Mike leaned his back against the headboard, staring at the blinking name on his phone, his heartbeat banging dangerously. He still couldn’t believe he finally did it. Confessed a secret he’d kept for so long and never intended to reveal.
He just couldn’t bear hiding it anymore. Not after Maggie had drifted away. Not after he’d found out about what Andrea did. What she’d been doing.
He took a calming breath, exhaled, and answered. “Hey, Carolina. You watched?”
A low male throat clearing answered. “It’s Kyle Burley. I’m sorry about this, but I need to talk to you.”
“Kyle?” He jumped out of bed. “Where’s Maggie? Is she all right?”
“She’s fine. She’s in the shower. No need to worry.”
Mike shut his eyes in relief. Then rage hit him. “Then why the fuck did you steal her phone and call me?”
“I’m sorry again, but it’s the only way I can make sure you’ll pick up.”
Mike slid back under the sheets. “What the fuck do you want, Burley?”
“I want you to leave Maggie alone.”
“Excuse me?” Mike scoffed.
“We watched the show, Maggie and I. Your message was loud and clear, to me at least.”
A lump clogged Mike’s throat. “What…what do you mean?”
“She was furious you didn’t tell her about the girl you love. She doesn’t know you couldn’t tell her becausesheis that girl.”
Mike bent his knees up and placed his forehead on them.
“If you really meant what you said about respect, stop pursuing her,” Kyle said. “She’s the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love her more than you ever will. I’ll make her happy more than you ever could. Please. Just leave us alone.”
The lump in Mike’s throat swelled. This wasn’t how he’d imagined this. He thought she’d watch and then call him. She’d be suspicious, at least, and he’d ask to meet her to explain. Instead, she didn’t even bother, and he got a call from her jealous boyfriend. There was no point in arguing with him. The message was for her, and she didn’t get it. She never would. “Kyle…you got this all wrong,” he lied, defeated. “I’m like a brother to her.”
“But she’s not like a sister to you.”
Mike pressed his jaws together, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just…just make her happy. She deserves it.” He hung up and hurled the phone against the wall, where it shattered in pieces.
Scene26
Mike
FIVE WEEKS LATER
“You made a movie?” Mike bellowed over the phone, speeding in his Porsche to downtown L.A.
Maggie sighed. “Morning to you, too.”
“Shitty morning! I can’t believe you right now. I’ve heard nothing from you in almost two months, and I find out this morning that you made a movie.Thatwas your project?!” He made a turn on South Olive Street, Maggie’s apartment building showing two blocks on the right.
“Yes. I made a short film, so what? Wait…how did you know about that?”
“Not from you,” he yelled as he parked behind the building. He took the two paper-clipped scripts on the passenger seat and the garment bag hanging next to the backseat, and climbed out of the car.
“You couldn’t have just stumbled upon it? Who told you?”
He closed the Porsche door with his foot, held the phone between his ear and shoulder, and pressed the lock button on his car key. “You think I’ll just tell you?” He walked through the building back entrance, the garment bag over his shoulder, the scripts tucked under his arm.
“Come on, Mike.”
