Vicious Circles

Chapter 2

I spent one more night in the hospital after my happy little meeting with Mason. I didn’t mind that they fed me and I watched free cable while I fell asleep. I would have to pay for it eventually but nothing was better than immediate gratification. My good mood came to a crashing halt when I signed the release papers.

“Your friend left this for you,” the nurse said in a business-like tone. She handed me a slip of paper.

“He’s not a friend of mine, just someone who was looking to upgrade his hero status.” I snatched the jagged piece of paper from her hand. “Thanks anyway.”

My head was pounding and I needed a cigarette. I began to realize just how screwed I was as I walked away from the hospital, through the parking lot. I had no clue where I was going and Mason was probably sporting an erection at the thought of being my only hope. What an a*shole.

Philadelphia wasn’t such a bad city once I emerged from the scarier part. I spent at least an hour gazing at the LOVE sculpture. I spent some time, mingling with the tourists in front of Independence Hall. The whole situation with Jill and Mason was almost gone from my mind, until it started to get dark. My eyes burned as I slowly realized the darkened sky made me vulnerable and I had absolutely nowhere to go.

I would have to call him.

He knew I would have to call him.

Reluctantly, I entered the closest business and plastered on a smile. The man behind the counter obviously thought his good deed would get him laid because he handed his cell phone over, no questions. He eyed me appreciatively while I pulled the piece of paper from my pocket and dialed.

“Hello?”

I hesitated and the voice came again.

“Hello?!”

“Mason?”

“Yeah,” he answered hesitantly. “Who’s this?”

I felt absolutely sick having to ask him for help. “It’s…Fallyn, Jill’s EX friend.” I made sure to be clear about my feelings for Jill at the moment. She was going to meet my fist once or twice when I finally found her.

“I remember you,” Mason said in a sly voice. “I was sure you’d be calling. Looks like I was right.”

Ugh, how arrogant. “Listen, I’d much rather stab myself in the eye than tell you I’m in a spot here but clearly I have no other choice. I don’t make it a habit of telling strangers my life story so don’t ask me any questions and we’ll be just fine.”

He laughed on the other end. “I can agree to that.”

“What the hell do you want from me anyway? I mean, if you think I’m going anywhere near your man region you’re severely mistaken.” Just the thought made my stomach cringe.

Mason sighed softly. “I don’t know what Jill has told you about me or where you even get your information. Maybe you don’t know anything about me at all, Fallyn…but I’m a decent guy and you shouldn’t be wandering around the city alone. I’ll make sure you get back to LA safely.”

My mouth was wide open with shock. Everything he said sounded sincere and frankly, I don’t think I cared if he was bullshitting me. He took my silence as confirmation and continued with his speech.

“I’m going to give you the address of the bar we’re playing tonight. Catch a taxi and I’ll pay the driver when you get here. Okay?”

“I…well. Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Good,” he said before spouting off the address. I ripped a piece of paper off the lotto forms on the counter and wrote quickly. “See you soon.”

“Sure, see you then.” The pervert behind the counter grinned at me when I handed his cell back. I thanked him for the phone and ran from the store, before he got any wild ideas.

Finding a taxi was extremely easy and the driver knew right where the bar was. I sat back against the leather seat and watched as the dark buildings passed, one by one. My initial thoughts about Mason Chance were starting to wear thin and it was unnerving. If he was actually a decent guy then I wouldn’t mind being friends with him. The thought of him being an actor and fairly well known was scaring me just a bit. No one, and I do mean no one, knew much about me at all. I liked it that way. Jill knew the most and still she was clueless.

My heart beat a little faster when the driver came to a stop outside the back door of a small brick building and Mason was leaning against the wall, waiting. He leaned in the open window on the passenger side and handed the man a twenty, instructing him to keep the change.

“I figured you would change your mind,” Mason said to me as I stepped from the yellow car, slamming the door behind me.

“I was considering being civil to you but then you go and say a*shole shit like that,” I chided in a smart tone.

He ignored my comment and held the door open, motioning for me to go in ahead of him. So, he has some gentleman qualities. They probably disappear once he’s naked and balls deep inside of some wannabe.

The bar was dark but lit well enough so I didn’t trip and fall up the narrow staircase to the second floor. There was a main room, which was empty besides a small table and a small couch that was directly below a window facing the street. I could hear voices from the room Mason was headed toward and stopped. I wasn’t going to be on display.

“What’s wrong?” Mason asked me when I stopped walking.

“I don’t want to “hang out” with your buddies in there. I’ll just sit here on the couch.” My chest was tight and my head was still pounding.

He looked confused but let me have my way. Instead of continuing on to the other room, he spun around and took a seat on the small couch alongside me. “I’ll sit with you,” he said hesitantly.

“I just want to go back to LA,” I said finally. “Jill talked me into coming out here and then that bitch left me high and dry. Wait until I find her.”

Mason laughed, relaxing his posture and turning toward me. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me, I may or may not answer.”

“I can’t quite see why you and Jill are such good friends.” He looked away, probably because he was making assumptions. I decided to answer because he had assumed correctly.

“Jill is my only close friend and you’re right…we are polar opposites. Sometimes I can’t stand her, like right now, but she knows more about me than anyone and it’s just easier.”

“I understand,” Mason said, nodding. “I understand that completely.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Fair is fair, I say.

He simply nodded.

“Why were you screwing her?”

“Wow, don’t hold back.” He ran his right hand through his hair, which had been straightened. “Look, sex is sex. We’re both adults and adults have sex.”

I cut my eyes at him. “Don’t speak to me like I’m ignorant. I’m sorry Mason, but I’m an adult and I like sex but I won’t be having it with you or anyone else for no good reason. Jill has no moral compass…”

“Whoa, you aren’t suggesting I have no morals are you? Trust me, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

I drew back into the couch, shocked that I had actually touched a nerve. A slight guilty feeling set in, which was odd considering I barely knew him. “I didn’t mean it that way, I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right,” he responded quietly. “I have to work on the set list for the show, will you be okay here?”

“I’ll be fine, go do what you need to do.”

He stood and walked a few steps. “You’ll be on a plane tomorrow, I’ll see to it.”

Rather than answer, I turned sideways and cranked the window open, to let the night air in. Voices floated up from the street below. Upon further investigation, I realized the line to get into the bar was all the way down the block. I’ll admit that the band was more popular than I had originally thought and I felt bad for thinking less of them.

The small couch was my refuge that evening. I could hear the music and screams as I sat there, my arms wrapped around my legs. It made me think about my first night in LA, the first time I had met Jill.

Jill and I met at a screening party by pure accident. My very first roommate, who also turned out to be just another wannabe actress, was lucky enough to get an invite and I was lucky enough to be asked to tag along with her. I remember hanging out at the bar, drinking martinis and building a cabin with the toothpicks from my olives. We struck up a conversation about my roommate who had disappeared to do God knows what with God knows who. I really did like Jill at first.

It was when she couldn’t keep up her part of the bills, when we got a place together that ultimately was the downfall of our friendship. I spent all my savings, trying to save our asses. Then I lost my job.

We’d been homeless ever since. Unfortunately, we’d been friends since then.

Around one in the morning, the music and the screams died down. I watched with tired eyes through the window as the crowd was filtering out of the small bar along with the other guys. I watched as they hugged fans and took pictures. The only one missing was Mason. When I heard footsteps on the wooden stairs behind me, I knew it was him.

“Why aren’t you downstairs, mingling with your adoring fans?” I wondered without turning to face him.

“I thought I would come up and make sure you were still here. Do you want a beer or something?”

“Ok first, you’re a smart ass because you know there isn’t anywhere else I can go and second, I just want to get out of here.” My patience with him was wearing thin. I couldn’t figure out why he was tolerable one moment and severely annoying the next.

Mason sighed and cracked open a can of beer that had mysteriously appeared from his coat. “There is no warming that frosty exterior is there?”

“A*shole!” I was up off the couch and in his face before he realized it. “You have no business judging me. I know all about you. The arrogant walk and good looks; you’re just a prick with talent and luck.”

He was frozen, not knowing how to react to my harsh, but definitely true, description of him. I backed away, leaving his personal space to him once again.

“You know,” he started with a frown, “I admire you for saying what you think but you are way off.”

“Am I? I think-”

“No…you’re wrong and if it were me, stuck miles from home I wouldn’t be too damn picky about how I got back.”

As much as I hated to admit it, Mason was right. He was putting me on a plane at his own cost and sending me back to Los Angeles. When had I become so hateful and jaded? Losing everything you have affected people differently it seemed. Some were humbled and thankful for just being alive but others…like me, were angry at the world and refused to look at the bad choices that may have led them astray.

“I’m sorry, okay? It’s just…” I had no idea what to say. Mason and I were quite a bit alike and that was the problem.

He waved his hand, blowing off my half-assed apology. “I called my manager earlier and she’s got you set up in a room and on a flight tomorrow morning.”

Hold the phone. “Wait a minute.” I held my hand up, watching his face the whole time. “You mean, I sat up here by myself all night when I could have been in a room that was already booked?”

Mason nodded without apologies. “I bet if you run on downstairs one of the guys can get you a cab.” He laughed, tossed some money and a piece of paper on the couch beside me then walked off.

***

I thought about things that night, as I soaked in a very large whirlpool tub. Mason had walked out on me twice. Granted I had pissed him off and completely insulted him both times as well. I had been a total bitch and he still helped me out.

Mason was right, I was an ice queen.