11 | sunshine, rainbows, and la vie boheme
Keira had cancelled screen tests after getting Grace to call the police. Hugh had demanded an ambulance worker attend to him despite the fact all he needed was an ice pack—the swelling in his jaw was undeniable to anyone in the studio. Miles had been handcuffed, put in the back of the police car, and driven away from the studio.
It was a week after the incident that the verdict was reached.
After a couple days of trial, Miles was sentenced to eleven days in prison and a handful of community service hours. He had pled guilty from the start, which made the sentencing process easier and he had already spent the week in custody, so he really just had four more days left. His lawyer had claimed provocation, which had been confirmed by four witnesses to the incident.
Yes, those four witnesses.
Because as it turned out, Miles had an incredibly good lawyer. Because of course he did. Because he was Miles fucking Fox.
Dayna was a character witness—talked about how Miles was a great guy and didn't deserve to rot in prison for one mistake when there were other people walking free who had done worse. Grace had seen most of the argument and defended the provocation claim. Keira said, straight to the point as always, "They were both being asshats but, yeah, Miles is a good guy." She proceeded to call Hugh and Miles "dickheads" so many times, the judge had to ask her to desist. Jensen hadn't been questioned long. She merely described what she'd seen, said Miles was a good person, and was pulled off the witness stand.
Keira called Jensen into the studio to finish off her screen test the day Miles was released from jail.
Colour her surprised when she walked into the studio and Dayna was reading over her script and not Miles' stupid smoulder.
"Dayna?"
Dayna looked up and smiled. "Jensen! Hi!"
"Hey," Jensen said, "Is... is Hugh here too?"
Dayna smiled. "He's not. We did our screen test the other day."
"Is Miles—"
"He's not here either, it's just us," Dayna said. "Keira asked if I could read Miles' lines for him. I've been practicing, listen." Dayna looked down at her script, clearing her throat. In a deep voice, Dayna said, "I took time away from my daughter to be here. Do you want the list of how many people told me not to do this competition?" She looked back up at Jensen with a grin on her face. "Pretty much Miles, right?"
Jensen laughed. "Spot on. Beautiful."
Dayna laughed, too. "Keira said to head on in when you were here. Are you ready to go? Or do you want to run over lines?"
"I think I'm okay," Jensen said. "Thanks."
Dayna looked around before leaning in slightly to Jensen and lowering her voice. "I'm picking up jailbait boy after this is done. You're welcome to come if you want."
"Why are you whispering?" Jensen asked. While also whispering. Which, frankly, just seemed hypocritical.
"Because I for sure saw a pap car behind me while I was driving here," Dayna said. "Don't know where they went. Or if they're still here. Better to be safe than sorry."
"Right."
"You should come," Dayna said, "I think he'd like to see you."
Jensen made a face—mostly involuntarily. "Why?"
Dayna smiled. "You know Miles doesn't take many people to Hoy's, right? It's like... his spot. The place he goes to escape the world. And he did that the first day that he met you. He just spent four days in a room by himself. It would be nice for him to see a friendly face."
"And you're not a friendly face?"
When Dayna's smile widened, it wasn't because she looked happier. It was more like she was trying to hide something sadder—her eyes told the story she didn't want her lips to. "You don't... he didn't tell you how we met, did he?"
Jensen twisted the stud in her nose. "Should he have?"
"Not unless he's ready." She looked at the script in her hands, multiple rings glistening in the studio lights. Eyes back on Jensen, Dayna drew in a deep breath and linked her arm with Jensen's. "Shall we?"
Jensen managed a small nod before Dayna started leading her towards the small room. With its big camera and Academy Award nominated director. With its unwritten potential—with Jensen's unwritten potential—and its Hollywood aesthetic. It made Jensen's heart pound and her stomach knot.
And it was all she could do not to run towards the room.
*
Dayna drove a Jeep Wrangler that was so muddy Jensen could barely tell the paint job was black. Their screen test hadn't lasted that long, Dayna could barely keep a straight face while trying to imitate Miles, and Keira had called time early because her and Grace's babysitter had called and said they had an emergency and needed her to come home.
Dayna was loudly singing along to Radio Ga Ga as she drove down the road. "Jensen, you better clap! Come on! All we hear is—" Dayna clapped. "Radio ga ga!" She clapped her hand on the steering wheel as she made a turn. "Radio goo goo." Two more claps. "Radio ga ga!"
Dayna grinned as Jensen gave two small claps at the end of the chorus. Jensen joined in singing for the second chorus, much to Dayna's delight. They clapped and they sang as Dayna effortlessly drove towards the jail—like it wasn't intimidating her in the slightest. Jensen, on the other hand, couldn't have been more intimidated simply by the idea.
"Jensen, you can sing!" Dayna said, "Holy shit, lady. Have you done a musical yet?"
Jensen tucked a few curls behind her ear. "I, uh, I did Rent. Back in Vancouver."
"I love Rent!" Dayna said, "Who'd you play?"
"I, uh." Jensen let out a shy laugh. "Maureen Johnson."
Dayna's eyes widened and she let out a small squeak. "Really?"
"Really."
"Ugh, she's my favourite. I've dragged Miles to every tour of it near here when they come. And when he visited me in New York. It's the best. He even knows when to moo now."
"Does he?"
Dayna laughed and nodded. "If you haven't figured it out by now," she said, "Miles is kind of one of the biggest dorks in, you know, the history of the world. I think it was his mission to moo whenever he got the chance."
Jensen laughed. "The mooing is obviously a highlight of the show."
"How long was your run?"
"Few months," Jensen said, "it was before I got a TV job. It helped pay the bills and..." Jensen looked at Dayna, who was staring at her eagerly. "And it was a hell of a good time."
"That's the dream," Dayna said. "Eight shows a week, stage doors after. Singing until our voices give out. That's what I want with my life."
"Can I ask why you're in an audition for a movie if that's what you want?"
"I'm assuming Miles told my history with..." Dayna paused. "I'm going to say substance abuse because cocaine wasn't the only drug I was on at any given time."
Jensen swallowed harder than she'd wanted to. "He didn't say a lot."
"Well," Dayna said, clearing her throat. "There was coke and E and sometimes there was acid. Most days there was pot, special days it was heroin. And by special days I mean the days that I didn't want to wake up."
Dayna took a quick look at Jensen—like she was trying to gauge how Jensen was processing the information. And the truth was, not well. Jensen had a bad habit of wearing what she was thinking on her face.
But Dayna continued, "To make a long story short, I have to go to auditions that are offered when they're offered. Dreams don't matter when you pay a lot of people for a lot of expensive things. Didn't do jobs while I was on the things." Dayna sighed softly. "Miles helped me pay off the debt that I owed. Said it didn't matter to him if I paid him back. But... but I have to pay him back, you know? Even if it's little by little. Time on Broadway isn't going to pay him back.
"And speaking of the man of the hour," Dayna said, smiling softly. "Here we are." Dayna turned the wheel into what Jensen assumed was a local police station—not the Orange Is The New Black penitentiary Jensen had been picturing. "Do you want to come in?" Dayna asked. "Or wait here?"
"I, um." Jensen wasn't sure why she'd gone with Dayna to get cold feet when they reached the parking lot. "Right, um, yeah. I'll go."
Dayna smiled. "Good. He likes visitors after jail."
"How do you..." Jensen started, then she met Dayna's eyes. She stopped. "Never mind."
Dayna gave her a small smile that was too sad to feel even close to real. "It's nice to see friendly faces when you get out, you know. Makes it like... like you haven't missed any time. In the real world. Even though it's been... it's been forever."
"Miles was only in the jail for eleven days," Jensen said, before she could stop herself. Because she hadn't realized what Dayna meant until after she'd opened her mouth.
Dayna let out a soft laugh that was more like a breath than anything else. "Right. Eleven days." She took an interest in a ring that wrapped around her thumb like a vine before looking back up at Jensen. "We should go inside. I don't want to hear any stupid jokes if I'm late."
"Dayna, I—" Jensen started. Dayna's eyebrows knit together and she shook her head softly. "Let's... let's go inside."
Walking into a jail wasn't something that Jensen thought would happen during her time in Hollywood. She was only supposed to be there for three days and it had already been two weeks. Since landing, nothing had gone to plan. So why she was surprised by this outcome was a mystery in itself.
The jail was standard—Jensen had seen a couple while filming Legendary at a station near Gastown. It always weirded Jensen out how similar police stations looked to animal shelters—pale grey walls with a reception desk, a hall that led to a handful of barred rooms.
Dayna walked up to the counter while Jensen stayed back. While the sheriff went to go get Miles, Dayna looked back at Jensen, who was rubbing her bicep nervously.
"Are you okay?" Dayna asked. "You look kind of spooked."
Jensen looked around without physically moving her head. "It's just... different."
"This—" Dayna motioned to the room with her hand. "—isn't that bad as far as jails go. I've been in worse. So has Miles." She put her hand on Jensen's shoulder. "This is an okay place to be. Like a halfway house. He's fine."
"Okay."
"You've... never done this before," Dayna said. "Have you?"
"I don't... I mean..." Jensen started, "No. I haven't. I don't have... friends. Many, I mean. Many friends. And... and of the ones I do have... they don't end up in places like... this. Not that... that this is a bad place."
"Well," Dayna said, a small smile cracking her lips. "Now you've got two friends. Previous prison time. Congrats."
Jensen nodded and rubbed her hand along her bicep. "Okay."
Dayna lightly rested her hand on Jensen's shoulder. "Are you okay? Seriously."
"You know, we gotta stop meeting like this, Day." Jensen and Dayna turned to see Miles leaning against the side of the wall. Miles wore a smirk that didn't fit someone who had just been in jail for eleven days. His smile widened as his eyes darted to Jensen. "Rhodes."
"Hi," Jensen said softly.
"Look at you, Southpaw," Dayna said. "Did you get yourself a bitch?"
Miles looked at the sheriff, who nodded at him, and began to walk towards Dayna and Jensen. "A bitch in eleven days?"
Dayna raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "It can be done."
"Can we go?" Miles asked. "I want to shower." Dayna made a face. "In my own house, Dayna. Christ."
Dayna laughed. "After you, million dollar baby."
"How many boxing jokes are you going to make between here and my place?" Miles asked, pushing open the door to the police station. He held it as Dayna and Jensen walked out.
"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows," Dayna said, in a deep voice that Jensen was sure was supposed to be Rocky Balboa but came out the same as her Miles impression. "It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it."
"So a lot," Miles said. "Great." Miles fell into stride beside Jensen, sandwiching her in the middle of them. "How'd she rope you into this one, Rhodes?"
"Jensen and I bonded over how stupid you are," Dayna said.
"That so?" Miles asked. He looked at Jensen. "I must've been gone for a while."
"Did you know she played Maureen Johnson in Vancouver?" Dayna asked.
"Mooooo." Miles cupped his hands around his mouth. "Moooooo!"
Jensen laughed. "He does like to moo."
"I wouldn't make that up," Dayna said, snorting out a laugh.
Miles ran forward past the Jeep and jumped up on the hood. "To hand crafted beers made in local breweries—"
"Oh, God," Dayna said, laughing. "Here we go again."
"To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese!" Miles looked at Dayna and Jensen expectantly.
Dayna laughed at walked towards the Jeep, Miles helping her up onto the hood. They both started up again. Dayna turned her back to Miles and he put his hands on her hips as they started dancing. "To leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo! To huevos rancheros and Maya Angelou!"
Dayna and Miles looked at Jensen with grins on their faces—each of them held a hand out towards her, offering her help onto the hood of the Jeep. Jensen crossed her arms, laughing softly. "Are you serious?"
"Come on, Rhodes," Miles said, smiling wider. "One afternoon engagement at the—" Miles looked behind him and back to her. "Oh man, eleventh street lot. You have to now."
Jensen pursed her lips and shook her head before grabbing Dayna and Miles' hands and hoisting herself up onto the Jeep. The hood creaked under their weight but Dayna didn't seem to care, so Jensen and Miles paid it no mind. "Emotion, devotion to causing a commotion. Creation vacation—"
Barely after the words were out of Jensen's mouth, Miles raised his arms in the air and yelled, "Mucho masturbation!" at the top of his lungs.
"Hey!" The sheriff that had let Miles out walked out onto the pavement. "Get down and get lost, Fox! Do you want to be back here again?"
Miles made a face and stepped off the hood of the car. "No, sir, thank you for the accommodation."
The sheriff shook his head before walking back into the station. Dayna snorted as soon as the door had closed. "Thank you for the accommodation?" She jumped down beside Miles. "What, no curtsey?"
Miles bowed. "Shower time?"
"Before you get arrested again?" Dayna asked, snorting. She opened the driver's door and got in. "Yeah."
Miles smiled and offered Jensen his hand again to help her get down. Jensen took it and jumped down carefully. Miles smiled softly when she landed and looked back up to him. "How did she rope you into this?" His voice was soft, barely loud enough for Jensen to hear.
"She just... asked," Jensen said. "Said you liked friendly faces after jail."
"I..." Miles looked like he was fighting a wider smile. "Yeah. That's always nice."
Jensen smiled softly before looking down at her hand, which was still holding Miles'. Clearing her throat, Jensen stepped away. "Do you, um... do you want the front seat or the backseat?"
"You take the front," Miles said. "It was yours on the way here."
"Are you sure?"
"Are you two going to get in or do you feel like eye-fucking each other while walking to Hollywood Hills?"
Miles' jaw dropped. "Dayna!"
Dayna snorted. "Get in, Rocky."
"You can definitely have the front," Miles said, looking back at Jensen. "I want to be able to kick the back of Dayna's seat."
Dayna laughed and flipped Miles off. "In the car, nerds."
Jensen looked at her feet as she walked around the Jeep, getting into the passenger seat. Buckling her seatbelt, Jensen placed her hands in her lap. Her cheeks felt like they were burning—her hand wouldn't shake the feeling of Miles' holding it.
She could hear the click of Miles' seatbelt and Dayna immediately started the Jeep, pulling out of the stall as her music started up. And Gonna Fly Now's trumpets started up.
Miles groaned. "Come on."
Dayna cackled—not close to a snort, but more like an evil mastermind. Perhaps she was one. Miles kicked the back of her seat for good measure.
"I can leave you here," Dayna said.
"Can you call me Andy instead of Rocky?" Miles asked. "I'm feeling more Shawshank than boxer."
"You're not Andy," Dayna said. "You didn't escape."
"And you were definitely guilty," Jensen added. "You're probably Red."
"Ganging up on me, Rhodes?" Miles asked. "Did someone get lost while their emergency contact was locked up?"
"Oh, you should smack him, Jensen," Dayna said. "Jesus."
Miles laughed. Head leaned back, eyes closed. He looked back at Jensen. "I won't press charges."
"I'm... I won't smack you."
"Good for you," Dayna said. "He'd probably like it anyway."
"You hurt me, Day," Miles said, kicking the back of her seat again.
"I try." Dayna reached below her seat as she pulled up to a stop light, she pulled the release bar and slid her seat into Miles' knees. "But don't forget who picked your stupid ass up from jail."
"Ow," Miles said. "Damn it, Day."
Dayna smirked, leaving her seat where it was.
"Move back up and I'll shut up."
"No you won't," Dayna said, although she moved her seat up.
"No, I won't," Miles said. "What else did I miss?"
"Your screen test," Dayna said, "with Jensen. But don't worry, she got a better partner."
"Impossible," Miles said, "I'm the best."
"Humble too," Jensen said, looking over her shoulder at Miles for the first time since she'd got in the car. Miles was already looking at her.
Miles put his hand over his chest. "That's not very Canadian of you, Rhodes. Come on, now."
"We all just wanna be big rock stars," Jensen said.
"Did you just quote Nickelback at me?" Miles asked. "That's terrible."
Jensen wrinkled her nose. "I feel like it's worse that you know it's Nickelback."
"It is not."
"It really is." Jensen gave a small nod.
"Dayna?" Miles asked. "Which is worse?"
"It's definitely worse that you knew it was Nickelback," Dayna said. "You know that."
"I..." Miles started. "Yeah, all right."
"Jensen, what movie do you want to watch when we get to Miles' place?" Dayna asked.
"I don't..." Jensen frowned. "We're watching movies?"
"It's kind of tradition," Miles said. "One of us gets out of jail and we watch a movie at their house."
"Tattoos are the day after," Dayna said, looking into the rear view mirror. Jensen assumed she was looking at Miles—but Jensen became very aware of the tattoo on Dayna's left wrist; it was a dove carrying an olive branch and the details were impossibly good for how small it was. "What'd you decide on?"
"Can I add onto my other one?" Miles asked.
Dayna shook her head. "That's cheating the system and you know it."
"Maybe I'll get something on my foot," Miles said. "Out of sight, out of mind."
"Why would you not want to remember hitting Hugh in the face?" Dayna asked. "God, that was a fucking nice punch."
Miles chuckled. "Thanks."
"What about a boxing glove?" Jensen said, looking into the back seat again. "For Rocky."
Miles looked at her a moment before grinning, then laughing. "You know what? I might take you up on that one, Rhodes. We'll have to see how I feel come tomorrow."
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top