Holly
Is this your version of checking in on me?
Nick
Absolutely not. I was also going to suggest you milk this injury for everything it’s worth. Sympathy votes, better lighting, possibly a Netflix docuseries.
Holly
Already working on the pitch. ‘Broken Ankles, Broken Trust: The Holly Martinez Story.’
You want an EP credit?
Nick
Only if I get to play myself in the reenactments. I look great in monochrome and guilt.
Holly
Bastard. Thanks for texting.
Nick
Don’t mention it. I only check in on the people I find vaguely tolerable.
Now get some rest. You’re no use to me dead.
51
NOT WORTH THE PENALTY
Nate
“The penalty for hurting her? Me.”
Nate could hear Lars all the way down the hall when he arrived.
They’d tucked him into one of the smaller offices, the kind no one ever claimed for long, where the air always smelled faintly of hairspray and burned coffee. A place meant for quiet conversations and temporary damage control, not reckoning. Two security guards stood just outside the open door, arms folded, faces deliberately blank. Inside, Lars paced in tight, angry lines, gym bag open on the table, costume half-folded like he’d been interrupted mid-performance and expected to resume at any second.
“This is fucking insane,” Lars snapped, voice sharp with disbelief. “You don’t get to end my contract over anaccident.Do you know how this looks?”
Martin stood near the wall, hands clasped in front of him, all the sparkle and false cheer drained away. There was nothing sycophantic left now, just a thin, pale man trying to contain a situation that had gone nuclear.
“It looks like intent, Lars,” he said evenly. “And the footage is very clear.”
Nate stepped into the doorway and the air inside the room shifted to make room for him.
Lars froze mid-stride, his body reacting before his pride could catch up. For a fraction of a second, a flicker of pure hatred crossed his face before he smoothed it over with a crooked smile and squared his shoulders like bravado might still save him.
“Well,” Lars said lightly, forcing a laugh. “If it isn’t the hero of the hour. Should’ve known. Come to finish the job?”
Nate didn’t bother stepping fully into the room. He didn’t crowd in on Lars, or raise his voice. He just stood there, broad and immovable, his ice-blue eyes steady in a way that made it clear the outcome had already been decided.
“You’re not worth the paperwork,” Nate said calmly.
The smile on Lars’ face twitched. “You think this makes you better than me?” He scoffed. “You think you’vewonsomething?”
Nate’s gaze hardened with glacial certainty. “Nah,” he said with a casual shrug. “I think youlostsomething.”
