My eyes twitch when he lands on that word, “insane.” A word that cuts deep at this very moment.
“Besides, you’re not a stranger,” I bite back. “Everyone in America knows you.”
In my peripheral vision, I can see him run a hand through his hair. I see his chest rising and falling as he reaches for the radio dial to turn up the volume. My phone vibrates on my lap.
Five messages waiting for me.
Aidan:It’s just easier to sleep in my bed and we always meet up later…
Aidan:When this deal pans out, we should throw it back to our pub crawl days.
Aidan:Is Chris making you pull an all-nighter?
The most recent one:
Aidan:I wish you didn’t work so hard.
I type and type, but every message I write to him seems to fall flat. The only thing I can manage to send is:Yes, long day again. Sorry. I miss you.
Holden’s voice cuts through. “Are you okay?”
I drop my phone back on my lap, straightening my posture to look up and get a better look at him.
“I should be asking you that…”
“It’s impolite to answer a question with a question. However, since I am a gentleman, I will answer.”
He abruptly stops at a red light, turning his body to me when he makes a full stop.
“I’m fine, just a little hungry. Didn’t get to eat my food…”
A slow smile spreads across his face. All I want to do is understand what is going on in his head. I’m a walking archive for his past, but present Holden? I’m clueless.
In my head, I go over every detail.
His only major long-term relationship was Sloane Swanson. The career deep dive boiled down to one teen drama, two indie films, five guest spots and one terrible blockbuster that has a script just as horrific as the reviews.
AfterThe Final Countdown: Ninjas vs. Aliensflopped spectacularly, he was never the same. It was only recently, during preproduction of his new film, that the videos leaked. The leaked videos that led him to our office.
Holden Strauss, the version of him I witnessed for the last forty-eight hours, seems stable. No telltale signs indicating he is an addict…
Just a guy that looked like he hadn’t slept for days and didn’t keep up with himself like he used to.
When the unrefined Holden announces, “We are here,” his car pulls up to a driveway that is in a whole other tax bracket.
“You live here?”
“I think so, or this will be an awkward conversation for the owner.”
“Oh, it’s not yours?”
“Relax, I bought it,” he quickly says before I can say anything else.
Even though I had become accustomed to being around wealth when I visited Aidan’s family, the environment never failed to make me antsy whenever I was around nice things.
I walk over to the door’s threshold to experience the warm colors everywhere in the entryway. From the artwork to the furniture.Even his random air hockey table in the middle of the living room confirms he’s just a twenty-six-year-old who was single and had the money to hire an interior decorator.
Gliding through the entryway, I started to realize how crazy this all is. How odd I must seem to him to walk outside of a restaurant to find him and follow him to his house.
