Page 109 of When Stars Fall

“The press is loving this reunion. Secret child. Reunited lovers. I mean, the two of you, when you were together the first time, you owned Hollywood.”

I laugh a little and suppress an eye roll. “It was fun then, for a while at least. Before most of this social media hoopla. Now I can’t walk down the street without someone taking a video of me or asking for a photo.”

“You don’t like it?”

If it was once in a while, I might not mind. Back then a lot of our fans seemed to think that they owned us or that we owed them something other than the movies we made, the interviews we did, or the photospreads in magazines. They wanted to consume as much of us as they could. Paparazzi wanted the money a single controversial shot would get them, and they did anything to achieve it. Leaving the house meant being switched on. I haven’t missed flipping that switch. “Would you?”

“I have no idea.” Kelly rocks back on her heels and tips my face around. “I guess the attention might be a bit much. Personally, I wouldn’t enjoy the bad photos.”

“Ah, yes. The cellulite catches. ’Cause, you know, we aren’t human.”

“Was there a bit of a commotion last night? Wyatt tore hot Rick from security a new asshole this morning. Something about his sister coming on set? I thought they were close. Her kid’s here, right?”

“Everything’s fine.” I keep my attitude breezy. She’d be the type to sell details.

“I’ve seen photos of his sister. She used to be so pretty.” Kelly dabs my lips. “Pretty is too mild, maybe. Stunning. A lot like her brother.” She winks at me in the mirror.

She hasn’t been this chatty about Wyatt any other day. Annoyance tugs at me. Odd to have him back, mine again, and still have to share parts of him with everyone else.

“I bet he’s also stunning in—” Kelly stops when the trailer door flies open, slamming against the wall.

Nikki appears in the entryway, her complexion ashen. My stomach drops to my feet. Something is very wrong. Nothing ruffles my sister. “It’s—it’s—” A sob spills out of her. “We called 9-1-1. They’re on their way. It’s Haven.”

“What?” I tumble out of my chair and grab my coat. “What?” My brain stalls on Haven’s name and 9-1-1.

“Come.” Nikki latches onto my arm. “Wyatt—he’s—he’s on his way to the trailer.”

Everything shuts down in my brain, and nothing makes sense while we run across the thick snow to the trailers. Wyatt sprints ahead of us. His presence, even from a distance, offers a strange reassurance. Whatever has happened can be fixed. Wyatt and I are creating a family. We’re a family.

Nikki cries and runs. Occasionally, she whispers, “Oh, God,” in a voice I’ve never heard from her.

I can’t bring myself to ask.Was it Anna? Will Haven be okay?

Wyatt yanks open the door to my trailer, and I say, almost to myself, “Why’s he going in there?”

“That’s where Haven is.” Nikki’s voice catches on a sob. “Camila is with her.”

“In my trailer?” When we left them, they were at Wyatt’s. Anna stayed in my trailer last night. Irresponsible drug addict Anna stayed in my trailer. “Why? Why was Haven in our trailer?” My voice rises on a wail.

Nikki doesn’t answer because we’re at the door, and I’m throwing it open. Before me is a sight so haunting, it’ll stay with me forever. Wyatt is doing CPR on Haven while Camila assists beside him.

“No,” I whisper, clutching Nikki’s arm. “No, no, no, no, no, no.”

Wyatt glances up at me with unconcealed panic. He counts compressions. I rush to Haven’s side, the one he’s not on, kneel and grab her hand. It’s warm, so warm. Warm means alive.

Nikki’s sobs echo through the trailer.

My daughter is so pale, so still. The scene in the trailer is filtering through mud. I can’t grasp what’s before me. This isn’t possible. I must be dreaming. We left here not even an hour ago, and everyone was fine. Haven was fine.

Wyatt pauses his compressions for Camila to breathe in Haven’s mouth. “Anna—Narcan! Did you find it?” As soon as Camila backs off, Wyatt presses down on Haven’s chest in a hard, fast rhythm.

Her little heart. Her poor little heart.

“El, Ellie,” Wyatt says in between compressions.

My body is carved out, hollow. This can’t be happening. A dream. I’m dreaming. No, a nightmare. For years, I dreamed of Wyatt coming. Then I dreamed this. My worst fear. The reason I couldn’t stay.

His features are set in a look of determination. In between counts, he says, “We. Will. Save. Her.”

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