Chapter 17
By the time I went to sleep, I knew I would have a pretty nice black eye.
I didn't think there would be enough swelling to cause a stir with the directors, but it was bruised, and I knew that I would have to cover it with a good amount of concealer and makeup.
My eye had a dark reddish-purple triangle of a bruise with the point of it touching the inside corner of my eye and then going downward, widening, and creeping onto the top of my cheek.
I left a note for my sister saying I needed to sleep in, but I was still the first one to wake up. We both slept until after ten o'clock, even though I usually woke her up at eight to start rehearsing at nine.
There was a whole scene when she saw my eye.
She insisted that Alex wouldn't want to shoot with it and that he would want to do scenes without me. But I told her it was nothing makeup couldn’t fix.
She was so focused on the bruise itself that she hardly asked me what happened.
We were on our way to the kitchen tent to get some breakfast and ask Alex what he thought of my eye when she asked me to clarify what happened.
I told her the truth… that I had made friends with Bailey and that I had gone to bail her out of a little bit of trouble with her friends when I got accidentally headbutted.
I swore her to secrecy about it, and she easily agreed since it was a sensitive situation with Bailey's parents owning the ranch.
She didn't know about Henry and me, but my story with Bailey seemed to check out with her, and she agreed not to mention it.
I didn't consider that I would be asked that question every time anyone saw my eye.
The questions started as soon as we saw Alex and Cameron.
The first thing anyone wanted to know was, "What happened? "
"I headbutted her by accident," Ty said, seeing me short-circuit when Alex asked and I didn't want to lie.
He looked at her. "Why do you want to go injuring my cast?" he asked in a teasing tone.
"I think we can cover that with concealer," Cameron said, checking me out with the flashlight of her phone.
"I didn't know if you would say we needed to just do one of my scenes," Ty said. "That's why I wanted you guys to look at it."
"That's nothing makeup can't handle," Cameron said, still staring at my eye. "When did that happen?"
"Last night," I said, feeling good that I could answer something with the truth.
"In our trailer," Ty lied. "One turn, and bam."
This information was boring enough that it seemed to stop all further questions.
It was later that afternoon when I went to the makeup tent to get it covered.
Barb was the main makeup lady, and normally we didn't work together much since I was able to do the look that Alex wanted on me.
Barb stepped in this time, though, and by the time she was finished with me, it was like nothing ever happened.
I was exhausted, and I still hadn't decided what I was going to tell Henry. I knew I would hear from him that afternoon and that I would go see him in the barn when he texted me.
Last night had thrown me for a loop, and today had been a whirlwind of a day.
I was relieved when I got his text, and I felt like seeing him would help me recharge and get ready for shooting our scene before sunset.
Henry's text told me that he was heading to the barn from his mom's.
It was starting to become a routine for us…
Henry would take a shower before he texted me, and then we would meet at the barn for a while before I went to work.
He either went home after that or worked with us filming a scene.
We still hadn't told other people about what was going on with us, which made for some funny close-calls. Henry was playful and funny for such a big, burly guy, and I walked to the barn with a smile on my face because I knew encountering him was about to be the best part of my day.
My makeup was so good that I thought Henry wouldn't even notice my bruise.
I beat him to the barn, and I went to see Candice.
I could hear it when he opened the door, and I ran into the supply stall, moving quickly and quietly and trying to get in there before he saw or heard me.
I wasn't running or hiding from him for any other reason than for fun.
He wasn't chasing or even looking for me.
"Hello?" he called, causing me to cover my mouth and stifle a laugh.
"Hello," I said in a small, strained tone, trying to throw my voice and confuse him.
"Where are you?" he said. But even as he said the words, I could tell he knew where I was and was heading my way. His voice was closer to me now.
"In here," I said. I was excited and antsy about seeing Henry come around the corner, and I fidgeted in place as I waited. He was right there next to the stall door. I could hear him. It opened, and he stepped into my sight, came around the corner. Henry.
My goodness, this man was a sight to behold, even in a t-shirt.
Especially in a t-shirt. It was a thick white shirt with some sort of logo on the front.
He was clean with damp hair and smelling good.
I encountered him in this exact state most days, and it never got old.
It always seemed like a surprise when I saw him.
I loved to meet up in the barn after a day of doing our own chores.
He gave me a relieved smile before he reached out and took me into his arms, and it was the best expression he could have given me. He wanted me as much as I wanted him, and it made me so happy to see him.
"You didn't move your piece all day," he said. "I know," I said. "I didn't even go look at the board just now when I came in. I went straight to see Candice."
"Why do you have your makeup done? Are you guys starting early tonight?"
"No, I, uh, my makeup's done for the same reason that I didn't come by here this morning and move my piece. I slept in, and I was covering a little shiner I got last night."
He pulled back with a concerned expression and stared at me like he was doing his best to find a shiner. "You have a black eye?"
"Yes." I glanced upward and exposed a red spot of busted blood vessels on my eyeball itself.
He made a pained noise.
"Amelia, what happened?" he said, taking me gently into his arms.
Oh, how I had been waiting for this moment. Sometimes we got the chance to see each other earlier in the day, but not today. I had missed him. That t-shirt. His chest. I might as well have been in heaven with how Henry was embracing me with such care.
"Was it Candice?" he asked with solemn determination.
"Can-what? No. It was a girl. A human."
"What girl?"
I let out a long sigh, wondering what in the world I was going to say.
Now that I was standing there, face to face with Henry, I realized there was no way I could lie.
I had already done enough hiding things for Bailey.
I had to come out with it—at least as much of it as would be productive and not just cause harm.
"What happened?" he said. "How did you get hurt?"
"I have a new friend, a girl I met here on-set, and she got into some trouble last night."
I didn't want him to ask who this friend was, so I kept right on talking, not giving him the chance to stop and ask me questions. His big brown eyes stared at me with sweet concern. I just loved him.
"And she called me in the middle of the night last night to go pick her up because she didn’t have a ride."
"You left the ranch last night? Where did you go?"
"Toward Missoula," I said. "Not all the way there, but going that way."
"Why would she call you? You went all the way to Missoula? Was it in the middle of the night?"
I nodded.
"She called you over to Missoula in the middle of the night, and then she gave you a black eye? Who did this?"
"It wasn't her fault," I said, laughing a little. "You know how clumsy I am. Think about the first time we met."
"Well, this doesn't seem like clumsiness. Did you say she headbutted you? What happened? Did you tell her you're not a taxi from now on?"
"No, because you're missing a big part of the story."
"What part of the story?"
"The girl who headbutted me was basically unconscious.
The two of them were in trouble. My friend thinks the guys they were hanging out with put something in their drinks when they were out.
Well, they didn't succeed with my friend, but the other girl passed out.
I got the black eye trying to get that girl into the car. "
He pulled back and stared at me thoughtfully.
"Who is this girl, and what kind of person would put you in a situation like this? This is criminal activity. She thinks their drinks got spiked? Why does she put herself in these situations, and why does she think it's okay to call you? Is it one of the extras?"
"Yes, she is an extra," I said, telling the truth about that part.
"And it was good that she called me. She had no idea those were bad people when she first went out with them.
She's young, and she got herself into a bad situation.
I'm proud of her for getting away and calling me.
She's been through some stuff lately, and I'm glad she got away before it turned bad. "
"Yeah," he said. "But next time, call me, and I'll help you. You could have ended up in trouble. Did you run into the guys who tried to hurt her?"
"No, thank goodness. We got away easily, except for hitting my head, but that was our fault.
I heard from my friend today saying that the other girl is doing well.
She sent me a text, apologizing. She's been through rejection lately, and she told me that her judgment was off because of it.
I honestly feel like she'll be more careful.
I don't think it'll happen again. Like I said, I'm proud of her for calling me. "
"Well, just be careful."
I smiled and leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek when he said that. I loved that he was protective of me. I didn't know how much more to tell him. I didn't want to lie to him, but I also knew that Bailey would get in trouble and be hurt if I told everyone what happened.
I tried to keep quiet. I tried to stop there and not say any more. But I wanted to tell him the whole truth so badly that it felt like there was a suction cup stuck to the front of my body—to my throat. Like the words just had to come out, whether I wanted them to or not.
"Henry? Can I ask you a big, huge favor?"
My voice was vulnerable, and he leaned in, looking at me.
"Of course. Of course, you can. Anything. What is it?"
"Can I share something with you and have you not tell anyone at all?"
"Yes, Amelia, you're scaring me. What is it?"
"Bailey. Your sister. That was her."
"Yes, what about her?"
There was a span of silence, and I made a face that caused him to put the pieces together.
"Noo," he said in a strained, disbelieving tone. "Bailey was the one in trouble last night?"
I nodded, but I put my finger over my mouth, urging him to be quiet.
"She did the right thing by calling me," I whispered.
"She doesn't want you guys to find out anything.
She's humiliated enough. That ex-boyfriend of hers ended up dating her old best friend, and it was a hard end of the school year for her. "
He squinted at me. "My sister? Bailey Sutter? Is that who you're talking about?"
I nodded.
"She's the one who called you in the middle of the night with drugs involved and everything?"
"She's getting older," I said, knowing he was thinking of her as a child. "And she didn't take drugs. I'm not trying to make an excuse for her, but she, s-she was really sorry. She wasn't happy about calling me. It was a bad situation."
I touched his cheek, looking at him and hoping he would soften.
"Can you please just not tell Bailey or your parents or anything?
" I said, staring straight at him with my biggest puppy dog eyes.
"Please just take it into your heart and think about it.
I'm sorry to ask that of you, but she trusts me, and she doesn't want to get in trouble.
I really do think it was a one-time incident, or I would say you should intervene.
Can we just keep an eye on her and not say anything for now?
Please? I want her to like me and trust me. "
His face was serious, but it softened and he had a slight smile when I said that. "You're so sweet."
"I do want her to," I said. "She would be hurt and upset with me if you guys came down on her.
And she has been through a lot. She's a good girl.
I could see some of Ty in her. I think she still needs the benefit of the doubt this time.
Can I please just keep you posted without you going to her?
She doesn't even know we're talking, you and I. She wants me to just avoid you."
"She told you that?" he said, almost sounding hurt.
I smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"I mean, about the black eye… she thinks it's possible for me to just avoid you.
I didn't tell her that we had been talking every day, and…
" I trailed off because I didn't know what to say, that he was special to me…
that I loved him… that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
"You didn't tell her that we're together?"
"No," I said, shaking my head. "I didn't tell her that. She thinks I'm just another girl on the movie set."
"But you're not," he said, his hand on my back as he pulled me closer.
"I am to her," I said. "She doesn't know we're close, so she'll feel betrayed if I tell you. I just had to tell you the truth. I was standing here looking at you, and I found that I couldn't hold it."
"I'm glad you told me."
"Please don't say anything to her," I said. "Just be sensitive."
Henry let out a humorless laugh that shook his big chest. "Then she'll really think something's wrong."