Arial rubbed his arm. “I'll get to see you at the wrap party tonight. You and Katie are coming, yeah? She mentioned possibly not being there, and my heart died a little inside. It won't be the same if you don't at least make an appearance.” She'd only been teasing him, but she noticed the muscles of his arm tense under her grip. While she would have loved to admire their developed form, she knew he wasn't doing it for a good reason. “What's wrong?”
His smile widened, but she could see that it was his more polished and fake version of the gesture. The smile he gave all of the paparazzi whenever they harassed him, or offered the teenage fans who got a little too frisky with their hands at meet and greets. Arial never wanted to be on the receiving end of that smile, and now she was.
“Katie broke up with me two weeks ago,” he said, so casually she had a hard time processing his words.
“What do you mean she broke up with you two weeks ago? Why didn't you say something about it sooner?” she asked, brow furrowed. When he only shrugged, she pressed deeper. “Don't tell me it's not a big deal, because it is. You've been together since we started producing this show. Weren't you the one who always told me you were each other's first loves? What happened?”
He stopped walking and stared at her, his gaze piercing. “People grow apart. I don't want to talk about it right now. That's why I didn't tell you. I wasn't ready to mention it, and I'm still not. There are only so many days left until it breaks to the public, and you know there's going to be a crazy media storm once it does. I need to be ready. We all will. The tabloids are brutal.”
Arial's frown deepened, her heart aching as she listened to him. Just like Bryce, trying to be strong when it's okay for him to fall apart, she thought. “If there's anything I can do, let me know. And please be sure to come to the party tonight. I think it would be good for you.”
“I'll think about it.” He paused to lick his lips. “She's not going because of some other work commitment. You know, that big movie she's filming in Hawaii soon. She had a flight to catch this morning, which is why all of her scenes got moved to earlier in the week.” Another pause. “I do want to go. So much of my life has been this show. It would be wrong not to.”
“Very wrong, so make sure you show up and we'll have an awesome time together. I promise.” She stopped walking when they arrived at her trailer.
Bryce did as well. He looked up at her door. “Thanks for letting me bring you back one last time. I'll see you later.”
Before she could reply, he continued down the back lot alley with his hands shoved inside his pockets. Arial's heart only broke more at the sight. She unlocked her trailer door and went inside. The emptiness of it unsettled her. Earlier in the week she'd made sure to move everything out except for the bare essentials. All of her homey touches were in a box, sitting on her apartment floor waiting to be put away.
With a heavy sigh, she sat down in front of her vanity, staring back into the eyes of her own reflection at a girl she barely recognized. Though her blue eyes were dimmed with tears, they still maintained their innocent sparkle. Her curly dark hair was pulled back into a sultry messy bun. Then, of course, there was the navy blue button-down that was not only tight against her hourglass curves but also barely contained her breasts. Veronica was not a sweet character. The critics always marveled at how someone who was so naïve and innocent to the ways of the world could play someone so cold and jaded. Especially since Veronica was an experienced girl in the ways of relationships, whereas Arial had yet to go past the hand-holding stage with any of her boyfriends. Most of them had been long-distance. Work would call one, or both, of them away, and by the time they were with each other physically again, one of them, usually the guy, would have moved on.
There had been a number of on-screen kisses, of course. When it came to work, she'd kissed over half