Damage (4 page)

“I think so. I mean, that's why she moved here.”

“She's from Portland?”

Ronnie nodded. “We were in high school together. She posted something on Facebook awhile back about getting a part in a movie.”

“Like, acting? Cool.”

“Yeah.” She gave me a sideways look. “Joelle's gorgeous.”

Which for some stupid reason made me blush.

It took us awhile to find Joelle's apartment, and the closer we got, the more my heart sank. The neighborhood looked like the kind guidebooks advise you not to walk through after dark: empty storefronts, overflowing dumpsters, graffiti and a distinct lack of trees and grass.

“This is it,” Ronnie said, parking the car. “She said the entrance is around the back. It's a basement suite.”

“Right,” I said. “Of course it is.”

She gave me a sharp look but said nothing as she unbuckled Zach and lifted him onto her hip. I grabbed my bag from the backseat and her backpack from the trunk, and followed her around the side of the building to the back door.

Ronnie knocked loudly. “I hope she's home. My credit card's almost maxed out.”

“Isn't she expecting you?”

“Um, sort of. I mean, not today, exactly. But she's always saying on Facebook that I should come visit LA.”

My heart sank even further. I wasn't sure that qualified as an invitation. “What if she's not here? I mean, I've got about four hundred bucks in the bank. But that's not going to last long if we have to get a hotel room.”

She raised one eyebrow, and I remembered how she had put her hand on my thigh when she was telling me about Max. I felt my face getting hot. “Not that, you know, I'm saying we would get a hotel room, necessarily. I mean, not together. But—”

To my relief, the door opened before I could make matters worse.

“Ronnie? Ronnie Gleeson? Oh my god!” A tall, very blond girl stood in front of us. From the tousled hair and the fact that she was wearing nothing but a pink T-shirt, I gathered we had woken her up. “What are you doing here?”

“Joelle!” Ronnie gave her a one-armed hug. “This is my baby, Zach! Isn't he gorgeous?”

“He's a doll,” Joelle said. She had long legs, smooth and tanned, and the T-shirt she was wearing didn't cover much at all. I tried not to stare.

“We just drove all night,” Ronnie said. She looked at me, laughed and turned back to Joelle. “I can't believe we're here.”

“Me neither.” Joelle looked at me. “Hi. I'm Joelle.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Ronnie shook her head. “I'm a bit out of it. This is my buddy, Theo.” She giggled. “Get this, Jo—I used to babysit him.”

I really wished she hadn't just said that. “It was a long time ago,” I told Joelle.

She looked me up and down, not even trying to hide that she was totally checking me out. Then she turned to Ronnie and raised one eyebrow. “I guess so,” she said, grinning. “Come on in, you guys. I'll make coffee.”

Joelle's apartment was a dive. I'm no neat freak, as my mom often points out, but it's one thing to leave clothes lying around and another thing altogether to let dirty dishes and overflowing ashtrays and beer and wine bottles take over every horizontal surface.

I moved an empty pizza box off a chair, and Ronnie deposited her stillsleeping toddler, who promptly woke up and started to cry.

I'd never met a kid who cried so much, but maybe toddlers always cried when they woke up. I was no expert.

Ronnie pulled a box of Ritz crackers from her bag, which seemed to cheer Zach up, and Joelle put on a pot of coffee. She eyed my duffel bag and Ronnie's backpack. “So, are you guys just passing through?” Ronnie perched on the arm of Zach's chair. “Actually, we were wondering if we could crash with you for a few days.”

Joelle rummaged around in a cupboard and found a couple of mugs. “Um, yeah, sure. If you don't mind the couch or the floor. I only have one bedroom.”

“That's fine,” Ronnie said. “We really appreciate you letting us stay.”

I looked around. It seemed to me we'd have to do a fair bit of work to find the couch and the floor, and the thought of sleeping on either of them was less than appealing. “What about Zach?” I said.

“He can sleep in his stroller,” Ronnie said. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her voice sounded strained. “He'll be fine.”

I nodded.

Zach crumbled a Ritz cracker in his fist. “Dada,” he said. “Dada.”

“Not now, Zach.” Ronnie looked at me. “I don't have the energy to deal with him sometimes, you know?”

This apartment was enough to suck the last dregs of strength from anyone. “Come on,” I said. “Let's go do something. We're in LA!” I bent down to ruffle Zach's dark hair. “Universal Studios? What do you say?”

“Theo!” Ronnie laughed. “You have any idea what that costs?”

I shrugged. “Not a clue, actually. But we might as well get out for the day.”

“Yeah,” Joelle said. “I have to work tonight, so I need to sleep this morning.”

“Ronnie said you had a job in the movie business.”

“Uh, yeah. Well, I acted in a couple of films. But tonight I'm just waitressing.” She yawned widely. “I'll give you my spare key, okay? But if you could stay out until, like, three or four, that'd be cool.”

“Sure,” I said. “I mean, thanks. For letting us crash here.”

“Ronnie and me, we go way back,” Joelle said.

Chapter Seven

It turned out that Ronnie was right. Getting the three of us into Universal Studios would have cost almost two hundred bucks. Which was half the money in my bank account.

“Zach's probably too young for the rides anyway,” Ronnie said. “Joelle said we should check out CityWalk. At least it's free.”

I'd never heard of CityWalk. It turned out to be several blocks of shops and restaurants and movie theaters, starting right outside the entrance to Universal Studios. Brightly colored signs were everywhere. A three-story-high guitar hung in front of a Hard Rock Café, and a massive King Kong leaned over the street, looking ready to grab passersby.

Ronnie laughed and handed me her phone. “Take my picture, Theo.” She posed in front of the gorilla's enormous hand, and I backed up, angling the camera so that it looked as though she was just about to be snatched up like the chick in the
King Kong
movie.

Zach fussed in his stroller, squirming and whimpering. “You want to get out, little buddy?” I asked him. “Want to run around a bit?” I fumbled with the straps, which seemed remarkably complicated, until Ronnie came and took over. She freed Zach with a couple of quick clicks, and he clambered down.

“Want to see?” I asked, showing her the photo on her phone.

“Hold it still.” She put her hand over mine, shading the screen from the sun. Her fingers were soft and cool against my own. “Oh, that's awesome! It looks totally real. I'm putting this one on Facebook.” Then she frowned and pulled her hand away. “Or not, I guess.”

“What?” I handed her the phone. “Oh, right. I guess that'd kind of let everyone know where you are. But your ex doesn't still have access to your Facebook, does he?”

“Of course not.” She watched Zach, who was running about in wildly unpredictable zigzags and generally getting in the way of everyone walking past.“We have a lot of the same friends though.”

“Your friends would tell him where you are?” I shook my head. “That's awful, Ronnie. Do they know what happened? I mean, how he treated you?”

She shrugged. “I don't want to talk about it.” She slipped her cell phone back into her purse. “I need a coffee. Can you watch Zach for a minute?”

“Uh, sure. Yeah.” I wished she wouldn't keep shutting me out.

“You want anything?”

I shook my head. “I'm good.”

Ronnie disappeared into a Starbucks, and I kept both my eyes on Zach, which was a challenge. He moved fast. When he ran past me, I reached out and tapped his shoulder. “Hey, buddy. Where are you off to?”

He gave me a smile, showing two rows of tiny pearl-white teeth. “Theo,” he said.

“Hey, buddy. You said my name!” I grinned at him. He was pretty cute when he wasn't crying. “So what do you think, Zach? Does a guy like me have a chance with someone as gorgeous as your mom?” I sounded like Han Solo.
You think a guy like me and a princess like her...

“Raisins,” Zach said.

I sighed, looked under the stroller and came up empty-handed. “I don't know, kiddo. It doesn't look too good for either of us.”

Finally Ronnie returned, a coffee in one hand and a paper bag in the other. “Zach, I got you a muffin.” She broke off a piece and handed it to him. “So, guess what, Theo? They're hiring at the Starbucks.”

I frowned. “You're looking for a job?”

“I can't,” she said. “I have Zach. But I thought you might be.”

“At Starbucks?” I shook my head. “Wasn't exactly what I had in mind.”

“Right by Universal Studios though. You might meet all kinds of movie people.”

“All kinds of tourists, more like.” I shook my head. “I don't know, Ronnie. I didn't get the impression Joelle was up for having us stay long term.” I hadn't thought very far ahead—actually, I hadn't
thought
, period—but I probably had to go home at some point.

A road trip was one thing. A permanent move to LA was something else altogether.

Ronnie's forehead crinkled above her sunglasses. “Her place is pretty small.”

“It's a disaster zone,” I said bluntly.

“Yeah.” She bit her bottom lip.

“I know. But I'm broke, so...”

“So you want me to get a job?” I pushed back a wave of anger. “Is that why you brought me along?”

“No! I mean, I hadn't really thought everything through.”

“No kidding,” I said. My voice came out harsher than I'd intended. “You just took off to LA with no money at all. Brilliant plan, Ronnie.”

“You didn't have to come,” she flashed back. “Anyway, it's not like you have money either.”

“Yeah, but that's different. I don't have a kid to look after.” I looked down at Zach, who was solemnly chewing his muffin and looking up at us. “You can't just couch-surf around Hollywood with a baby.”

“I'm not going to,” she said. “I just haven't figured out all the details yet.”

It was weird—she was five years older than me, and no one had ever accused me of being unusually mature, but right now I felt like I was the older one. “You said Joelle had connections in the movie industry,” I reminded her. “You said she'd be able to get me a job.”

“Yeah. I know.” She took her sunglasses off, and her eyes were shining with tears. “I'm sorry. I'm messed up, Theo. All this stuff with Zach's dad...”

I put an arm around her awkwardly. To my surprise, she leaned her head against my shoulder. I wished I could fix things for her. “Ronnie. It'll be okay,” I whispered. I wasn't sure it would be, not really, but I had to say something.

“I'm just tired,” she said. “Sorry. I don't usually lose it like this.”

Her hair tickled my face, and she smelled like vanilla. “It's okay,” I said.

She lifted her head and looked up at me. “I shouldn't have pulled you into my stupid, messy life.”

“Don't say that.” My anger had completely dissolved. “I'm glad I ran into you. And it'll all work out. Who knows, maybe I'll be the next Walt Disney.”

She managed a laugh. “It's funny that you're still into animation. Remember how you used to love comic books? Superheroes and all that stuff?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You even had those cute—”

“Please don't mention the R2-D2 pajamas,” I said.

She laughed, and this time it sounded genuine. “You were adorable.”

“I was a geek,” I admitted.

“An adorable geek.” She was quiet for a moment. “Look, whatever you decide to do, it's cool. I mean, really. My messy life is not your problem.”

“Yes, it is,” I said. “I mean, you're my friend. I care about what happens to you, Ronnie.” It was true—but at the same time, I was wondering how exactly I'd got myself into this situation. Just yesterday—not even twenty-four hours ago—I was a high school kid on vacation with my folks, with nothing more to worry about than nagging parents and unfinished homework. I felt like I'd jumped to lightspeed and ended up in some alternate universe in which I seemed to be responsible for, well, everything. What the hell had I been thinking? I wished there was an easy way out...but I couldn't see one.

“I don't know what I'm going to do,” I said at last. “I guess I'll talk to Joelle later, see if she has any job leads. And I should call my folks. They'll be at Darrell's place by this afternoon. I should let them know where I am.”

I wasn't looking forward to that phone call at all.

Chapter Eight

By the time we got back to her apartment, Joelle was up and showered, dressed in a very short black dress and making dinner. “It's just spaghetti,” she said. “Cooking's not really my thing.”

“Spaghetti's great,” Ronnie said. “It's, like, one of the three things Zach eats. Seriously. Raisins, Ritz crackers and spaghetti.”

“Don't you worry about him getting sick?” Joelle said. “I mean, if he's not eating properly?”

“He's fine,” Ronnie said. “Aren't you, Zach? Want some spaghetti, sweetie?” She beckoned to him. “Joelle's making spaghetti.”

“Is he chewing something?” I asked. “What's he got?”

Ronnie grabbed him. “Open up, Zach. What is it? Spit it out.” She fished around in his mouth and scooped something out. “Oh, gross, Zachy! That's a cigarette butt.”

“That's four things he eats then,” I said.