33. The Case of the Ex

Finding Pete was a lot easier than Krislynn thought it would be. At first, she thought he was secretly some sort of magical elf, hiding in between cracks and openings she couldn’t possibly find, but then she realized he was only sitting on the back patio having a smoke and felt a little stupid for even thinking up the possibility. Pushing the screen door open, she stepped outside onto the sturdy wooden floor and tiptoed quietly up to him. He was sitting on the wooden railings, both legs hanging off the other side, and if she sneaked up behind him, she was sure he’d tip over and fall into the sand below.

Krislynn bit her lip and held her breath. Slowly. Slowly.

He turned around. “Good morning cutie. What are you up to?”

Krislynn let out a long moan before taking a seat on one of the patio chairs. “Actually I was going to be super mean and scare you,” she said with a displeased look. “But then you turned around at just the wrong moment.”

Pete chuckled. “Well technically you still can,” he said with a little smirk. Skilfully, he slipped his cigarette into his mouth and held the filter steady with his lips as he covered his face with both hands. “Come on. I’ll pretend to be scared. I promise.”

“Ha-ha. Now you’re just making fun of me.”

Again, he laughed before spinning around and jumping down from the railing. “So did you just come out to chill with good old Pete or is there something you want from me?”

“Oh right.” Krislynn stood up immediately. “Breakfast. I was looking for you to tell you breakfast should be ready soon. I thought you’d still be in bed nursing your hangover, but you seem alive and well.”

“Yup, I’m feeling fine. Oh, sit down!” A smile, and a rather scary one Krislynn thought to herself, suddenly grew across Pete’s face. “We haven’t really talked one on one yet. Let’s have some bonding time.”

“Okay. As if that’s not creepy.”

Pete made a face and Krislynn laughed before settling back down. “Okay. A quickie. What do you want to know about me?”

After taking a second to put out his cigarette, Pete sat down across from her and rested both elbows on the table before cupping his face in his hands. He looked extremely excited for whatever the reason and Krislynn couldn’t help but think of him as a little kid. “Well Chase briefly touched on your background when I asked him about it before,” he replied. “He said you thought your best friend eloped with a guy to Mexico and that’s how you ended up there, right?”

Krislynn nodded before he continued. “And also your boyfriend at the time completely ditched and left you with nothing and you didn’t even have a place to stay, right?” She nodded again. “My question is: why didn’t you stay with another friend instead of looking for your bff? You must have another one hidden somewhere.”

The question caught Krislynn off guard and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat for a moment. “I don’t really have many close friends,” she replied. “I guess I could have found a couple of people to stay with, jump around from acquaintance to acquaintance, but that would be too similar to my childhood.” She peered at him nervously through her eyelashes. “You know, like moving around from foster home to foster home – they’re always nice to you, but they don’t actually really want you there.”

“Wow. I’m sorry. I didn’t really know.”

“It’s okay. It’s not really anything to apologize about.”

“So your parents are...”

“My mom is. My dad is still alive or at least I think he is.” She wrinkled her nose as she called out his title. “He ran off way before my mother passed away though. He’s not really much of one.”

Pete leaned back in his chair and started putting pieces together. “I can’t imagine a girl like you without many close friends though. I mean you’re so out-going and friendly. You must get along with people really easily.”

“I do,” she admitted, “but people... they don’t always stay too often.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well at first people just came and went from my life.” Her eyes darted downward and again, she shifted in her seat. “But then it just became easier that way.” She looked up suddenly, an optimistic smile on her face. “But it’s okay though, because this way the people around me are constantly changing and I get to meet different kinds of people all the time. It’s a pretty cool experience.”

His gaze was hard and held hers down. “Sure, but doesn’t that get lonely?”

“No,” she murmured, eyes down again, but there seemed to be a loose question mark hanging in the air after the word – like she wasn’t exactly certain herself. “I have my best friend Ella.”

“But now you don’t.”

In one second, the atmosphere managed to turn dangerously tense, and Pete was about to say something to lighten up the mood when Krislynn’s name suddenly vibrated through the air. He turned to the entrance and watched Chase stomp angrily through the doorway and onto the patio. “Krislynn, go inside. Now.”

Krislynn jumped from the sudden interjection. She turned to Chase and was about to question his authority to boss her around when she saw the dark shadow hanging frighteningly over his face. She had never seen anything quite like it and his face itself reminded her of the clouds during a thunderstorm. “Now, Krislynn. Go.” She stood up at his words almost instinctively before scurrying back inside leaving Chase and Pete alone on the patio.

Chase stood by the entry and waited until Krislynn was back inside before he slammed the screen door shut and trudged up to where Pete was sitting. “Are you shitting me?” He yelled and in one quick swoop, grabbed Pete by the collar and roughly ripped him off of his chair. “Don’t fuck with her,” he spat through clenched teeth. “What the hell do you think you’re doing asking her shit like that?”

Pete remained calm and casually glanced down at the hands around his neck. “Isn’t this being a little dramatic?” He asked, raising one eyebrow. “We were only chatting.”

“No. You were backing her up against a corner and asking her about things you don’t have the right to know,” he shouted. His grip on Pete’s collar tightened as he pulled him closer, eyes furious, their chest almost touching. “How the hell is telling her that her parents are gone, her best friend is gone, and that she’s completely alone, supposed to make her fucking feel? Think Pete! Use your fucking head!”

Pete’s hands latched tightly onto Chase’s wrists. “Let go,” he growled, his eyes the own reflection of a demon’s.

Chase’s jaw grew taut but he held on, glaring at Pete for another good couple of seconds before he forcefully shoved him away. Pete stumbled back against the railing behind him, and took a moment to stretch his neck and fix his collar before letting a small grin broad across his face. “Look. The last little bit with Krislynn there, I admit, was a bit over the top. I shouldn’t have said that about her best friend, but can you blame me for asking about her situation? I’m a curious guy, and you didn’t tell me–”

“I told you,” Chase interrupted, “all you needed to know about her. Don’t go prying into her private affairs.”

“But I already did.”

“Yes you have.”

“And you’re pissed about this because?”

Chase looked away as he clenched his fists by his side. “You’ve never seen the way she looks when she’s scared Pete. She’s not as tough as the words she speaks, and I think, for all the shit that she’s gone through, she’s pretty amazing right now, just the way she is.” His gaze returned to Pete and stared at him firmly. “I don’t want you to mess with her head and make her doubt herself.”

Pete shrugged. “Fair enough.” He raised both hands up in surrender. “I’ll apologize to her as soon as breakfast is over.”

“Whatever. I can care less about that.” Chase turned his back to him as he started to walk away. “Just don’t bring up her parents or her past again. I’ll actually get pissed off next time Pete.”

“Understood.” Pete smirked. “Have you thought about what I told you yesterday then?”

“About LaCienega?” Chase stopped in his steps and turned his head around. “Yeah. I’m going to try it out. Just a few test drives. I’m not going to force anything, but if something naturally happens between Krislynn and Jace then... then there really isn’t much left for me to say, is there?”

“Well, you don’t need to explain the story to me,” Pete stated indifferently. “I was just curious if you were going through with the plan. You know I want nothing to do with it.”

“I know. You want to be a complete bystander.”

He snickered. “Exactly.”

The two of them headed inside, and sure enough, Pete kept his word and helped Krislynn with the dishes after breakfast so he could apologize.  “That’s okay. I wasn’t really offended.” She smiled as she handed him a plate to dry. “You were just curious. Why the sudden change though? I mean you were busy trying to find out things about me one moment and now you’re apologizing for asking? Did Chase say something to you while you guys were outside?”

Pete’s eyes lit up in amusement. “Ahh. But that’s a secret,” he said mischievously before chuckling to himself. “Well, I’d like to make it up to you for being inconsiderate nonetheless. If there’s anything you ever need, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll fly to your rescue.”

He beamed at her and Krislynn smiled back before she thought over his words. “Actually, there is something you can help me with.” She peered at him nervously before she decided it was okay for her to continue. “I’ve been thinking about getting a little job, but I’m not too familiar with L.A so I was wondering maybe you can help me out.”

“Why do you want a job? It’s not because Chase is being cheap with your allowance is it?”

Pete laughed as Krislynn rolled her eyes. “You know it’s nothing like that. Besides I owe him money and I was thinking if I got a part time on the side, it might end up being pretty beneficial. Except I don’t know the area well, I don’t have a car or an American driver’s license, and it would be sort of meaningless if I spent my money on cab fares.”

“Plus there’re no buses that run up to where Chase lives, huh? Figures since everyone that can afford a house there are smoking rich.” Pete paused for a second. “So you want me to find you a job close by? That might be a bit difficult though.” He thought it over for another second. “Hey I know. Why don’t you get a job at the studio? Then you can just bum a ride off of Chase and go home with him at the end of the day.”

His lips curved into a smirk as he playfully nudged Krislynn with his elbow. “Plus, you could keep an eye on him. We start filming Tuesdays and Chase adores spending a hard day after work with the female extras at the bar.”

“That seems like something he would do,” she muttered. “Oh yeah. I almost forgot. You work with Chase, don’t you?”

“Well, it’s sort of a part time gig,” he admitted. “I’m actually a fashion photographer, but I don’t have projects lined up one after the other so I usually leave for a week or two and then have a bunch of spare time on my hands. That’s how I ended up managing Chase’s shit half the time. Anyways, if you’re interested, I can hook you up. It wouldn’t be anything flashy though. Right now, off the top of my head, I’m missing an assistant for two of my actors. The job would be something similar to a coffee or an errand girl, but you get an okay pay – a lot better than something at the nearest fast food joint.”  

Krislynn got super jumpy at the prospect of working on a movie set and almost dropped the dish she was holding. “Are you serious?” She giggled hysterically. “You can get me a job like that? You can hire me for sure? On a movie set, really?!”

Pete gave her a weird look. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought he accidently offered her the leading female role. “Yeah, I’ve got the ability to do that, but I’m not sure if you want this job. Maybe you should give me a few days and I’ll look around to see if there’s a better position.” He looked at her hopefully. “Like I said, I’ve only got two openings and both of the actors you’ll be tending to aren’t very desirable.”

“But I want to start working asap,” she replied. “Otherwise I would have taken my time and worked something out myself. Besides, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you make it sound. Who are the actors?”

“Well, one of them is Troy.”

Krislynn quickly shook her head before grinning excitedly at him. “I’ll take the other one then,” she said.

“Are you sure? The other one is probably worse.”

“Who could be worse than Troy?” She squealed. “That guy is a complete weirdo, and that’s coming from me! Just sign me up for the other position. I’ll be fine!”

Krislynn babbled happily onwards and Pete couldn’t really find the heart to tell her the other actor, or more specifically actress, was Andrea Parson – the one girl Chase actually tried to seriously date during the last five years.

If he remembered correctly, she was a complete and utter bitch too, and according to Chase, an “obsessive, psychotic” one. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Krislynn cheered. “I’m going to have so much fun at this new job!”

Pete nodded uneasily. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I can’t even begin to imagine.”