“Wait, stop!” I shout.
“What?” Cooper says, almost jumping out of his seat.
I place my fingertips on my forehead, like it will help me remember. “Play that again.”
“When you first told me you might not go, I asked if you wanted this as badly as I do.”
“He said that exact line to me. About making his movie. You want this as badly as I do, don’t you?”
“That’s creepy,” Cooper says as he rewinds and presses play.
“. . . You told me yes.”
Lacy screams, “Well, I changed my mind!”
She takes another step backwards.
“No! Don’t give me that bullshit. Matt changed your mind! You came crying to me about it! I told you to figure it out.”
Lacy has a flashback of telling Vince she didn’t think she was going to study abroad and indicating that Matt wasn’t very supportive. Vince offers to take her for a walk to discuss it.
Lacy laughs. “I don’t think you can solve my boyfriend troubles, Vince, but thanks.”
Vince says, “Maybe you need to solve them yourself.”
And I have a flashback of my own.
I’m standing on the deck at a party, turning down a walk on the beach. “Thanks for the offer, Vincent. It’s sweet of you, but I don’t think anyone can solve my boy problems.”
“Maybe you need to solve them yourself.”
The movie keeps playing.
Vince is yelling at her, taking another step toward her, backing her into a corner. “But you didn’t fucking listen to me. You listened to him.”
Realizing she’s trapped, she pleads, “Don’t do this, Vincey. Tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”
He doesn’t stop moving toward her.
And he doesn’t reply.
He grabs her by the neck and starts dragging her out of the shed. “I want you, and I’m going to have you. All to myself.”
“Holy shit,” I mutter, another scene flashing in front of my eyes.
Vincent is dragging me and I plead, “Stop. Please, Vincent. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll do it. I promise I’ll make the movie with you. Just please don’t do this. Please.”
He doesn’t stop.
And he doesn’t reply.
He just keeps dragging me, closer and closer to the door.
When we’re almost to the door, he says, “I want you, and I’m going to have you. All to myself.”
“Keatyn, what?”
“He did the same thing, said the same thing, as he was dragging me out the door. That he was going to have me all to himself.”
Cooper takes his jacket off and lays it across the top of me. “You’re shaking. Stop thinking about it.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Cooper. Thank you for everything. For going along with my crazy schemes.”
“Somehow I doubt Garrett would have gone for the cage dancing.” He smiles at me and pats the top of my hand. “I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks, Cooper. Let’s keep watching.”
Just when you think Vince is about to take her out the door, Matt stands up and staggers toward him.
Matt is holding a boat anchor that he swings up into the air and then slams into Vince’s head.
Vince drops to the ground, bleeding profusely.
But he’s not dead yet.
He says, “We’re still going to Egypt together, Lacy.” His voice starts to fade as he nears death. “And it will be perfection.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Did he memorize the whole damn movie?”
“Did he say that to you?”
“At some point, yeah. Actually, no, I think it was in the note with the photos.”
Lacy helps Matt stagger outside.
She suggests they try the boat again.
It still doesn’t start, so Lacy lifts the motor cover. “Just the battery cable.” She pops it back on and starts the boat. “Let’s get out of here!”
“Before we do, Lacy. I’m sorry. If you really want to go to Africa, we’ll figure out a way to stay together. I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want to stand in the way of your dreams.”
“You are my dreams, Matty.” Lacy throws her arms around him, smothers him with kisses, and then they drive off in the boat as the sun is rising on a new day.
The End
Cooper shuts my laptop. “So, in this, Vince is the bad guy who dies. Do you think he changed that it the new script?”
“He said he was changing a lot of it. Special effects, stunt scenes. He made it sound like the new Lacy was supposed to be some badass heroine, but if she were, she’d save all her friends. And if she saved them, there’d be no story. No plot. I remember him saying something about getting someone ugly to play my boyfriend and not having any kissing scenes. I suppose young Vincent was jealous of Matt.”
“Because he wants Lacy for himself.”
“I think we need to get a copy of that script.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“That’s another thing agents are for.”
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16TH
Dare to think.
7am
I get back to school just in time to curl my hair, touch up my makeup, and put on my day outfit for dance. There’s a home basketball game tonight and although we don’t have a pep rally today, the cheerleaders declared it a black out game. Meaning all the students need to wear black to the game. Which is sort of funny, since the cheerleaders don’t have black uniforms, only red or gold ones.
But the dance team, in supposed solidarity, is wearing our black yoga pants with long sleeved T-shirts that say Black Out the Badgers in gold glitter paint. And tonight we’ll be wearing our gold glittery spandex dresses and using our black and gold pompoms instead of the red and gold ones.
The competition between the cheerleaders and the dance team is kind of stupid to me. Next year, if I have any say, we’ll work together more.
I stop in my tracks.
Next year.
Did I really just dare to think that?
That I could spend my senior year here?
I shake my head.
The excitement of last night must have me on some sort of high.
Once I’m ready, I sit down and type a message to my mom’s agent at the Warren Taylor Agency.
-Is there a way you could discreetly get a script for The Day at the Lake remake? I might know someone interested in it.
I’m shocked to get a quick response, especially since it’s 4:30 in the morning on the West coast.
-Any chance that someone might be you? I’d be surprised, honestly, if Vincent Sharpe hadn’t asked you yet.
I reply with:
-You’re up awfully early! And, no, it’s for Luke Sander. Apparently, they are interested in him for the boyfriend role, but he’s worried because he heard the production company is having some financial difficulties. He’s also maybe looking to switch agents and I thought of you.