30. Kinsley
30
KINSLEY
Present—1989.
“ A nd… cut! Okay, that’s a wrap everyone!”
I sigh with relief. I have never been so happy to hear those words come from Jason’s mouth. Nearly nine weeks of filming later, I am finally finished with this project, which means I am done with having to see Wesley every day.
I couldn’t be happier with that realization as I step away from him.
Forcing a smile onto my face, I go around and thank the entire cast and production team. Despite disliking working with my co-star, I enjoyed working with these incredibly talented people every day. They put in a lot of effort, and for that, they need to be thanked. Without them, there would be no film.
When I finish speaking with everyone, even Jason, I make my way to my dressing room for the last time. Closing the door on It’s Always Been You means I feel like I can finally breathe properly again. Although it’s a bittersweet feeling wrapping up a project I enjoyed working on, I’m looking forward to focusing my time and energy on something else.
The ringtone of my phone has me holding back an eye roll. I can never have a moment of peace.
“Hello?”
“Kin, why have you been dodging my calls the last two weeks? And you haven’t been home whenever your father and I have stopped by.”
With a sigh, I drop onto the couch and cradle my head in my hands. “Mom, I’ve been busy, you know that.”
“Too busy to talk to me?” she accuses, her voice sharp. It cuts through me like a knife. “We need to discuss the Nash scandal.”
The scandal Nash created when he got caught with that woman has been a hot topic in the media for the past two weeks. Adam and James are working overtime on damage control to ensure we can get our fake relationship back on track after it was derailed.
I swallow hard and lean back against the couch, my stomach twisting painfully. “There is nothing to discuss. Our managers are handling it as we speak. I’ve got this under control.”
“Well, clearly you don’t,” she snaps, “or else the tabloids wouldn’t be constantly discussing your relationship with him. God, Kin. You had one job and you couldn’t even do that right.”
The pain of my jaw mashing together rattles my head, but I fight through it. If I don’t, the anger building rapidly in my chest will explode like a volcano and my mother will be a dire casualty.
Her words don’t hurt me as much as they used to in the past. I got used to her talking down to me and telling me I wasn’t good enough. The more I heard it, the more I started to block it out as a way to protect myself.
I didn’t want her words of hurt to influence my life more than they already had, so I pushed them to the back of my mind.
But the berating and hurtful words still linger back there, next to the demons licking their lips, waiting for a chance to throw the words back at me.
“I had nothing to do with Nash getting caught by the paps,” I say through gritted teeth. “I don’t know what happened, okay? But the photos are out there now, so all that’s left to do is damage control.”
“You could be doing more, Kin,” Mom presses, her voice slightly strained. “You need to protect your image as it’s the most important thing you have right now. If your image goes down the toilet because of that man, then you can kiss any future projects goodbye. Fix this.”
There she goes again with the public image rant. I could recite it word for word at this point. It’s ingrained in my mind—a constant reminder of what I am to my mother. I’m nothing more than a means for them to get money into their bank account. If I don’t book new jobs, then they get nothing.
That’s all I’ll ever be to them.
“I’ve got to go, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.”
When the conversation ends, I blow out a long breath and close my eyes. My mother’s reaction just now is the reason why I have been avoiding her calls. I knew she would act this way and, after what happened with Nash, it was the last thing I wanted to deal with.
I barely get through a full minute of breathing quietly when a knock sounds at my door. Lifting my head, I spot Wesley standing in the doorway, awkwardly rubbing his hands together.
God, it’s just one thing after the other today .
“Hey,” he says casually with a dorky smile. “I just want to congratulate you on finishing the movie. I think we created something amazing together.”
Despite my feelings toward him, I can’t deny this film is going to be great once it hits theatres. Our on-screen chemistry is a stark contrast to our relationship in real life. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily we gelled together when the cameras were rolling.
“Yeah, you too,” I say with a small smile.
He steps further into the room, his brown eyes trained on me. “Are you okay, Kin?”
I blink at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Wesley scratches the back of his head, his eyes unable to meet mine. “Well, I saw what happened with Nash on the news. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. You haven’t talked about it at all since it happened.”
I haven’t seen Nash since I confronted him the night the photos hit the tabloids because my schedule has been so crazy.
It was all a blur, really.
I was filled with so much rage I couldn’t see straight. I couldn’t believe he would be so stupid to fuck up our deal like that. But I was more angry at the fact it happened the next morning after I gave myself fully to him.
When I saw those photos while on break at work… I felt like a fool for lowering my walls and allowing him in. I was hurt, to say the least.
I still am.
The annoying part is I know I shouldn’t be surprised because it’s a typical Nash Beck move, but I was naive enough to think he had changed.
I’m such a fucking idiot.
I swallow hard and lean back on the couch. “I’m fine, Wesley. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“I should worry about you,” he insists, his voice firmer than usual. “You’re dating a washed-up rockstar who clearly doesn’t care about you.”
My mouth falls open. In the time I’ve been working with Wesley, I have never so much as heard him raise his voice before, so to hear him speak this way is a shock to the system.
“Wesley, don’t speak about him like that.” The instinct to defend Nash kicks into overdrive. Nash may have hurt me, but I won’t allow Wesley of all people to speak badly about him. “You don’t know him.”
“I know enough about him to know he will only end up breaking your heart.” His brows are creased as his eyes bore into mine. “He only cares about himself, Kinsley. Nash Beck goes through women like he does toothbrushes, so don’t think you’re so different. Sooner or later, he’s going to break you.” A humorless laugh slips past his lips as he shakes his head. “It’s no wonder Nash doesn’t love you. How can a man whose parents didn’t even love him love someone else?”
Anger bubbles deep within my soul. The fucking audacity of this man to speak such words about someone he doesn’t know has me seeing red.
I slowly stand, my eyes locked with Wesley’s. It’s taking everything in me not to unload the anger bursting at the seams on him because that wouldn’t be professional. Even though Wesley overstepped a boundary with his words, I’m not going to stoop to his level. No matter how much I want to.
“You need to leave.” The venom dripping from my words shocks me, but I carry on. Pain shoots up my arms due to the pressure of my nails embedded deep into the palm of my hands. “You can take your opinions about Nash and get out of my dressing room. Now. We’re done here.”
Wesley stares at me for a long minute, his eyes narrowed. His jaw ticks as if he has more words ready to spew from his lips, but for whatever reason, he swallows them and squares his shoulders.
“Whatever,” he mutters gruffly. “You’re not worth it anyway, Kinsley.”
I watch his retreating back as he storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The sound vibrates through my chest, rattling my erratically beating heart in my chest.
Shock consumes me, and I’m unable to move. For a long moment, all I can do is stare at the closed door and wonder where the hell that side of Wesley materialized from.
Why does he hate Nash so much?
I understand he has preconceived notions of who he thinks Nash is from what he has seen in the tabloids, but to go so far as to make that comment about his parents? That’s just fucking low, even for Wesley.
I thought he was a nice guy, but I guess it just goes to show you never truly know a person until they show you both sides of the coin.
My ringtone pulls me out of my thoughts. Needing the distraction from what just occurred, I lower myself onto the couch and answer the phone. “Hello?”
“Kin!” Sadie’s voice is full of excitement. “Are you busy tonight?”
I frown, wondering what she is up to. “No, I’m not. Why? What’s going on?”
“Well, I know you’ve had a rough two weeks with the whole Nash scandal, so Matt and I talked and we decided that we should take you out for some drinks. It’s a Friday night and you just wrapped up your latest film, so you deserve to treat yourself.”
I hesitate, chewing on my bottom lip. Going out in public right now with how insane the paps are doesn’t sound appealing to me. The last thing I want to do is deal with them harassing me for a statement about Nash, but how can I say no to my best friend? Sadie has always had my back when I needed her the most, so giving her this one night out couldn’t hurt.
Besides, I could use a drink to calm the anxiety coursing through my body.
“Okay, fine,” I say. When Sadie’s squeal of excitement sounds through the line, I bite back a smile. “Should we hit up Limelight ?”
“A table is already booked for us,” Sadie responds. “When we pick you up, I want to see you wearing the hottest items of clothing you own, okay? I want Nash Beck to see what he’s going to lose in four months and make him regret ever getting into that stupid scandal.”
I snort out a laugh and shake my head. “Well, this is awkward because I was planning on wearing a potato sack. That’ll really get some heads turning.”
“Kin!”
All I can do is laugh while Sadie continues to tell me how much fun tonight is going to be. She said I can’t leave the bar until I’m as drunk as a skunk, and honestly, that sounds like a plan.
I’ll do anything to take my mind off Nash Beck.