Page 402 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
The moderator sends a question over to the casting director, so I pull out my phone, using the moment to check my email. If Flint isn’t the one talking, I feel much less compelled to listen.
Besides, I haven’t even bothered to open my work email since Thursday afternoon. Since I’ll be back in the lab tomorrow morning, it’s probably smart to check in and see if I missed anything important over the weekend.
The email at the top of my inbox makes the air freeze in my lungs. The subject line alone is enough for me to know it isn’t good news, and opening the message only confirms my fears.
I didn’t get my grant.
Come January of next year, my funding will be gone.
I close out my email and drop my phone in my lap, not wanting to cry right here in the middle of everything that’s going on. Even though I had a vague sense this was coming, it still feels like a shock. It’sreal.And it absolutely sucks.
Beside me, Joni swears and reaches for her phone as a ripple of sound moves across the auditorium. I was so distracted by my sudden job crisis, I missed whatever the question was that caused such a stir. If it was even a question at all.
“What is it? What happened?” I whisper, looking at Joni. I stand and move to the other side of Nate so I have a better view of Flint.
“I’m sorry, can you repeat your question?” Flint says, leaning toward his microphone.
I lean forward with him, straining my ears so I can hear the repeated question.
“Are you willing to comment on the story that just broke on TMZ, claiming that you faked a relationship with Audrey Callahan in order to create distance between you and your co-star?”
I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth.
What in the world?
I hold my breath while Flint clears his throat. I can’t even imagine how he’s feeling, what’s running through his mind right now.
“You know,” he finally says, his voice measured and controlled, “since you’re in film school, I assume you have some aspiration to make it in this business. So I’ll give you some advice. Don’t pay attention to what gossip sites say about you, and don’t comment on what gossip sites say about you. It’s a rule I live by, and so far, it’s served me well. If you’ve got a question about the movie or my experiences as an actor, I’d be happy to answer that one instead.”
“Geez, only Flint could deflect a question like that,” Joni says behind me without lifting her eyes from her phone.
“Why did someone ask it in the first place?” I say. “Who would even know to ask?” Someone beside us, Claire’s manager, I think, shushes us, and Joni grabs my hand, pulling me off the stage and into a hallway behind the theater.
“Anyone who reads the news would ask the question,” she says darkly. She hands me her phone, a search engine full of headlines taking up the entire screen. “Someone leaked the story, Audrey. It’s everywhere.”
Five minutes later, the four of us, Nate, Joni, me, and Flint, are all in a black SUV driving toward the airport. My insides are a mass of swirling, sickening emotions. First, the email from work, now this. In one thirty-minute stretch of time, my entire life has been turned upside down.
“Okay, give me the worst of it,” Flint says.
Joni takes a deep breath, then begins to read. “A-list actor Flint Hawthorne made quite the statement last month when he posted photos of a new relationship on his public Instagram account. After claiming he was moving back to his hometown of Silver Creek, North Carolina to have more privacy, it seemed an abrupt shift to suddenly be making public declarations of affection. Turns out, itWASan abrupt shift, and a totally fabricated one. An anonymous source close to the actor claims Hawthorne’s new relationship with wildlife biologist Audrey Callahan, a Silver Creek native, is completely fake.
“Our source couldn’t confirm Hawthorne’s specific motivations, but our best guess is it had something to do with silencing his co-star, actress, Claire McKinsey. In the past few months, McKinsey has made very public insinuations that she and herTurning Tidesco-star are on the brink of getting back together. Which leads us to ask, what really happened between Claire and Flint? Is this a publicity stunt? A way to get back ata scorned ex? Whatever his reasons, we give two thumbs down to Flint Hawthorne and his fake girlfriend and think this actor needs to grow up. Fake relationships? This isn’t middle school! The pair might have looked great on the red carpet at theTurning Tidespremiere, but America doesn’t want to be duped. Stay tuned for further updates as the story unfolds.”
Joni leans back into her seat, and a heavy silence settles over us. “I mean, it could have been worse,” she finally says.
I reach over and pick up Flint’s hand, entwining our fingers together. I don’t know how things are between us. I’m feeling off-kilter in every way possible, so I can only imagine he’s feeling it, too. But no matter what our relationship looks like in the future, I want him to know I’m here for him right now.
“‘This actor needs to grow up’,” he says, his voice hollow. He swears softly. “I should have known this would happen.”
“What do you want to do, Flint?” Joni asks. “You fired Simon, but as far as everyone else knows, he’s still your publicist. He’s probably already gotten two dozen requests for comment.”
Flint scoffs. “On the storyheleaked.”
“You really think it was him?” Joni asks.
“Of course it was him,” Flint says, steel in his tone. “Simon is the only person who knows, outside of the people in this car and our immediate families.” He looks at me. “You warned me. Youtoldme he might do something like this, and I didn’t listen.” He presses his fists into the seatback in front of him and groans. “Why didn’t I just listen to you? Why didn’t I wait to fire him?”
I lift a hand to Flint’s back, rubbing slow circles across his shoulder blades. It’s such a small thing. Too small. But what else can I do?
