The Making of…

Chapter 23

Fragile Strength

I woke on the morning after the party at around 8am. If I hadn’t been working on this film, I would have considered it unusually early, but I was used to the 5am wakeup call, so I considered this a lie-in!

I went and took a shower, before dressing in a casual pair of skinny jeans and a t-shirt; slipping my phone into my pocket as I hopped out of the trailer and went to see if anyone else was awake yet. As I was walking across the studio car park (where our trailers ‘lived’) towards the main building, I caught sight of Viggo and Liv standing outside the door in full costume.

“Morning guys!” I smiled cheerfully. “I didn’t know we were filming today?” I said, my sentence forming into a question as I spoke.

“We weren’t supposed to, but Pete wanted to get a head start on the Elrond’s Chamber scenes.” Viggo explained. “Liv, Sean and I are doing our shots today, and you and I are doing ours tomorrow.”

“Great.” I smiled as someone came to tell them that Peter was waiting. “See you later!” I called as they went into the studio. I yawned a little and then decided to do something useful as I wandered back towards the cluster of trailers.

Over the course of the morning, I ran a few errands for people, and had just finished bringing coffee to the crew when everyone decided to take a break for lunch. I ran into Viggo outside our makeup bus.

“Hey.” He smiled, “I just have to get some of my makeup touched up, and then we can grab something to eat.”

“Sure thing.” I replied as he climbed into the bus. I walked slowly back in the direction of my trailer, not feeling the need to rush anywhere. I stopped and leant against the outer wall of my trailer, basking in the early afternoon sun as I waited for Viggo. Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I looked at the screen, frowning at the unfamiliar number that flashed up. Maybe it was a call centre or something…

“Hello?” I answered in a cheerful tone.

“Hello Kira.” A male voice leered softly.

I gasped in alarm. I knew who it was. I knew that voice. Just the sound of it brought back memories that sent chills up my spine.

“What do you want?” I whispered fearfully, trying to keep my tone normal, and failing as my voice shook. My hands began to tremble as they broke out in a cold sweat. A thousand emotions flooded my mind; terror, anger, confusion – to name a few.

“I heard you’re doing pretty well for yourself now.” He murmured. I could almost hear the smile in his voice.

“Cut the crap Andrew.” I growled, my anger suddenly breaking though my fear, although I still shook like a leaf. “I thought I made my feelings perfectly clear the last time we met. I never, ever want to see you, or hear your voice again!” I spat the last few words as tears sprang to my eyes.

“Now don’t be that way-”

“Shut up!” I cried, “What will it take for you to leave me alone? How the hell did you find me?”

“I have my ways.” He answered ominously.

“Just leave me alone!” I screamed into the phone, roughly slamming the ‘end call’ button and throwing my phone against the wall of the trailer opposite me, where it made an audible cracking sound and shattered into three separate pieces. I could no longer hold myself up. My legs felt like they were made of straw as I slid down the wall of my trailer to the ground, tears falling freely and unchecked from my eyes as I trembled and sobbed into my hands.

How had he found me? How had he found me?

***Viggo’s Point of View***

“Just leave me alone!”

Kira’s unmistakeable voice rang clearly across the car park, reaching my ears as I stepped out of the makeup bus. I could hear the terror in her words as I turned in confusion towards the sound. I jogged through the maze of trailers as I heard a ‘crack’ and then I heard her sobs.

“Kira?” I called, not bothering to hide the worry in my voice as I searched for her. “Ki?” No answer. Finally, I managed to pinpoint the sound and I ran to her trailer, where I spotted her with her head in her hands as she sat on the ground, slumped against the wall. Her body shook with sobs as tears tracked down her cheeks. “Kira?” I murmured, cautiously moving towards her. “Kira, what’s wrong?” I was only answered with a shaky sob as I knelt at her side and put my hand on her shoulder. What the hell had happened to her?

I spotted her phone lying on the ground, split into three pieces. Had someone phoned her and said something upsetting? I felt anger well up inside me as I thought of someone hurting Kira as I wrapped my arms around her. “Ki, its ok… What’s happened?” I asked. She didn’t even look up at me as I held her.

“Vig?”

I turned to see Orlando staring at us with a questioning look plastered across his face. “What’s going on?” He asked.

“I don’t know, I just found her like this…” I murmured as he also came and crouched beside her. She only seemed to cry harder, making her shoulders shake uncontrollably. Orlando tried to murmur soothing words to calm her down, but it was as if she couldn’t hear us. “Kira, please,” I begged, “What’s wrong?” She wouldn’t answer me.

“Viggo?” The voice of one of the crew members echoed across the car park. “Viggo! Pete needs you back in the studio for some more shots! Hurry up!”

“I’m coming!” I yelled back in an exasperated tone as I gave Kira’s shoulders a final squeeze and I turned to Orlando. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but can you look after her until I get back?” I asked desperately. I couldn’t bear to leave her alone like this.

“Of course.” He smiled weakly, laying his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll do my best.”

“Kira?” I whispered, “I’ll be back as soon as I can, ok?” Again she didn’t answer, so I gently released her and stood, nodding to Orlando as I ran back to the studio, my mind in turmoil over what had just happened.

* (Still Viggo!)*

I dashed out of the makeup bus as quickly as I could, running towards Kira’s trailer as fast as my legs would carry me. Thankfully, Peter had been pleased with the scene after a few takes, so we had been released early. I stopped outside the trailer. Neither Kira nor Orlando was outside, so I knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Orlando answered.

“Hey Vig.” He smiled weakly, stepping outside and shutting the door behind him.

“How is she?” I asked, my heart falling as he shook his head.

“I managed to get her inside, but she won’t stop crying, and she hasn’t said a word to me.” He sighed, “Do you have any idea of what’s going on?”

“No clue…” I murmured, “Can I go in?”

“Sure.” He nodded, opening the door and walking into the trailer. My eyes instantly settled on Kira, sitting on the couch, curled into a defensive ball with her head buried in her knees, still crying. The three parts of her phone lay on the table in front of her. I walked quickly to her side and sat down beside her.

“Kira?” I murmured, “Kira, what’s happened?” She sniffed and shook her head, not even looking up. I wrapped my arms around her in a vain attempt to comfort her as Orlando forlornly looked on. I wracked my brain, trying to think of some way to comfort Kira, but without knowing what was wrong, I found it impossible. I sighed and hugged her tightly, just as Orlando’s phone rang loudly. Kira jumped and shied away from the sound – almost as if she was afraid of it. I looked down at her in confusion as Orlando answered the phone, and hung up after a brief conversation.

“That was Peter,” He sighed, “He wants me to go do a scene with him. Will you two be ok here?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, “We’ll manage.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I’m done.” Orlando promised, before dashing out the door. Kira shook in my arms as the minutes ticked by. I felt her drifting further away from me, as if she was disconnecting herself from the world as she retreated deeper and deeper into herself. I couldn’t let her continue like this. I couldn’t lose her to something I didn’t understand.

“Ki?” I whispered, and for the first time, she stirred at the sound of my voice. “Please tell me what’s wrong.” I begged as she let out a quiet whimper. The sound of her misery tugged at my heart, making me hold her tighter.

“Viggo…” She whispered, her voice shaking as I held her.

“I’m here.” I answered. She uncurled from her ball a little and slumped against me, resting her head on my shoulder.

“How did he find me?” She whispered so quietly that I barely heard her.

“Who?” I asked in confusion as she shook her head, her tears seeping through the fabric of my shirt. “Kira I don’t understand…” Again she shook her head and I sighed a little. She looked up at me, her eyes red from crying and there was something in her expression that I didn’t understand… She seemed so… Frightened.

“I’m sorry…” She whimpered.

“For what?” I asked, still impossibly confused.

“For wasting you time like this… I’m alright, you can go.”

“Kira, you’re clearly not alright.” I replied firmly. “You’re not wasting my time, and I’m not going anywhere.” I tried to smile comfortingly as she sighed, “Please tell me what’s wrong.” She shook her head again.

“You don’t need to get involved in my screwed up life.” She murmured.

“Ki, I’m involved now whether you like it or not.” I said softly, “I care about you, and I hate seeing you like this.” I admitted quietly as she sniffled.

“Alright,” She sighed, “I suppose you have a right to know… If you want to know what’s wrong, you’re going to need to hear the whole story.”

“I’m fine with that.” I smiled, glad that she was finally opening up. She sat up a little, untangling herself from my arms and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“What date is it today?” She asked suddenly.

“The 16th.” I answered automatically and the corners of her lips twitched, as if she was about to smile, but she didn’t.

“Of course… I should have been expecting him to pull something like this.” She sighed. “This afternoon, I got a phone call from my ex-boyfriend, Andrew.” She began, “And it’s been exactly a year since I plucked up the courage to walk out his door. That day, I thought I’d finally heard the last from him, but he just kept phoning. No matter how many times I changed my number, he always managed to find me. That’s why I moved away from Scotland, I just couldn’t bear to be anywhere near him, he scared me so much.” She must have noticed my questioning glance as she continued, “We’d met in Scotland when I was looking for work over there, and he seemed like a really nice guy, and eventually, I moved in with him. He’d always been a little protective of me, and at first I’d thought it was sweet, but then he started getting really possessive…” She glanced down at the ground, a sure sign that this wasn’t the worst part. I felt like I ought to do something, so I busied myself with putting her phone back together whilst I listened. “He hated it whenever I put my career before him, and he always resented it when I had to do anything like kiss one of my co-stars. He just didn’t understand…” She sniffed and a tear fell from her eye before she could wipe it away. I gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze as she went on. “He always needed to know where I was, to the point where he didn’t want me to go out, and when I tried to do my own thing… He got violent.” The tears were falling freely from her eyes now as I felt anger creep up inside me at the thought of someone hurting Kira. “He controlled me with fear.” She whispered, “I hated it, but I couldn’t leave… He wouldn’t let me. He became paranoid, and was convinced that I was cheating on him, even though he wouldn’t let me leave the house. The stupid thing was… I was still in love with him.” She laughed at the irony, but the sound was hollow, not like her usual, cheerful laughter.

“Do you still feel that way?” I asked quietly.

“No!” She exclaimed quickly, and then she blushed a little, and looked back down at the ground. “No… There is a very thin line between love and hate… I just took my time crossing it. I eventually managed to pull myself together and I left, but he found me. No matter how far I run… He always finds me.” She choked on the last words and I pulled her into my arms as she wept into my shoulder.

“It’s ok Ki…” I murmured, holding her tightly. I’d seen her cry before, but only ever for scenes, and afterwards, she’d always been able to smile through the tears. This was totally different. This wasn’t the Kira I knew. She’d been changed by her fear of this person. She was clearly still terrified of him, and I had no idea of what I should do to cure her of her fear. She was starting to calm down, as she sat back and looked at me.

“I just don’t know how to get him to leave me alone…” She whimpered, and I could hear the clear desperation in her voice. I looked deep into her eyes and held her hands.

“I won’t let him hurt you again Ki, I promise.” I murmured as she looked at me in surprise, “I’ll do whatever it takes to make you smile again.” I said softly. Her gaze softened and I pulled her back towards me and she wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my shoulder. We sat like that for a few minutes, until her newly repaired phone rang on the table. She stiffened and held onto me tighter, her breathing becoming ragged with fear. “It’s alright.” I murmured calmly, gently prising her arms away from my neck as she stared at the number that flashed on the screen.

“It’s him…” She whispered fearfully. I reached for the phone, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me back. “Viggo…”

“It’s ok.” I smiled, slipping out of her grasp and picking up the phone. I stood and pressed it to my ear as I answered, all the while, I could feel Kira’s eyes following me.

“Kira.” An unfamiliar voice breathed menacingly. I could tell that this guy knew how much he terrified her, and he was abusing that power.

“This isn’t Kira.” I answered, keeping my tone even, but I knew I would lose my control soon.

“Who is this?”

“That’s none of your concern.” I snapped irritably, “I want to know why you keep calling her. Is it to satisfy your own sick obsession with her?”

“So are you her new favourite?” He crooned, ignoring my question as out of the corner of my eye I saw Kira’s eyes grow wide. He continued when I didn’t answer. “You know, no matter how much you care for her, no matter how much you profess to love her, she will still break your heart.”

“Don’t make yourself into the victim here.” I growled, my anger building. “I know what you did to her.”

“She will always leave.” He insisted, “The second she finds someone new.”

“Shut up.” I hissed. “If you ever bother her again, you’ll be answering to me. Understand?” He didn’t answer, so I ended the call, knowing that if I continued, I would lose control of my temper. I set the phone back on the table and ran one hand through my hair as I paced the room. He’d assumed that Kira and I were together…

“Viggo?” Kira’s trembling voice reminded me that she was still there. The sight of her concerned expression made my anger subside. After all she had been through; she was still worried about me.

“Ki,” I sighed, sitting down beside her again and pulling her into my arms. “I have a feeling that he won’t be calling anymore.”