Page 103 of If the World Was Ending

Colby sent a thumbs-up, which was sarcastic, but she wouldn’t know it. And then…

Can you concentrate on our Oscar performance now? We have to figure out what to do. Are you still with him?

Okay, that last part was invasive and kind of stalkerish, but he hated the idea of them hanging out. Not to be a narcissist, but the only thing they had in common was Colby, and it made his skin feel too hot and too tight to think about them discussing him.

Hannah

Didn’t you just tell Fordy the other day not to worry about it until we officially get the nom?

Argh, why was this woman suddenly so infuriating? Colby wanted to throw his phone across the room. Then he heard a noise. A soft squeak of a door opening. Out came Trevor’s not girlfriend Marley. She looked wrecked. Her hair was matted and damp. Her face pale. Her eyes sunken. And she was only wearing hot pink thong underwear. Colby’s eyes widened and then averted. “Umm. Hey Marley. You need a top.”

“Whatever,” Marley muttered and stumbled her way past Colby to the fridge. “I’ve been full frontal in two movies. Who gives a fuck?”

She swung open the fridge door, her tits swaying with the motion. Her doctored, overly pouty mouth hung wide, and she didn’t seem to be registering the contents of the fridge. “You okay?”

“Whatever,” she murmured. Colby’s phone pinged.

He walked out the open back door to the small patio again.

Hannah

He says hi, by the way. Not right this second, but earlier. His part of the shoot ended an hour ago. Now we’re doing shots with just me. Gotta go, Sunshine. ox

He says hi. Probably all casual and cool. Like, hey, tell that dude who used to live in my apartment hello. Or like tell Colb hey. Hope he found another dick to put in his ass because he’s never getting mine again.

Colby shook his head. Hunter would never say anything cruel or careless. He cared. That was the problem. They both cared too much. God, he really wished he could stop. He wanted Hunter back in his life. Before they’d ever touched each other, they were close. He didn’t have his brothers anymore, and Hunter had slid right into that empty space and filled it better than Atlas or Brodie ever did. Except for the fact that Colby always found him attractive physically, which was not at all a brotherly thing.

He shoved a hand into his shaggy hair and huffed out an exhausted breath. The sky was looking gloomy now, like maybe Los Angeles would get some much-needed rain. That suited his personality right now, too, so bring it on. He re-entered the kitchen, closing the doors behind him and twisting the lock. Marley was still there, but now she was at the small kitchen table. Asleep. Head tilted back, arms splayed out by her sides. An untouched glass of OJ was sweating on the table in front of her. It didn’t appear the least bit comfortable and… Colby’s eyes landed on the side of her limp arms. There was slightly bloody bruising in the crook of her elbow.

Were those fucking track marks?!

Trevor wandered out at just that moment, looking slightly more coherent than Marley had. He took in the scene and glared at Colby like it was his fault. “Dude, you just eye fucking her while she’s passed out? You seem, like, way too politically correct for that shit.”

“I’m not. I was going to wake her, but her arm threw me.”

Trevor glanced at the marks and then stormed over and, not so gently, shook her awake. “Babe, put on clothes in my house, okay. Colby isn’t into your tits.”

He could say that again, Colby thought.

She got to her feet like a baby deer on new legs. Trevor hooked her under her arms and glared at Colby. “Set makeup. Looks fucking real, I know.”

He hauled her back into his bedroom before Colby could figure out something to say. Marley was on a show about teen drug addicts, so it was possible, right? He made a mental note to mention it to Ford. Ford would handle it for sure. He was hell-bent on keeping their image solid.

His phone buzzed as he entered his room, and he debated whether he should pick up his guitar again. He expected it to be Hannah or even Brodie trying to continue that heinous conversation from earlier. Hell, if it was his mom ranting some more, he’d have been less surprised than when he looked down and found Hunter’s name on his screen.

He opened the message.

Hunter

Hannah mentioned you’re freaking over a possible Oscar performance?

Yeah. Hi by the way.

Hunter

Keep it simple. Don’t do some big elaborate thing. Less is more. And you don’t need to. That song is epic. Be different by not trying too hard. That’s my two cents and I know you didn’t ask. Also, Hi.

Thx. I always appreciate your advice.