quick scan for Ramon or Sally, but there’s no sign of them.
I step back onto the empty set, illuminated under the spotlights for all to see. I gather my character’s bearing like an invisibility cloak and hide behind her.
By the time we break for the night, it’s after nine, and I’m numb. I meet Ramon and Sally at the trailer, but I don’t say a word. As soon as they see me, they know. I must have that chewed-up-and-spat-out look, and their silence in return is a gift.
When I settle into the backseat of the Rover, Ramon hands me my phone. I have a ton of messages. A quick scan shows me that most of them are from friends in L.A., freaking out that a hurricane is headed my way. But the most recent messages are the ones that snag my attention. The latest one is just two minutes old.
Jonathan Reynolds: Hey kid, Moira says you need a safer place to stay for this storm. Can’t let my star blow away! My place has a generator. We’ll hunker down together.
I can barely look at the three messages before that one:
Moira: It worked! You’re in, baby! Make the most of it.
Ten minutes before that:
Moira: Jonathan’s assistant got me five minutes with him. I told her it was an emergency.
Three hours before that:
Moira: If you ever embarrass me the way you did today, there’ll be hell to pay. If anyone asks what that was about, you tell them it was about finding you better shelter for this storm.
Spots cloud my vision after I read this one. I shut my eyes and press my hand to my pounding head. I can’t read any more messages.
I want to throw up.
I want to hide.
I want the winds of this hurricane to pick me up and carry me away.
Sally clears her throat, breaking the silence in the car. I force myself to look up. I expect to see her waiting to say something to me, but she’s looking at Ramon. We’re still sitting in our parking spot on the lot. Ramon is behind the wheel, but he’s staring straight ahead like a wooden soldier.
“Iris, Sally’s invited us to go to her parents’ house in Broken Bow,” Ramon says, still looking through the windshield. “I think we should.”
I let go a silent breath. So, Moira was right. They’re heading out of town.
I can’t say I blame them. I haven’t been watching the weather, but Ramon has looked stressed for the last couple of days. I don’t have to ask to know that this is bringing up a lot of shit for him.
Literally.
When he went home the first time after Hurricane Maria, Ramon helped his dad and brother-in-law dig an outhouse in their backyard because they had no running water. Nothing in my experience compares to that. Third World stuff, right there.
Sally’s still watching him with something a lot warmer than lust in her eyes. She rests a hand on his knee and squeezes.
I say nothing. I’m still reeling over Moira’s insane plan and the fact that she’s actually set it in motion. If I go with Sally and Ramon, I won’t even have to reply to Jonathan, but I sure as hell will still have to answer to Moira.
It would just be Saturday night, right? That’s when the storm is expected to hit. Could I stay sequestered in a guest room at my director’s house during the storm and then leave when it’s all clear?
Would the end result of that be the same thing? What would people say? What would happen if Moira posted something about it on my Insta?
I can just see it now: a screenshot of the radar showing the storm bearing down on Louisiana, and the caption, Thanks to my hero #HEXED director @jon_reynolds, I’m safe during #HurricaneAddie! With storm and heart emojis sprinkled throughout.
Even without saying more than that, she’d give the celeb gossipers enough fuel.
I don’t want to sleep with my director. And I don’t want people to think I’m sleeping with my director even if I’m not.
And I don’t want to piss off Moira.
Someone’s not going to get what she wants. Hint: It’s usually me.
Ramon shifts in the driver’s seat to look back at me. “My duty is to you, Iris. If you want me to stay, I’ll do it.”
I can see sincerity in his eyes. Ramon is my right hand. He handles everything I can’t handle, but right now, I don’t really think he can deal with this storm. I