Caleb is in motion in an instant. “Fuck,” Caleb says, already half-way to the set when Cas sways and then just drops to the ground.
My mind snaps. “What happened?” I ask Nix, following Caleb as close as a shadow. I know she doesn’t know, but my heart is in my throat.
I can’t think when Cas is pale on the ground.
Her face is full of worry. We have watched this scene a handful of times, and this is not part of it. Crew and directors, so many damn people are between Cas and me. I try to stay behind Caleb, taking advantage of the hole he makes in the crowd.
“I’m his security,” Caleb says, his voice icy. He pushes me forward to kneel beside Cas, while pointing at the set and everyone else standing around. “Secure what’s left of what he took. And where it came from. No one leaves the set.”
I focus on Cas, his face is too white, and he’s muttering nonsense, but not unconscious.
Caleb’s hand is on my shoulder, and Nix’s, too. “This is EMS,” Caleb says, nodding to the people joining the group. “They are always on standby, you will have to let them in, Baylor.”
I step back, knowing Caleb is right. But, it still feels wrong to leave Cas’s side.
“He was roofied.” Caleb’s face is a hard line as he delivers the news to me.
We are back in Cas’s trailer, the med team, including a concierge doctor on call, preferring the privacy once it was determined that he didn’t need to go to the hospital.
“The pills he was supposed to take were sugar pills, and somehow they got switched. Security is talking to the stage manager and everyone on the set, then I have my turn. I’ve already called Graham and his resources in. I worked for him for years and he’s thorough.”
“Are you sure he shouldn’t be at the hospital?” I ask, for the millionth time. I’ve been assured by the doctor and EMS that he just needs to be monitored in a safe environment.
“Bee, I know you are worried.” Nix takes over. I’m not trying to be difficult, but the truth is I’m beside myself. “I’m not going to tell you this isn’t serious, because it is. But, you have to understand, someone like Cas can’t just go to the hospital. We have a concierge doctor that has looked at him. He will be monitoring him for the next twenty-four hours at least. He’s had all the same treatment that the hospital can provide. I promise. It’s the opposite of my job and Caleb’s job for him to get hurt or suffer anything we can prevent.”
“Why would anyone even do that to him?” I ask. “It makes no sense.”
“For this?” she asks, spinning her phone to me.
Already,VIPhas a story up. It’s been a few hours, but still. I give her a look.
“Welcome to Cas’s world,” she says.
COLLAPSED ON SET — that’s the headline.
“This is bullshit,” I grumble, as I skim the words.Taking a page out of River Phoenix’s own method acting, Caswell Vaughn, the singer now turned aspiring actor, has reportedly collapsed on the set of the new River Phoenix biopic from drug use.The story goes on to quote an anonymous source who stated that,“He was acting strange. Anyone could see it. And the scene was about drug use. Maybe he decided to get too far into the role.”
“It doesn’t matter that it’s bullshit,” Nix reminds me. “This is what it’s like. That picture with Gray? That’s why you can’t believe that shit. And the more you protest the truth, the more credibility you give it.”
“He told you about that?”
Nix gives me a smile, sliding over some more coffee. “It’s not my place to explain Cas’s life to you, Bee. But, I see the way he looks at you. The way he’s always looked at you. He wants you guys to last, but it’s not that simple in his world. You need to know what you are signing up for before you get too far into this.”
I feel my heart jump in my throat. It’s never been that simple between Cas and me. I want that, too. So goddamn much. I just have been trying really hard to not wonder if it was possible.
“Can you imagine what they would print if they knew about us?”
Nix stills my hand where I am idly putting together words in the margins of my composition book.
“You ready for that? Really ready, Baylor? There’s loving Cas, and then there is all that comes with him. The fame, the stories, the lies. The fucking break-ins and threats and certain lack of privacy, in LA, anyway.”
“What’s that been like for him? Every action is constantly judged, twisted. . .”
“What’s it going to be like for you?” she interrupts. “He’s back there sleeping this off, and he’s fine. But, if you are serious about him, you need to know what you are getting yourself into. They will write this shit about you, too. Dissect your entire life, your every move. You will be the guy who takes Caswell Vaughn off the market. Do you think everyone is going to be kind about that? Be happy he found someone and wish you guys well?”
I really don’t know what to say.
“Nix. I don’t care what people say on the internet.”
