Chapter 6 - Alex

"Getting out of my apartment was a mess!" Alex was in her trailer with Zee waiting for their call time. "Paparazzi was basically barricading the front gate and my Lyft had to leave out of the service exit."

"So did Jordan ever text back after you texted him not to pick you up?" Zee asked, flipping through the 'It Magazine' with Jordan's face on the over.

"No, he never did." Alex didn't want to admit how much it hurt that he hadn't responded. "Do you think I was wrong? Should I have just gone with him, this morning?"

Zee placed the magazine onto the small coffee table. "Honestly, I don't know. I mean, it was his idea to take you to the park that night. And the video that leaked was taken at his parents' house." Laying back on the couch and thinking quietly, Zee asked, "Didn't he randomly pull you into that picture with him on Friday?" Zee sat up again more alert, "And then he walked away. Those pictures were what started the rumors in the first place!"

Alex clasped her hand over her mouth and started pacing back and forth, "You're right, Zee...I feel so stupid. I should have known it was too good to be true." Sinking into the chair in front of her vanity, she put her face in her hands.

"Oh Alex, don't be upset." Zee rubbed Alex's shoulder, then gave her friend a hug. "It's going to be alright."

Both girls jumped when they heard a knock at the door. Derrick poked his head in, "Is everyone decent?" Seeing that both women were fully clothed, he made his way in. "Hey miss relationship goals!" When Derrick saw tears in Alex's eyes, his tone changed from chipper to cautious.

"Is she alright?" Afraid of making Alex full on cry, Derrick directed his question to Zee.

"I'm ok. I'm sure you've seen the stories," Alex responded. "I'm just overwhelmed, that's all. We've got the press tour starting in a couple of weeks and I just want to be able to focus on promoting the show. "

Relieved, Derrick smiled, "Oh that won't be a problem. The producers and studio don't want to spend a bunch sending the whole cast out, so you, me and Rubin may do a few things locally, but Zee is lead. She's the one that'll fly around and do most of the appearances. She's the biggest name, you know?"

Now Zee chimed in, "Yeah, they won't be asking me about other cast member's relationships, and if they do; I've got you. I know how to handle the press."

Alex pressed the tears into her cheeks, protecting her makeup, and nodded.

"Anyway, I'm sorry I interrupted girl chat, but Zee, they decided to reshoot our scene now, so...can I steal you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure. Alex, are you going to be alright?" Alex nodded again, then turned towards her vanity mirror. As Zee and Derrick were making their way out, Jordan stepped into the trailer.

"Alex!" Zee called from the door, "Are you taking visitors, right now?"

Seeing Jordan standing at the entrance in his suit made Alex's heart skip. She silently nodded yes, and the other two exited.

It was obvious Alex's tear-stained face caught Jordan off guard. He approached her, placing a hand on her back.

"We need to talk." He walked over to the couch and motioned for her to join him. They silently sat next to each other for almost a minute before Alex spoke first.

"I trusted you, Jordan. You said you wouldn't play games with me."

Jordan looked confused, "Wait, you think I did this?"

"Jordan, it was your idea to take me home and go to the park; you organized the trip to Sacramento...you pulled me into your photos at Young Hollywood. I mean, come on...I may be naive but I'm not stupid."

"No offense, Alex; and I really do say this with all due respect, but I'm a bigger star than you. I don't need you to boost my career. Honestly, this is a better look for you than for me. "

Is he actually accusing me of doing this? Alex was now fuming. "Maybe that's true, Jordan...unless I'm just a beard." The moment she said it, she knew she had gone too far. Jordan stood up and calmly smoothed his tie.

"If that's what you really think, then I was very wrong about you, Alex. I wish you everything you deserve."

Alex's eyes seared as she watched Jordan walk out of her trailer. She took several breaths to overcome the tightness escalating in her chest. When a fresh stream of tears rolled down her face, Alex understood what it felt like to lose something great before ever experiencing it, and the feeling was devastating.

------------------------------------------------

Alex felt better after getting good feedback from the director for her final scenes. The scenes required a lot of emotion and Alex had plenty to draw from, given her day. She was also glad to have finally gotten her car towed to a repair shop. It turned out there were more than just battery issues, but at least the paparazzi wouldn't recognize her as easily in the rental she was using.

When she got back to her trailer, she decided it was time to call her mother. She had ignored several phone calls from her mom and even more text messages, but there was no point in stalling any longer.

"Pamila Montgomery, speaking?" Her mother always had a Bluetooth headset on, and rarely looked at the Caller ID.

"Hey mom, it's me."

"Hi honey! I've been calling you all day. How are you?" Alex was surprised that her mother sounded more concerned than angry.

"Ok, I guess. Sorry, I took so long to call you back...it's been a bit crazy."

"Oh yes, it has. This story is everywhere and my phone has been ringing off the hook all day. Everyone wants a statement, and the studio called me in for a meeting tomorrow. They want us both there."

"Oh no," Alex grumbled. "Mom, I'm really sorry about all of this. Jordan and I are not a couple, this whole thing just--"

"Of course your not," her mother interrupted. "Alexandra, I know you're focused. Your beautiful, twenty-four, and single in Hollywood. If you hang out with a friend, they'll say you're married. If you're bloated, they'll say you're pregnant. It's just the way this industry works." Her mother's laughed lightly, then sighed. "Now, Jordan's people haven't even bothered to reach out to me about this, so they're obviously not concerned."

Alex felt a pang of hurt, at that statement, but remained quiet as her mother continued.

"He's got that movie coming out this weekend, so he'll be busy promoting that the rest of this week. Our focus needs to be getting rest and showing up to that meeting tomorrow, ready for anything. We've been through it all and no matter what happens, tomorrow, we're going to be alright. 100% focus and commitment, right?"

"That's right."

---------------------------------------------------------------

Despite never having trouble with sleep in the past, Alex could not fall asleep. She was fully aware that scrolling through old text conversations with Jordan wasn't helping, but she couldn't stop.

I really shouldn't miss him this much. I should just delete him from my phone. Who am I kidding? I'm not deleting him...

Exasperated, she turned on the TV and began to channel surf. She stopped when she saw Jordan laughing with a late night television host while playing some gimmicky party game.

"Man, that was fun!" The host said as the audience's laughter died down. "Ok! Alright! So, Jordan, you really are on top of the world right now career-wise. You were the breakout star of hit show D.C. Undercover, which just got picked up for a third season," a few audience members whooped, "you're on the cover of 'It Magazine's' Young Hollywood issue --congrats on that. Now, you're Hollywood's newest leading man with your movie Midnight Sun, coming out this Sunday!" The audience exploded with more cheers and applause.

Leaning in, the host smiled slyly, "The question we all want to ask is this: is the personal life as good as the career?" The audience 'oooohed' in unison.

Jordan put an invisible cell phone to his ear and said, in a semi-loud voice, "I'm sorry, you're breaking up. There's a lot of static on my end, I think we're getting disconnected." The live band played a little diddle to compliment Jordan's farce as the audience laughed over the music.

Nodding, the host put both hands up conceding, "Alright, I get it. We'll save that convo for another time!" Although Jordan was smiling, Alex knew it wasn't real. Jordan's signature smile was undeniably genuine and she could see the hurt in his eyes. Mrs. W's words rang loudly in Alex's mind, "Please, be kind." Alex wondered if Jordan's mother was watching. If his mother could see her son's sadness...and if she knew Alex was the reason for it.