Vicious Circles - By Leann Andrews Page 0,70
nothing. I kept weekly appointments with my therapist which kept me sane, if I were to be honest. I’d developed the habit of keeping myself super busy to keep the thoughts of using away. It worked, except I was tired as shit all the time.
Mason hadn’t called, emailed, sent a smoke signal…nothing. I missed him so much and my heart ached at night when I laid in bed alone. Lynn and I had gathered everything that reminded me of him that would fit in a scrapbook and had craft hour. I looked at it often. Mason Jennings was harder to get over than my drug addiction.
“Good morning!” Chris called from the front of the house.
“I’m out here on the deck.”
He strolled through the sliding doors in a pair of shorts and a salmon pink polo. I waved at him from my chair. “Sorry if I don’t get up. This is my lazy day.”
“How’s things?” He asked and took a seat at the end of my lounge chair.
“Fabulous, dahling.” I waved my arm around in an exaggerated way. “The sun is bright and the stars are tanning here in Malibu.”
Chris laughed. “Let’s go get some lunch.”
“Mr. Lennon, it’s not lunch time yet.”
“Then let’s get some brunch.”
He grinned a toothy grin and I gave him the finger. “Last time we went out, they accused us of having sex. Your girlfriend and I had a good laugh over that one.”
“Well, I’m headed to Hollywood anyway. We’ll stand in line for Pink’s if you want.” Chris stood and pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes.
“Hot dogs? Really?”
“Don’t talk shit about Pink’s, Fallyn. I’ll wait in the car for you.”
“Way to let me make my own decision,” I yelled as he walked away. I heard his laughter as he closed the front door. “Make me stand in line for a stinkin’ hot dog…” I mumbled as I jogged up the stairs to change.
I always gave him a hard time, but the truth was Chris had stepped up big time in my life. We’d gone from barely knowing one another to really good friends in a matter of months. It was a platonic relationship, of course.
I threw on the first outfit I came to in the closet and hopped back down the stairs with one shoe in my hand. Chris waited patiently with the engine running as I set the alarm and locked the front door.
“How are things on set since you got out?” Chris asked as he pulled off down my street.
“Christ, Chris…you make it sound like I was in jail.”
He laughed and turned onto Pacific Coast Highway. “Hey, some people see it like that. Either way, you didn’t answer my question.”
I sighed and let my right hand float in the breeze the speed of his car was creating. “There is always that little voice in the back of my head telling me to drown my sorrows, but I feel good. Work is going great.”
Chris glanced at me over the top of his sunglasses. “But…”
“I’m not so sure I really want to stay with acting. It pays the mortgage on the house but it’s the part of me that disappeared with Mason.”
“Hey,” he said tapping the steering wheel to the song on the radio, “you are free of all that shit that was dragging you down. I say do whatever makes you happy.”
“Yeah,” I said, concentrating on the ocean as we passed it in a blur.
***
I hadn’t been out and about much since my discharge from rehab and for good reason. Photographers followed me for a week straight afterwards until they realized Mason was nowhere to be seen. Then, the couple of times I’d been brave enough to go out with Lynn or Chris those bastards descended like wolves. Honestly, I could deal with the cameras in my face. It was the mentions of Mason and our split that caused me pain.
Chris pulled up in front of Pink’s and I eyed the huge line wearily. “Chris, I am not melting in this heat for a hot dog. This is my only day off.”
“You are absolutely no fun, Fallyn.” He put the car in drive and turned the corner. “We’ll go sit and eat.”
I smiled, happy about getting my way. We rode silently to the small café that Lynn and I frequented so often. They had the best French toast and it was also the place Mason and I had lunch together for the very first time. Chris threw his arm around me and propelled me