Stumbling into the shower, she let hot water flow down her body, relieved at how it relaxed her. Carolyn closed her eyes, willing her breathing to calm down. I can't let Jem and Annelie see me this way. I've got to keep these silly headaches under control.
After her shower, Carolyn avoided the noisy hairdryer and instead swallowed two Relpax, knowing they'd knock her out.
Jem and Annelie were in the living room talking, low music playing in the background.
"Ladies, I'm heading for bed."
Annelie's head snapped up. "Already? It's only eight thirty." She walked over to Carolyn and pressed the back of her hand against Carolyn's forehead. "Don't you want your coffee?"
"No. I'm sorry, love. Not tonight. I must be anxious about the first day of filming. I'm exhausted."
"Let me tuck you in. Be right back, Jem."
"Don't worry about me," Jem smiled, waving a DVD cover in their direction. "I found a movie I haven't seen. Mind if I pop this in?"
"Of course not."
After Annelie folded the covers back, Carolyn climbed in, dressed in one of Annelie's long T-shirts. "Thanks, love."
"Shh, just relax. Want me to rub your temples?"
"Could you kiss them instead? It helps when you press your lips right where it hurts."
Annelie leaned over Carolyn and kissed her forehead. Slowly the pain dissipated, fading to a faint throb. "Oh, yes."
Not saying anything, Annelie kept kissing her forehead. The motion was hypnotizing, and Carolyn felt herself drift off into the half-conscious state just before sleep. "…so much…" she murmured.
"Better?"
"…love you…"
"I know. Go to sleep. I love you too," Annelie whispered against her skin. "You'll be fine. That's it. Sleep."
Carolyn wanted to say how much she appreciated Annelie's care, but the words forming in her head never reached her lips.
***
Regina Carmichael waved the script in the air, a sure sign she had something important to say.
"Listen up, ladies. You've got to make the audience realize how much the denial and evasions of their mutual attraction torment Erica. This scene will ratchet up the tension for the all-important one where Erica kisses Maddox. Carolyn, play Maddox as bewildered, yet furious. Helen, Erica is defensive and equally angry. You did a great job at the tabletop exercise. Now show me you can take it over the top. Everything clear?"
Carolyn nodded briskly. "Yes."
They moved into position, Carolyn standing below a concrete staircase that led up to Erica's apartment and Helen upstairs, behind a green door. The crew rustled around them.
"All right, people. Look sharp. Camera!"
"Camera running."
"Silence! Scene twenty-two. Take one. Action!"
Carolyn hurried up the stairs and knocked on the door.
"Cut! Sorry, Carolyn, the mike was in the picture. Again, please."
Walking back down, inhaling deeply, she braced herself for the next attempt.
After a few adjustments, Regina gave her command again. "Take two. Action."
Carolyn repeated her maneuver and reached the top of the stairs. "Good. Let's move on to the next scene while you're still up there, Carolyn. You ready, Helen?" Regina said after the third take.
"Yup."
Swallowing against her nausea, Carolyn prepared for Helen to initiate the quarrel scene.
At the director's command, Helen yanked the door open and glared at her. "Diana, what a surprise," she said resentfully. "Working around the clock as usual. What's up?"
Carolyn leaned against the door frame, staring at Helen with narrowing eyes. "You left in the middle of our conversation."
"Conversation?" Helen huffed. "You were lecturing. I swear, if you ever talk to me in that condescending tone of voice again, I'll—" Her voice broke off, completely falling out of character. "Carolyn?"
Sweat was pouring down Carolyn's back under her shirt and black leather jacket. Everything blurred, and the stairs to her left swayed. She tried to move away from them, but her legs wouldn't cooperate. Nausea made her swallow hard, and she began to fall.
"Oh, God. Carolyn!"
As her pain became unbearable, taking away her vision, she felt hands clutch at her jacket. She fell, expecting to slam into the concrete steps, yet unable to stop herself. In the distance she heard loud voices shout her name.
***
Helen watched Carolyn go beyond pale. In fact, she quickly turned gray. When she began to fall toward the long stairs, Helen acted on impulse. Reaching out, she managed to grab the lapels of Carolyn's leather jacket and pull the other woman toward her.
Carolyn's body slammed into hers as they both fell into the hallway of Erica Becker's apartment. Landing painfully on the floor, Carolyn on top of her, Helen lost her breath for a minute.
When Carolyn didn't try to move, Helen managed to make her voice work. "Carolyn? You okay?" Then she freed a hand and touched Carolyn's cheek, which was cold and damp. "Carolyn!"
Chapter Seventeen
Keep the change." Annelie pressed some bills into the cabdriver's hand and jumped out of the car. She wanted to scream with impatience when a family of at least six cut her off at the hospital entrance.
Inside, she frantically looked for the emergency room, her heart pounding. Half running toward the ER entrance, she clung to what Regina had said. Carolyn was awake when the ambulance drove away from the studio. She had to be all right.
The nurses' station in the ER was as crowded as the front door. Trying to draw even breaths, Annelie waited in line. She fought an overwhelming urge to push the people ahead of her out of the way, knowing they had equally pressing concerns.
"Annelie? Over here!" A familiar male voice made her whirl around, and Gregory walked toward her. "They're over here."
She forced herself not to run. "How is she? And what do you mean by they? What's happened?"
"Helen's here too. She needed a couple of stitches in the back of her head after the fall."
"What fall?" Annelie felt confused and unable to focus. "What're you talking about? I thought Carolyn fainted. What happened to Helen?"
Gregory gently took her by the elbow and led her farther down the corridor. "Carolyn did faint. From what they told me, she already looked pale this morning. After running up and down some stairs several times during rehearsal and later, during the takes, she passed out."
"Oh, God," Annelie murmured, stopping outside the curtains. "And who fell?" The door behind them opened, and Helen stepped outside, dressed
in pants and a hospital robe. "We both did. Carolyn landed on me when she collapsed." She walked up to Annelie and hugged her. "She's okay, Annelie. She just came down from X-ray and the doctor's with her now." She gestured toward a door across the corridor.
"Helen saved her," Gregory added, drawing a stern look from the actress. "Well, you did. Regina said if you hadn't pulled Carolyn toward you, she could've fallen down the stairs."
Annelie felt her knees buckle and, for a second, only Helen's strong arms held her up. "What?"
"Gregory! You've got the tact of a bulldozer." Helen turned back to Annelie. "She scared us all for a minute. At first I couldn't tell if she was breathing or not."
"And then?"
"People came running from all directions. The staff nurse made everyone leave Carolyn alone and not move her while she examined her. When they finally moved her, Carolyn woke up, dizzy and with a headache, but able to stand on her feet."
"Can I see her?" Annelie's eyes brimmed with tears.
"The doctor should be out soon." Helen kept her arm around Annelie, who welcomed the comforting touch.