"This is just horseshit!" Hayden exclaimed, looking at the magazine photo for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Hayden and Tove had grabbed lunch at a nearby cafe and were discussing the fall-out.
"I know...but man, I don't know why you let something like that happen again. I know Sienna has a profound effect on you and all--" Tove said but Hayden interrupted.
"--whoa, hang on...she 'had' an effect on me as in the past tense....this picture says nothing! It was a split second of something that I never intended in the first place and they're making it look like some torrid affair," Hayden said.
"I know...they caught a glimpse of something that wasn't quite how it looked....but the bad news is, it will look suspicious to people who know your history together and you do have to face that," Tove said.
Hayden rolled his eyes, "why? Why do I have to face it?? Let them say whatever the hell they want! I'm not married...."
Tove shook his head, "...yeah, speaking of which, have you talked to Cara?"
Hayden got silent, "No...I haven't been able to get in touch with her. I've been trying to call her all day....she's probably working."
Tove nodded silently. "Does anyone at work know about the two of you?"
"Not as far as I can tell...I haven't said anything...she and I had decided it was best to keep it under wraps," Hayden replied.
At that moment, Tove's cellphone rang.
He answered it promptly.
Hayden sat there, quietly eating his sandwich and thinking.
Tove was responding to the caller, "...yes...I see....alright, thanks for the warning."
This last part got Hayden's attention.
Tove hung up a second later and looked at Hayden. "This could be worse than I thought....apparently, several other magazines jumped on the bandwagon -- this photo has appeared in 3 magazines that we now know of....and several of them actually hit newsstands yesterday."
"Oh shit," Hayden said. He had been hoping that with only one magazine, the photo could create minor issues at best. If it was turning into a media blitz - it had already hit all over -- and Cara was sure to have heard about it by now.
He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. "I have to try to call Cara again."
~~~~
Cara sat in her car, her cheeks stained with tears as she pulled her ringing cell phone out of her purse.
One look told her who was calling and she clicked the button to send the call to her voicemail.
Despite Steph's best efforts to not let Cara see the magazine the previous day, gossip had begun circulating at Forest Park, it had been inevitable.
Cara had been sitting at her desk earlier that morning when Melissa walked back from the conference room.
"Well, our film is getting buzz in the form of tabloid fodder," Melissa said in an exasperated tone.
"Why? What do you mean?" Cara asked, not looking up from her files.
Melissa took a magazine from her desk and opened it, throwing it on Cara's desk.
It may have been construed as a mean-spirited act, had Melissa actually known the truth about Cara and Hayden. Although, Cara figured Melissa had to have been curious, she didn't know the level or extent of their involvement. Chances were, Melissa had seen Hayden spend time with countless females who didn't turn out to be much more than acquaintances.
Cara looked up to the glossy page before her and pure instinct took over.
She could feel her cheeks flush with anger and humilation as she picked up the magazine to see the large photo of Sienna and Hayden together, kissing.
The accompanying story went on to depict how the two had been forced to work together again and that their mutual affection had once again won out and taken over despite their torrid past and apparent bitter break-up.
Cara could feel tears stinging behind her eyes.
"I just think its really ridiculous, all of it," Melissa spoke up, sitting behind her desk and shuffling her papers, completely oblivious to Cara's reaction to the magazine. "I mean, they're humans, ya know? They're not like circus animals to be put on display and analyzed."
Cara shook her head, setting the magazine back down on the desk. She quietly excused herself to the restroom.
Melissa furrowed her eyebrows at Cara's hasty exit and a knot formed in her stomach that perhaps she had just created an even bigger problem - if she had been wrong about a casual friendship between Cara and Hayden.
~~~~
"What a son of a bitch!" Steph said, looking at the magazine again.
Cara sat on the couch, furiously wiping away the tears that had been virtually endless throughout the afternoon. It was all she could do to make it through the afternoon, pretending to be casual and upbeat around Melissa.
"I just don't get it...." Steph said. "I mean...there has to be a mistake here somewhere."
"How can there be a mistake?" Cara said. "It's a picture, Steph. If it was just a printed story, it could be fabricated...but not with photos."
"Are you kidding, in this day and age? It could have been photo-shop'd!" Steph said.
Cara gave her a look, "Steph....its real...no matter how much I don't want to admit it or think about it or see it...its real....all of it...and the only mistake here is my being naive enough to think that Hayden had actually changed -- ."
"Have you talked to him?" Steph asked quietly.
Cara shook her head that she had not.
"Why don't you call him and talk to him?"
"...because there's nothing he can say to make any of this any better," Cara said. "...I don't feel like listening to him make up lies to calm me down....try to convince me that I'm seeing a scene out of a damn movie."
"....maybe it is?" Steph asked hopefully.
"...no, its not," Cara said. "It's the actors, not the characters...trust me."
Steph looked down at the ground, trying to think of something to say.
"I have a confession," she spoke up.
Cara looked at her.
"I kind of saw that picture yesterday, but didn't mention it - because I didn't want you to be hurt...I was hoping that it had just been a misunderstanding and was something that wasn't even worth mentioning."
"You saw this yesterday?" Cara asked.
Steph nodded.
Cara shook her head, "...I can't believe this...so you actually wouldn't have told me about it....if I hadn't found out otherwise."
"It's not that," Steph said. "...it was more of trying to figure out a right time to tell you -- I saw the magazine when we were on the street corner right before you were going back to work, that wouldn't been the right time to break it to you."
"You could've told me last night! Instead, I have to get blind-sided by it at work!"
Steph winced and looked at the ground again, "Cara...I'm sorry....I didn't know what to do...no one wants to have to be 'that friend'....the friend who destroys the very idea of something you care about."
Cara was quiet for a moment. She was too exhausted to be angry anymore. All she had felt all afternoon was anger- anger and humiliation.
She shook her head, "okay....but please, don't keep something like this from me...even if you know it will hurt me...I'd rather know...and I would rather hear it from you as opposed to co-workers or strangers."
Steph nodded in silence.
~~~
Cara went back to her room and changed into a t-shirt and boxers. She immediately realized the t-shirt belonged to Hayden - it had been one that he'd left there before.
This reminder only fueled more tears.
A few moments later, her cell phone rang.
At that moment, Cara got a streak of courage. She was going to face this thing head-on. No more hiding and dodging Hayden's calls. He needed to know that she knew what was going on and how it made her feel.
~~~
"Hey!! You answered!" Hayden exclaimed as Cara picked up the phone.
"Yes, I did," was all she said in a flat and cold tone.
Hayden closed his eyes. It was crunch time.
"Listen...I'm sure you have seen these ridiculous magazines."
"Yeah, I'd say they're pretty ridiculous," Cara said. "...pretty ridiculous and accurate."
Hayden was taken aback at her hostility, "...wait...Cara...listen, its really not what you think."
"Oh really? Well, why don't you fill me in then? What it looks like to me is an actor with a world-renowned womanizing side, romancing his co-star who just happens to be the one he's actually already romanced once before....
"That's not how it is," Hayden said, reeling from her words. He'd seen Cara's feistiness since day one, but this was on a whole new level......'Womanizing' --he'd always hated that word, even when perhaps it could have been applied to him - but to hear Cara use that word to describe him only added insult to injury.
"Listen, she and I were talking outside -- and she kissed me...and..."
"...and you just didn't stop her," Cara sighed.
"No, I did stop her! You don't see that in the photo because that wouldn't sell those magazines!" Hayden said.
Cara shook her head in frustration, "Listen, I don't know about you but there has never been a guy in my life who has kissed me when I didn't want him to...the fact that she actually managed to kiss you speaks volumes to me -- you can actually pull away before it gets that close, in case you didn't know that," Cara said in a venomous tone.
Hayden was quiet- there was honestly nothing he could say to that....at least nothing that she would hear or believe.
"...I'm very sorry that all of this has happened...but you really do need to understand that there's nothing between me and Sienna...you have to know that...."
"I'm really tired and don't want to talk about this anymore," Cara cut him off. Her anger had taken every ounce of energy from her body and she was tired of arguing about something that they clearly didn't see eye-to-eye on.
"Can I call you tomorrow?" Hayden asked.
"I don't know....I don't really think I'm interested in your excuses," Cara said, defeated.
Hayden sighed, "...I'll call you tomorrow..."
"Fine," Cara said.
"Fine," Hayden replied.
With that, the two hung up.
Hayden laid back on the bed, milling over everything that had happened and trying to think about what he could do to make things right.