Chapter Thirty-Six
Hailey
I was completely in my element while on set. I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d felt this happy. That wasn’t entirely true – I felt happy the last time that I saw Caleb.
I was pretty relieved to see he wasn’t back in the news because he was back in the clubs. He seemed to be continuing to lay low, which was a good thing. Plus, I didn’t like the idea that he would already be out with other girls. I probably would have sent him some hate mail if I found out that he was. I would hope that he had enough respect for me that he would refrain from that sort of behavior at least for a respectable amount of time. The media hadn’t yet realized that I was no longer in the picture and it would only cause a scandal if he paraded around with other women.
He would have to issue a statement in the near future announcing our breakup. I hoped that the people in the film I was working on wouldn’t make any connections between him and me. They had dyed my hair blonde for the movie, so I didn’t look like I did in those old photos, so maybe I would get away with it all.
I had gotten the role that I had auditioned with for Rick, and he had been so impressed with me that he’d practically hired me on the spot. I was over the moon, I was so thrilled.
We were in the middle of filming the movie, and it was everything that I ever dreamed it would be. It was excited to go in every day and read the lines and meet the other actors. I was just glowing each and every day. The movie was about a college-aged girl who falls in love with her professor. They have sex multiple times, and the girl ends up getting pregnant only to find out that the man she is in love with is married.
The movie was a drama with a thriller twist. The girl is not willing to just slink off into the night; she wants to make him pay for lying to her and leaving her alone and pregnant. It was a gripping tale, and I couldn’t wait to get deeper into the story. We had only begun filming, so we had a long way to go just yet.
The movie was actually a perfect one for me at that point, as I was in the early stages of pregnancy and it would fit perfectly right into the role. The director and the people I worked with had no idea that I was connected to Caleb, despite the many times I was photographed with him. I was happy for that because I didn’t want the pregnancy to go public.
I had decided to keep the baby, but I didn’t want to interfere in Caleb’s life at all. I hadn’t even told my sister about the pregnancy yet, despite my initial urge to talk to her about it. I had been whipped off to LA right away for filming, so discussing things just hadn’t come up yet. It had been less than week since I had been in Florida, anyways, so it’s not like a lot of time had passed.
I would have to start telling people soon, at some point I would start to show and then it would be out there. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that Caleb would never find out, but I wanted to avoid telling him for as long as possible. I didn’t want him to think that I had done anything on purpose to try to trap him. I just wanted to get on with my life and didn’t expect anything from him. I wasn’t looking forward to his reaction – he was probably going to be pissed. He may not even want me to keep the baby.
The director was actually thrilled with my circumstance because then they could work with me throughout the whole film, without worrying about having to replace me later. I probably wouldn’t have got hired after all, and I was happy for that. I was being given the option to have my baby and still live out my dream. Jillian told me that this movie would launch my career, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened after the movie was released.
The role was pretty prestigious for a first-time actress. Jillian was over the moon that I had got the part and said that she was already in the works to have other projects to follow that film. She was already talking to Rick about other projects, as well as some other producers.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to swing acting with a new baby, but I definitely got a big paycheck from the movie, so I might be able to hire a nanny, or at least someone to help out. I may have to take some time off, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to take a lot of time because I had to strike while the iron was hot.
The people who knew on set had started asking about the baby and whether or not I had a husband waiting for me somewhere. I told them it was the result of an old relationship, but that I had wanted to keep the baby anyway. I was barely showing; if you looked hard enough, you could tell the difference but if I was walking down the street, no one would guess I was pregnant. I didn’t have any weird symptoms, and there was no morning sickness or anything like that to worry about so far.
“Hailey, we are ready for you.” I had sat in hair and makeup for an hour before they called for me.
It was time for me to do a scene and I got in there and gave it my all. I hit it out of the ballpark on the second take and the crew cheered when the director called “cut.” There was overly exuberant cheering in the back, and when I turned to see what was going on, I saw Matt, Caleb, and Mandy standing in the back cheering me on.
Oh, shit! I panicked, immediately hoping that none of them had talked to anyone on the set. I was excited to see them, but I didn’t want news of my pregnancy to get leaked in that way. I wanted them to hear it from me, not a cast member. I could tell from some of the looks of the actors that they wondered if Matt or Caleb might be the old boyfriend I had been talking about. Thank God no one recognized Caleb yet, but it wouldn’t be long before they did.
I ran to the back and embraced my sister, hugging her tight. “Mandy, did you bring them here?”
“Yes! They showed up on my doorstep like a couple of homeless people and demanded to see you. They just flew in to surprise you. Isn’t that nice?” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Yes, of course,” I said as I turned to Matt and hugged him. I then turned to Caleb.
God, I had missed all of them, and I couldn’t believe that they were here. I looked shyly up at Caleb and smiled.
“Hey, stranger.”
“Hi,” I said. He pulled me into him and hugged me tightly. I breathed in the familiar scent of him and felt instantly safe once again.
“What do you guy say we grab some burgers and beer?”
Everyone agreed that it was a great idea. I went to say goodbye to my cast members for the day and talked to the director about the next day of filming. When I turned around, I saw that Caleb was watching me closely.
I tried not to let it bother me. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who felt lonely and missed someone. The fact that he was there spoke volumes, and I honestly hadn’t been sure when or if I would ever see him again. We had both agreed to keep in touch, but how many people say that and never follow through with it?