CHAPTER 25
“Drew!” Chad calls out from behind a television screen.
I hustle over and reach out to grab a set of headphones. Chad stops me before I can get a pair.
“You don’t need those.”
I must look surprised because the fucker laughs at me. “What?” I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously.
“You just filmed your last scene. Get going,” he says, his hands on his hips and a giant grin on his face
Now he has my attention. “Really? You’re not shitting me are you?”
“Nope, go. Have a good time in New York.” I turn to leave but he stops me. “And Drew, happy birthday.”
“The jury is still out on that,” I say sarcastically. “I’ll let you know tomorrow if it’s happy or not.”
I call Bruce while I’m getting out of my wardrobe so he can grab my luggage from the hotel and get to the studio as quickly as possible. By the time I get out of the shower and say bye to everyone, he’s outside waiting for me.
It’s only 8am and I’m already done with work. I don’t know how Chad did it, but I owe him big. The crew was pretty pissed that we had to start so early this morning, but they showed up and rallied to get the job done so I could make my early flight.
I’m so ecstatic that I don’t even care that a pack of paparazzi hound me as I make my way through LAX without Jane, who’s flying back Monday. Even the clingy fan that follows me to my gate doesn’t bother me today.
I collapse in my seat in the first class lounge, close my eyes, and put my earphones on to make myself unavailable to anyone passing by. It’s not until an airline employee taps my shoulder that I realize what time it is. My flight should have boarded by now.
“Mr. Forrester, I’m sorry to bother you,” she says kindly.
I look at her expectantly, waiting for her to finish her thought.
“Well,” her face reddens a little and I feel bad, so I give an Andrew Forrester smile. That encourages her to tell me why she came over here. “I just saw that you had headphones on so you probably didn’t hear the announcement that your flight has a two hour delay.”
Crap.
I must make a pretty intimidating face because the woman flinches back from me.
I drag my hand across the back of my neck. “Sorry, I just really need to get back to New York. Long day ahead and all,” I say so she won’t think I’m a total asshole.
“No problem. I’ll let you know if anything else comes up.” She gives me a weak smile before turning and walking away.
I pull out my phone to call Sydney. I should still land by 7pm and have enough time to make it to her place before the party. Maybe I could tell her in the car?
Of course, her voicemail picks up and I have to leave a message.
You’ve reached Sydney, leave a message and I’ll call you back.
“Hey babe, I’m still at the airport in LA, my flight is delayed. They think we’ll be in around seven or so. Try to wait for me before you leave. I know you have to be there, but I really want to talk to you before we go. Miss you.”
I shove my phone in my pocket and wait.
An eternity later, they finally board my flight. I hang back until everyone else is on before taking my seat. Naturally, there’s someone next to me. Fuck, I should have had Jane come with me instead of leaving her behind to tie up loose ends.
The older man stands to let me into my window seat. I can feel every set of eyes in first class focused on me as I take my seat.
“Hello,” my seatmate says.
“Hi,” I answer, looking at the guy warily. This better not be one of those flights where I’m next to a Chatty Cathy for five hours.
He pulls out a thick, economic newspaper, folds it to an article, and starts to read.
Thank God for that.
After takeoff, I pull out my iPad and watch some of the dailies that Chad uploaded and check my email.
About an hour and a half into the flight my neighbor taps my arm and gestures for me to remove my headphones.
“Yes?” I ask.
“You probably couldn’t hear what was going on in coach, but apparently there’s been an issue with one of the other passengers.”
“What do you mean an issue?” Me and my goddamn earphones!
“A medical issue. We’re going to have to land in Denver so he or she can get off of the plane.”
I sit up straight. “What!”
“Yep, probably a heart attack or something, I’m not sure. They haven’t said, just that we’re landing in Denver.”
I groan and drop my head into my hands. This is fate, I’m not meant to tell Sydney. I’m not meant to be with her. Adam fucking Reynolds will make a move on her tonight and get her wasted so he can treat her like a whore.
“Whoa, calm down,” the man next to me says.
I open my eyes and realize that I’m clenching my hands into fists and gritting my teeth together furiously.
“Sorry, I just really need to get home. No offense to the sick person back there,” I explain.
“Don’t we all,” he chuckles.
No buddy, we don’t. I think, directing my anger at the innocent man besides me. I might lose the only woman I’ve ever loved tonight if I don’t get there in time. Aggravated, I push the button to call the flight attendant. I’ve never needed a drink this badly in my life.
“Can’t you go faster?” I ask the cabbie as he speeds through the Midtown tunnel.
“Buddy, this ain’t the movies like you’re used to. There’s other cars on the road,” he says in his heavy New York accent.
“Fuck,” I groan to myself. It’s already after 11pm and Sydney hasn’t answered her phone any of the dozens of times I’ve called since landing at JFK. She did leave a message telling me that she wouldn’t have her phone on her at the party so I’m not surprised that she didn’t pick up. I’m so late, I won’t even have time to change. I guess I’m going to this big nightclub opening in the same jeans, wrinkled button down, and leather jacket I’ve been wearing all day.
The cab finally pulls up to the curb outside the Warren, I toss the driver two fifties and jump out into the sea of vicious sharks waiting by the entrance.
“Andrew, we didn’t see your name on the VIP celebrity list, are you here for the party?”
“Are you here with a date?”
“Did you just come in a cab?”
“I thought you were in L.A. filming.”
The paparazzi are still hanging out on the red carpet outside this thing, even though everyone has probably already arrived. I pointedly ignore them and hurry inside to find Sydney, flashbulbs snapping from every side.
“How the hell am I going to do this,” I mutter to myself. I ask security to put me into a conference room and have them send an assistant up to the club to find Sydney. The girl assured me that she knew who Sydney was and could bring her down to me.
I pace the room and formulate a speech while I wait the agonizing minutes for Sydney to arrive.
“Mr. Forrester?” I turn at the sound of a timid little voice.
I whip around and see the girl alone. “Where’s Sydney?” I ask the assistant, who’s cowering in the doorway, clearly intimidated by me.
“Ummmm,” she fidgets anxiously and can’t or won’t look at me, “apparently she left a little while ago.”
“What! Where the fuck did she go?”
“I’m sorry, I really don’t know,” the girl says, pale and cringing from my hostile glare.
I storm over to the exit and stare down the poor hotel employee, “Leave,” I growl.
I pull out my phone and dial Leah, thankful that she had the foresight to give me her number when I met with her the last time I was in town.
“Hello?”
“Leah, it’s Drew. I’m in one of the conference rooms of the hotel. They’re saying Sydney left, is that true?”
There’s a moment of dead space before Leah answers. “Crap, why don’t I come down and meet with you,” she says in a voice that lets me know something is very wrong.
“No, I’m coming up there! Wait for me,” I bark back.
Fuck! I shove my phone into my pocket and storm towards the elevators. A couple near the elevator bank visibly shrinks back as I approach. I stab the button and jump in when the doors slide open.
Am I that frightening? I catch sight of my reflection in the mirrored doors as they shut and see that yes, I look pissed and pretty fucking scary.
When the doors slide open, I run out of the elevator and make my way into the crowded nightclub.
“Andrew, great to see you!”
“Hey Andrew. I hadn’t heard you’d be here.”
I shove right past people I’ve known a long time and people I don’t know at all, not stopping to talk to a single one of them. I see others flinch back when they see me coming. Smart.
“Drew?” I hear someone call my real name and spin around to see who it is.
Leah is pushing her way through the thick crowd on the dance floor, her face pinched with stress.
“Leah, where is Sydney?” I demand when she finally reaches me.
“Drew, not here.” Her eyes are darting around at the bystanders who are clearly listening in on our conversation.
Like I could give a shit. “Leah, don’t fucking start with me! I’ve had a long fucking day. Where the fuck is she?” I ask in as quiet of a voice as I can manage, which isn’t much right now.
“She left.”
“What? Why?”
Leah starts to step back, so I take a step toward her, keeping the distance between us at a minimum. “Tell me,” I hiss.
Her face reddens and she won’t meet my gaze. “So, she was showing Adam the club…”
Instantly, I feel the anger pulsing through my fists. “And?”
“And Kiera came over because she was jealous of Sydney. I wasn’t there for that part, but Sydney ended up telling Kiera that you, Drew Forrester, were her date and Kiera laughed in her face.”
The anger in me turns to a lead brick of fear and plummets into my suddenly queasy stomach.
“Sydney got mad and asked Kiera what was so funny and one thing led to another…”
“She told her, didn’t she?” I croak, clutching my middle as if kicked in the gut.
“No, she showed her on her cell phone. Pictures of you, Andrew Forrester the movie star, on the red carpet.”
I feel sick. Destroyed. As if my entire future just vanished from existence and left behind a gaping black hole.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know. She’s not answering her phone,” Leah says in a desperate voice.
“Where’s Reynolds?” I snarl.
“Drew, don’t. It’s not worth it.”
Leah tries to hold me back by grabbing my arm but gives up when she sees my face. It takes me only a few minutes to find that douchebag, talking with Kiera Radcliffe by the bar.
They both notice me at the same time, their heads turning toward me in sync. Adam looks surprised, Kiera looks equally stunned. “Reynolds!” I yell as I storm up to them, getting within an inch of his stupid face.
His shocked expression turns cynical in the time it takes for me to say his name. ‘Forrester,” he says in a cold voice.
I turn to look at Kiera, half hiding behind Reynolds like the cowardly bitch that she is. I stab my finger at her accusingly. “You! What the fuck did you say to my girlfriend?”
Kiera is shocked at my tone. Did she really think I’d be okay with her being rude to Sydney?
“I didn’t think she was actually your girlfriend, Andrew. I didn’t say anything.” Her lips curl up in a self-satisfied fucking smile. “Why would you date a boring little nobody like her anyway?”
“I don’t give a fuck what you knew or what you didn’t say! And she’s not a nobody, so shut the fuck up!” I bellow at the bitchy blonde. She visibly pales and her smug smile vanishes. “And you,” I turn to face Adam Reynolds. “You stay the fuck away from her, do you understand?”
That motherfucker Reynolds just stands there with his hands up in front of him as if he had nothing to do with pissing me off. My fists curl up at my sides so tightly that I can feel my knuckles straining from the pressure.
“I didn’t do a thing to Sydney,” he says in his stupid British accent. “We’re mates, that’s all. She never even mentioned she was seeing someone, let alone you.”
Then he smirks at me and I snap. “I’m going to fucking finish you, Reynolds!” I move to pound his face in.
“Drew!” Sydney’s best friend has managed to squeeze her tiny body in between me and Adam Reynolds, preventing me from ripping his head off.
“Get out of my way Leah!”
“Drew, we have to go find Sydney. Now!” I tear my eyes from that asshole’s face and focus on the little blonde who is pushing furiously on my chest in a futile attempt to move me back.
“What?”
“We have to go. She left a while ago. We may not have time to get there before she takes off.”
‘Takes off?” I ask, confused.
“Yes, that’s what she does when she’s freaked out. She runs.”
“Fuck, let’s go.” I grab her hand and tow her through the crowd, Adam Reynolds and Kiera Radcliff forgotten for now.
We get down to the lobby and I realize I have no way to get to Sydney’s. “I don’t have a car,” I tell Leah in a panic, my fists gripping my hair to cope with the out of control fear I feel in my chest.
She rolls her eyes and steps off the curb in her skintight black dress and mile-high heels, one arm held high, and whistles so loudly that my ears hurt. A cab pulls over immediately.
“What?” she says when she sees my shocked face. “Not all of us have drivers to take us everywhere.”
We hop out at Sydney’s building and the concierge buzzes us in.
“I’m sorry, I can’t let you up,” he says from behind his desk in the lobby.
“What? You have got to be kidding me!” I shout.
“Miss Allen isn’t answering her intercom. It’s policy. I can’t let anyone into the building who doesn’t have the permission of a resident.”
I pace back and forth in front of the concierge desk before slamming my fists down on it, causing everything on it to shake violently.
“You’ve seen me here consistently for the last three months!” I yell. “Now you’re saying I can’t go up? What kind of bullshit is this?”
“Drew,” Leah whispers as she clutches my arm. “There are other people in the lobby.”
“Like I give a fuck,” I snarl, done with caring who sees me or what they say. I turn back to the concierge. “If something happens to her, it’s on you!” I stab my finger at the desk jockey.
“I’m going to call the police if you can’t calm down, sir.”
“Call the fucking police!” I roar. “Get them the fuck in here! She could be dead up there for all I know!”
“Please,” Leah says to the concierge. “Let us go up and make sure she’s okay. You know me and you definitely know him.” She sticks her thumb out in my direction. “We’re not going to do anything but look.”
The concierge sighs and unlocks a cabinet beneath the desk, removing a key. “Here, just bring it back when you leave.”
Leah unlocks the door to Sydney’s loft and pushes the door open, allowing me to race in first.
“Sydney?” I call out as I run through each dark room, flipping on lights as I go. “Syd!”
“She’s not here,” Leah says as she comes out of the bedroom. “But she was. I found this.” She holds up a black and white dress. “It was in the garbage. She was wearing it tonight.”
“Where would she go?” I ask, my voice cracking from stress.
“I don’t know. Normally? To my place. But she’s mad at me because she knows that I knew everything this entire time.”
Leah looks just as lost as me. She’s known Sydney for twelve years and knows all of her secrets and has no idea what to do. I’ve only known her for three months and I don’t know shit about Sydney’s past. I have no fucking clue where we go from here.
“I want to wait here,” I say, sliding down the living room wall to the floor. “To see if she comes back.”
“I’ll wait with you,” Leah says, tears building up in her eyes.
“Don’t start crying.” I choke on the words. “I can’t.”
Leah sits on the floor next to me and puts her hand in mine. “It will work out. It has to.”
“Yeah, It’s not looking so good for me right now.”
We sit on the ground for hours and stare at the door, both of us holding back unshed tears. My back is aching and my ass is numb from the hardwood floor I’ve been sitting on.
“Drew, we have to leave.”
Leah has been saying this for the last two hours. Since then, I’ve had four glasses of Sydney’s scotch, maybe five and I’m too tired to move.
“Drew, I’m serious, get up!”
I open my eyes and see Leah about six inches from my face, scowling at me.
“We should stay here in case Syd comes home,” I slur.
Leah grabs my arm and pulls me up into a half-sitting position. “No, we’re going.”
I sigh and stand up, wobbling a little from the booze. Clutching Leah’s shoulders, I stare at down at her. “She’s not going to come back, is she?”
“She’ll come back, or at least call me. Now, let’s go. I’ll call you the second I hear from her, I promise.”
I finally relent and allow the tiny blonde girl that I outweigh by almost ninety pounds to shove me out Sydney’s door and possibly out of her life.