Page 59 of Now Their Starlet

Ezra is right. I do need help to get it off. I also can’t ask Gina or Stuart for help because they’ll definitely see the phone taped to my torso, and then this whole plan would be fucked.

Stuart lets out a tired sigh, as if Ezra mentioning that I’m laced into a torture device is a giant inconvenience to him.

“I can⁠—”

“Fuck no,” Ezra snarls, cutting Stuart off. “I wasn’t bringing that shit up so you could do it. I was bringing it up to let you know I’m going upstairs with her.”

Stuart shakes his head, like he’s too exhausted to argue with Ezra. I don’t know why Stuart would be exhausted; all he’s done tonight is sit on his ass and type away at his phone.

“Fine, let’s go,” he sighs before cutting his glare towards me. “Your mother... do not make any stupid mistakes around her tonight.”

With that cryptic message, he opens his door, leaving Ezra and me to share a brief, nervous glance at each other.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Ezra hisses when Stuart is out of earshot.

“You’re asking me as if I’d know?” I whisper back.

“Dude, she’s your mom.”

“So? You think that means I can predict her brand of crazy?”

The banter—reminiscent of our conversations about Gina from back in high school—doesn’t help with the sense of foreboding eating away at my gut that I can’t shake as I step out of the SUV.

CHAPTER 14

Andi

Iwas right to be worried.

The moment I step foot into the house, the door from the garage left open by Stuart, I know Gina’s been drinking.

She doesn’t drink particularly often, but when she does, she drinks.

“Quick,” I mutter under my breath, kicking off my heels and carrying them in my hand as I jerk my thumb towards that dreaded staircase.

Ezra is quick to follow me. He knows a thing or two about having a drunk mother. Except his mom turns catatonic when she drinks. Mine... loses any and all sense of boundaries.

“Give that back, Stuart!” Gina slurs, her voice echoing off the minimalistic, high-ceilinged space.

“You’ve had enough for tonight,” Stuart says, his voice thick with irritation. Looks like even he runs out of patience every now and again, even though the vast majority of his patience is reserved for Gina, considering he’s in love with her.

“Fine,” Gina says, her feet slapping against the tile floor of the kitchen.

“Hurry!” I hiss, tugging up the hem of my dress and scrambling up the rest of the stairs.

Ezra stays behind me like he’s afraid I’m going to take my own tumble down them. To be fair, in this stupid dress, the possibility is above zero percent.

“You’re the one slowing us down,” he mutters when I reach the top.

“Shut up,” I scowl, glaring at him over my shoulder.

But he’s not looking back at me. His brows are drawn down in concern as he listens in on Gina and Stuart’s conversation.

“Where’s Andi? I need to talk to her!” Gina says, her voice growing even more belligerent as she makes her way to the stairs.

“She’s upstairs with Ezra, probably,” Stuart sighs.

Gina wanting to explicitly talk with me is probably a bad sign. Stuart telling her exactly where to find me is an even worse one. Though, to be fair, there aren’t a lot of places I could be, considering the current circumstances.