Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
ROMAN
Idon’t know what the fuck Clover’s problem is this morning, but seeing her like that has a rock sitting in my stomach.
It was obvious she’d been crying at some point, and for some reason that thought feels unbearable to me.
I wanted to reach out and grab her, pull her into a hug and reassure her that whatever was bothering her was something we could figure out, but she didn’t give me that opportunity.
She shut me out. Literally and figuratively.
My mood is abysmal by the time I reach the studio lot, the bright stars of the arch doing nothing to lighten my mood as I drive underneath them. Security waves me in, and I do my best to smile and wave, but it’s forced today.
With a sigh, I put the car in park and take a deep breath.
Getting my shit in gear is a nonnegotiable; we’re filming a big jump stunt today, probably one of the ones I’m most nervous for.
I need to get my head straight and focus on the task at hand–getting through this stunt and putting on a good show while being a good team member for everyone around me.
But God damn what I wouldn’t give for a cigarette right now.
The warm air in my lungs giving that familiar burn to distract me from thinking about Clover and whatever the fuck is bothering her.
Surely it’s not her roommate situation? I know dragging her back to my place was a little over the top, but there’s no way I could have her staying at her apartment.
Not with the paparazzi camped out and definitely not with her roommate being a leak to the media.
Besides, she seemed fine enough until late last night.
“Get it together, Everett,” I mutter to myself before getting out of the car. Begrudgingly, I head over to my trailer for a few minutes of peace before I’m needed in hair and makeup.
The space is modern and devoid of any personal effects, but it gets the job done when I need a quick nap or some privacy after a long session of filming. To distract myself, I pull out the script and the stunt plan, meticulously going over every detail to ensure I know my shit.
When I look down at my watch, I can see that it’s quarter to five–the hair and makeup team will be expecting me any minute.
Stepping out of my trailer, the sky is still dark, but there’s a glow coming from Clover’s trailer nearby.
Of course, she’s already here. The timing of it turns my stomach sour.
We could’ve easily come together today–but for some reason she clearly doesn’t want to be around me.
In Napa, I felt like things had shifted. A realization lands like a gut-punch; maybe it only changed for me, and she still thinks the same of me as before.
Sitting in the makeup chair, I do my best not to think of Clover, but it’s nearly impossible when she steps into the trailer for her own hair and makeup.
Her eyes meet mine in the mirror, and she gives a quick little nod of acknowledgement before scurrying over to one of the further chairs, where her makeup artist gets to work.
Christ, she’s not even sitting in the chair nearest me.
“Here you go, man.” Gus draws my attention away from Clover to where he’s standing, a steaming cup of coffee in hand.
“Thanks, you have no idea how much I need this,” I admit.
“Sure I do, you look like crap,” he answers simply.
A laugh bubbles out of me, and I shake my head as I grab the drink.
“Stuff it, you little shit,” I joke, and he smiles.
This is what I need–to get out of my head before the stunt today.
Chancing a look toward Clover, I can see that she and Priscilla are engaged in a quiet conversation.
Fine. Whatever. I’ve got bigger shit to focus on anyway.
Like making sure today’s stunt goes well.
Set is quieter than usual. Only Clover and I were on the call sheet for today.
Tanya and her team are on the rooftop set pieces that were constructed, no doubt inspecting the safety checks and balances and making sure everything is ready.
I approach Arnold, who’s looking forward thoughtfully. His hand scrubs at his chin, eyes honed in on the space between the buildings, where Clover and I will be jumping.
“How you feeling about today?” He asks, as we watch some of Tanya’s team check the big blue mats on the ground.
Seeing them sends a chill prickling down my spine.
While I’m glad they’re there, I do not want to fall.
I’m not a superstitious man, but I look away from them, as if giving them too much focus will mean something bad for our stunt.
“Feeling good, I know I can do it,” I reassure my director.
Measuring the distance with my eyes reaffirms my position.
I’ve been training my jumps and my sprints consistently since I knew stunt work would be a part of this role.
My personal trainer has had a list of all the stunts and their parameters, and he has been training me meticulously so that I’m able to meet the demands of each one.
“Good, good.” Arnold’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s nervous about today, and that puts me on edge even more than I already am.
While normally a stunt like this involves the performers wearing wires, our stunt leads into a chase with one continuous shot. Wires aren’t an option today. This is without doubt the most demanding stunt that we’ll be doing for the movie.
Trying to dispel the weird energy, I clap him on the back before heading over to a corner of the warehouse where I can get in the zone before filming begins.
A few minutes later, Arnold calls for everyone to circle up. Clover’s here in costume and, fuck me, now that I know what she looks like underneath, it’s torture to see her in that form-fitting suit. Knowing what her pussy tastes like, how it feels to bury my cock in her–
“Alright, everyone,” Arnold calls out. I shift awkwardly and try to think of anything unsightly to tamp down my excitement and make sure I don’t get a fucking hard-on in my super suit. Spandex is not nearly forgiving enough for that to happen.
“Now I know you’re all aware that this is probably the biggest stunt we have on this film.
” A nervous chuckle comes from everyone in the circle.
“I want everyone to have some fun today, and most importantly, I want us to be safe.” He glances over at Tanya and her team, who all give terse nods. “Let’s get it done!”
People hoot and cheer, and thankfully the energy picks up.
“Clover, Roman, let’s go,” Tanya says, jerking her head toward the entrance to the set piece we’ll be leaping from. As we trail behind, Clover still seems to be in her own world.
“Hey,” I say under my breath, trying to catch her attention without alerting Tanya. “You good?” I mouth.
She gives a quick thumbs up, refusing to look at me further.
Call off the stunt. The thought rings out like an alarm bell internally.
But I know Clover’s not going to call it, and if I say anything to Tanya or Arnold, she’ll hate me for it.
More than she already does, perhaps. And stupidly, selfishly, I don’t want her to hate me at all.
Besides, I asked her if she was good to go, and she said she was, I’ll trust that she’s able to be the best judge of what she can and can’t handle.
Tanya stops in front of Clover and me and runs through the plan before we begin.
We’re going to run the stunt once and then the cameras will roll.
That allows us a chance to work out any kinks in the stunt before it matters.
We both nod, and Clover and I go to take our marks where our stand ins were.
We stand beside one another, and Tanya calls out “run it,” which lets us know to begin.
I coil back into a starting position before allowing power to explode through my legs, sprinting toward the edge of the “building” that’s been constructed on set.
Counting my strides across the pretend rooftop, I know that four puts me right at the edge, and then I give an extra burst of speed and strength to propel my body across the gap between the two buildings.
I’m not going to lie, it feels badass every time I do this.
I fly through the air, my arms slightly wheeling to make sure I keep my balance as I soar toward the other “building” and the safety of the rooftop mat there.
The landing is always the part I’m most nervous about.
Luckily, all goes well, even though my ankles bark at the impact, and I transition the force into a somersault forward that took an embarrassingly long time to learn how to make look cool.
I come to a stop and turn around, gesturing for Clover’s character to run toward mine. I reach down over the rooftop edge, ready to help catch her. But something isn’t right. I sense it in the way Clover launches herself. She’s not pushing herself forward with enough power to make the jump.
Come on… I urge silently, outstretching my palm even further for her. It’s like it’s all happening in slow motion in front of me.
By the time she’s halfway across the rooftop, I can already tell this is going to go poorly.
Fuck… I can’t call out and tell her to stop right now as she’s still speeding toward the edge.
I don’t want to throw her off and do anything that’ll cause her to further botch this, but I’m not confident she’s going to make it.
Her count must be off, because she starts her leap about two feet from the edge of the rooftop, giving up valuable distance that she could’ve used to get herself farther across the gap.
It’s clear to me that she knows something is off, and she went and pushed ahead with the stunt anyway.
What a stupid and reckless thing to do. This is how people get hurt.
On our first day of training with her, Tanya told us to pull the plug on a stunt if it starts off incorrectly, or if something isn’t feeling right.
Pushing through is how people end up injured, and as Clover loses all her momentum mid-air, it’s very apparent that that’s the direction that this is heading.
Her eyes lock with mine briefly, and I see a quick flash of terror across her face when she realizes she’s not going to make it to the spot I need her to be in order to grab her arm.
She begins to fall, and I reach out desperately in vain, knowing damn well that there’s no way I’ll reach her, but still trying somehow.
I feel utterly fucking helpless watching her with that look on her face.
I need to stop this.
I need to prevent her from hurting herself.
I need to do something.
I can’t just fucking watch her fall.
Doing something equally reckless, I adjust the stunt in the midst of it, hopping off the edge of the rooftop and hanging on with one arm.
I attempt to close the distance between Clover and I, trying to get my hand closer to hers in order to grab her and prevent her from falling.
It almost works; I feel her fingertips ghost across mine with the gentlest touch before she begins plummeting toward the ground.
She doesn’t bother to scream as she falls.
Instead, silence fills the air for what must be only a second or two before I hear the sickening thud of her hitting something.
Time seems to speed up, and I look down, desperate to see where she landed.
Her body is in a crumpled ball on the mat below the gap.
“Clover!” I shout down to her, but she doesn’t stir. I rack my brain for a moment trying to figure out what on earth would’ve made the loud noise when she landed. Her body is on the mat, and normally a mat landing isn’t that loud.
“Medic!” I shout, and that sends the crew into a flurry. Arnold runs toward Clover, Tanya on his heels, and both of them wear matching expressions of concern.
Fuck… this can’t be good.