Lauren laughed quietly. “Oh yes, that old concept. I keep forgetting—sleep and I used to be buddies.”
“But don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily. Don’t enter into a torrid affair with rest. I’d be so jealous.”
Lauren came farther into the dressing room and took Carly’s face in her hands. “Never.” She kissed her sweetly. “Good night, Carly. I’ll see you tomorrow when we get to do this all over again.”
“Remarkable how that happens.”
Lauren laughed. “Right?”
It turned out that rest had no interest in an affair with Carly. In fact, rest was an elusive bitch. Sigh. Lauren would have been the perfect distraction from Carly’s scattered thoughts. She flipped herself over for the ninth, maybe tenth, time. She’d meant every word she’d said to Lauren the day before. She had been thrilled for Lauren’s positive reviews. But when the exaggerated nighttime doubt crept in from behind the walls, Carly began to question her own self-worth in a way she never had before. Her career was in shambles, and as excited as she’d been for Starry Nights to help pull her from the trenches, it was looking less and less like that might happen. Fear arrived by her bedside next, and she hugged her fists against her heart as it raced out of control. What would she do with herself if her career ran out of gas entirely? Guest spots on game shows? Sure, until those invitations washed up, too. Her line of thinking felt irrational and premature, yet she struggled for air all the same. Gasping, she sat up and turned on the small lamp next to her bed, hoping to jar herself out of her downward spiral. She listened to the sound of her own ragged breaths. Finally, she reached for the glass of water next to her bed just as her phone rang. It was three a.m. Who in the world would be calling?
She checked the readout on her phone and quickly took the call. “Hey,” Lauren said when she answered. “I’m sorry to call so late.”
Carly closed her eyes at the sound of Lauren’s voice. “It’s okay.” She swallowed. It was all she could manage.
“I woke up and, I don’t know, felt like I needed to call. I was worried about you for some weird reason. Is that crazy?”
Carly looked up at the ceiling, her eyes filling. “No. It’s actually not weird at all. I should have come over, I think. Rough night.” Maybe Lauren had detected something earlier. Maybe she had some sort of sixth sense that pulled her from sleep. Maybe they were developing an intense connection. Whatever it was, Carly was grateful for the rescue call.
“How about Rocky and I drop by?”
“You don’t have to do that,” Carly said, but everything in her reached for that idea.
“I think we want to, though. We just took a vote. We’re coming over.”
Carly paused, releasing the remaining fist from its place against her chest. “Okay. I’ll leave the door unlocked.” She swallowed in enormous relief.
Fifteen minutes later, she heard the door click open and closed, followed by the sound of the lock. “Hey, you,” Lauren said, dropping a backpack at the bedroom door. She slid into bed behind Carly, wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt, having never looked more snuggly.
“Hi, guys,” Carly said to Lauren and an exuberant Rocky, who promptly licked her face six times and then curled into a ball at the foot of her bed. With Lauren’s arms around her waist from behind, she felt everything in her relax. For tonight, she felt safe and solid. The what-if game still played in the back of her mind, but she refused to give it her attention. Lauren had her for now, and that was everything.
“Shall we sleep?” Lauren asked.
“Yes, please,” Carly said. She switched off the light and let everything float far, far away.
* * *
“Ms. Prescott, this is Elissa Newman from Telsey Casting calling again about setting up a meeting regarding a project you might be right for. Call me at your earliest convenience. Do you have representation I could get in touch with?”
As she sat at her dressing table before Saturday’s matinee, Lauren shook her head in response to the voicemail. No. She didn’t have representation. In fact, she’d never had an agent.
“You good, Lala?” Trip asked, popping his head into her dressing room. “All set for a wild two-show day?”
“I’m all good, Trippy. You’re doing a bang-up job.”
“You say that to all the first-time PSMs,” he said and tossed his