Chapter 16 #2
She hangs up, and I make sure Sunny has some clothes and not just toys and books. I swipe a set of keys to one of Pete’s cars he never drives, the Audi, and drive a pouting Sunny to Benedict Canyon. When we get to Peach’s little bungalow, and I park the car and cut the engine, I look over at Sunny.
“I know you’re mad at me. But you can’t be home right now.”
She keeps her arms crossed and stares straight ahead.
“You remember when all the loud people would come over? And I’d take you down the stairs on my shoulders in the morning, and tell you to cover your eyes?”
She turns her head away.
“Well, it’s kind of like that.”
She looks over at me.
“Your mom’s sick. And Dad is too. They need to get better.”
She uncrosses her arms and fiddles with her fingernails. “Are they sick from all that smoky stuff that smells like a tire?”
I reach over and squeeze her shoulder. “Come on, let’s go in.”
“They told us about it in school,” she says, picking up her suitcase. “It’s called Mary Jo Wanna.”
I open the car door and let her out. “That’s not what it is, kiddo.”
“Oh.”
I walk her up to the door, and Peach stands there with no makeup, her hair in a ponytail, and her arms crossed.
She’s just as pretty as Tamar, but Pete likes to ruin beautiful women.
Happy and beautiful women. Peach used to be happy.
Mostly because she was high, but even when she wasn’t.
I remember her dancing us around the house to The Beach Boys with leis she’d made around our necks.
I might still have one somewhere. For a second, the memory is painful, remembering how we both used to be.
I walk Sunny inside and see Seth and Laura are sitting on the floor watching Diff’rent Strokes. They turn their heads to give me a disinterested stare, then go back to their show. Sunny puts her suitcase down and sits on the sofa behind them.
“I’ll come get her tomorrow,” I tell Peach. “Just have to check if it’s okay first.”
Peach shakes her head. “I’m not their nanny.”
“I’m getting my own place,” I tell her.
She tilts her head at me, surprised. “Really? And you’re, what? Twenty-two now?”
“Twenty-one. And I’m going to take Sunny with me.”
Peach laughs. She puts her fingers up to her mouth. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to need a whole legal team. They’ll have you arrested for kidnapping.”
“Thanks for the advice,” I say sardonically. I look over at Sunny. “I’ll be back tomorrow, okay?”
Sunny looks over at me and nods, frowning.
Peach bites one of her nails. “You think she’d like it if I braided her hair? My mother always did that for me when I was upset. It made me sleepy. Laura’s at that age where she won’t let me near her hair.”
I smile. “She might. Thanks again.” I pause, studying her for a moment. “Why isn’t Seth allowed to talk to me?”
Peach looks at me a little annoyed. “I didn’t say that exactly, but you’re not really a positive influence.”
I put my hands in my pockets. I rarely ever think of Seth as my little brother and Laura as my other little sister. They’ve never liked me. Even when they were toddlers. I don’t see either of them enough to be influencing anything.
Peach probably has the right idea, though. If I had a son, I’d probably want him to stay away from me too. I turn to go. “Thanks again. See ya.”
I try to ignore the weight of guilt as I leave. I know it upsets Sunny, but there’s nowhere else safe for her to go. Not until I can get a place of my own.
I consider Judd’s offer.
I consider it a lot, especially now.
Sunny can’t be home while Tamar and Pete are bringing drugs into the house.
And Peach will call the cops herself if Sunny has an extended stay at her house.
I should just let Tamar and Pete get arrested, but I don’t want Sunny getting put into foster care because there’s nowhere else for her to go.
She’d be scared and confused. She wouldn’t understand what was happening.
It looks like I don’t have much of a choice, do I? I need to get a house that has plenty of room for me and Sunny, and isn’t some broken down hovel. Sunny needs somewhere else to go besides Peach’s that’s safe. At least until Tamar and Pete clean up again, and who knows how long that will be.
One afternoon, I’m thinking about all of this while walking to the recording studio, where Judd told me to meet him and George, so it takes me a minute to realize someone’s calling my name.
I look around. There’s no one on the sidewalk near me.
Then I notice the voice came from a limo that’s pulled up beside me.
I bend down to peer through the window and see two men inside. I don’t recognize them, but they’re partially in shadow. “Yeah?”
“Can we have a talk?”
“Who’s we?”
One of the men moves slightly so I can see him better. I recognize him as that old man producer for Austin’s show, Phil Baxter.
“I won’t take up too much of your time,” he says.
The other guy opens the door and gets out. He's younger than Phil, nervous-looking with thick glasses. I’ve seen him before too. He holds open the door for me.
I glance at both of them. “Are you in the mob or something?”
“It’s important,” Phil says. “It’s about Austin.”
I hesitate for a moment before I get inside the limo. I slide into the seat across from Phil. The bespectacled guy gets in and sits beside me.
“I’ll just cut right to the chase,” Phil says. “I want you to stop seeing Austin.”
I stare at him for a few moments, not sure if I heard him correctly. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve spoken to Austin about his image, and he’s chosen to completely disregard everything I said. So, I’m coming directly to you.”
I’m speechless for a few moments, thrown off by this old guy’s audacity, then I get my bearings back. “You can fuck all the way off, geezer.” I move toward the door.
“I really don’t want to let Austin go,” Phil says calmly. “You see, we’ve already completed filming on a few episodes, and I’d hate to switch him out at his point.”
“So, don’t do it then.” I open the door.
“I’m afraid I won’t have much of a choice.”
I pause, glaring at him.
“Try to see it from my point of view, Harvey,” he says.
“You don’t know what all goes into a production like this.
There’s lots of money, advertisers, network executives, costume designers, and the sets.
It’s true that it’s a gamble. Every time.
But no one wants to lose. No one wants to be taken for a fool. You see?”
I close the car door and keep glaring at him. “Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot.”
Phil tilts his head, looking me over curiously. Almost like I amuse him. “Your father’s quite a famous man, isn’t he? Maybe not always for good reasons. And your stepmother. What’s her name? I remember her in those commercials.” He glances over at the geek. “Tamar, I believe?”
My heart starts pounding like a hammer.
“I’ve heard they’ve had some troubles in the past. I suppose with that kind of lifestyle, temptation is always lurking.”
“You don’t know anything about anybody,” I growl.
His expression is flat and cold. “You’d be surprised at what I know.”
I glare at him. “What the hell do you want?”
“I thought I was very clear. And, of course, with your father the way he is and your stepmother the way she is, I’m sure you worry.” He pauses. “You worry about your little sister.”
I feel like I’ve just been punched in the gut. “What do you know about her?”
“I don’t think a little girl should have to grow up under that roof. Do you?”
I glance at the geek sitting beside me, then at Phil. “Have you been following me?”
“I can relate.” Phil’s voice is so calm and calculating.
He looks out the window as he speaks. “I have a younger sister too. Her husband used to beat her. She would try to hide the bruises, but I knew. You know what he’s doing now?
” He looks over at me and doesn’t wait for me to answer.
“He’s defecating and urinating into a bag because he’s paralyzed from the waist down. ”
I swallow a lump growing in my throat.
“So, I think it’s a noble thing. To care so much about your sister you’d stick around to keep an eye on her. I really can’t blame you for that. And I have to commend you. I didn’t think you cared about anything, but in the end, everyone cares about something. Or someone.”
“You don’t know anything,” I snap.
“Harvey, I can help you help yourself. And your sister. You’ll want to stay around Bel Air for her school, I’m sure. There are some nice schools over that way.”
“You need to shut your fucking mouth right now,” I warn him.
He’s unfazed. He looks over at the geek and nods. The geek has written out a check. He holds it out to me. It’s more money than Judd even offered me. More than what Pete stole from me.
My heart pounds as it sinks in what’s happening.
“That’s plenty for a nice home in a good neighborhood,” Phil says, his voice reminding me of a snake. “And to furnish the place. All those incidentals. They add up.”
I shake my head. “If Austin wants to see me, that’s his business. And mine.”
Phil gives me another thoughtful look. “He’s chosen to keep you in the dark I see.”
It was my heart first, and now my stomach aches. I don’t want to ask. I don’t want him to see how much he’s getting to me.
“Austin has a contract,” Phil says. “We can let him go if he violates it. He knows that. He signed it. There’s a certain image he needs to protect. Because his image affects the show’s image, you see? I’d hate for him to lose his first serious adult role after struggling to find one for so long.”
I close my eyes. Everything’s becoming crystal clear. “If I don’t stop seeing him, you’ll just fire him. Is that what you’re saying?”
“You’re not known for doing the responsible thing. Maybe you should for once.”
“I think you’re evil.”
Phil takes the check from the geek and hands it to me. “There are plenty of other men in this town for you to sodomize, Harvey.”
Something about the way he says it, makes my stomach twist. I look down at the check. “I think you’re bluffing.”
“My former brother-in-law said the same thing.”
I glance up at him. His expression is as cold and flat as a slab. “How do I know you’re not going to do it anyway? How do I know you’re not going to fire him or tell him about this?”
“If I get what I want, there will be no need to. Take the money, Harvey.” Phil says, his tone slightly impatient. “And leave him alone. You didn’t really think this was going to last, did you?”
I don’t answer because I’m afraid if I do, my voice will shake.
Phil’s tone is mocking, hateful. “Austin needs to learn that if you lie down with dogs, you’ll get fleas. I thought he’d matured, but maybe he’s still too young to know what’s good for him. And what’s good for him isn’t some flea-bitten mutt from the gutters like you.”
He could have just taken out a knife and stabbed me in the middle. It would have hurt the same. I reach for the door and open it.
“Where were you headed?” Phil asks casually. “I don’t mind dropping you off.”
I get out of the limo and slam the door.
I walk down the sidewalk, leaving the vehicle behind me.
I hear it drive off, and I wait before I take a shaking breath and lean up against a wall for support.
I look down at the check. I don’t realize tears are running down my face until one drops on the paper.
I feel like I need to scrub myself under hot water until my skin is raw.
I look down the street where the limo has already turned off and gone out of sight. Should I go to the police? This is blackmail. Bribery. Isn’t it? I’m shaking so I sit on the sidewalk a few feet away from a snoring bum lying on some newspapers.
If I call Austin and tell him what happened, I won’t be able to stop him from trying to break that old man’s neck.
So, he’ll just be out of a job and in prison for attempted murder.
Even if he doesn’t try to kill his boss, he’ll leave the show for sure.
It’ll be irrational. Impulsive. He’ll regret it. And he’ll hate me for it.
What can I do for him? I’m just some rock star’s unwanted kid, trying. Trying to… what? I’ve really been fooling myself, haven’t I? I’m not going to be some famous singer. My songs won’t top the charts. I’ll just be… a mangy mutt who nobody wants.
And Sunny.
That old bastard had to have been tailing me. How would he know all of this otherwise? It scares the shit out of me that he knows anything about her. I feel sick to my stomach.
I sit on the sidewalk for so long that someone tosses a couple of bucks at my feet. After a bit, I get up, place the money in front of the sleeping bum, and walk away.