Chapter 9 Three Months
Three Months
Everything went well over the following week—except for my hand, which was still in bandages—but there was one thing I couldn’t stop thinking about. Or not a thing. A person. A name.
Vivian.
Will had asked about her one day, and Jack had gotten defensive, and Naya was clearly watching to see how I’d react.
To say I was curious was an understatement. I’d already tried to find something about her on the internet, but with no surname to go on, there wasn’t much I could do. I didn’t even know what she looked like. She was a needle in a haystack.
But one afternoon, when Lana was over helping Naya with a project for her French lit class, Will went up to the roof to smoke and I saw my chance.
It wasn’t like I was interrupting anything: their so-called studying was really just the two of them gossiping.
It was obvious why they got along so well: neither of them could ever shut up.
I had to disconnect now and then not to go crazy when I was around them.
I cleared my throat to get their attention and said, “Can I ask you guys something? But promise you won’t tell anyone. It’s important.”
That seemed to intrigue them, and Naya said, “Well, now, this is getting fun. Sure, I promise!”
“Me, too!” Lana added.
Anxious, I tapped my fingers on my laptop and tried to form the question in my mind. But there was no veiled way to ask, so I just came out with it. “Who’s Vivian?”
I knew they’d think I was jealous. I was even ready for them to make fun of me. What I wasn’t ready for was the stupefied look on their faces. When Lana seemed incapable of believing I didn’t know who she was, Naya said her name: “Vivian Strauss. You know. The Vivian Strauss.”
“I get that you two are trying to make me understand something,” I said, “but I have literally no idea what you’re talking about.”
They pushed me off the sofa onto the floor and grabbed my laptop, and I sat there with my legs crossed while their heads nearly bumped together as they searched the web and stared at the screen.
“Show her this one,” Naya said.
“That one’s horrible!” Lana responded.
“She’s gorgeous in it!” Naya told her.
“Honestly, I don’t care,” I assured the two of them.
Lana flipped the laptop around to show me a girl with delicate traits and dark eyes.
Her hair, dyed so blond it was almost white, was pulled up on the top of her head in a perfect arrangement.
It had to be the work of a professional stylist. Her body was tanned a perfect bronze, and she was wearing a red sequin dress.
Was she pretty? Maybe. But it was more than that.
She was special, attractive, magnetic. Her back was turned to the camera, and she was looking over one shoulder with an almost bored expression that nonetheless intrigued me.
“What is she, like, a model?” I asked.
“Bingo,” Naya said.
“Wait till you see Ross’s movie,” Lana said. “She’s the lead actress.”
Aha. Now I got it. Staring at that image, I wasn’t sure how I felt. She was gorgeous, and I assumed she was talented. But were those the only reasons he’d picked her for his film?
“They get along well,” Naya told me. “I think he met her at film school in France. She was studying to be an actress.”
“And apparently she made it,” Lana said.
“Ever since the poster for Ross’s movie came out, the press has decided they’re an item,” Naya admitted. “The whole thing pisses Ross off, but Vivian hasn’t denied it publicly, and that means everyone just keeps talking.”
“Because if they talk about them, it means they’ll talk about the movie,” I deduced.
“Exactly,” Lana confirmed. “It’s free publicity.”
“Anyway,” Naya said, “let me know whatever you want to know about her and I’ll ask. I’m going to meet her tonight at the premiere.”
Tonight?! It seemed like just yesterday that I learned Jack had a movie.
“I wanted to go, too,” Lana complained. “I was hoping to hook up with some famous dude. But Ross is a jerk and didn’t bother to invite me.”
“I thought you had a boyfriend,” I reminded her.
“You said it. Had,” she replied.
Naya told me Jack hadn’t invited anyone but her, Will, Sue, and his family. The rest of the people there would be friends and family of the cast and crew, some VIPs, and the press. I have to admit, it stung a bit, getting left out like that.
After all, things had felt normal between us since that night at the movies.
I looked after Jack, asked him every morning how he’d slept, ordered his favorite food when he was hungry, made sure Naya didn’t torture him with her horrible taste in TV.
It was silly stuff, but I felt like it meant something to him.
He helped me with my schoolwork, made the bed when I didn’t have time to, accompanied me to the laundromat, bought me groceries…
And we were talking finally. Not screaming—talking.
These may have been small steps, but they meant the world to me. We might not ever be a couple again, but at least we could be friends. I had missed Jack’s company, and I didn’t really care how I had him back in my life, as long as I did. I missed him.
And I knew a day would come when we’d be calm and trust each other again, and I could finally confess to him what had actually happened a year before.
But still, I needed time. And he did, too, I’m sure. I guessed that was why he hadn’t invited me to the premiere—because in my heart I knew I mattered more to him than the people who were going.
This internal monologue went on and on, and I heard the front door open. Jack cleared his throat. Naya and Lana were suddenly horrified, and I soon knew why. Vivian’s face was still there on my laptop screen, for all the world to see.
Lana slammed my computer shut and threw it aside, causing me to panic. All my work was on there! If it hit the floor and broke, I’d be dead! I jumped and caught it, and just before Jack walked into the living room, I sat on it, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
Naya tried to strike a natural pose as she said, “There he is! He never shows up before dinner time, even when it’s his day to pick where to order from!”
Jack was wearing an old sweatshirt and spinning his key ring around his finger.
He looked tired, as always, as he smiled at me wanly.
Then he froze. I think he could see through our awkward attempts at being normal.
Disturbed, he stepped back and asked, “Do you want to tell me why you’re all staring at me? ”
“No reason!” Naya shouted. “Absolutely no reason!”
Jack turned to me. I was an easy target, and he knew it, the bastard.
Plus, I was a terrible liar and hadn’t even had time to plan.
I didn’t know what my face looked like just then.
As soon as I opened my mouth, I’d give myself away.
I was dying of embarrassment. What kind of idiot would look at sensitive information like that right there in the living room?
Couldn’t I have just held off for a moment?
“May I ask…” he said, “why you’re sitting on your laptop? You’re not exactly plus-sized, Jen, I can see it perfectly.”
“I was just…” Come on, think, brain! “I was taking notes.”
“And we were helping her,” Naya added, probably making things worse.
He was clearly unconvinced and decided to stand there in silence, waiting for a better explanation.
It only got worse when Will came in, holding his cigarettes.
He was about to clap Jack on the back when he noticed something wasn’t right.
His smile straightened out, and he asked, “What’s up with the silence? ”
“These three were up to something and they don’t want to tell me what,” Jack said.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong!” Naya fired back.
“Then you shouldn’t have any problem admitting what you were doing,” Jack responded.
“We were just showing Jenna who…” Lana blurted out, then covered her mouth. Will and Jack both narrowed their eyes.
“Keep going…” Jack said.
Lana stammered and coughed, and I realized I needed an excuse, fast. I looked around, trying to come up with something plausible, something he wouldn’t expect; something that wouldn’t make him feel mad, insecure, or jealous.
I came out with the only thing that occurred to me: “We were looking for Mike’s band! ”
Will looked skeptical. I tried to tell him I was just curious. Jack shook his head and said, “You didn’t get any better at lying in the year you were away.”
I stuck my tongue out, he grinned, and the tension lessened slightly. Thank God, a new interruption soon came through the door. Speak of the devil, it was Mike, who smirked, flopping down in an armchair and remarking, “Feels kind of tense in here. Naya, did you do something wrong?”
“Why me?” she asked, offended.
“Well, all three of you girls look guilty,” he said, “and you’re the one who usually starts things.”
“OK, I admit it,” I said. “It wasn’t Naya, it was me. I was looking for Jack’s movie.”
That was true-ish, true enough to throw Jack for a loop, anyway. He blinked, and his expression changed, and I couldn’t tell if it was curiosity, surprise, or terror he was trying to express. “Why?”
“Because your premiere’s tonight, Jack,” I told him.
When I saw his face, I wondered if I’d made a mistake. He ran his hands through his hair and opened his eyes wide. “Shit! I’ve got to put on my tux.”
“Haha, someone’s forgetful,” Mike said. Lana threw a cushion at him.
“Why are you so worried about the tux?” I asked him.
“I hate that shit,” he responded, “I hate fancy clothes, I hate tying a bow tie…all of it.” There was some confusion when Mike thought he’d have to wear a bow tie too, but Jack made it clear that only the cast and crew had to go in formal wear.
Seeing him so stressed, I reassured him: “You’re going to look great.
You should try it on and give us a sneak peek. ”
He hesitated, then ran off to his room, and Naya announced she was getting changed, too. That’s when the chaos began.