32. Miles

32

MILES

"Five minutes!" Sylvia, the first AD, stuck her head in the trailer.

I forced myself to smile as she closed the trailer door. It wasn't Sylvia's fault that I was in a shitty mood. Going up to the lookout spot was a really bad idea. I don't know what I was thinking. Or why, when I got there and saw Zoe's car, I didn't turn around and leave. Obviously, she wanted to be alone. It was the middle of the fucking night.

But that was part of the reason I hadn't left. It was the middle of the fucking night. Thinking of her up there where no one could hear her if something went wrong or if someone else found her up there terrified me. Which is why when I left her up there, I parked down the street, out of sight, and waited for half an hour to make sure she got back to her car. Then, I followed her home to make sure she got there safely.

My phone buzzed on the counter. I grabbed it, hoping it was Zoe responding to the message I'd left her, telling her that I hoped she was okay and I was there if she wanted to talk. I didn't ask her to respond because she'd made it clear there could never be anything between us. I just hoped she would.

She hadn't.

It was Tyler, my agent, letting me know he was sending me the fourth and final offer for a new superhero franchise. If I accepted it, I'd be spending the majority of the next five years overseas shooting in Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, and New Zealand. They were all amazing countries, but I was getting tired of traveling. I wanted to put down roots somewhere.

My phone rang, and without looking at who it was, I knew it was Tyler calling.

I picked it up, and before I said hello, Tyler was already speaking. "They want an answer by tomorrow. If you're playing hard to get, I might be able to get three more points on the backend, but that's it."

"I'm not playing hard to get. I don't know if I want to do it."

"What are you talking about? This is every actor's dream. This is job security."

"I want to take time off after this wraps."

"You can take time off when you're dead. Opportunities like this don't fall into your lap every day. Do you know how many actors would sell an organ for a chance at this? I know you've had a lot of things handed to you on a silver platter, but that's not always the case. Not to mention, if you say no to this, you're saying no to people who won't forget. You need to think about whether or not you want a career."

I was getting tired of thinly veiled threats. I'd been hearing them my entire life. Maybe the fact I was seriously considering turning down the role did make me ungrateful. I don't know. But what I did know was I wouldn't be happy spending the next five years on sets in countries where the only people I knew were the crew, who all went home to families because they were mainly local, and I went back to a hotel room alone.

There was a knock on my trailer door a second before it opened. When it did, Braxton was standing at the bottom of the stairs. "They're ready for you."

"Tyler, I have to go."

"This is serious, Miles. I don't know what's going on with you, but you need to get your head straight."

The call disconnected, and I set my phone back on the counter. I grabbed my sides and headed toward the set, which was a house that we'd rented. Today, we were shooting the scene where Zoe finds out she's pregnant.

Then, this afternoon, we were going to the courthouse to shoot the wedding scene, and, tonight, our location was a cabin for the honeymoon night. This was the final day of filming with Rachel, and as amazing as she was as a costar and great to work with, I was so glad she was getting wrapped.

This timeline in the movie was psychologically challenging, to say the least. Having to fall in love with Zoe as Austin, saying the things he'd said to her, living out their story was fucking with my head.

Next week, we were filming young Austin and Zoe with AJ and Kendall, and then we were doing some pickups with Austin and his friends as teenagers for two days, then some talking heads from people in town who knew Austin that we were going to run during the credits of the film. After that, we would be done with principal photography. Our film would be picture-wrapped, and I would be heading back to Los Angeles.

The question was, what would I be doing after that?

"Where did you go last night?" Braxton handed me a water as we walked.

"What?" I took the bottle from her.

"I saw you coming home after two in the morning."

Braxton was staying in the back house on the Montgomery estate.

"Oh, I went on a drive to clear my head."

Her left brow arched. "Did it work?"

"No." If anything, it only made matters worse. Never in a million years would I have thought that Zoe would be up at that spot at the exact time I'd gone up there. She'd been so upset, so mad at me, I wasn't sure how to fix what I'd broken.

We walked up to the house, and I stepped over cables that were taped down to the floor. Shania was in the bathroom speaking to ‘Zoe,' who was seated on the toilet. The two were in a huddle. I waited outside as Rachel got into character.

Since we'd already camera-blocked before lunch, the plan was to start shooting right away. Dylan, the sound guy, came and turned my mic pack on. He checked the tape on my chest to make sure it would still stay in place since he'd put it on at six this morning and then checked the levels.

"You're good," he said with a nod.

Shania stood and walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

As she passed me, she spoke quietly, gently reminding me, "You just got home from baseball practice. Zoe is at your house, locked in the bathroom, crying. You don't know what's wrong."

"Yep. Got it."

Shania continued down the hall.

"Roll sound," Sylvia shouted.

"Sound is speeding," Dylan responded.

"Scene one fifty-six, take one," Jessica, the 2nd AD, slated as she shut the clapperboard in front of the camera.

"Action," Shania called out.

I walk down the hall to my room and pause with a curious look on my face when I hear a strange sound coming from the hall bathroom.

I knock on the door. "Zoe?"

There is no answer.

"Zoe?" I knock again. "Is that you?"

"Yea. I'm fine."

I hear her crying. Urgency builds in me.

"Zoe? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Zoe, let me in."

"I'm okay." I hear another stifled cry.

"Okay, good." I take another tactic. "Well, if nothing is wrong, then you can let me in, right?"

I hear the door unlock. I reach down, turn the knob, and open it. Zoe is sitting on the toilet. Her eyes are red-rimmed. There are tearstains on her cheeks. I kneel down in front of her and brush the hair from her face.

"What's wrong, pretty girl? Are you sick?"

"Sort of."

"How can you be sort of sick?" I lift my hand and press it to her forehead. She doesn't have a temperature.

She reaches to the counter and hands me a stick. I look at it, not sure what it is at first. Then it dawns on me.

"Is this…are you?" I look up at her.

"Yes." She nods and starts sobbing harder than she was before.

I smile. I can't help it.

"Why are you smiling?" she asks.

"We're having a baby! You're having my baby!" I lean forward and kiss her stomach. Tears are in my eyes, too, but I'm not crying for the reasons she is. I'm crying because I'm happy.

"How can you be happy about this?!" she asks as she shakes her head back and forth.

"Because I love you, and I love this baby." I brush the hair that is stuck to her tearstained cheeks off her face. "I know you're scared. But I promise I will take care of you and I will take care of this baby. I will never leave you."

"You promise ?" Her voice cracks as she smiles with hope in her eyes.

"I promise." I pull Zoe into my arms as I make her a promise I, as Miles, know Austin thought he would keep. "You will never be alone."