one side. Her pale
skin had just a touch of makeup and her eyes were darkened with smoky gray eye
shadow and eyeliner. She had on a short white, buttoned up shirt that showed
her midsection and a long flowing pale yellow skirt with white converse
sneakers.
Definitely out of place here,
he thought. The girl looked
over to him, and he stared at her briefly, trying to put a finger on who she
was.
He
knew he had seen her someplace before, but couldn’t quite figure out who she
was just yet. He watched as the hottest teen actress around at that time, came
in from the pool area and walked up to her.
“Hey
that’s Brooke Austin,” Trevas told Chase as he watched her say something to the
other girl. She pressed her lips together and twisted her mouth, slightly to
the side and rolled her eyes at whatever Brooke Austin had just said to her.
“Yes,
that’s Brooke Austin. She’s flying out with Fletcher in the morning. She’s the
star of his latest movie.
“Who’s
the other girl?” He asked, wondering if Chase new, still looking at the young
girl as he tried to figure out who she was.
“That
is
Alley Fletcher,” he replied cautiously, waiting for his reaction with
raised eyebrows.
Trevas
contemplated his words, and it only took a moment to register, what Chase had
just said.
“Oh
fuck no Chase. I’m not babysitting some teenage girl,” Trevas knew exactly who
she was, and it hit him smack in the face as he remembered. He had just seen
her in the tabloids not too long ago at the Breeze Nightclub in West LA. “Why didn’t
you tell me? You low life, I would have saved you the trip.”
“Trevas,
its ten grand, he’s in a fix, and if you don’t do this, I have to, and I prefer
not to stay away from my wife and kid that long.”
“Chase
you stupid son of a bitch, what the hell am I supposed to do with a teenage
girl? I thought Alex was a boy, and I would be skateboarding and playing Halo.
I don’t know what to do with that,” he stated, nodding toward the girl who had
just looked over to him again, and he knew that she knew he was the one that
would be staying with her.
“Trevas
you don’t have to do anything just don’t let her out of your sight and keep her
out of the tabloids until her parents are home.”
“Her
mother is Peyton Paxton,” Trevas said as that too dawned on him.
“Yes,
they are divorced, and she is not home to look after her either.”
“Wouldn’t
you rather have a female looking after your daughter?” Trevas asked.
“They
tried that, she quit, remember?”
“And
what if I quit?” He asked, wondering what in the world he had gotten himself
into.
“You
won’t” Chase stated, more as a threat than re-assurance. Chase wasn’t really
his boss. He didn’t really have a boss, but Chase did throw plenty of work his
way, and he did need him, for now anyway.
Nicholas
Fletcher finally made his way over to speak with them.
“Fletcher,
this is Trevas Evans,” Chase told him, and he shook his hand.
“I
hear good things about you. You come highly recommended,” he added.
Yeah,
highly recommended because I drew the short straw and got the short end of the
stick.
“Thank you sir, it’s nice to meet you,” he replied.
“Come
into my office and let’s have a chat,” he said, gesturing toward a room behind
the staircase. “Simon could you bring in Mr. Evans’s things?” He asked his own
personal security, and Simon followed Chase out.
“Have
a seat,” he told him and opened a cabinet and poured two glasses of whisky from
a fancy gold bottle. Trevas took the glass and thanked him. He could definitely
use a drink, right about now.
“I
know you have to be feeling a little apprehensive about this,” he began, and
Trevas nodded, letting him know that yes, he was undeniably apprehensive about
this.
“She
has a week, and three days of school left, she has got to be there and
stay
there for the last of her finals,” he said emphasizing the word stay, which
made him even more apprehensive.
“Are
there any other extracurricular activities that I should be aware of?”
Fletcher
snickered, and Trevas dug a little deeper into the apprehensive hole.
“No,
Alley spends most of her time in her room. She has one friend and that is
Brooke. If you can get her to go do anything, I’m fine with it as long as she
is with you. She is known to throw a tantrum here and there, but she usually
just storms off to her room.”
Tantrums,
great,
he thought as he got the shovel out for the apprehensive hole again.
“Why
did Kim Lipscome quit, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Because
she couldn’t handle the job,” he said matter-of-factly, with an irritated tone,
and Trevas knew that was all the only answer he was going to get, but made a
mental note to give her a call himself.
“Are
there any help that will be coming and going, that I need to be aware of?”
“There
is a house keeper that comes on Wednesdays, and I have a cook that I will call
for you too.”
“If
it’s okay with you sir, I will decline on the cook. I rather enjoy cooking, it’s
one of my favorite past times.”
What else am I going to do here for weeks?
“Hmm,
very well, I will add her salary to yours. There are two freezers in the pantry
and more food than you could use in a year, but if you need anything else I prefer
you go out of the city or just call Rita and she can bring you what you need on
Wednesday’s.”
“I visit
my grandparents in the nursing home a couple hours away from here, every other
Wednesday. Do you prefer I take her with me or leave her here with the house
keeper?”
“No,”
he almost yelled, “she goes everywhere you go. You don’t leave her for five
minutes. I hate to make it sound as you are going to have your hands full. She
really does just keep to herself in her room, but as soon as you get comfortable
she will do something. I’m getting ready to promote a really big movie. I don’t
want any distractions of my personal life taking away from that. Do you understand
what I am telling you?” He asked, wanting his daughter to be kept out of the
grocery store magazines and the World Wide Web.
“Yes
sir, I will be sure of it. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Trevas told
Nicholas Fletcher exactly what he wanted to hear, but was having an extremely hard
time convincing himself of it.
“Good,
is there anything else?” He asked, and walked to the door. Trevas watched as he
waved his hand, in a
come here
motion out to the room full of people.
“Yes,
do you require that I wear this?” Trevas asked, waving his hand down his black
suit attire.
Some
of the other condescending famous people required that they look professional
and wear nothing but formalwear while escorting them. He was hoping that his jeans
would be sufficient since he would mostly be hanging around the house.
Fletcher
snorted. “No, but I would prefer it when you drive her to school.”
“Alley
this is Trevas Evans. He is going to be staying here with you while I am away.”
Alley
rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, and Trevas stood to shake her hand.
“It’s
a pleasure to meet you Ms. Fletcher,” he tried, with no hand in return.
“Are
you fucking kidding me?” She asked, and Trevas dug another foot deeper in the
apprehensive hole. He was practically buried now. What the hell was he supposed
to do with this girl?
“Alley!”
Her dad scolded.
Alley
did the mouth thing again, pressing her lips together and twisted her lips to
the left side.
“Whatever,
it’s not like I have a say in my life anyway,” she countered. “Just stay out of
my way,” she demanded, looking at Trevas and he wasn’t sure what to say.