Go to her.

I squelch that instinct like the annoying buzzard it is.

Fueled by a frustration I’ve never known, I tear out of my jacket and throw it at her. It flutters in the air and drops unceremoniously over her head.

Shanel glances up and the jacket slips a little, pooling around her shoulders.

“Don’t be so pathetic,” I snap.

“W-what?”

“The strong,” I plant my feet shoulder-length apart, “they don’t fall down and cry. They get up and do something.”

Her eyelashes flutter.

“So you’re stuck?” I stare her down. “Get the hell up and find a way out. Nobody’s going to do it for you.”

Her eyes sharpen. “Who do you think you’re—?”

I toss her a wave and stride away from the bridge.

“Hawk!” she screams at my back. “You bastard!”

My lips twitch. There’s the fighter. Crying despondently in the night doesn’t suit her.

Heading straight to my motorcycle, I mount it and point the machine down the road.

As I escape into the night, I leave my troubling thoughts of Shanel far behind.

9

SHANEL

I hate to say this. Truly hate it. But Hawk’s right. Bawling my eyes out is not a solution to this huge, confusing problem.

My world turned completely on its head.

Nothing makes sense anymore.

I don’t know why or how I got into this movie, but I do know what I have to do.

Get the hell out.

To do that, I need to understand what I’m working with.

Fact One: I’m not just in the movie, I’m a part of it.

Like an actual cast member.

Miles knows me as his fiancée and Lassandra told me I’ve been ‘nice’ to her in the past.

Since I wasn’t here before, I’m assuming they’re talking about Kaz.

Now I’ve taken her place to become the black friend.

I cringe as a memory reel of Kaz’s less than flattering moments roll through my head.

It’s not that I have a problem with being in the background, or obsessively ending every sentence with the phrase ‘girl puh-lease’, or even rolling my eyes in place of a witty comeback. Lord knows I roll my neck with the best of them.