Page 92 of Play Room Actor

“I already called in sick for you at Red,” he said with a sly grin.

“I’m not sick.”

He sighed. “You need a break. It’s beautiful outside. We could take a walk—it’ll help clear your head. But I need to get a few things done first.”

“Hm,” I mumbled noncommittally.

Nico was right. I really did need a break—from everything. I needed distance from my life and from the string of screw-ups that had piled up like a mountain of crap over the last few days. I was exhausted, desperate for peace, and ready to disconnect from it all.

And that’s exactly what I did. While Nico ran errands—shopping, or whatever else—I stayed alone in Hector’s apartment. I sat out on the terrace, which had a view stretching across the rooftops all the way to the lake, and tried to study my lines. But before long, I ended up lost in thought, doing absolutely nothing.

I felt empty, yet there was this tugging sensation inside me—a feeling I couldn’t quite put into words. Waves of memories washed over me: panic attacks, shame, and loneliness. I couldn’t bring myself to turn on my phone. The script was saved on a file, so I had no reason to take my phone off airplane mode.

It just wasn’t possible.

What if Kilian had texted me?

What if he hadn’t?

I wasn’t sure which would be worse.

And Livio. His parties always ran through Sunday.

Could I have resisted if he’d texted me again?

Probably not. So it was smart to wait until Nico got back.

Despite being overwhelmed by chaotic thoughts, I found a strange sense of peace in doing nothing. It felt serene to sit here, soak up the sun, and just breathe.

“Dude, what are you doing?” I suddenly heard a voice from inside. “What’s wrong with you?”

I turned my head to see Juri lightly smacking Luca on the back of the head. “You’re too much.”

“What?” Luca defended himself, following Juri out of my line of sight. “No filmmaker would pass up this opportunity.”

“Delete it!”

“Why?”

I hadn’t even realized they’d come home. I’d been so deep in thought I also hadn’t noticed how hungry I’d gotten. So I picked up my empty glass and went inside.

“Hey, Dominic,” Juri greeted me.

“Hey,” I replied.

Luca also said hello but immediately focused on his phone again. Juri clearly disapproved, nudging him with his shoulder. “Tell him!”

I furrowed my brow. This was about me?

Luca stepped toward me, his smile sheepish. “I’m sorry,” he said, holding out his phone. “I just filmed you without asking.”

I watched the clip: me sitting on the chair, occasionally shifting positions, running my fingers through my hair and over my face—completely lost in thought and tense. I hadn’t realized how I appeared.

“It’s such a bad habit of his,” Juri said, opening the fridge.

“Why did you do that?” I asked, dumbfounded. “What do you need it for?”

“I’m working with Nico on this theater piece,” Luca explained, his face lighting up with excitement. “I already have some clips I can use. But this? The way you were just sitting there … it’s perfect!”