The Girl Behind the Camera

Chapter 8

La Premier is everything I thought it would be; crazy rich people dressed to the nines, sipping unnecessarily expensive lattes with boring jazz music playing over the speakers. The coffee mugs are some kind of funky abstract shape. The napkins are folded into little swans.

It's all so...stupid.

I skim over the menu, too distracted by the prices to read the actual selections. I'm really hoping that Ace isn't expecting me to split the bill. Without a job, I'm going to have to make what I have left last until I find something else. And living in LA isn't cheap. That money will be gone before I know it. Especially if I drop thirty bucks on a mocha frappe.

I look around the room at everyone else, trying to figure out what they're having. That's when I spot a familiar face coming through the entrance. It's Sloan and a couple of guys wearing suits; probably his body guards.

I cover my face with the menu so he doesn't notice me.

"May I take your order?" our waiter asks.

I keep the menu over my face while Brittany and Ace place their orders. When it's my turn, I peek over the top of the menu and sigh in relief when I realize the waiter is blocking Sloan's view of our table.

"I'll have the..." Letting my nerves get the best of me, I say the first thing my eyes stop on. "Vanilla Bean Mocha Frappuccino."

"Wow, fancy," Brittany giggles.

"Anything else?" the waiter asks.

Sloan is sitting two tables over, directly behind our waiter. As soon as he moves, I know he's going to see us.

"Actually, yes," I say, trying to stall him. "Tell me about your cakes. What do you recommend?"

I pretend to listen as he goes over the cake menu. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Brittany lean over and whisper something to Ace. They both look in Sloan's direction.

"So is there any flavor that sounds particularly appetizing?" the waiter asks.

"Oh, uh...how about that last one you mentioned?"

"The Frozen Haute Chocolate ice cream sundae?" he asks.

"Mm-hmm," I hum.

The waiter pauses for a moment and presses his lips together. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," I say with a fake smile.

Ace taps me on the arm and leans closer to me. "Um, I'd love to spoil you, sweetheart, but that cake is pretty expensive," he whispers.

Brittany makes a cut throat motion to the waiter and he walks away.

"Alexa?"

I squeeze my eyes shut and curse under my breath when I hear Sloan's voice.

"We can get out of here if you want," Brittany whispers across the table.

Before I have a chance to respond, Sloan is standing next to our table. He and Ace stare each other down like a couple of alpha wolves that are about to fight over a mate.

"Can I talk to you, please?" Sloan asks, looking down at me.

"No," I reply simply.

He scoffs and rolls his eyes. "It will only take a minute."

"She said no," Ace snaps.

"No one asked you, William," Sloan bites back.

I look between the two of them in confusion. "Who is William?"

"You must have him confused with someone else," Brittany says, glaring up at Sloane.

Sloan looks back at me and sighs. "Please, Alexa. It's really important."

He places his hand on my back and Ace stands quickly, causing his chair to topple over. Everyone's eyes turn to us and the room goes silent.

Sloan's body guards, two tall, buff guys, stand up and move behind him. He turns to them and raises his hand. "It's okay."

I'm still in complete confusion. It seems as if Sloan, Brittany and Ace all know each other.

I look up at Sloan and his eyes silently plead with me to listen to him. Something in my gut tells me that I should, but my gut's been wrong a few times before. Dead wrong.

"What do you want?" I ask him.

He looks at Ace who is still standing, tensed up and ready for a fight. He looks back at me bends down so that his lips are right next to my ear. "There's something you need to know about these two," he whispers.

My heart starts to pound. Something is definitely wrong here, but I can't figure out from which end. I don't know a lot about Ace and Brittany. What if they're serial killers or something? But on the other hand, I don't know much about Sloan either. And what I do know about him isn't good.

In a sudden panic, I get up from my chair and run for the exit. I hear them calling after me, but I don't stop. I catch the first cab I see to head back home.

Once I'm in the cab, I breathe a sigh of relief. I look down and notice my trembling hands. That whole exchange really worked my nerves, even if I don't know why it happened. Sloan did tell me that Ace was a creep, but I just thought he was being jealous. But why would he be jealous though? Sloan doesn't want me. He doesn't care who I date.

Then I recall what I overheard Brittany saying before we left. She was looking for info on me. I still don't know why and after what just happened, I'm not sure I want to.

When we get close to the apartment, I dig in my bag looking for my phone so I can call Harry and get him to meet me outside. I don't feel safe walking in alone now.

I check my pockets, I check my bag again and I look around the back seat, but it's nowhere.

"f**k," I whisper to myself. I can't believe I left my stupid phone.

When the cab driver arrives at my apartment, I quickly pay him and get out. I run for the elevators, looking back over my shoulder to make sure no one is following me. I get in the elevator and press the button to close the doors. When they finally close, I lean back against the wall and take a second to catch my breath.

After a high-pitched ding, the doors open and I gasp when I see Sloan standing there. He's sweaty and breathing heavily as if he ran all the way here. He holds out my phone, but I try to run past him. He grabs me by the arms and pins me to the wall.

"Alexa, stop running from me. I'm not going to hurt you," he says slowly. "Get inside your apartment, now."

He releases his grip on me and I walk quickly to my door. I fumble with the keys for a few seconds, looking between the door and Sloan, who's standing right behind me. He keeps looking behind him, like he's expecting someone to come after us.

I finally unlock the door and push it open. Once inside, Sloan closes and locks both the latch and the bolt. I stare at him, waiting for him to explain what's going on.

"You have to stay away from them," he says, taking me by the hand and leading me to the sofa.

"Why?" I ask.

He paces around for a few seconds before sitting next to me. "Who did they tell you they are?"

"Aspiring Hollywood actors, just like everyone else in LA. Why?"

"Oh, they're actors alright. What names did they give you?" he asks.

"Ace and Brittany. Are you going to tell me why I should stay away from them or not?"

He looks down at the floor and furrows his brows together. "Let's just say that I'm not on good terms with that family. I have a feeling they're trying to get close to you because of me."

I laugh humorlessly. "Of course. Everything is about you."

"I'm being serious. I hope I'm wrong, but I can't take any chances and let you get hurt because of me."

Sloan is an actor; a very good one at that. He's been the star of at least fifteen movies that I can think of right off the top of my head. I know for a fact that he's on drugs, at least cocaine. I know that he has motives with me. He's probably making all of this up so somehow he comes out the hero and I delete the pictures I have of him out of gratitude.

"You will stop at nothing..." I say, baffled by how far he's willing to go. "I don't even have the photos of you anymore, Sloan! I deleted them weeks ago, right after I quit my job!"

"You quit?" he asks as if he's surprised.

"Yes, I quit. I deleted the all of the photos I had on my camera and I haven't taken anymore of anyone since. I've decided to earn my money the honest way from now on."

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now...you can stop this little game you're playing and go on your merry way," I tell him, standing up and walking towards the door.

I start to unlatch it, but he quickly jumps up and stops me. "No! What are you doing?!"

I raise a brow. "Showing you out?"

"Alexa, this isn't a game! You have to stay away from them!" he says seriously.

"Why?!" I ask, starting to get frustrated. "Just tell me why! What did you do to them?!"

He stares at me for a second or two before sitting down on the sofa and burying this face in his hands. I sit down next to him, waiting for him to explain. Before he has the chance, my phone, that's sitting on the coffee table in front of us, starts ringing. I pick it up and see Ace's number. I look at Sloan.

"It's Ace."

"Answer it," he says. "See what kind of explanation he gives you."

"Hello?"

"Alexa, are you okay?!" Ace asks frantically. "Where are you?"

"I'm okay. I'm at home."

"Listen, you have to stay away from Sloan Cole."

I put him on speaker and look at Sloan. "Stay away from him? Why? What did he do?"

"He's in a lot of trouble. I don't want him to bring you into his mess."

"What mess?" I ask.

"I...I can't tell you. But trust me, okay? The guy is no good. He will do anything for a bag of coke and I do mean anything."

Sloan's face contorts in anger, but he manages to stay quiet.

"What's that got to do with me?" I ask.

"Sloan has a lot of enemies. Once people find out you're associated with him, I'm worried they may come after you, too."

"How do you know all this?" I ask.

"I know a lot of things in my line of work. People talk a lot once they start drinking. And now that those photos of you two have leaked, all the wrong people are going to recognize your pretty little face."

I'm suddenly feeling like I don't know who to trust anymore. Sloan may mean well, but Ace's story makes sense. I know what lengths an addict will go to for more drugs. I watched my mom give away everything we ever owned before finally selling her own body for it. There's no telling what Sloan's done or who he's pissed off.

"I appreciate your concern, Ace. I think I'm just gonna lay low for a while. I've had a lot going on in my life lately and maybe I need some time away." I look at Harry's bedroom door and smile to myself. "I may tag along with my roommate for the summer. He's leaving tomorrow to visit his mom."

"So, you're leaving?" he asks with a deflated voice.

"Why not? There's so much negative energy around me here. It'll be good for me."

He's quiet for a few seconds and I'm wondering if he's hung up. "Ace?"

"I'm here," he says quietly. "I'm just a little hurt that you're leaving me for the summer."

"I know, I'm sorry. But I think it's what's best for me," I tell him.

"Well...be safe. And stay in touch."

"I will. Goodbye, Ace," I say before ending the call.

"Wow, you're almost as good as me," Sloan laughs.

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

"Telling him you're leaving for the summer, nice touch. He sounded genuinely hurt. I think the guy may actually like you."

I roll my eyes at him. "I'm really leaving, Sloan. Harry visits his mom every summer and she's always insisted that I come along too. I think I'm going to take her up on it this time. With all that's going on here..."

"Alexa...I know things are crazy, but...you can't just disappear for two or three months," he says, looking a little defeated.

"Why not? I don't have a job anymore. I have no one to answer to. I've been in desperate need of a vacation for years."

"But..." he trails off and looks down.

"Why do you care anyway?" I ask. "I told you, I deleted the pictures. We never have to speak to each other again."

He looks up at me and shatters my heart with the vulnerability in his eyes. I've seen that look before, in my mom's eyes. It was in the beginning stages of her addiction, when she desperately needed someone to hold her hand through her withdrawals and tell her everything would be okay if she just stayed strong. But I was so young then and her demons were too much for me to bear. I let her slip away until eventually, I lost her.

"I need you, Alexa," Sloan whispers. "You're the only thing that keeps me from losing myself."