Unlucky Break (27 page)

‘Hey,’ said Andie, blinking a few times to wake herself up. ‘I thought you were Mum. I mean, Marlo.’

Cece smiled, ‘She was your mum, Andie. She always will be. I’m just Cece.’

‘You wake me up like her.’

‘That’s how our mum woke us up,’ said Cece. She picked Gigi the teddy bear up. ‘I remember this,’ she added, smiling.

‘Gigi?’ asked Andie, surprised.

‘Yes,’ said Cece. ‘I gave her to you when you were three, when I came back to get you.’

Andie looked at Gigi and then to Cece. Her eyes filled with tears. ‘She has brought me so much comfort.’

‘I’m glad,’ said Cece, smiling tearfully and stroking Gigi’s bald head. ‘So the reason I woke you up is that you have some visitors.’

Andie frowned and sat up. ‘Who?’

Cece swallowed. ‘Barry.’

Andie scoffed. ‘I don’t need to see him, thanks.’ She’d decided that if Barry didn’t want to see her, she was fine with that. She’d never needed a father before – she didn’t see why she needed one now.

‘And James,’ Cece added with raised eyebrows.

‘Oh my god,’ said Andie, panic rising in her throat. ‘Why is he here? Why are they here together?’ She jumped out of bed and stubbed her toe on the bedside table. ‘Ow, ow, ow!’ she cried.

Cece grabbed her by the shoulders. ‘Calm down. Get dressed. Marta’s getting them a coffee. Come down the stairs slowly when you’re ready. One step at a time, please.’ There was a twitch of amusement in her face.

Andie ran to the dressing room. ‘Did they say why they’re here?’ she asked as she pulled clothes out of drawers and off hangers. ‘What the hell am I going to wear? Are they going to dob me in to the police?’

Andie sat on the floor, holding her jeans and striped jumper.

Cece sat down next to her. ‘They wouldn’t say why they came. Why don’t you get dressed and go find out?’ she said gently. ‘Whatever happens will be the right thing.’

Andie looked at her and nodded. If she’d learnt anything since coming to LA, it was that she had to face up to what had happened. Her mum hadn’t been able to deal with the fact that she was dying, and Andie had suffered the consequences. Nothing good had come from Andie running away from hitting James. It was time to face up to whatever was coming.

‘You’re right. Whatever happens, I can handle it,’ she said. She dressed while Cece went back downstairs.

Andie looked in the mirror at herself as she ran a brush through her hair. She looked older. Hopefully wiser, too.

She applied a layer of red lipstick.

You’re okay, Andie
, she said to herself. Then she walked downstairs to see the man who had given her life, and the one who had changed it forever.

Andie walked into the living room. Her eyes went straight to James, who was standing near the window with his hands in his pockets.

At the sight of him, all her hard work at letting go melted away. She felt her heart ache with longing.

She sat down on the nearest chair while Marta bustled in with a fresh pot of coffee and a plate of pastries.

‘Thanks, Marta,’ Cece said warmly. Marta smiled and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Andie looked at Barry, who was sitting on the sofa, his legs crossed, hands clasped in his lap.

‘Hello, Andie,’ he said.

Andie felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. ‘Barry,’ she said in a voice that didn’t sound like hers.

James moved, his back to her. She wanted to cry but the tears felt as though they were trapped in her throat. Instead she held her head up high and looked straight at Barry.

‘I’m sure this is all pretty uncomfortable for you,’ she said. ‘So why don’t you just cut to the chase and tell me why you’re here.’

Barry opened his mouth to speak. At that moment, the door burst open and Pete came rushing in.

‘Sorry I’m late, what did I miss?’ he said. He grabbed an apple danish from the tray, shoved it in his mouth and flopped down on the couch next to Barry.

‘Nothing yet,’ said Barry. ‘Miss Powers here was still asleep when we arrived.’

Andie bristled.

‘Oh, great! Well, may I?’ Pete asked Barry, mouth full of danish.

Barry shrugged and Pete turned to Andie. ‘Basically, we love your script. It’s exactly the thing James needs to get him out of the action hero crap and Barry, well, his studio needs a hit – and preferably a cheap one! No offence.’ He grinned at Andie. ‘Seriously, though, this is solid stuff,’ he said, little pieces of pastry flying out of his mouth.

Andie was stunned. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Her
script? They all loved it? James had loved it? Surely this was someone’s idea of a joke.

‘I told you not to tell anyone I wrote it,’ she blurted, not knowing what to say.

Pete grimaced. ‘I really tried, but when James read it, he loved it so much, and so then I gave to Barry, and … well, here we are.’ Pete put his arms up in a gesture of surrender.

Andie forgave him on the spot. He was clearly excited about the script. Her movie. She took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart.

‘So, just to be sure I’m understanding correctly,’ she said, ‘you want to make my script into a film? You want to take my first-time attempt at scriptwriting and turn it into an actual movie.’

Pete was almost jumping. ‘I know! It’s so great, isn’t it?’

Barry shifted in his seat, and suddenly Andie thought of something. She felt a flash of rage from the bottom of her bare feet and scowled in Barry’s direction.

‘Do you honestly think I’m that stupid? Or do you really think you can make up for not being there for me and Cece by pretending to make my script into a film?’

Barry looked confused, and then scornful. ‘Sweetheart, I don’t bring sentimentality into business.’

But Andie wasn’t listening. All the anger she’d been storing up over the past month was spilling over and there was no stopping it now. She marched over to James. ‘And you, why are you here?’

James didn’t look at her. ‘Because it’s a good script,’ he said quietly. He turned and looked her directly in the eye. ‘I know you wrote it for Jess, but there was so much of me in the male lead, Andie. You understood me more than I realised.’

Andie stood still, watching his eye twitching. It always did that when he was tired. Had he been sleeping? She tried to banish the thoughts of concern that crept into her mind.
His sleep is not your problem, Andie
, she reminded herself.
It’s over.

But the ache in her heart was only growing stronger the longer she was near him. She couldn’t fight it. ‘You’re off your crutches,’ she said softly.

‘My foot’s better,’ he said, his eyes searching her face. Andie was standing close to him. The air between them seemed to crackle with the power of a thousand unspoken words.

‘James wants to produce the film with Barry,’ said Pete, breaking the silence.

Andie’s anger, already subsiding just by looking into James’s sleep-deprived, haggard face, melted away a little more. She paused, not knowing what to think, much less what to say.

‘Andie?’ Cece prompted gently.

Andie looked at James, who turned away from her. She felt the moment slipping away again.

‘I don’t care,’ she said, tiredness filling her. All she wanted to do was lie down in the dark again. ‘Make the film, don’t make the film – it’s not going to bring back anything I loved or wanted.’ She walked out of the room and up to her bedroom.

Andie sank onto her bed and felt the tears fall. It was too hard, seeing James again, too hard to be a part of his world.

And suddenly Andie knew what she had to do. She had to go home. She needed to get out of this crazy city, back to a place where the barista knew how to make your coffee order and you couldn’t fall in love with movie stars. Sure, Cece would be sad to see her go. Andie would miss her, but she hadn’t needed her for the first eighteen years of her life. She’d get by without her again.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. ‘Come in,’ she said wearily, dreading the conversation she’d have to have with Cece about her decision. She covered her face with her hands as the door opened, wiping away her tears. ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ she said. ‘I just want to forget I ever met him.’

‘Hi,’ said a man’s voice. Andie opened her eyes to see James in the doorway.

‘Oh. Hi,’ she said, wishing there was a rewind button for life.

‘I … um, I wanted to apologise,’ he said, shuffling his feet a little.

‘Apologise for what?’ she asked, frowning. She sat up so she could see him properly.

‘Well, firstly for not standing up for you at the Skyhigh Bar when Nikki pushed you. Even though I didn’t know you were you then – it was still shitty of me.’

‘Kicked,’ said Andie.

‘Huh?’ said James.

‘She kicked me,’ said Andie.

‘Right,’ James nodded. ‘And then … when I left you for Nikki in hospital and asked you to look after us both. That wasn’t cool.’

Andie sat very still, watching him. ‘No, it wasn’t. But why are you here? Why bother to apologise?’ she asked. ‘I said you could have the film.’

James sat on the edge of the armchair. ‘Um, Barry,’ he said.

Andie looked at him and frowned. ‘What about him?’

James cleared his throat nervously. ‘Barry came to see me. Cece told him you weren’t doing so great and, well, he wanted to try and help. He’s not such a bad guy, you know. He came and talked to me about the whole golf cart thing, and kinda made me see that you were in a bad place. That you tried to tell me, and I wouldn’t listen. He made me see my part in all of it.’

Andie could hardly believe her ears. ‘Just tell me this – is Barry making the film because he feels bad about abandoning me?’ she asked, looking down at the floor.

James laughed. ‘Barry? No way, he would never do that. He’s a businessman first and foremost. He thinks it’s a great script, Andie. And … so do I.’

They way he said her name gave her shivers up her neck, and she looked away, afraid of what her face would reveal.

She took a deep breath. ‘Well, while we’re apologising, I’m sorry, too,’ she said slowly. ‘I’m sorry for … everything.’

Before she’d even finished speaking, James had left the sofa and was on the floor at her feet.

‘Andie, you already apologised and I just didn’t listen. Any-way, you were right about everything – about Nikki, about me, about – I don’t know.’ He paused. ‘About not taking my meds on an empty stomach.’

Andie laughed even as the tears welled up in her eyes.

James smiled ruefully and took her hands in his. ‘I love you, Andie,’ he said simply. Andie drew a sharp breath.

‘The last seven weeks have been crap without you,’ he continued. ‘All I wanted was to talk to you, see you again. Kiss you.’

Andie looked through her tears at his lovely face. ‘I love you, too,’ she said, and she leant down and kissed him.

Just like in the movies.

28

Andie stood in the doorway of the plane, her worn leather backpack on one shoulder and James’s hand in the other.

‘Welcome aboard, Miss Powers, Mr Hawthorn,’ said the glamorous flight attendant. ‘We’re so pleased you’re choosing to fly to Melbourne with us today. Is this your first time travelling to Australia, Mr Hawthorn?’ gushed the attendant.

‘Yes ma’am,’ said James in his most charming way. ‘I can’t wait to see where my girlfriend grew up and I want to pat a koala.’

Andie laughed loudly. The flight attendant smiled. ‘I hope you have a wonderful trip. Can I get you two something to drink?’

Andie felt amazing. She was no longer lost. She had two homes now, and two mums, and two great loves – Jess and James – and yet Andie had never felt so whole.

The past month had been the happiest Andie had ever known. James and Andie were inseparable, constantly together, talking, eating, making love.

When Andie wasn’t in James’s arms, she was hanging out with Cece, who was becoming part mum and part cool aunt. She never tried to take her sister’s place. Cece had pulled out her photo albums and home movies of Cece and Marlo as kids, and she and Andie watched them together, laughing and crying in equal measure.

Andie put her old leopard-print coat over her knees and slipped off her ballet flats, and curled up next to James. They had six weeks ahead of them to travel, chill out and have fun. Then they would come back and James would start filming Andie’s movie when she started college.

‘Aren’t you two so sweet?’ said the attendant, coming back with their drinks. ‘An Aussie girl and a Hollywood star – it’s like a movie! How on earth did you meet?’

James took his drink and smiled. ‘She wooed me with her literature smarts. She just knocked me off my feet,’ he said with a wink in Andie’s direction. Andie smothered a laugh.

The woman smiled politely but was clearly confused. Andie turned to him as the attendant walked away.

‘That’s not what happened,’ she said, still laughing.

‘It’s pretty much what happened,’ he said. ‘Anyway, this is our romantic comedy. We wrote it, so we can tell it however we want to.’

The flight attendant returned with a stack of magazines. Andie took a few and placed them on her tray table. She shuffled through them, deciding which to read first. On the bottom of the pile, Nikki’s mugshot leered back at her.