I coughed and gagged as I sat up straight on the couch and looked around,
�What the fuck?� I wiped my eyes as I strained to see the person standing before me; the person who had just thrown water in my face,
�What the hell are you doing?� I wasn�t sure who it was at this point,
�What are you doing? You are getting carried away with this shit.� Julianna, damn. I swung my feet around and placed them on the floor,
�Julianna, give me a break.� She shook her head at me and I knew it was time for a lecture,
�What the hell did Steven do to you now? What made you want to get drunk and trashed?� The more she talked the louder she got. I was so tired of her giving Steven a hard time,
�Could you please lower your fucking voice?� I whispered calmly.
�You are so blind when it comes to him. Do you know how many men want you? Hell, how many women want you?� I tried to stand up but I couldn�t keep my balance and fell back on the couch as I snorted at her,
�Like you right?� I looked up at her and she turned her nose up and growled,
�No, I hardly want you. Look at you. You look like shit warmed over and I�m sick and tired of taking care of you when Steven does you wrong. You�re the only one that can�t see he�s no good for you.� She pulled me by my arm and drug me to the bathroom then leaned me against the wall and stripped me naked. God, I hope there wasn�t something I needed to do today. If my schedule isn�t clear then I�m in trouble. I can�t think all I can do is feel my head pounding like a jackhammer through cement. She turned on the shower and I stepped in and slid down the tile and held my head down as the water beat over me. She stood there and looked down at me.
�How did you get in here?� I watched her roll her eyes and I wanted to slap her,
�You called me and left stupid messages on my voice mail. I had my assistant get in touch with yours and she gave me your key.� Cory�s ass is so fired.
�So what did he do? You said he screwed you over for the last time. What did he do?� She hated Steven; I wasn�t going to give her more ammunition to use against him,
�Nothing.� She looked up at the ceiling as she shook her head,
�So you drank nearly a bottle of vodka and snorted only God knows how much coke for nothing? Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense.� The phone rang and she left me to sit there wishing I could drown myself.
She never came back in the bathroom and when I finally struggled out and back into the living room wrapped in a towel; I sat on the couch and ran my fingers through my hair,
�Who was on the phone?� She sat down beside me and handed me a cup of tea,
�Drink this. It was your mother. I told her you would call her back that you weren�t feeling well.� My mother, when was that bitch going to give up?
�I don�t know why you told her that.� When I didn�t hear anything from her I turned to see her examining me,
�Why aren�t you close with your family? Whenever they are brought up; you don�t want to talk about them. What? Did Steven brainwash you against them?� I sighed,
�No, my problems with my family were years before I met Steven. Stop trying to blame everything on Steven.� She nodded,
�Your mom seems really nice. She was really concerned about you; she even asked me if she should come and take care of you.� I frowned and placed the cup on the table,
�I really hope you were smart enough to say no. Don�t let the voice fool you. Not every woman is a good mother. She wasn�t and my father was no good either. You know nothing about it so don�t begin to lecture me on it.� I stood up and lost my balance a few times before steadying myself,
�In fact, I want to be alone.� She looked up at me,
�You want me to leave?� I just stood there but I know the blas� expression on my face made it very clear,
�Fine. He�s going to be the death of you Brehan.� I crossed my arms as I stared at her back,
�Anymore advice?� She turned around and looked at me,
�As a matter of fact yes. Reconcile with your family, they love you a hell of a lot more than Steven.�
I was deep in sleep when once again I was interrupted, this time by a constant loud pounding on the door. I stumbled over to the door and it seemed as if it took forever for me to fumble with the locks. Standing there with a scared look on her face was Cory,
�What in the hell do you want? Why are you banging on my fucking door like a maniac?� All I wanted to do was sleep off this massive headache-hangover-whatever you want to call it and people just wouldn�t cooperate,
�You have a Versace shoot. After an hour of me calling I caught a cab over here.� I shook my head, big mistake,
�Versace shoot? What Versace shoot? I don�t have anything to do today.� I could tell she didn't want to speak. I am known for shooting the messenger. She shuffled her feet and spoke quietly,
�Yes, it's the only thing scheduled. It was scheduled for three thirty.� I sighed,
�Well, what time is it now Cory?� She was hell bent on making sure I knew I was late,
�It�s a quarter after five.� I turned and shook my head,
�Can I get a fucking day off? I just want one lousy damn day where I don�t have to do shit. I�m tired of fucking smiling, posing, greeting and all this bullshit.� I instantly regretted screaming because it made my head hurt even more, if that was possible.
�Get me some damn aspirin will you?� They were just going to have to wait some more.
My phone shrilled in the distant and through my sleepy eyes I could see Cory reach over and answer it. She looked at me and I knew it was a call that I needed to take. I maneuvered out of my pose and stood up,
�I�m taking a break.� I know they weren�t happy about that. I could hear slight groans and exasperated sighs as their shoulders dropped in defeat. I snatched the phone out of Cory�s hand, walked into my dressing room and closed the door,
�Yes?�
�What is wrong with you? Why am I getting phone calls saying you were four hours late for a photo shoot and you�re high as a fucking kite?� I knew my horrifying state didn�t go unnoticed by the crew. My eyes were bloodshot, puffy and the bags underneath could not be concealed with makeup; they would have to be removed with the miracle of a computer.
�I�m fine.� He sighed loudly,
�No you're not fine. Why did you go on a damn binge the night before a photo shoot you�re about to have a week off. You couldn�t wait?� That break wasn�t for another two weeks and it was only four days. It was if it suddenly came back to me; why I didn't wait.
�You and your present you sent me.� There was silence and suddenly he laughed lightly,
�Did you like it?� Was he serious?
�No I didn't like it but I�m sure Isabella will love it.� There was silence and I waited for him to try and talk his way out of it.
Chapter 58
Stranger Than Fiction
Stories
Feedback
Fe