"The human world ... it's a mess." 

~The Little Mermaid

Kelsey rested her hand on the doorknob that lead to the kitchen and gulped in a breath before a sob could escape.

She inhaled slowly a few times before straightening her shoulders and pushing open the door.

When she walked inside, she felt exposed. Violated. Like everyone was staring at her.

Had they read the tabloid? Would they?

She placed the cases of eggs on the counter before retreating to the break room.

She sat down in the small, empty space and pulled out her phone.

She scrolled through her contacts and found the one person she wanted to talk to, despite everything that had happened.

As the phone rang, Kelsey silently pleaded for her to answer.

She just needed to hear her mother's voice. She didn't want to think about the affair or the divorce or the missed phonecalls.

The phone rang a few more times before stopping. There wasn't even an opportunity for voicemail.

"I needed you," she whispered angrily.

There was silence.

She looked down at her hands and wiped away her tears again. She didn't even need to hang up, but stared at the blank screen.

"You have much on your plate, it seems."

Kelsey nearly jumped out of her skin and stood up, knocking her chair over as she whirled around.

Chef Romano stood in the doorway, arms crossed. An expression Kelsey had never seen before had taken the place of her frown: compassion.

She blinked and tried to make herself look busy. "I—I'm sorry, I was just going to get back..."

Chef Romano scowled seriously as she made her way over. "Are you alright?"

Kelsey opened her mouth to say yes, but found herself shaking her head. "No."

She blinked rapidly before a sob escaped her lips. She sucked in a breath and tried to calm herself again.

"I'm sorry," Kelsey said shakily.

"Sit," Chef Romano demanded, pointing to the overturned chair.

Kelsey picked up the chair and sat down slowly, baffled.

To Kelsey's horror, Chef Romano picked up the tabloid and began reading it. Kelsey knew she'd be angry that her employee had made that headline.

But she read it expressionlessly and when she was done, she set the tabloid aside. "Well? Is it true?"

Kelsey shook her head. "No. I swear."

Chef Romano nodded once. "Alright. Tell me."

So Kelsey did.

She told Chef Romano everything—the plane ride, meeting Ethan after-hours at the kitchen (she was careful during that part), going out to the theater, and how Ethan had tried to keep his past from her. She even told her about Roadkill and her parents and Sandy's alcoholism.

Everything.

And it felt so good.

She wasn't sure if she was more shocked by her own openness, or Chef Romano's willingness to listen. Chef Romano wasn't one for empathy, and only gave a single nod every once in a while, but Kelsey found it easy to talk to her.

When she was done, Kelsey was breathless.

Chef Romano gave another nod. "Feel better?"

Kelsey hesitated. "Yeah. I do." And she was surprised to find that she meant it.

Chef Romano examined her closely, just like she had when she first saw Kelsey in the lobby on her first day of work. "There is an old Italian proverb that says, senza tentazioni, senza onore; where there is no temptation, there is no glory. In other words, you will face trial before you reach success. This?" She gestured boisterously to the magazine on the table. "Nothing. I should hope you're made up of more metal than that. Chin up. And if you are content in misery, eh," she shrugged, "that is your choice."

Chef Romano stood up and brushed off her chef's coat. "Now, Vance has been in charge for far too long and I expect there to be more catastrophe in my kitchen than there was before. So get back to work, intern. And no more tears."

~~~~~~~~

Kelsey crept into the house, praying that the lights being off was a good sign that Sandy was either asleep or out somewhere.

She closed the door silently and waded further inside.

She almost breathed a sigh of relief, but stopped short when she entered the kitchen.

Sandy sat stone-faced at the bar, gripping the handle of a coffee mug like she was about to break it off.

"Uh, hey," Kelsey said, putting her purse down and taking a long breath. She knew this wasn't going to be pretty. She had to keep it together.

Sandy took a sip from her mug. "Saw this when I went to pick up some groceries." She held up the tabloid.

Kelsey drew her shoulders back and came around to stand in front of the counter. "I was just as shocked as you are. And I promise it's not true."

"Doesn't matter," Sandy replied. "What were you thinking, Kel? There's a reason actors date other actors and not normal people like us!"

"I know."

"Is this what you wanted?! Was this all for attention?"

Kelsey flinched and clenched her jaw. "No. And last I remember, you were practically begging me to date Ethan! What was it you said? Snap him up while I have the chance?"

Sandy either didn't hear, or didn't care. "Did you even think about anyone else but yourself when you went out with that guy?! Did you not think you'd get caught?"

"Think of who? You? Your fake blog image?" Kelsey cried, her nerves cut to the quick. "Look, Sandy, I appreciate you inviting me to come live with you. It opened up so many incredible doors for me. But you do not own me and you can't control my life to fit your California mold. I wish none of this Ethan Glenn stuff would've happened; I'm not even sure whether or not I regret meeting him at all. But I can't help you pretend to be perfect anymore."

Sandy scowled, her anger barely contained. "I welcomed you into my life and now you're trying to ruin it."

"No I'm not. I made a mistake."

"That mistake affects me."

"So what?" Kelsey spat. "I've read that stupid article fifty times, over and over, and I don't recall seeing anything about you. Of all the things that matter in this world, at least your precious blog is safe. Right? Because the fact that I've been exploited, and lost someone I care about, and now have to deal with the repercussions doesn't matter. Heaven forbid you lose fifty out of the thousands and thousands of followers you have just because my heart is broken."

Sandy looked away, Kelsey having apparently struck a chord.

"What's happened to you, Sandy?" Kelsey asked.

She was quiet for a long time, before muttering bitterly, "California."

Kelsey blinked and leaned back half an inch. "It's not right. You're better than this, I know it. Just stop thinking about yourself every moment of every day and maybe you'll let someone in who can help you."

Sandy shook her head. "I'm getting out of here."

"Wait, what?"

"I wasn't going to tell you yet, but I'm moving."

Kelsey's eyes widened. "Where?"

"Northern California, to the vineyard. I'm going with Alex."

"Sandy, no," Kelsey breathed, her heart sinking. "What about Dustin? What about—"

"Don't," Sandy replied sharply.

Kelsey wanted to say something, anything, to change her mind, but was rendered speechless.

"We can't all fall whimsically in love with a movie star." Sandy traced the rim of her mug with her thumb. "Some of us have to live life and deal with whatever it throws at us. You may think my blog doesn't matter, but it's all I have. I finally have something that makes me happy, Kel. I've given up everything for it."

Kelsey swallowed hard and sighed. "If you keep going down this road, it'll end eventually. And then you'll turn around and wonder how you got there, and you won't know how to get back home."

She pulled her purse off the counter and slung it on her shoulder. "Goodnight," she said softly.

She retreated into her room, where the peace of the dark and cool air on her skin allowed her take in her first deep breath.

She collapsed onto her bed, having already cried all the tears she could muster for the day, and just sighed.

Things had gone so wrong so quickly, it almost didn't feel real.

She didn't want to process it all, so she got on her laptop and booked a one-way ticked to Kansas that would leave the next day.

She did it without thinking, figuring that was the last thing she needed to do anyway.

She'd take an emergency leave from the internship, and Chef Vance would have to wash his own dishes for a while.

Kelsey couldn't stay in L.A. for a minute longer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~What'd you think of Chef Romano's surprise personality?

~Thoughts on Sandy?

~Do you think Kelsey will come back to L.A.?

~General thoughts?

Thank you so much for reading! (don't forget to comment, vote, and share!)