My apartment seemed eerily quiet when I got back home so I busied myself with cleaning my room to pass the time. I'd never been as messy as Scott, but I still felt bad for Sophie on the days that she slept over and had to navigate the battlefield of dirty laundry lying on my floor. I even gave my bathroom a thorough scrubbing for good measure and felt satisfied with the results by the time I wandered back into my living room. After the past two days, I was looking forward to having a lazy day at home but as soon as I sat down on the couch, my phone began to buzz. Sophie's face popped up on the screen and I rolled my eyes, wondering what she'd forgotten.

    "Hello?"

    "Hi," Sophie said. "I need you to do me a huge favor."

    "Which is?"

    "I left my purse on your kitchen counter. Would you mind bringing it to the set?"

    I groaned inwardly. The drive into the Valley was always a nightmare and after Michael's warning, I didn't think it was a particularly great idea for me to show up where Sophie was working either. "Can't I bring it by your house later?"

    "I don't know how long the shoot is going to last," Sophie explained, and I got up to look for the abandoned bag.

    Sure enough, the designer wristlet lay beside the sink and I picked it up, turning it over in my hands. "And you really need it now?"

    "Yes," she said impatiently. "My medication is in there--you know, for my headaches."

    "Oh." I fiddled with the latch and the bag popped open. I poked through it while balancing my phone on my shoulder, noting that a thin pill box lay at the bottom beneath several items of make-up and what looked like a plastic compact mirror. "Can't you take an Advil or something?"

    Realizing I wasn't convinced, Sophie continued, "My birth control's in that bag, too."

    "Oh." I opened the lid of the compact and several rows of tiny pink pills stared back at me. I weighed my options for a moment and then relented. Dammit. "Alright, fine."

    "Great. Thanks, Parker," Sophie said. "I'll text you the number of the studio we're in and tell security to give you a guest pass."

    I grunted my dissatisfaction before hanging up but then moved to the hall closet to begin searching for a backpack to stow Sophie's purse in. Ordinarily I wouldn't have minded carrying her bag in my hand but the one she'd worn Friday night was a bit too sparkly to be subtle. I didn't need to look in a mirror to know that I wouldn't be able to pull it off.

The drive into the San Fernando Valley, predictably, ate up an hour of my life and by the time I'd parked in the studio's guest lot, ridden the shuttle to the main entrance, and gone through security to get my pass, it was nearly twelve o'clock. I wandered around the lot while admiring my bustling surroundings until I finally found the studio where Kelly's movie was filming. The massive doors leading onto the set were open so I popped my head in and watched while stagehands moved props and adjusted lighting fixtures. A chair emblazoned with the word "DIRECTOR" on the back sat unoccupied and it looked like everyone was heading out for a break.

Sophie was nowhere to be seen, though as I continued to peer around the emptying set with mounting confusion, a voice behind me asked, "Are you looking for Sophie?"

    I turned around, surprised to find Richard staring up at me. To say that he looked worse for the wear was a generous understatement. Dark shadows rimmed his lower lids and the white spaces around his pupils were bright red where vessels had swelled and burst. The expression on his face was a mixture of disdain and boredom and when he sniffed, his nose rose upwards, pulling his mouth into a sneer. He wiped his nose against the back of his hand.

    "Yeah," I said, thinking back to the last time we'd spoken alone. "Is she around?"

    Richard shook his head. The flatness in his eyes was unnerving. "Her call time got moved back. She won't be here for another thirty or forty minutes."

    "Seriously?" Annoyed that I'd rushed across town for no reason, I pulled out my phone to check the time and silently cursed when I saw that Sophie had called me four times. I switched the ringer off silent and slid the phone into my back pocket. "Typical."

    Richard chuckled and I glanced up in time to see the actor bring a neatly manicured hand to his hairline. He brushed back the strands that fell across his forehead and his gaze shifted to a point past my ear. Instinctively, I twisted to see what had caught his attention. Aside from the lingering lighting technicians and a few extras, there was nothing there that seemed especially interesting. I looked back at him and he shrugged. "You can wait for her in my trailer, if you want."

    "That's okay," I replied. "I'll just wander around until she gets here. No big deal."

    "No, really," he said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "It's not a problem."

    There was an undercurrent of something I didn't like in his tone - something slightly menacing - but the smile plastered across his face was nothing less than charming. I considered my options for a split second but I knew that no matter how much I protested, he wasn't going to let me walk away without accepting his offer.

    "Fine," I said, shaking my head. "Whatever. Thanks."

    "Great." Richard's smile widened but still failed to reach the upper half of his face. "Follow me."

    We walked in silence as he led me to the far side of the compound where trailers had seemingly been assigned according to the occupants' importance. I watched a dozen extras fight to fit inside their metal caravan, while twenty others turned to stare at Richard when he glided past. His trailer was away from the chaos but close enough to the main lots that he'd never have more than a five minute walk. The front door bore his full name and he didn't bother holding it open for me when he stepped inside.

    He crossed the length of the room and collapsed onto a battered couch. The black leather cushions were cracking and the material seemed to sag pitifully under his weight. He pulled a coffee table towards him, scraping the legs against an equally tattered rug, and pushed the items on its surface to one side.

    Without looking up at me, he emptied his pockets, first the right one and then the left. Out came a phone, his wallet, two sets of keys, and a small dime bag half-filled with powder. I knew from the concentration on his face as he emptied out a tiny mound of white granules that the tales of sobriety that his publicist kept spinning were filled with about as much truth as my claim to the British throne.

    "Did you have fun at the party on Friday?" Richard asked, ignoring the awkward tension in the room.

    "Not really."

    "Yeah, me neither. Kind of sucked after my date took off without warning me." He slid a credit card out of his wallet and carefully divided the cocaine into three thin, long lines. "Want any?"

Richard reached into the crevice between the couch's cushions and withdrew a slender metal tube. It was no longer than his middle finger and about as wide as a straw. I shook my head when he tapped it against the table, though it took me another moment to realize that he hadn't looked at me once since sitting down. I mumbled, "No, thanks."

"You ever tried it?"

I shrugged instead of answering. "I'm just not into it."

Eyes fixated on the drugs in front of him, Richard nodded but looked as if he hadn't heard me. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before lining up the opening of his tiny tube with the start of the first line of powder. In the time that it took me to blink, two of the three were gone. I stared, intrigued and horrified, as he licked the tip of his index finger and dragged it around the table to pick up the residue. He rubbed his gums with the tiny crystals and sat back with a sigh.

Richard's pupils dilated until his irises slowly disappeared in growing pools of blackness. He looked terrible, sounded miserable, and all I wanted was to turn around and walk back outside into the warm spring air. And yet, as much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't deny the fact that I was fascinated by his self-destruction.

On the other hand, watching his shoulders slump forward while the corner of his mouth parted and filled with spittle reminded me of the times I'd taken care of Sophie when she was drunk. I had a feeling that neither of them would've survived very long if they'd stayed together.

"You can sit down," Richard said, motioning to a foldable chair that stood propped against one of the walls. I wasn't wholly surprised that the couch was off limits but that didn't make his offer seem any less offensive.

I decided to stand. "I'm fine, thanks."

The blond boy laughed. "I am impressed by your loyalty but you don't have to hate me just because Sophie does."

"Yeah, well," I said, shifting my weight from foot to foot. "Maybe I just like standing."

Richard's lips lifted into a lazy grin. He motioned towards an open set of cabinet doors near my head. "Would you mind tossing me the eye drops in there?"

I shook my head, wanting to tell him to get them himself. I probably would have if his cheek hadn't begun to twitch in spastic tremors. Richard's hand fluttered to his face and he rubbed the spot, scowling in a way that warned me not to mention it. Unsure of where to look, I averted my gaze and moved to grab the nearly empty bottle from its shelf. He nodded his thanks when I tossed it to him, tipping his head back and letting clear droplets cover his sore eyes. If I hadn't known better, I would've thought that he was crying and, when he blinked back the salinated water, I wondered if maybe a few real tears had gotten mixed in.

Richard cleared his throat and reached for his phone. I watched him tap something out on the touch screen and, seconds later, a chime came through the speakers. He smiled to himself while he read the message. "Your girlfriend's so nice to me, you know that?" He turned the phone to show me the screen, as if he thought I could see what was written on it from where I stood. "'Screw you,'" he read. "All I said was that I'd invited you back here."

I didn't say anything and Richard laughed. "I guess I don't really blame her."

"You shouldn't," I said and Richard gave me a look. I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that raced down my spine as I met the actor's gaze, almost like a chill had settled over me and seeped into the core of my bones. "What do you want, exactly?"

The straightforwardness of his response surprised me. "Have you told Sophie that you know Marc Corona?"

Startled, all I could do was blink while I gathered my thoughts. "I don't know him," I replied lamely. Richard looked skeptical. "I swear, he tried talking to me once but I never... Why?"

"I heard a rumor that you may have met."

The statement was sharp with accusation. I knew what he was getting at and I shook my head. "I would never do anything to hurt Sophie."

"Does he have anything on you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, anything. Ever skip out on paying your taxes? Kill someone? Rat on the mob?" I shook my head. He motioned at the table in front of him. "Got a drug problem?"

"No," I said. "I mean, hey, how well do you know him, huh? You sure the rumor didn't start when you guys were talking over lunch?"

Richard's eyes narrowed as he studied me. "What are you trying to say?"

I held my hands up in front of me. "Nothing, really. Just that you sold Sophie out when you were dating, so I'm sure it would be easier for you to do it now."

Without warning, Richard jumped to his feet and moved towards me like a cougar advancing on his prey. I could feel his rage pulsing in the air and he stopped inches away from me, his breath sour with the scent of stale cigarettes. He jabbed a finger in my chest. "You don't know anything."

"Don't touch me," I said, firmly pushing him away. Richard stumbled slightly backwards, his face contorting with fury as he righted himself.

For a moment, I was certain that Richard's fist was about to connect with my jaw and I braced myself as I prepared to take the hit. Instead, he turned sharply away and drove his knuckles into the wood-paneled wall opposite from where I stood, the impact making a sickening cracking sound. "Dude, your hand," I said, staring at Richard's rapidly swelling fingers.

"You don't know anything," he said again, his voice wavering as he spoke. "You don't."

"Okay, you're right, sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

Richard bit down on his lip until a droplet of blood appeared. He wiped it away with his sleeve and then looked at his damaged fingers. "Dammit," he swore, pushing past me on his way to the refrigerator in the corner of the trailer. "Dammit."

"Are you okay? Your hand looks wrecked."

"I'm fine," he muttered, opening the freezer door and pulling out an ice tray. "It's not the first time."

"Maybe you should lay off the blow," I suggested, worried about Sophie spending time with someone who clearly couldn't control his mood swings. "It doesn't seem like it's doing you much good."

I watched him from a safe distance and frowned. I'd known a few guys at school who'd shared Richard's affinity for the drug until their bender-fueled anger led them to pick a fight with the wrong person. No matter how nice they'd been in the beginning, all of them dropped out shortly after their addictions began. During our freshman year, Scott and I had watched several parents arrive at their son's dorm room to pack up his things while they waited for him to transfer to a college closer to home. From what I'd heard through the grapevine, most of those kids were doing better now, though none of them had ever come back. Richard shook several ice cubes out onto a counter and wrapped them in a thin towel. Then, to my surprise, he nodded.

"I know," he said, his voice thin and small now. "Trust me, I've tried."

I didn't say anything, though for the first time since I'd met the actor, I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. "Sophie always used to cover for me when we were together," the actor continued, closing his eyes. He looked completely defeated, a far cry from the angry lunatic he'd been moments before. "Sometimes I think it would've been better if she'd let me get caught."

The sympathy I'd felt quickly gave way to irritation. "Then why didn't you tell the truth when she got arrested because of you?"

A flicker of shame crossed Richard's face. "I don't know. Don't ask me that."

"It's not a hard question."

Richard drew his mouth into a thin line. "Look, once the idea was out there, I figured there was no way that people would believe she wasn't involved with it even if I did say something... Maybe it would've been different if she weren't so talented but I knew she'd be able to bounce back, so I kept my mouth shut." 

I stared at him. "You never cared about her at all, did you?"

"Of course I did. I still do," Richard replied while clutching his hand to his chest. "I don't need to tell you how great of a girl she is."

"How can you even say that when you completely screwed her over?" I demanded furiously. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I know it was wrong but I was a kid back then, alright?" Richard swallowed. "I was scared."

"Yeah, well, Sophie was even younger than you. You should've looked out for her instead of throwing her under the bus."

Richard and I stared at each other until he sighed. "I know you probably think I'm a terrible person - and I guess I am - but there was a lot more going on than you realize... More than Sophie realizes, too."

"Like what?"

Richard lowered the ice pack from his hand and studied his bright red knuckles. "You know that Sophie's pretty messed up, right?"

I scoffed. "I think that I would be, too, if my ex got me locked up."

"No, man, that's not what I meant. She's got issues - issues that have nothing to do with what I did."

I folded my arms across my chest defensively, although something in the back of my mind was tickled by his words. "She seems fine to me."

Richard smiled and offered a single nod. "Of course she does. Like I said, she's a great actress."

Before I could ask Richard to elaborate, the door of the trailer swung open with a bang. The actor and I both jumped before turning to see that the intruder was none other than Sophie. She looked between us and even though her face was largely hidden behind oversized sunglasses, the tightness of her mouth told me that she was livid. "Parker, let's go," she snapped from her place in the doorway and I obediently moved to join her.

"See you later," Richard said, staring directly at me as he held up two swollen fingers in a peace sign.

Holding my wrist in a bone-crushing grip, Sophie dragged me out of Richard's trailer and continued marching until we were several hundred feet out of earshot. Drawing up short, Sophie whipped off her sunglasses to glare at me. "What were you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

Sophie waved in the direction that we'd come from. "Why were you with Richard?"

It sounded like she was on the verge of tears and I reached out to take her hand. She tried tugging away from me at first and then gave up when she realized I wasn't going to let go. "He ambushed me when I was waiting for you earlier," I explained. "He said he wanted to talk."

"About what?" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice. Although her tone struck me as odd, I shrugged instead of probing.

"How much he still likes you, apparently." It obviously wasn't the complete truth but I didn't see the point in making her worry if I didn't have to. Sophie groaned, though I was positive I detected a hint of relief.

"He's such an idiot," she muttered, twisting out of my grasp as a pair of stagehands strolled by.

"Well, I don't know, Soph," I teased. "You make such a cute couple."

Sophie shoved me gently in response. "You're disgusting," she said before glancing down at her watch. "I need to get into make-up soon. Did you bring my wristlet?"

I nodded, opening my backpack. I pulled out the satin purse and handed it to her. "Thank you," she said, before dropping the clutch into the depths of the leather sack balanced on her forearm. "Are we doing anything later?"

Although I wanted to say yes, Michael's words still rang in my ear. "I can't tonight, sorry."

"Oh, right," Sophie said, and I could tell that she was disappointed. "Okay, then, I guess I'll see you..."

"Tomorrow," I blurted before I could stop myself. "I can come by after work."

Sophie's expression brightened. "Cool. I know you're probably still recovering from Friday night but maybe we can watch a movie or something."

"Sure, sounds good," I agreed, and Sophie reflexively stepped towards me for a kiss. I shook my head quickly and moved away, hoping no one had seen. Once Sophie realized what she'd done, she blushed.

"Whoops," she said with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"I don't mind."

Blush deepening, Sophie nodded and then gave me a small wave before scurrying off. I watched her disappear before glancing back over towards Richard's trailer. The actor stood outside smoking a cigarette. Feeling my gaze, he looked up at me and waved. In spite of myself, I nodded back at him, wondering what he would've said if we hadn't been interrupted.