Fade to Black (6 page)

“Honey, you’re babbling. What happened?”

She gave him a small smile. “Sorry. Aibell
was broken today.”

“What? No!”

“Yeah, she was.” Lily looked out the window
above the counter. “She’s out there in the garbage can.
Never
to with her sisters again.”
A tear ran down her cheek as she thought of
her creation in jagged pieces. Her chest felt empty. Whenever she created
something, and although she held a piece of it in her heart, she’d always been
able to sell it. But the goddesses, she was never able to even consider selling
one or even all of them. This felt like losing more than just a sculpture. They
were more.

She had shown him what the three of them
looked like together and he thought the trio was amazing; he knew she created
them and brought them to life. To her they were a unit, and she was never going
to sell any of them. He gathered her up in his arms, knowing what it felt like
when someone destroys something an artist worked so hard on. He had enough
negative reviews and scenes cut from films to know her pain. When an artist
pours their heart into something, they know not everyone is going to like the
final product. Yet, the artist has given it their all and some people like to
bring others down.

“I’m so sorry, honey. She was beautiful.”

“I know. It’s silly. It only some stupid
statue I made. It’s not like I’m a doctor who’s saving lives.
Or someone who puts their life on the line to protect us.
I’m just an artist.”

He leaned away from her and said, “Don’t
say that. Don’t you ever say
that.
Everyone is
important. Everything someone creates is important. What about Leonardo da Vinci?
Not only was he famous for his art, he was also famous for his inventions. You
named your son after him; you know artists are important. So are you.” He
squeezed her. “So are you.”

They stood wrapped in each other’s arms,
their eyes locked and not moving. Slowly he leaned in and paused before his
lips touched hers. When she didn’t move away, he closed the distance and
captured her lips. Once he had a taste for them, he wanted nothing more than to
lose himself for weeks. Grabbing her tighter, he flicked his tongue against her
lips, and when she opened up to him, he spun them around, raised her up, and
set her on the counter, nestling himself against her and not noticing when the
vegetables scattered.

An alert went off on his phone. He tried to
ignore it but it kept going off. Pulling away from her, he said, “Dammit.”
Looking down at the text, he saw it was from his assistant reminding him about
his flight out tomorrow morning. He’d completely forgotten about the awards
ceremony.

“Everything okay?”

“Yes, I forgot about the MTV Movie Awards
in New York tomorrow.”

“When do you leave?” She jumped off of the
counter and gathered up the vegetables before starting to chop them again.

He couldn’t believe she went on as if they
hadn’t just kissed.
“Umm… tomorrow morning.
Hey, I
just had a thought. Do you want to come? These things are pretty causal and
fun.”

She turned and looked at him for a moment
before shaking her head and turning back to cutting.

“What? It’d be fun.”

“So you said, twice. I’m sure it would be,
Devlin, but I have a business here. I have a son who’s still in school. I have
responsibilities I need to take care of. I can’t drop everything on a whim and
go to an awards show. Besides, I don’t have anything to wear.”

“It’s MTV, anything goes. Really, I’m sure
you’ve seen it before.”

“Yes, I have, way back in the day. Most of
my clothes have some kind of art material on them or, if they are nice, are at
least ten years old and may or may not fit anymore. So, sorry, but I really
can’t go. But how about I watch it? At least that’s something.”

“Sure, yeah, that’s something.” Devlin
wasn’t sure why he was so confused by her. Most women would have jumped at the
chance to go anywhere with him, let alone be on television. He’d never had to
plan anything in advance before. She was a puzzle he needed to figure out. He
turned when he saw Leo come into the room and throw his backpack on the table.
“Hey, short stack. How was school?”

“It was awesome. I was student of the day.
Which is totally cool.
I’ve been waiting all year. Hey, Mom,
what’s for dinner?”

“Hamburgers.”

“Yes!
But hey, why the
vegetables?
You don’t put vegetables on burgers.”

“No, silly, but you do put them on the
salad you’ll be eating with your burger.”

Leo came over to her and peeked around to
see what she was doing. “What about
your
homemade
French fries? We’ve
got
to have
those. And those are a vegetable!
Hey, Dev, you
stayin
’ for dinner?
You’ll love these. She makes the
best ones. Come on,” he said as he grabbed Devlin’s hand. “I have a new game on
my tablet I want to show you.”

“Young man, is your homework done?”

“Yes, Momma.
I’ve been waiting
forever
to show him
this new game.”

“And by forever you mean two days.”

“Yep.”

“Go on, I’ll let you know when dinner is
ready.”

Devlin followed the boy into the other room
where he was shown and told every detail about the new game. As he watched Lily
working in the other room, he sat back and relaxed for the first time in a
couple of days. He’d missed her. He’d missed
this
. Leo was an awesome kid and so fun to be around. She’d really
done a great job raising him. Coming here and spending time with them reminded
him more and more of his grandparents, and how they spent their lives together.
Everything was simpler. Respect was something which was given and received
freely, along with common courtesy. There was no rat race here. They could
concentrate on each other without any other distractions.

It’d been so long since he hadn’t had to constantly
think about anything to do with Hollywood. Here, it was all about Lily and Leo.
He’d spent
years
not paying close attention to the
needs of others, but here he thought of them first, always wanting to do
whatever he could to make them happy. He wanted to make sure they had
everything they needed, everything they wanted. He was amazed at how quickly
he’d developed feelings for them. Nothing like this had ever happened before. The
feelings he was having for both Lily and Leo, it wasn’t as scary as he thought
it was going to be. Maybe it had something to do with the two of them making it
so easy to just be.

Now he had to leave them. Even though it
was only twenty-four hours, part of him wanted to stay here with them, and the
other part wanted her to join him. If she traveled with him, he knew he’d have
more fun with her by his side. Everything would be new to her, and he’d enjoy
seeing her excitement. He’d love to show her off and introduce her to his
friends. He knew there’d be some she’d really get along with, the ones who were
down to earth, like she was.

Devlin had never experienced these feelings
before, and Lily was so casual about the whole thing. It made him wonder, for
once in his life, if he was feeling more than Lily was. All of the women he
previously dated had always been told up front he would never marry them, and there’d
be no children. At some point, they’d all wanted more. With the possibility of
Lily and Leo in his life, it felt strange being the one who wanted more.

Chapter
Eight

Hayden
waited until the show started to make her move. Since it was one of those late
spring nights where the breeze was cool, the whore had all her windows open.
She wanted to know more about her. There had to be some way to bring her down
and get her away from her Devlin. Ever so slowly she crept up the stairs while
staying low and hugging the house. She climbed higher and higher until she was
right outside the backdoor. There would be nowhere to hide if anyone came out,
but she’d take that chance. She had to know what made the woman tick. She had
to find a way to break her.

~^~

“Are you about done? You’re missing it,”
Dory called from the living room. “This is the MTV Movie Awards, we don’t need
healthy snacks. We need junk food. Right, Leo?”

“Totally.
Look, Mom! There’s Dev! You’re missing it.” Leo jumped on the couch.

“Yeah, look, Mom. There’s Dev! He’s
so
handsome!” Dory mimicked as Leo made
a gagging noise.

Lily came into the room and raised an eyebrow
at Dory, who winked at her and laughed. “I’m not missing anything. I’m sure
he’ll be on screen again. And we are having junk food.” She set down popcorn,
chips, and Swedish fish to a round of cheers.
“And healthy
food.”
She ignored their groans as she placed a veggie tray alongside
one filled with fruit.
“Too bad, so sad.
You get both.
Now eat.”

They rooted for Devlin’s film in every
category it was nominated in. When the time came to announce the winner for
best hero, they all held their breath, waiting to hear if he had won. When his
name was called they looked at each other and screamed, jumping up and down.
Once he walked on the stage, they all sat down and waited for the crowd to stop
screaming. Lily thought he looked gorgeous in his jeans, blue button-down shirt
open at the collar, and navy blazer. He was dressed casual yet sophisticated.
She looked down at her holey jeans and tried to push aside how different they
were and just be happy for her friend.
A friend who had
kissed the socks off of her the night before.
They all leaned forward as
he started to speak.

“Thank you for this award.” He waved the golden
moon man award in the air. “Every day each one of us can be a hero. I had the
honor of playing one of our country’s greatest unsung heroes, but there are so
many average people out there who go about their daily lives and make a
difference. They are a hero to someone. I’m talking about the single mother who
puts her son above everything else. Or the artist who puts their soul into
every piece they create. The man, who at ninety, still works in the
neighborhood grocery store because he
has
to work, it’s in his blood. It’s the person who will do whatever possible and
have the best possible attitude to battle cancer and continues to live every
day. Everyone contributes; everyone has the potential to be a hero. Be the
hero. Thank you!” He walked off the stage smiling into the camera and into
Lily’s heart.

~^~

Hayden sat there listening to the three of
them and how they related to each other. It was obvious they acted as a family;
she’d heard the brat call the lesbian “aunt”, so she and Lily must be close. The
research she’d been able to pull together also told her they’d been friends for
a long time. Since she’d confirmed her data, it was obvious she needed to do
some more research. Carefully pulling out a pen and a small pad, she started
making notes in the dim light coming from the windows.

When she heard Devlin’s category come up,
she closed her eyes, hoping he’d win. He should, he was by far the best out of
everyone in the category. The others couldn’t hold a candle to him. She
remembered when he’d been filming the movie; she had told him he was her hero,
and it was true. He didn’t believe her, but to her he was everything and more.

Devlin’s name was called and it took
everything she had not to sob in happiness as his talent was being recognized.
She’d always known he was perfection. She held her breath, waiting to hear him
speak; goose bumps ran up her arms when his voice finally filtered out of the
window. Then her blood ran cold as she heard the words he said. His words were
meant for the whore and not her. She sat there rocking on the stairs, biting
her knuckles to keep from screaming. This had to end. She had to stop this
thing
between them. He was
hers
.

~^~

Lily and Dory sat around talking after Leo
went to sleep. Between Lily spending time with Devlin, and Dory not being
available when she called her, Lily missed seeing her.

“So where have you been?” Lily hoped it
wasn’t because she had someone in her life. Dory never liked her ex, but they
still spent a lot of time together when they were together.

Dory said, “Around.”

“Really, that’s all you’re going to say? Do
I need to start stalking you? Because you know I will.”

“Fine, I’ve met someone.”

“That’s awesome, when do I get to meet her?
She’d better be good enough for you.” Lily remembered the last relationship
Dory was in, and it didn’t end well. She hated to see her best friend hurt so
much. “Tell me everything about her. What’s her name? What does she do? You
know,
the basics. You have to give me the scoop.”

“Yeah, see that’s the thing. It might be a
bit... Ashley is kind of shy.”

“Really?
That’s not your typical type.”