“But if she was unhappy, and she didn’t tell you why—”
“She didn’t know, either.” I’m worried that I’m getting dangerously close to betraying Kim’s trust, or maybe I already have. But Ivy clearly needs me to be open with her, so I have to strike some kind of balance. “Sometimes when you’re going through something, it’s not always totally clear what’s happening, even to you.”
Ivy shakes her head. “Adults are so stupid.”
I laugh. “Yeah, okay. Maybe we are. But you don’t seem to be able to explain exactly what’s going on with you all the time. So maybe you’re crossing over into stupid adulthood faster than I’d like.”
Ivy crosses her arms. “I still don’t like it.”
“I know. But we’re still your parents, even when you don’t like our choices. We’re still responsible for keeping you safe, and you still need to follow our rules. You understand that, right?” She glares at me, and I smile back at her. “Hey, all I ask is that you understand. You don’t have to like it.”
“What are you guys going to do to me?” she asks.
Oh, boy.This could backfire on me. Hard. And I don’t want to give up what little progress we’ve just made.
“No more outings with Marguerite,” I say. “Instead, you’ll stay on set with us and help us take care of Costanza.”
She eyes me suspiciously. “My punishment is I have to play with Costanza?”
I smile. “I know. We’re such monsters.”
Ivy continues to stare at me like she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“You know we’re not looking to punish you, right? We’re trying to make sure you’re safe.”
“Okay. But school will be starting in a month.”
“Yeah,” I say. “And we’ll be done with location shooting by then, and working at the studio. So that won’t be a problem.”
“But I have summer homework for advanced reading,” she says. “I’ve read all the books, but I have to write a bunch of reports on them, and I don’t have my computer, so I can’t do it.”
She has a point. I’m pretty sure she’s been furiously reading the books for her summer assignment because she wanted to make this particular argument. “I’ll talk to your mom. We’ll figure out some kind of supervised computer time schedule.”That sort of thing is definitely Kim’s department.
“But I’m going to have all that time on set,” she says.
“And I wish we could trust you to follow our rules without us watching.” I elbow her. “But you understand why we can’t, right?”
Ivy grumbles something that might be a grudging yes or a disgruntled no. Either way, I’ve made my point.
I put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll talk to your mother. We’ll work something out.”
Ivy rolls over away from me and scarfs down another Oreo. She looks up at me guiltily, like she expects me to take the package with me, but I don’t.
I meant what I said. I just want her to be safe. And if I allow her this little rebellion, well.
We can fight that battle when we’re standing on more stable ground.
Twenty-two
Kim
We’re back on set in Miami, ready to film another scene on a blocked-off downtown street, although this time I’m the one acting. And we have a new co-star on set—an eighteen-year-old newly-minted heartthrob namedTanner Berg, who is on some CW show about an angel who hunts werewolves. Or maybe a werewolf who hunts angels? Either way, he’s a relatively minor role in this movie, playing Hemlock’s nephew (and the sole remaining family member she has left after Naked Mole Rat killed her sister in the first movie), soTroy was able to put all his scenes together in these last few weeks to accommodate hisTV shooting schedule.
“It’s really cool getting to work with you,”Tanner says in between takes, as a stylist carefully re-shapes the blond hair that is supposed to look haphazardly flopped over one of his blue eyes. “Like, you’re totally legit.”
I’m not exactly sure what he means by that—a reference to my acting cred?—but it sounds like a sincere compliment. “Thanks. It sounds like your show is doing well, so congrats on that.”
He shrugs, but I can tell he’s pleased. “Huntedis pretty sweet. But movies, man.That’s where Ireallywant to be.”
