“I think he came here just to try and get you back.”
I find the strength to lift my shoulders in a lethargic shrug. “It doesn’t really matter.”
Crystal smiles reassuringly at me. “You’ll find someone, Sydney.”
I didn’t even know I was worried about “finding someone.” The second Crystal gives me that assurance, though, a dam breaks in my chest and pain spews forth.
“Thanks,” I croak.
Moving onto someone else seems a long way off when I can still feel Simon’s phantom touch all over my body. Though I can manage to mostly escape thinking about him during the day, he’s there with me when I close my eyes at night, his kisses on my neck and his hands on my waist. Since being with him in that tiny library, the constant dreams about him have done anything but fade away. Instead, they’ve become more intense, more detailed.
“You just have to wait for the right person,” Crystal says. “In the meantime, let everyone be who they are. If they want to be around you and you want to be around them, things will work out.”
“You mean don’t be demanding of them?” I ask, thinking of Brendan’s words on the staircase.
She beams. “Yeah. Exactly. I’m going to make an ice cream sundae. Want one?”
“Of course. Maybe we can set one in front of Eryk’s door to lure him out.”
She giggles. “That was exactly my plan.”
*
The next afternoon when I return to holding from set, I check my phone and find I have several missed calls. I don’t keep my cell with me when I go to set because I’m terrified of forgetting to turn the ringer down and having it blow up in the middle of a take. I’d have a whole new bullet point to add to the reputation I’m afraid will one day develop.
Sydney Andrews. She fucked the head of the studio and then ruined one of the best takes in the history of Mulroney Pictures. Watch out for that one.
The three missed calls are all from a number I don’t recognize. I pull up my voice mail to see if there are any messages, but it’s empty.
“Huh,” I mutter to myself. The last call was twenty minutes ago. Maybe I should call the number back…
Emily comes on the walkie talkie, calling for me.
“Bring the extras back,” she says. “They need another take.”
“Got it,” I say.
I drop my phone back in the bag and go wrangle the ten extras I just returned with. When we get to set, we end up being there for the rest of the afternoon. I check my phone again at dinner, but no one else has called. I forget all about the number from earlier.
My phone does, however, ring when I’m climbing in my car that night.
“I need your help,” Crystal says. “Eryk is being completely crazy.”
My stomach lurches. “Uh-oh. What happened?”
“He thinks you and I are ganging up on him.”
I sigh and drop my head back. “Where are you guys now?”
“At home. I’m hiding in the bathroom.”
“Okay. I just got in the car. I’ll be there soon.”
“Good. Bye.”
I hang up and pull out of the parking lot, trying to think of things to say to Eryk. Crystal and I both already played the nice card and he was anything but kind in return, so we’ll just have to give it to him straight.
As I pass my old office, something catches my eye. I slow down to make sure I’m seeing what I think I am. It’s Simon’s car, parked in its assigned spot. It’s the only one in front of the building. The front windows are all dark, making it seem like the place is empty, but his office does face the other side.
What’s he doing in there so late? And all alone? Maybe he’s come back from his “business” trip with a new devotion to his job.
I press my lips together and speed up. From now on, I won’t look at his office when I drive by. I’ll just pretend there’s a giant sound blanket draped there, obscuring all views and cutting all sounds.
At home, I hear the yelling from the outside hall. I jiggle my key in the lock and cringe. The shouting gets louder.
Whatever is happening in the apartment won’t be pretty. I hold my breath and push myself inside.
“You don’t know what it’s like!” Eryk yells.
Both of my roommates are standing in the middle of the living room, their faces red.
“You guys,” I shout. “Calm down before someone calls the cops. I can practically hear you down by the pool.”
Eryk turns his hard gaze on me. “You’re in on this with her.”
“Wh-what?” I sputter. “In on what?”
“Don’t act so innocent, Sydney.”
Crystal speaks up. “There is no conspiracy, Eryk. Come off it. You know we’re right. Brian told you the exact same thing.”