Page 53 of Camera Stays On

Her eyes grew wide.

“Again? Ash, we can’t!” The low hiss came with a small smirk and flushed cheeks.

“Can and should are two different things.” I pushed off the table and took her hand, leading her out of the set. Locking it behind us, I took us through a back route, so as not to be seen by the rest of our new friends. I was on a mission.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Andi whispered as we took the spiral stairs up to the second floor.

“It’s not, but that’s what makes me want to do it.”

“Hey!” a very drunk Lux shouted, scaring both of us. She came down the hall, laughing and holding on to Mick. They were both blitzed. “We’re playing hide-and-seek! Want to play with us?”

I bit back a joke about Mick having hidden something in Lux earlier. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? It’s kind of late.” My gaze darted to the bedrooms just past them. There was no way Andi and I would be able to sneak into her room while they were here, drunk or not. That would have to wait, I realized bitterly. Lux’s knees buckled, and Mick tried to catch her but began to fall himself.

“Let’s get you both downstairs.” Encouraging Andi to grab hold of Lux, I assisted Mick downstairs, escorting them both back to the living room, where the party was still going.

“We were playing hide-and-seek!” Lux repeated. “Anyone else want to play? This house is so big!”

The alcohol had fully taken over. Bea leaped up from the couch, wobbling excitedly on her feet. “Yes!” she hissed. “In or outside?”

“In!” Lux said.

“Out!” Sawyer said at the same time.

I stood with Andi by the entrance to the living room, wishing we hadn’t seen the drunk pair. We were supposed to be naked and ruining Andi’s sheets right now.

“Ooh, you know what? Let’s turn off all the lights and play inside, no rooms are off-limits,” Mick encouraged. Everyone slowly rose to their feet as Bea darted out of the room. Click after click echoed as she ran through the mansion, shutting off the lights.

“Can you unlock the set wing?” Lux asked.

“Hell no,” Sawyer said, taking a long swig from his bottle.

“It’ll be too easy to find us then,” she whined, and, surprisingly, everyone agreed with her. What was this? We were adults, far too old for silly games. The crew began to argue and plead for Sawyer to let them into the set, and eventually, he agreed.

“What about that other side of the house?” Lux asked. “That’s not being used for the movie.”

I straightened. “No,” I said firmly. That was where all my haunt stuff was being stored until the movie wrapped. She backed off at my cold tone, and everyone moved on from the idea.

“I’ll be the looker. We should do this in pairs. Purdy?” Sawyer looked over at us. Andi stiffened beside me.

“Oh, I don’t want to play. I was just coming to tell you I’m going to sleep.”

“Same, actually,” I added. “We just wanted to make sure everyone was safe.”

“We’re safe.” Lux rolled her eyes. “We don’t need a babysitter.”

“He’s my big brother. He’s always been like that. Taking care of me.” Sawyer laughed, raising his bottle in the air. “Come on, I’ll go unlock the doors, but if you break something, it’s coming out of your checks.”

Andi took her exit. I wasn’t able to speak to her in front of everyone, but I hoped she was going to stay up for me.

Wanting to make sure he was fine, I followed Sawyer and the others through the house.

“This is my property. I don’t want you anywhere that hasn’t been designated as set or for the cast.” I reminded them. “My haunt shit is either antique or expensive.” Pausing by a large trunk resting on a table, I opened and shut it, latching it for emphasis.

“Yeah, yeah.” Juliet scoffed, playing with the simple latch. “We’ll get you a Spirit Halloween gift card if we break a skeleton. Relax. We’re just having a little fun.”

She was really starting to grate on my nerves. I slapped her hand away gently.

“I’m serious. Sawyer, I don’t know if this is a good idea. There are too many things, and it’s dark. Someone’s gonna get hurt.”