Colleen was asleep on my shoulder as we rode back to the hotel in the limo with Kevin. Howie and Pollyanna decided to head off to another party or something. He was probably trying to get someone to work with her tone-deaf ass. Ok, that was way harsh but between not liking her and Brehan�s bratty act I was in the mood to be very blunt with my words. Just like Howie, I helped my sisters and brother because I loved them and if singing, writing or producing was what I needed to do to help their dreams come true then that�s what I would do. I didn�t do it because of some sinister plan on my mother�s behalf where I wouldn�t get to see my siblings unless I helped them professionally. Stories like that shocked me; people have way too much fucking time on their hands. If, by chance, my mother were that evil I would still do whatever it took to see my brother and sisters; she couldn�t stop me if she wanted to. I never understood why people thought my mother was the real life version of the 101 Dalmatians� Cruella Deville. Don�t get me wrong, the woman didn�t let anyone get in the way of what she wanted to accomplish and that sometimes included family but she didn�t walk around cracking a whip. Leslie was the perfect example. Did people think she wasn�t singing anymore simply because DreamWorks dropped her? Did they really think that Jane Carter, of all people, couldn�t get her another deal? Even though she saw all the work Aaron and I had to put into making our careers successful Leslie still underestimated the amount of work it took to maintain a certain level of success. She didn�t want to do it anymore and that was the reason she wasn�t. Yes, my mom tried to talk her out of it, tried to tell her to hang in there but my sister�s word was the final word on the subject. Kevin leaned over and whispered,
�Did she have a good time?� I nodded at him as I looked over at her briefly,
�Yeah, she did. Thanks for introducing her to all those people.� While I was off having my useless meeting with Brehan, he took Colleen around the room and introduced her to some of the guests. She even exchanged phone numbers with some new up and coming actor. He had a new movie coming out with Tom Cruise and Matt Damon. Don�t know how I feel about that, celebrities are wolves in sheep�s clothing; the majority of us are. I know, I was the same way and every now and then I still was, case in point Jennifer. Who was still calling me, but that was something I didn�t want to think about. Colleen was a good girl and if this guy did anything to her he was going to have to answer to me. Well maybe not me but I knew a few people who weren�t of the best character.
�Yeah, I wanted to get her away from Brehan, she seemed like she really wanted to talk to you. Is everything ok?� I nodded,
�Yeah, its cool.� Kevin nodded absentmindedly and I didn�t know what to say. I hope Colleen wasn�t upset. I hoped she didn�t feel she did anything to warrant Brehan�s bitter manners. I shouldn�t have been such an asshole to her. That was all she needed, one more guy being a major prick to her. And then I just left her there alone. Now I�m feeling like shit and I wish I could apologize to her and tell her I didn�t mean anything I said, that I was out of line. Maybe I was, I don�t know her, I don�t know Steven and I don�t know their situation. I know I hated when people tried to interfere and give their two cents on my relationships and friendships.
�AJ is going to be pissed he missed Brehan. In fact let me call him now and brag.� He pulled out his phone and I wished he wouldn�t. Inevitably AJ was going to want to talk to me and then he was going to bitch at me because he wasn�t there. We decided this around the time that I found out I was going to be on the list, who was going to go to the party. That particular day I think he was either ticked that he wasn�t on the list or he had just been volunteered to make an appearance somewhere he didn't want to go. Any which way, he didn�t want to go so Howie and Kevin agreed to go with me. I watched at Kevin joyously waited for AJ to pick up the phone, I would be shocked if he did,
�Hey man, we�re on our way back from the People party.� Well wonders never ceased to amaze.
�Oh it was great. You�ll never believe who was there.� AJ took a few guesses as Kevin let him know if he was right or wrong then finally put AJ out of his misery, or in it depending on how you looked at it,
�Brehan was there.� He laughed as he pulled the phone away from his ear. He was loving this and I was wondering where the camera was to see him acting just as immature as he accused me of being. He held out the phone and smiled,
�He wants to talk to you.� I shook my head as I reached out for the phone, making sure not to disturb Colleen,
�Yes AJ.� I wasn�t even in the mood for his whining,
�Dude, why didn�t you tell me vamp was going to be there? I know you knew.� I sighed,
�You didn�t want to come. If you knew she was going to be here you would have come?� He practically screamed in my ear,
�Yes man, she�s hot. I�m telling you right now I�m going to get that. Watch and see. If you don�t I will.� I don�t know why he was so caught up in Brehan and wanted her so much but he did and he made no secret of it. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at Kevin. For one because he was the one that put me in this ridiculous situation and two, to let him know that AJ was working my last nerve,
�Whatever man, here�s Kevin.� I tossed his cell phone at him and ignored his snippy glare for possibly endangering his precious seven hundred dollar cell phone. I lay my head back and rubbed Colleen�s arm as I tried to join her in dreamland.
Colleen was flipping the channels on the television when I came out of the shower,
�I thought you were sleepy, you whined the whole time I tried to wake you up.� She smiled,
�I was but I�m not anymore.� I joined her on the couch in her lavender satin top with the matching pants. Now, I had no idea what lavender was, could have been a shade of orange for all I knew but she quickly schooled me when I called it purple. You would think I knew all about colors and the colors that fell in their respective families since I lived with four women but surprisingly enough the only colors that existed to them were the basic eight: blue, red, orange, green, purple, yellow, black and white.
�Thanks for bringing me to New York and the party and the dress and everything.� I smiled at her graciousness,
�You�re welcome, thank you for coming. Did you have a good time?� She nodded and I knew her excitement was genuine,
�Best night of my life.� She made me want to just hug her and not let go. She was just that cute and sweet; she was turning me into a sappy idiot. I had a feeling if I lived at home for more than two weeks at a time, there would be a thank you card from her waiting on me in the mailbox.
"I'm don't want to go back to Boston. Back to work and school." I smiled at her,
"Maybe when you get a break you can come out on the road with me for a little while. My friends are going to come out with me for a little while, maybe you can come the same time. That way you won't have to be alone. It gets boring sometimes waiting around on us." She nodded,
"I would love to. I'm ready to meet your friends, you talk about them all the time." Yeah, I did. I definitely have the best friends I've ever had. I know they wouldn't do anything to mess up our friendship, at least not intentionally and neither would I. I swear sometimes I think my life is too good right now. It's like I'm waiting on the bomb drop and someone to tell me I know my life can't be this good.
It was way too quiet, Colleen loves to talk during movies and when she hadn't said anything in fifteen minutes I looked over and saw that she was deep in sleep. Tonight was probably too much for her to handle.
Chapter 50
Stranger Than Fiction
Stories
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