“Amelia, I’m sorry.” She moved to wrap her arms around me, but I pushed her off.
“It’s not because of that.” I sniffed, rubbing my eyes. “My allergies are flaring up.”
“Are the shots not working?”
“I need to go.” I pulled my pants on and slipped into my shirt. “And I mean, it’s not like we’re dating, so there’s no reason for me to stay and hang out.”
“I hurt your feelings.” Jessica sat on the edge of the bed, face crestfallen.
“No, I get it. I get the sad, fake world you live in. You lie to the public, you lie to me, and hey, now you’re even lying to yourself. Great job, Jess! You’re really succeeding in the world of acting.”
I took one last look at the shocked pain in Jessica’s face, feeling my own stomach twist with agony at how I’d hurt her, then I tore open the door and stormed out.
18.
Jessica
“Amelia!” I shouted as I ran down the street. She was already way ahead of me, practically jogging. “Would you just wait a minute?” I panted after her. “I’m sorry. I just want to talk to you.”
I sped up, bare feet slapping against the hot pavement. Amelia moved faster too. Geez, this would make for a bad photo-op if anyone happened to be around to catch it. I probably shouldn’t’ve been chasing her, and I definitely shouldn’t’ve been chasing her in just my underwear and the oversized t-shirt I’d snatched off the floor, but I couldn’t let her go after the hurt I’d caused her.
“I’m sorry I was a jerk,” I said between panting breaths. I was right behind her now, both of us running.
“Would you leave me alone?” Amelia snarled.
“It was stupid and inconsiderate of me to say we weren’t dating. The truth is, you’re so important to me, Amelia.”
She stopped so fast that I knocked into her, barrelling her over. I had just enough time to grab onto her and twist onto my side mid-fall to keep her from whacking her face on the sidewalk. Her weight crashed down on me. Pain seared up my arm as my bare skin hit the pavement, scraping against it brutally.
“Holy shit, are you okay?” Worry replaced all the anger on Amelia’s face.
I winced as I sat up, hand going to my upper arm and coming away bloody. “Guess that’s what I get for chasing people down the street.”
“It’s certainly what you get for chasing people in your underwear.” She extended her hand to help me up. I took it and didn’t let go. She still had that fuming energy, but I’d won her sympathy for now.
“Did you mean what you said?” she asked. “About me being important to you?”
“Every word.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” She frowned.
“We can talk about this afterwards.”
Amelia helped me hobble back into the house. Then she told me to sit on the edge of the tub while she played nurse, carefully cleaning off my scrapes with a wet cloth and applying antiseptic. By the time she was done, the raw skin running down my left arm and leg didn’t even hurt anymore.
“The makeup crew is going to murder me on Monday.” I shook my head at the mess I’d made of myself.
“It’s weird.” Amelia’s brows closed in. “The way everything you do, every little action you make, has to be considered for how it will affect your career.”
“About what I said.” I chewed my lip. “It was beyond stupid. I’d been denying that we were dating in my mind because I was so scared that if we were dating, we could break up and the fallout could ruin the whole film.”
“I know how important this movie is to you.” She nodded, but still looked uncertain.
“But denying a label can’t change the way I feel about you. And what I feel for you is, well—” Amelia’s face looked so expectantly that I didn’t know how to finish my sentence. How could I describe everything she made me feel?
“It’s intense,” I finally finished. Amelia’s face seemed to fall just a bit. I wasn’t sure why she looked disappointed, but I added, “And amazing. And I don’t want it to end.”
“But your publicist thinks it should?” She crossed her arms over her chest.