Breaking Hollywood(89)

“She is a victim in this, as much as I am. Our privacy was invaded, and a private conversation between us in our home, detailing events from my past, was recorded without our knowledge, and then Ava was tricked into signing a release form disguised as something else. This might sound far-fetched, but sometimes, the truth is just that—far-fetched. Because we good people would never do something like that, we find it hard to believe that someone would go so far. Believe me when I say, they would. The lengths these people went to, to get this story is fucking scary. And something needs to be done about that, but that’s for my legal team to deal with.

“My past is mine. But, as it’s been made public knowledge, I want to clear some things up. Yes, my parents are in prison. The crimes they committed are in no way a reflection on my brother and me. You can’t choose the family you’re born into. And my brother and I definitely didn’t choose our parents. But having him as my brother is the best thing to come out of it.” I take a breath.

“When our parents were arrested, I was seventeen, months from my eighteenth birthday. My brother was twelve. He was, without a doubt, going to be taken away from me and placed with a family. We were all each other had left. So, we ran. Using what little money I had in my savings, I got us a place, and I landed a job. But the money wasn’t enough. Before I knew it, I was working three jobs and still barely scraping by. I was just paying the bills and feeding us both.

“Then, the chance to get into escorting was presented to me. It was more money, not tons, but it meant I could work one job during the day and escort on nights. Then, after a while, things changed. I was offered money to have sex with a client. A lot of money. I was young. Getting paid to have sex with a hot older woman, more money than I would have made in a month, was a dream come true. So, I did it. And I carried on doing it. The money gave us a better life, and even though it was—is illegal, I don’t regret what I did because it meant that I could give my brother a better life.

“Then, I was lucky, and things changed for me. I got the opportunity to get into acting, and my life got better from that point on.

“I won’t sit here and say I’m proud of what I did. But, if I were put into that situation again, would I do things the same? If it meant keeping a roof over my brother’s head and being able to feed him, then yes. We all do things that we’re not proud of, but when you go to judge me for my decisions in life, think about yourself—what you would do for those you love. And then think about me again and see if your judgment would still be the same.

“So, that’s it. Thank you for listening to me. And I’ll see you guys soon.”

I look at Ava, and she ends the video, holding the phone in her lap.

“How did I do?”

“Amazing. Gabe…that was…perfect. If people don’t understand and love you even more after that, then they must be stupid. The views were into the hundreds of thousands, and the comments were coming through thick and fast. I could barely keep up with them, but they all seemed to be comments of support. There was an awful lot of love hearts flying across the screen.”

“Really?” That picks me up.

“Really.” She smiles.

She comes over and straddles my lap, handing me my phone. “You should take a look, see for yourself.”

“I will. In a minute.” I put the phone on the sofa beside me. “I just want five minutes with my girl.”

I take her face in my hands, bring her to my lips, and kiss her.

“Thank you for being here,” I murmur against her mouth.

She leans back, looking me in the eyes. “Where else would I be?”

“After the way I treated you, I wouldn’t have been surprised if you had never come back to me.” I sigh. “I know I’m difficult and an asshole ninety percent of the time, but I do love you.”

“Ninety percent’s a bit generous. More like ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time.”

“Funny.”

“I’m a comedian, didn’t you know?” She grins. “You’re being too hard on yourself. Let’s just forget everything that happened and focus on the future. You’ve got a house to build me, remember?”

“Yeah, I do, don’t I?”

She nods.

“I’ll still have to deal with Digby and Sandy though.”

“I know. But we’ll do it together, Gabe.”

“Together sounds pretty fucking good to me.” I tightly band my arm around her, bringing her closer.

“Baaahhh! Baaahhh!”

“Sounds like Gucci’s finished her food.”