Page 108 of Between the Lines

I do, yes. Thanks for asking.

I order food and work on his book instead. There are plenty of chapters I could write from my understanding of what happened or from secondary sources.

I spell out his college years and his first years of working at Titan before he took over as the CEO. It’s different from writing a climax that everyone who’ll read the book will already be aware of—and a climax they’ll eagerly buy the book for anyway.

I need to milk it, but not too much, or I’ll frustrate the readers rather than entice them.

It’s nearly nine in the evening by the time I close my laptop and head to wash my face. I remove my makeup and pull my hair into a bun.

As I’m getting ready for bed, Esmé texts me. She has about fifteen minutes to chat after she’s put the kids to sleep and before she needs to start watching the new period drama with Tim as she promised.

Oh, the married life.

I lie on top of my queen bed and tell my best friend all of my latest updates… except for what Aiden and I have done. Or that he’s the CEO of Titan. I tell her I’m seeing someone, though. Just an anonymoussomeone.

It still feels too fragile, too new. Maybe it would help me to talk about it. But I can’t find the words.

I call my parents after getting off the phone with Esmé. Their excitement on the line makes me close my eyes against a sudden wave of tears. I don’t call them enough. I don’t go back home enough.

“Is everything okay, honey?” Mom asks. “You sound a bit tired.”

“I am tired.”

“Oh, I bet you are. Los Angeles is a big city. Are they keeping you busy?”

I think of the deadline looming for the first draft. Of Aiden’s unpredictable schedule and my own unpredictable urges where he’s concerned. Of Titan Media, the company my parents hate almost as much as I do. Or used to.

Seeing it from the inside, it’s… well… It’s a company like any other. Profit and loss balanced against corporate goals. It doesn’t make it easier that I was a cog in their giant machine. But at least it wasn’t personal.

“Yes. The subject is… demanding.”

I’m on their speakerphone, likely lying on the living room table between them. “Do you have any chapters I can read, yet?” Dad calls out.

“We still don’t know who it’s about,” Mom adds. “Who’s the subject?”

They’ve both taken such an interest in everything I’ve done since that summer. Since I couldn’t get out of bed for four months straight. I know it took a toll on them, and it feels like whatever I do for the rest of my life will never be enough. I’ll never be able to live downThe Gamble.

“I’m still bound by NDA’s,” I say. The guilt makes my stomach churn. They’ll know after. Everyone will, that I wrote Aiden’s memoir. The best I can hope for is that they’ll understand when I tell them why I did it.

The chance that my publisher would give me an opportunity to write something else, with an advance that would see me through a solid year of writing.

We say goodbye, and I curl up on the bed with a streaming service on my laptop. It’s not the one Aiden is so determined to buy. But it’s similar, and as I scroll through the offerings, I quickly bypass all of the reality shows. It’s taken me a long time to be able to watch and enjoy the genre again. The more normal the people are, and the less alcohol involved, the better it goes for me.

I settle on rewatching an old comedy series instead. I’m four episodes deep and nearly asleep when my phone rings. It vibrates incessantly against my comforter.

It’s almost eleven thirty.

The name on the screen sends a jolt through me.Aiden. Catastrophic scenarios race through my mind. People he might have spoken to tonight, clips he might have seen. The last thing I want is for him to think of me as yet anothervapid reality star.

But that may only be a matter of time. Despite my new hair color and the changed last name, the past always catches up to me anyway.

I answer on the last possible ring. “Hello,” I say cautiously.

“Hey.” His deep voice is familiar. “I’m almost home. Wanted to check if you’re still awake.”

“I’m awake.”

“I can tell,” he says. “I’m unlocking the front door in a second, and I’ve got food and painkillers for you. Come down, Chaos.”

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