Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
Holden
Five years ago…
Somehow, magically, I passed all my classes this semester. But based on the fact that I missed several weeks and a couple of my finals, I’m pretty sure my dad had something to do with that.
The magic of money and power.
Otherwise known as Erik Dorsey.
But I guess I was just as bad, wasn’t I? I allowed it to happen. I allowed him to pay off my teachers and sat idly back while he did it, turning a blind eye.
Even though we lived in Boston, my dad had been spending more and more time at his Riverside townhouse in Manhattan. I had hoped to have the place all to myself this week after Thanksgiving, but unfortunately, my dad was also here.
Luckily, I was a fucking master of hiding away in my room. I’d been up here for several hours already, playing video games, barely going downstairs for breakfast.
Beside me, my phone buzzed, Katherine’s name popping up on our text thread.
Katherine:
Which shoes for today?
Attached was a picture of peep toe strappy things or cute low heeled mary janes.
I placed a heart on the strappy heels, then texted her back.
Send me a picture of your legs in those and I’ll spring for filet mignon tonight at dinner.
She responded with an eye roll emoji.
As if you weren’t already going to spring for steak!
I laughed, the sound creaky and unused. One week away from her and I was already rusting. She was like a balm for my soul; the only person who could keep me grounded and alive, outside of Duncan.
Holden:
Actually, normally I’d get lobster. But then I’m afraid my kisses might kill you.
There was a pause and three dots above her name before finally:
Katherine:
Your kisses might kill me anyway. Especially if we’re still only kissing.
My smile grew. My girl was getting braver. And naughtier.
Holden:
We have done way more than just kiss and you know it.
More silence. Three dots appeared then disappeared multiple times before another text finally came through.
Katherine:
And yet, I’m still a virgin.
Then a picture of her torso to toes came through of her wearing the heels.
The heels…
and a pair of panties.
That was it.
My eyes drifted shut and I clunked my cell phone to my forehead. This girl was going to fucking kill me.
Holden:
What time is your audition? I asked, hoping for a change of subject.
Katherine:
2:30
I checked the time really quickly on my phone. She has an hour.
Holden:
I’ll pick you up at the New World Stages after. Birthday extravaganza starts soon!
Katherine:
=) Okay. Nice change of subject, btw.
I set my phone off to the side and eyed the mini fridge I kept in the corner of my room.
God I wanted a drink.
I wanted a drink more than I probably should for the middle of the afternoon on a weekday.
But what could it hurt? I was a fucking college senior and soon enough I’ll be in law school, stuck studying constantly for a career I don’t even want.
I pushed off my couch and grabbed a beer from inside and popping the cap off.
Almost an hour later, I was four beers in and a little past tipsy. That wasn’t exactly my intention and now I officially had to sober up before picking Katherine up from her audition.
At least I didn’t have to drive. Thank God for Uber and cabs in NYC.
There was a knock at my bedroom door and I stifled a groan, tossing my phone aside.
There was only one person who could be knocking and I thought I had successfully avoided him before he left for work.
I grabbed my Nintendo Switch and pretended to be immersed in my game so he’d hopefully get the idea and leave me alone quickly.
“Come in,” I said.
The door opened and I blinked in surprise.
Apparently, I was wrong… there wasn’t only one person who could be knocking.
There could be two.
And the other was Laurie Fucking McCay.
Hand in hand, standing beside my dad.
“I… I didn’t realize you were here visiting,” I said, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice.
McCay was here.
In my house.
No… in my mother’s house. The house my mother had inherited after her own parents died.
“Holden,” Dad said, his voice booming. Did he have another volume? He was always fucking shouting it seemed, even when he wasn’t.
“What?” I mumbled, keeping my eyes on the shooter game on my screen.
“We have something to tell you.”
With a petulant sigh, I set my Switch down.
The late morning sun streamed in through the curtains and caught something bright, sending a blinding sparkle like a disco ball through my room.
A diamond.
More specifically, a diamond ring on McCay’s finger.
“That is not what I think it is,” I said, unable to take my eyes off the massive diamond.
“I’ve asked Laurie to marry me,” Dad said simply.
Like it was nothing.
Like he wasn’t betraying Mom with this proposal merely a couple months after her death.
“I see that.” Shock doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling at the moment. I feel numb. Nothing. “Mom’s body isn’t cold yet,” I muttered.
“That’s not fair,” Dad said. “I realize it’s fast, but when you know, you know.”
I snorted. “Next thing I know you’re gonna say you can’t help who you fall in love with. You’re a lot of things, Dad, but I never thought cliché was one of them.”
My eyes slid over to McCay standing stoically next to him. “Have you broken up with Keith yet?”
My dad’s face tightened, his blinking increasing just the slightest bit.
Ahhhh. He didn’t know.
I can’t help my bitter laugh. “Oh? She didn’t tell you that she’s also fucking our TA? Maybe she didn’t think it mattered since up until a few weeks ago, you were married.”
Was that guilt I saw in my dad’s expression? Based on his reaction, I might have felt bad for him for a moment… if I didn’t know him so damn well. If I didn’t know what a bastard he truly was 99% of the time.
“Your father knows about Keith,” McCay says, rather defensively, I note. “And nothing has happened with Keith since Erik and I met.”
“Nothing’s happened,” I repeat, standing up from my couch. “Including a breakup, right?”
Her eyes narrowed onto me, but I didn’t shrink back. Not this time. Maybe not ever. “I don’t know why Katherine’s so intimidated by you,” I murmured, stepping closer. “You’re nothing but a trust fund kid who couldn’t hack it as an actress… so you had to resort to teaching. Mr. Abrams told us all about your understudy who stole the role out from under you. The girl who looked a lot like Katherine. Is that why you’re so hard on her?”
“Holden,” my dad warned, but I ignored him, taking yet another step closer to her.
“Well it didn’t matter. Because right now, Katherine’s on her way to an audition that will probably change her life.”
At that little tidbit, a smirk twitched at the corner of McCay’s mouth. “She’s going to audition?”
“That’s right,” I confirmed.
“For Abrams?” Something about her arrogance and knowing smile made me uneasy. As she spoke, a coldness seeped into her tone, causing my shoulders to tense up. The air around us seemed to thicken and I could feel a sense of foreboding settling in the pit of my stomach. What did she know?
“Yes.”
“Well,” McCay said unnervingly calmly. “Tell her I say good luck. I suspect she’ll need it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Let me guess… did he pay for her plane ticket and hotel room?”
“Yeah…” A wave of unease rolled over me, a knot forming deep in my gut and slowly unfurling like a coiled snake.
“Classic Abrams. Chances are the New World Stages will fall through and he’s going to have to hold the audition in the room he booked for her… since he paid for it, she’ll feel obligated to say yes. And he’ll get cozy on the couch, tell her that he wants to get to know her. And… well, they don’t call it the casting couch for nothing, Holden.”
My eyes shifted to my Dad’s and he seemed legitimately concerned for a moment.
Holding my gaze, he gave me a nod and said just one single word. “Go.”
I didn’t hesitate, but instead, I took off, grabbing my wallet and phone and shoving them into my back pocket. Under normal circumstances, I might have ordered a limo or nice car. Right now, I just needed to get to Katherine and make sure she’s okay.
She had told me the audition was at New World Stages which was only a block away from her hotel. Either way… I could be there for her if she needed me and wait outside of her hotel room. Just in case.
I hailed the first cab I saw and slid into the backseat. “Belvedere Hotel! There’s a fifty for your tip if you can get me there in under ten minutes!”
He succeeded. Hell hath no fury like a cab driver aching for a good tip.
I tossed the money into the front seat and texted Katherine again.
I knew from our earlier chats that she was in room 1821 and I took off running, my sneakers squeaking like a basketball player across the marble floors. I found myself in front of the elevators, pressing the buttons like a madman. It was the slowest ride known to man and in the time it took me to get to the front of her door, I’d imagined a dozen different scenarios… every one of them had me seeing red.
I pounded my fist to the door. “Katherine!” I shouted, pressing my lips so close to the crack of the door, I was nearly kissing the damn thing.
I slammed my fist on the door again, calling Katherine's name. Just as I was about to kick the damn thing in, it flew open. There stood Katherine, looking surprised but unharmed.
"Holden! What are you doing here?" she asked.
Before I could respond, I caught movement behind her out of the corner of my eye. Abrams emerged from the bathroom, shirtless, running a towel through his wet hair. My blood boiled at the sight of him.
He looked up, momentary surprise catching in his expression before his mouth turned up into a smile. “Holden. What a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Me neither,” Katherine said, eyeing me carefully. “What are you doing here?”
“What the fuck is going on here?” I demanded, glaring at Abrams.
His smile fell for the briefest moment as he glanced between us, then draped the towel casually over his shoulders. “We were running through Katherine’s song for her audition.”
“In her hotel room?” I snapped.
“Yeah,” Abrams said with an eye roll and hitching his thumb over his shoulder. “New World Stages has a broken pipe and they canceled all their bookings for the day.
I scowled, not believing his story for a second. Stepping towards him threateningly, I said through gritted teeth, "And your shirt just happened to fall off?”
“Holden,” Katherine said. Distantly, I felt her fingers brush against my forearm but I couldn’t see anything beyond the tunnel vision of hatred I had for this man. “Holden, relax. He was opening a bottle of wine and it spilled all over him.”
A bitter laugh cracked at the back of my throat. “Wine? At an audition with an eighteen year old girl.”
Abrams squared his shoulders, meeting my gaze challengingly. “The wine was for me. Not her. Check the shirt for a stain yourself. And for the record, I don’t love what you’re trying to imply.”
“I don’t love your reputation for seducing young girls looking to break into the industry.”
A snort sputtered from Abram’s throat. “Are you fucking kidding me? Trust me kid, I get enough pussy every night. I can snap my fingers and have just about any woman I want. There’s no fucking way this two-by-four of a girl would get into my fucking pants.”
A wave of rage washed over me. I hauled back and punched him square in the face. Abrams stumbled back, shocked. Then with a roar of rage he launched himself at me. We crashed to the floor, landing punishing blows on each other.
We slammed into the wall behind me, each grappling for control. I managed to get him in a headlock, squeezing with all my might. His towel dropped to the floor as he struggled to break free.
"Stop! Please stop!" Katherine cried. She came over and tried to pull me off of him.
I released Abrams and he gasped for air.
"Get out," I growled at him. He quickly gathered his shirt from where it was slung on the back of the couch, his eyes burning with anger.
"Good luck getting work in this city ever again," he sputtered, looking at Katherine with one hand massaging his throat. “McCay was right about you. You’re not worth the hassle.” He slowly sauntered past me toward the door, staring me down as if he could intimidate me. “And you have your boyfriend here to thank for it.”
I turned to Katherine who had tears streaming down her face and rushed to comfort her, to gather her in my arms."I'm so sorry. Are you okay?” I kissed her forehead, her brow, cupping her jaw tenderly in my palms. “I'm here now, you're safe," I said gently.
She wrenched out of my hold, shoving me back. “Safe? Holden I was safe. Abrams didn’t do anything! You just ruined my best shot at making it as an actress!”
Katherine stared at me, tears glistening in her eyes.
I reached for her arm but she jerked away. "Katherine, please, just listen—" I began, but she cut me off.
"No, you listen! I don't need you charging in here like some knight in shining armor. I can take care of myself!" She folded her arms across her chest.
“Oh? You can take care of yourself? You’re more naive than even I realized if you think for one second that man wasn’t trying to fuck you. He never had any intention of casting you. I bet there isn’t even a broken pipe at New World Stages. And what professional director has an audition in the actress’s hotel room that he paid for and brings a bottle of wine that he conveniently spills on himself? Use your fucking brain for once, Katherine.” I scoffed and clamped my hands to my hips. “I should’ve known something was up. No Broadway casting director calls in a fucking freshman for a professional audition.”
Katherine grew still, her face falling impassive. Shrouded.
With a long, slow inhale, she opened her phone and after a moment, held up the screen to show me the article on Backstage Magazine that New World Stages had a water main break.
I swallowed hard, shame heating my face. Did McCay set this all up? Did she know I would rage in here like a bull seeing red? “Katherine ? —”
“Get out,” she whispered.
“You don’t mean that ? —”
“Yes. I do. Get. The. Fuck. Out.”