Page 97 of When Stars Fall

Maybe I should go to her trailer, admit I drank while I was on the island, but it wasn’t much. Tell her I haven’t touched a drop since I found out about Haven. I wouldn’t dare risk my family. Alcohol, for me, has never been like drugs. The cravings don’t hit me as hard. But I have no idea if those declarations are enough, or whether she’ll use that confession against me at some point.

Jamal is napping. Haven is upstairs doing her schoolwork with Stacy. The only thing stopping me is Nikki. She doesn’t like me. She’s made that clear. Eating crow while she looks on isn’t on the top of my list.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. An automated alert from the credit card company. I’ve purchased a plane ticket to Ottawa on United Airlines. Not a surprise. I was expecting this notification. Anna’s coming for Jamal. Without missing a beat, I dial Camila and ask her to get on a flight as soon as she can. If Anna arrives here without a buffer, she’ll be explosive. When she comes out of her spiral long enough to realize she’s abandoned her son again, she’s a bear. And not the soft, cuddly kind.

I tell Stacy I’m leaving, and after throwing on my winter clothes, I aim for the head of security. Rick needs a warning that Anna’s coming—and to keep her away from Ellie and Haven at any cost.

“Rick!” I call, and I jog to the small crowd gathered around him. He’s talking to a group of uniformed officers and private security agents.

“Wyatt.” Rick raises a hand to the group and half turns to me, cutting his conversation short. “Everything okay?”

“I need a word.”

He steps away from the other men and women to follow me. “A security concern?” Rick asks when we’re out of earshot.

“My sister, Anna.” Flicking through my camera roll on my phone, I find a photo and turn the screen toward him. “Don’t let her on set, in my trailer, around Ellie or Haven, anywhere near Jamal, unless I’m present. I can’t stress this enough.”

“Send me that photo, and I’ll push it out to the team to get everyone on the same page.” He scratches the back of his neck with a gloved hand. “Violent?”

“Sometimes. Mostly with people she knows.” I scroll through my photos, looking for the most recent ones of decent quality.

“Sounds pleasant.” Rick grimaces. “Is this a just-in-case thing or do you have information?”

“She’s purchased a plane ticket. I’m guessing she’ll be here tonight or first thing in the morning, depending on her connections.”

“Got it.” Rick’s phone pings with the photos I sent.

The rest of the day passes in a blur. Anna’s imminent arrival is a constant distraction. I miss marks, flub lines, and we have to do more takes than normal. Ellie shoots me concerned glances but doesn’t ask. She isn’t behaving like herself either.

Something is in the air.

Maybe she regrets saying she’d give us a second chance. I need to buck up and talk to her, whether or not Nikki is in the trailer.

When I finally work up the nerve to knock on her trailer door, it’s late. Lights are on, so I know she’s awake. Or maybe it’s Nikki. Either way, I have to try.

“Ellie’s busy right now.” Nikki cocks her head to the side.

“I’ll wait.” I step up. Nikki lets me in, but she doesn’t give me much space. “Showering?” There are noises coming from the bathroom.

“Uh,” Nikki says. “A bath, maybe? I’ll go check.” She walks to the bathroom at the back of the trailer and knocks. “Wyatt’s here. You want me to leave?”

Ellie’s reply is muffled, but Nikki collects her computer and gathers her things.

“Nikki, can I talk to you for a minute?” Might as well meet her dislike of me head-on. Whether Ellie and I can work things out doesn’t change her role in Haven’s life.

She raises her eyebrows as she shoves an arm into her coat and picks up her gloves.

“I wanted to thank you for the help you’ve given Ellie over the years. The role that you’ve taken on in Haven’s life—I realize you don’t like me, that you told Ellie to leave me back then. I get it. I get why.”

“You’ve got the wrong end of things there.” Nikki chuckles and gives me a rueful smile. “I was on your side when Ellie was pregnant. I couldn’t understand why Ellie’d want to leave you. Her love for you was so clear, and if I’m honest, how much you loved her was obvious too. It was everywhere you looked, shining out of the two of you. Then she left. I grew up, and I saw the truth. How reckless you were, consumed by fame. I got it, then—why she couldn’t stay.”

“That was me. I’ll own that. I was that guy.” I shove my hands into my pockets. “More than anyone else, I loved your sister, and yet not quite as much as I should have. Not that I loved the drugs more, but I had myself convinced I needed them. Couldn’t function without them. Now”—I nod my head toward the bathroom—“now I can say with absolute certainty there isn’t anything I wouldn’t give up for Ellie.”

“Except the truth?”

“Touché, Nikki.” I tip my head. “It’s why I’m here. No more bullshit. We’ve got to trust each other to do right by one another.”

She searches my face for a long beat. “I want Ellie to be happy. The happiest I’ve ever seen her was with you. I don’t understand your relationship, knowing what I know now, but there’s a light in her when you’re around, and no one else seems able to turn it on.” She frowns. “If you hurt her or Haven, I’ll hire a hitman. I’m not kidding.”

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