“Hayden!” Sebastian waves me over to the large dining room table where he’s laying out black binders. “How’s it going with Santino?” he asks, skipping over pleasantries.
“Um, okay?” If I don’t count him seeing me struggling at the club last night. Or my freak-out this morning. Or me kicking a stack of books that had him running to make sure I was alright.
At my less-than-enthusiastic answer, Sebastian glances up from straightening a binder and casts me a questioning look.
Squirming, I put on the smile I know will put him at ease. “It’s been great, actually. He’s a really cool guy. He’s not a morning person. He drinks his coffee black. I made waffles for us this morning and added bacon because he likes bacon.” I stop myself from rambling as Sebastian’s expression goes from amused to concerned.
He opens his mouth and I brace myself for questions I don’t want to answer, but Bellamy interrupts just in time.
“You guys want anything to drink?” Bellamy asks, heading to the kitchen. “We’ve got beer if we’re day drinking. Otherwise, soda, LaCroix, water…?”
“Whiskey!” Noel shouts before appearing from the hallway that leads to the bedrooms.
“No day drinking!” Sebastian shouts back and Noel rolls his eyes. “I need everyone alert and focused for this meeting.”
Bellamy grabs an armful of LaCroix cans from the fridge and brings them over to the dining room table.
“Don’t forget the coasters!” Noel calls out.
“Yeah, babe, I’ve got them.” Bellamy sounds equal parts exasperated and indulgent. He places cans down on the thick glass coasters already set out in front of each chair.
“Alright, let’s get started,” Sebastian says. “I’ve made custom packages for everyone, so please find the binder with your name on it and sit in your assigned seat.”
Noel rolls his eyes again and Bellamy backhands him lightly on the arm. Noel sticks out his bottom lip in a pout as he rubs the sore spot.
Sebastian takes the seat at the head of the table, with Noel and Bellamy on either side of him, facing each other. Then Santino and I are in the next seats down, also facing each other.
The moment we’re seated, Sebastian starts. “If you open your binder, you’ll find a table of contents. This will help you locate whatever information you’re looking for. We’ll go through the binder one section at a time.”
Across the table from me, Santino’s jaw is slack as he flips quickly through his binder. “Whoa…” he murmurs under his breath.
It’s always fun watching someone experience Sebastian for the first time and Santino’s response is perfection. He sneaks a peek at me, as if asking whether this is for real and I give him a little shrug. Yeah, this is for real for real.
Sebastian takes us through the binders’ daily and hourly breakdowns of the shooting schedule, including location details, a list of equipment needed, costume requirements for those in front of the camera. He’s outlined each scene with key dramatic moments, preliminary dialogue prompts, and suggested camera angles.
He’s got us scouting wedding venues and doing tuxedo fittings and cake tastings. There’s a weekend-long bachelor party, and then the actual wedding. The only thing we’re not doing on camera is signing the damn marriage certificate—Noel and Bellamy are doing that in a more private ceremony with Bellamy’s family in Ohio.
Santino looks stunned through it all. The rest of us are used to Sebastian throwing a truck ton of information at us all at once, but I’m not sure how much Santino is actually absorbing. WhenSebastian pauses to ask if there are any questions, Santino sits back in his chair, a dazed look on his face.
Bellamy suggests we take a break and after a moment of hesitation, Sebastian agrees.
Santino is up and out of his seat before the rest of us can push our chairs back. He immediately pulls Sebastian away and I watch as they migrate to the other side of the room.
What are they talking about? Is Santino backing out of the project? The binders are pretty intimidating. Maybe this isn’t what he thought he was signing up for.
Or maybe it’s me. He doesn’t want to stay with me anymore. He feels uncomfortable around the strange dude who goes around kicking things because he hears a voice in his head.
From across the room, Sebastian shoots me a quick, examining look before turning back to Santino.
Yeah, it’s probably you.
Doubt slithers through my mind, twisting everything that’s happened in the past day into a darker, more menacing version of what I remember. Santino only ate my waffles because he felt bad saying no. He only came to sit next to me at the club because he was tired. He only checked in on me when I kicked the books because I was making too much noise. Everything takes on a sinister, shadowy hue until I don’t know what’s true anymore.
I hurry to the bathroom as an ache blossoms in my chest. I don’t know what I’m doing here. I’m going to ruin this project. I’m the last person Santino should be staying with. They would all be better off without me.
The ache expands across my chest, rising up to my throat until it feels like I’m suffocating. I huddle on the bathroom floor, wishing I was at home, in bed, curled up under the covers. I never should’ve come today. I never should’ve agreed to let Santino live with me. I’m so dumb. I’m so stupid.
A knock on the door makes me jump. “Hey, Sebastian told me to tell you we’re starting again,” Noel calls through the door.
