Chapter 7

I sat reading over the script for my upcoming role. It still didn’t have a title, so I just called it “My Big Break.” I could already tell the movie was going to be unbelievable. If it looked anything like I was picturing in my head it would be anyway. Filming was starting soon and I’d been spending my time learning lines and researching what exactly life had been like back then.

I loved my character, Sylvia. She was the younger sister, but acted like the oldest. She was tough, sarcastic, and didn’t take shit from anyone. This had also kept her from marrying since guys back then didn’t exactly like girls that strong. Sylvia was someone I wished I was more like sometimes. I heard my phone ring and answered it when I saw Brianna’s number.

“Hey, Bri, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Have you seen the tabloids yet?” she asked back. I clenched my jaw, knowing that whatever was going on wouldn’t be good.

“No, I haven’t. What’s wrong?” She hesitated for a moment.

“There are pictures of Jordan in Vegas, with a lot of girls,” she responded. I rolled my eyes and sighed. This was nothing new.

“I’m supposed to be mad because he was around girls?” I questioned.

“No, of course not. You should be mad that there’s one with him and two girls taken through the window of his hotel room,” she replied. I took a deep breath.

“I’ll call you back,” I said and hung up.

I walked over to my computer and did a search. It wasn’t hard to find the pictures. They were basically on the front page of every gossip site. I shook my head and rubbed at the ache that was building in my temples as I scrolled through the pictures from his weekend. Brianna had been right. There were a lot of girls.

I also noticed one girl in particular. She was in almost every picture, including the one of him in his hotel room. It wouldn’t have been too big a deal if the pictures didn’t span all three days he’d been there. Who was she, and why was she with Jordan the entire time? My phone rang again and I saw Jordan’s number on the caller ID.

“What’s up?” I asked, trying to keep my calm as I answered.

“Nothing happened,” he said.

“Jordan, there are two girls in your hotel room.”

“Yeah, well what you can’t see is that there are about 10 other people in the room behind us. I wasn’t alone with them,” he explained. Could I believe him? “I’ll put Pete on the phone to tell you if you don’t believe me.” Pete was his manager and his best friend.

“That’s not necessary. I just don’t understand why you went on a boy’s weekend and spent all your time with girls,” I complained.

“You know some of the guys are single. What am I supposed to do when they invite girls around?” he asked exasperated.

“Hang out with the taken guys,” I retorted. He released a dramatic sigh.

“I’m sorry, Lia. I’m telling you nothing happened. None of those pictures captured anything more than me talking, right?”

He had a point, even if the cameras hadn’t been everywhere. He hadn’t exactly been hiding from the cameras and paparazzi during the trip. If he’d done something, he wouldn’t have allowed everything to be so public.

“It’s fine. I’m not mad. You just need to be more careful. People are going to take things the way they look, Jordan.”

He apologized again before promising to make it up to me. I hung up feeling pretty stupid. This wasn’t the first incident, and I doubted it would be the last. I wasn’t naïve, I didn’t think he was as innocent as he was claiming, but I had no proof. Anyway, what did it matter, he wasn’t my forever guy anyway.










“Honey, I think Jordan cheated on Amelia,” Ileana said to him from the living room as he ate lunch. Corey immediately stopped eating to look up at her.

“What makes you say that?” he asked.

“Come look,” was the reply.

He got up and walked into the living room. She had on some gossip show. He watched the TV as pictures flashed across the screen of Jordan in Vegas with a bunch of girls. He narrowed his eyes at the TV and had to fight the urge to punch something when he saw the picture of Jordan and the two girls in his hotel room. What an asshole.

“How could he do that to her? She’s so sweet and beautiful,” Ileana commented.

Corey didn’t respond. Nothing he had to say right now would hide the fact that Amelia and he had a past. He couldn’t believe she was with someone that could do that to her. He never would have come close to doing something like that. As he thought about murdering Jordan for hurting Amelia like that, he realized their past maybe wasn’t so past after all.

“Well, maybe nothing happened. Maybe she’ll forgive him. He is gorgeous, famous, and rich,” Ileana continued. Corey lost it.

“Is that all that matters to you? Looks, fame, and money?” he snapped. She looked back at him in shock.

“What is wrong with you?” she snapped back.

“There’s more to life than who has the most money. Having money and good looks doesn’t make you a good person,” he shot at her.

“Why do you care so much about what I think of Jordan?” she asked.

“Because it’s what you think of me! You’re with me for the money, Ileana. Don’t deny it.” He’d never actually said those words aloud before. Now that they were out there, he really started to realize how true it was.

“How dare you! There’s more about you than money that I like,” she defended herself.

“Like what?” he challenged.

“Well, it’s certainly not how you’ve been treating me the last month, that’s for sure! I’m getting out of here.”

Ileana snapped up her purse, put on her shoes, and stormed out of his place. He rolled his eyes and walked back into his kitchen to finish lunch. What the hell was he doing with her? Even as he asked himself that, he began to feel bad. He really had been an asshole to Ileana ever since Amelia had come back into his life. He didn’t know what to do.










My phone rang for what seemed like the 100th time that day. I didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID and considered not picking it up. For some reason I just had a feeling that I shouldn’t. I changed my mind when I realized it could be someone from the movie.

“Hello?”

“Amelia? This is Ileana,” I heard a familiar voice say. I smacked myself in the head for going against my gut instinct to ignore the call. How the hell had she gotten my number?

“Hi, Ileana. What’s going on?” I asked politely.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you about something. I don’t know who else to go to.” What the hell was this about? My curiosity got the best of me.

“Yeah, sure. What do you need?”

“Could I come over?”

She sounded upset. I wasn’t sure why I was the one she was turning to, but I felt bad, just for a moment. I gave her directions to my place and she said she’d be over in a little while. I kept an eye out for her. When I saw her get out of her car I pulled open the door.

“What’s wrong?” I asked when she pulled off her sunglasses. She looked like she’d been crying.

“I need some advice about Corey,” she responded. I immediately regretted inviting her over. Curiosity killed the cat, I guess. I led her into my living room and we sat down on the couch.

“What about Corey?”

“Well, you’ve known him for a while. He’s been really moody and angry lately. I don’t know what to do. He’s never been like this before. He says it’s hockey, but he’s said some really hurtful things. How can hockey do this to him?” I sighed knowing it wasn’t hockey that was the cause of the problems.

“He takes his career very seriously. Playing hockey was his dream ever since he was a kid. If he’s not playing well he gets upset. He doesn’t always know how to leave it on the ice,” I told her honestly. At least I didn't have to lie about that part.

“I get that, but I don’t know what to do. Nothing I say or do helps. I just don’t know if I can take it much longer,” she said sadly.

For a moment I wondered if maybe she did actually care about him for more than just his money. I knew that this would be my opportunity to say something that would end the relationship between them, but I couldn’t do it. Even if I thought she was all wrong for him, it wasn’t my place to make that decision for them. Instead I gave her the advice someone had once given to me.

“There’s really not much you can do. He’s not angry at you. That’s the only solace you can take out of all of this. Even so, it’s not easy to deal with. If you’re really that worried about it, you have a decision to make.”

“What’s that?”

“Can you ride it out or do you really want to end it? If you really care about him, you should stay. It’ll end eventually and although it will happen again, you’ll know that you can make it through. If you’re just with him for fun, then end it. It’ll be better for the both of you in the long run.”

She thought about it for a few minutes. While she was silent I had to battle back tears that were threatening. It was that advice that had been given to me right before I packed up and moved to LA. I’d been so sure about my decision back then, but I’d been questioning it lately.

“I really do care about him. I think I love him. Thanks for the advice, Amelia. I feel better. I’ll talk to you soon?”

I just nodded as she got up and left the apartment after giving me a hug. She loved him? I dropped my head into my hands and let the tears come. Today had just really not gone my way.