Agony (11 page)

Well that answered that question.

“What’s up?” I asked softly.

Jareth was quiet for a moment.

“Why are you whispering?” he asked in a loud whisper of his own. “Ohhh. Never mind. I know why.”

“Why?” I asked curiously.

“Pseudo boyfriend is there, isn’t he?” he asked. By the one of his voice, I knew that damn lopsided grin was plastered across his face.

“Yeah. So what?” I replied.

“Did you do him yet? You can tell me, it’ll stay between us girls,” he said changing the pitch to his voice.

“
No,
I didn’t do him,” I replied laughing.

I jumped when I heard the door open behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at Arsen who was giving me a groggy smile.

Addie
? he mouthed.

I lied and nodded.

Arsen stretched his arms over his head, his shirt rising slightly to reveal his lower abs, and he yawned loudly.

Jareth immediately started to laugh. I used my thumb to push a button on the phone while it was still next to my ear to get him to stop.

“Sorry, but that’s the universal sound of ‘there’s a man here in case that’s really a man on the phone’. I’ve used that sound before.”

“I’ll see you later,” I grumbled into the phone as I hung it up, said good-bye to Arsen and went back inside.

I
woke up about six weeks later and rolled flat onto my back, my arms and legs spread out. I hadn’t heard from Addie lately and I had done my best to avoid Arsen and Jareth so far. I was honestly just trying to get my head back together. I was pretty sure from all the missed phone calls that I had probably lost my job at Golden Hills Media, but it was for the best. I was sick and tired of watching people fuck all day and night, and considering that he and Max were high school buddies, I was sure there would be sex in his film. Real or not, I was sick of it.

I spent the time trying to get ahold of Adesynne to no avail, and decided that it really was nice just to sit down near my kitchen window and look out into the city streets.

I was honestly tired of Arsen’s jealousy and Jareth’s constant come ons, so I hid myself as best as I could and hoped for the best. So far, it seemed to be working.

I was happy that I had decided to take some me time finally and skipped out on the new job with Jareth. I wasn’t sure what the production was, but after spending so much time at Devil’s Den, I didn’t really feel like being the director’s bitch anymore.  I hoped he would understand and not hold it against me, but if he had to let me go, then I would understand.

I got up and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, before heading into the kitchen, grabbing an energy drink out of the fridge, and sitting down on the window sill, my feet propped up onto the chair in front of me.

Addie’s silence was making me wonder about her. I hadn’t heard from her for the past few weeks and I just assumed that she was busy with work or with a new guy. Addie usually holed herself up too and hid from the world for a while when she wanted to.

I cracked open the can and took a healthy swig before glancing down to the street below. That’s when I saw a familiar car and sighed heavily. 

“We’re closed!” I shouted down when Jareth stepped out of his car. He looked up, using his hand to shield his eyes from the sun, and grinned.

“Open the door, I’m coming up!” he called back as he disappeared into the building. I rolled my eyes and left my chair near the window to unlock the front door, before I went back to my spot and sat down again.

A few moments later, there was a soft knock on the door, before Jareth pushed it open and walked in. I didn’t turn to look at him. I was too busy watching the world go by outside again.

“You know I had to fire you, don’t you?” he asked as he came over. He gently swatted my legs off the sill and sat down across from me in the window.

“Sorry,” I replied with a shrug.

“I didn’t want to, but you didn’t show up and there was nothing I could do. Production couldn’t be halted. But, I do have another offer for you,” he said.

I sighed. I didn’t know if I wanted anymore offers from anyone here. I wanted to go home and at the end of the month, I planned on breaking my lease and leaving.

It would be nice to have some money when I get back though.

“What is it?” I asked quietly, finally turning my attention to him.

“Max and I are working on a couple of side projects and were wondering if you wanted to help out. We’ll pay you double,” he said with a kind smile.

“What is it?” I asked again.

“Arsen will be there too. He’s agreed to help out.”

“
What is it?
” I all but screamed at him.

“It’s kind of a secret project, but it’ll rake in a shit ton of money,” he replied, crossing his hands behind his head. “We’ve done a couple of joint projects before and it’s definitely good income.”

“What kind of project would you and Max do together? You work on totally different spectrums of the film world,” I said, raising a curious eyebrow.

“A secret one. Anyway, do you want in? We’d start tonight, only because I need to take a break from the motion picture I’m shooting. Left in the hands of my assistant director and praying he doesn’t fuck it up,” he said with grin.

“Is it going to take long? I plan on going back to New York at the end of the month.”

“Nope. Couple of nights at the most,” he replied.

“How much money are we talking about, Jareth?” I could feel myself breaking down slowly and if he said the right amount, I knew I would be there in a heartbeat.

His kind smile returned as he reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out a folded check. He put it down on the kitchen table and slid it toward me, which I promptly made a grab for. Jareth used his forefinger to hold onto it for a moment, and small game of tug of war ensued, before I slapped his hand away and he laughed, relenting.

A chuckle escaped me as I opened the check and let my eyes wander over to the amount it was made out for.
Fifty thousand dollars?

“This can’t be right,” I said, looking up at him in shock.

“Oh it’s right,” he replied, draping one arm on the kitchen table. “I told you these special projects bring in a ton of money.”

“What exactly would I be doing?” I asked, looking down at the amount again.
Fifty fucking thousand dollars?!

“You’d be in front of the camera this time. With Arsen.”

“Doing what?” I asked incredulously.

“Helping,” he replied with a mysterious smile. “Up for it?”

“I’m not fucking him on camera, am I?” I asked, feeling a little sick.

“No. I promise it won’t get that far. So I’ll see you tonight. This is the address,” he said getting to his feet, and dropping another small piece of paper on his desk.

After Jareth left, I got up from the table and went to my room to retrieve my cell phone. I double tapped it to bring the screen to life, and went into my messages. I scrolled through to find the last message I sent to Arsen and hit compose.

Me: You there?

Not even five seconds passed before he responded.

Arsen: Hey stranger!

Me: What’s this special project about?

I was expecting as an immediate response as the first one, but instead of getting a text, my phone began to flash. Arsen was calling.

“Hey,” I said when I answered.

“How do you know about it?” he asked, with a nervous laugh.

“Jareth just came by to recruit me,” I replied.

“What did you say?” he asked, his voice rising.

“I said yes. They’re giving me fifty grand to do it; it was a no-brainer.”

“Back out, Neve. I’ll give you my check too, if you back out,” he said quietly.

I rolled my eyes for the second time in less than an hour. Between Arsen and Adesynne, I was pretty over having people tell me how to live my life.

“Can you pick me up on the way to the set tonight?” I asked.

“Did you hear what I just said? You can walk away from this free and clear right now.”

“I heard you, but I’m really curious about it now, so please pick me up on the way there, okay?”

Arsen was quiet for a few moments. I even said hello once or twice to make sure he was still there.

“Alright,” he finally said before hanging up.

I tossed my phone onto the table top and went into my room. I went to the closet and pulled the doors open and looked over my clothes with a critical eye. I was pretty sure there would be wardrobe there, because there always was, but I had a sneaky suspicion that it might be “used” so I wanted to wear my own stuff.

After an hour and a half of pulling out everything and trying it on, I settled on a blue and white sundress. I figured if there would be any almost sexual parts, that would make everything easy access and less uncomfortable.

I went into my underwear drawer and pulled out a brand new bra and panty set, before I grabbed the dress and headed toward the shower. Hopefully I could stay in there long enough to pass the majority of the time, and keep my mind off of whatever it was that would be expected of me.

A
rsen showed up at eight on the dot. I had been impatiently leaning out my window to watch for him. Now he was here, stepping out of his car to pick me up.

“Hey!” I called down, with a wave.

He jerked his head up toward me and gave me a tight smile, returning my wave, before he got back into his car, closing the door behind him.

I walked over to the front door and slid on my white flip flops before I pulled open the small closet door next to it. I reached down and grabbed my purse off the floor, double checking to make sure that the check was inside, before I walked out and locked the apartment door behind me.

Exiting the building, I went over to Arsen’s car and pulled open the passenger door. I leaned in and tossed my purse into the backseat before I sat down and pulled my seatbelt on.

“Hey,” I said again, leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah.”

That was his response.

Not a “hello” or “hey yourself”, just “yeah.” I looked at him and shook my head. Something was obviously bothering him, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t tell me until it was the right time.

I watched him glance at his side view mirror, before he pulled away from the curb. For the first half of the ride, there was a stony silence in between us, but as we seemed to be leaving town, he put his hand on my leg. I glanced down and saw that it was open and he was expecting me to hold his hand, so I did.

“Still not gonna tell me what this is about?” I prodded.

His response was a gentle squeeze. It was almost as if he had been sworn to secrecy or some shit and I was contemplating jumping out of the car. I wasn’t sure why, but my survival instincts were starting to kick in and I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“How long do you think this will take? Jareth said something about a couple of days?” I asked nervously.

“It won’t take that long. I promise,” he said, squeezing my hand again.

Today seemed to be a day filled with promises. Jareth promising this wouldn’t be pornography and Arsen promising that this wouldn’t take as long as Jareth said.

The one thing I hadn’t been promised, was that I would be safe.

“W
ho the hell shoots in an abandoned building?” I asked more to myself than Arsen wrinkling my nose.

He held my hand tightly as he pulled open the dilapidated door and walked in. I could almost swear his hand was sweating, but I chalked it up to the sudden humidity that seemed to smother us as we walked through the building. I was happy that Arsen came to get me because he seemed to know exactly where he was going.

We walked down a long hallway with doors on either side; some were missing, somewhere boarded up, and others were just sitting on their hinges.

“Kinda feels like walking into a nightmare, doesn’t it?” I asked with a nervous laugh.

“Sometimes,” he replied softly.

Okay?

If all Arsen had to offer me were one word answers for the most part, I was seriously starting to regret letting the money get the better of me.

In the distance, I heard the unmistakable sound of Max’s laughter.

“Haven’t heard that in a while,” I said to Arsen.

He didn’t respond. He just continued to lead me down the hall to the only dimly lit room on the left. I stepped in behind him curiously and looked around. We were in a huge space in the abandoned building that had props set up and other things strewn all over the place.

I noticed Max sitting on a director’s chair watching a small screen, with Jareth behind him, arms crossed over his chest. They both broke into laughter this time, causing Arsen to clear his throat loudly.

“Hey Neve! Glad you came!” Max said, turning off whatever was on his screen and walking over to give me a quick hug.

“Can someone tell me what this is about now?” I asked, pulling away from him.

“You’re gonna be the star of the film, sweetheart,” he said with a grin. “For once, this one takes a backseat to someone.”

I glanced up at Arsen who refused to meet my eyes.

“We thought you would be more comfortable with Arsen. Or at least Jareth did. I didn’t know anything about what was going on between the two of you until he told me,” he said, with a smile.

“But all good things come to an end, right?” he continued.

“I’m confused,” I said slowly. “What kind of film is this exactly?”

“Dark and gritty.”

I
t took Arsen almost half an hour to calm me down. I had a dangerous understanding of what was going to happen now. This was a fucking snuff film and one of us was going to die.

I thought these things were an urban legend,
I thought to myself as fresh tears spilled down my face.

“I can’t do this,” I said to him frantically.

“Sorry kiddo,” Max interceded. “You took the check, you’re here, and you know what we’re doing. You have to go through with it now.”