Single Wide Female: The Bucket List Mega Bundle - 24 Books (Books #1-24) (40 page)

Carefully I lifted the edge of the blanket. I did my best to avoid the patches of fake blood. I rested my head against the pillow and stared at the ceiling.

“You have to pretend to be asleep.”

I closed my eyes. I was so nervous that I was gripping the blanket very tightly.

“Try to relax.”

Chapter 5

I tried to relax. I focused on peaceful thoughts. I imagined fluffy bunnies, wide-open skies, and the rush of ocean waves. I did such a good job that I started to feel sleepy. My mind began to drift. I wondered briefly whether the scene was ever going to begin. As I waited, and waited and waited, I began to get even more sleepy. Soon I was in an almost trance-like state of peaceful thoughts and near sleep.

All of a sudden I heard a loud crash—then what sounded like gunfire. I sat up swiftly and screamed. Only it wasn’t the scream I had practiced. It was a real scream, as I had completely forgotten where I was. I saw the man in the black mask and grabbed the lamp on the bedside table. I hurled it straight at him.

“Hey! Watch it!” He ducked to avoid the lamp and it crashed into the floor.

“What the hell?” the director demanded.

“She tried to kill me!” the man in the mask said. He ripped off his mask to reveal that it actually was Liam Roderick. I had just thrown a lamp at one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep.” I jumped quickly out of the bed and began picking up the pieces of broken lamp. “I’m so sorry, really. I didn’t mean to.”

I didn’t dare to look up at Liam, who was standing beside me. I could feel him watching every move that I made.

“So you’re not trying to assassinate me?”

“No.” I still didn’t look up.

“I guess that’s a good thing.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll just get out of your way.” I let the janitor take over cleaning up the lamp and hurried off the set.

I was halfway down the hallway toward the exit when I realized I was still dressed only in a skimpy nightgown.

“Hey!” The director was chasing me down the hallway.

“I’m sorry! I forgot to change. I’ll just go change. I can pay for the lamp too if you want. I’m sorry.” I couldn’t stop apologizing, I was so embarrassed.

“Don’t be sorry. That was great work you did in there. You know it really gave me some perspective on the situation. When I direct these types of scenes I always have the woman screaming, or frozen in fear. Maybe she tries to run. But I never really saw it from the woman’s point of view. What you did by grabbing the first thing that was in your reach and hurling it at the intruder, really gave the scene some reality. The part might be for an extra, but you really gave the character dimension by showing that she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. I think that you really depicted how a modern woman would react.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. I had never really defined myself as a modern woman.

“But you seemed so upset.”

“If I’d known you were going to do something like that, I would have had a stunt double stand in for Liam, that’s all. It’s not easy to get these pretty faces to do their own stunts.”

I was horrified at the thought of what might have happened if I’d actually struck Liam with the lamp. I could have been arrested and possibly even sued.

“So you want me to come back?”

“I do. We might change things a little, but we’re going to use that protective instinct that you have to create something really great.”

“Wonderful.” I smiled with excitement.

I was ready to see what would happen next. I was glad that my attempt at expanding my horizons hadn’t ended up costing me a whole lot of money.

I followed him back down the hallway. Liam was standing off to the side of the set being comforted by a woman in a business suit. I avoided looking directly at him. I figured he was probably already afraid of me.

“Hop back in bed.” The director stepped behind the camera again. “This time do your best not to actually fall asleep.”

“I’ll try.”

I climbed back into the bed and pulled the blanket up to my chin. I was feeling more comfortable this time. I took a deep breath and began to relax. Then it occurred to me that there were a ton of weapons scattered around the room. What in the world would a single woman be doing sleeping in a room like this? I must have grimaced, because the director called out from behind the camera.

“Remember we’re going for serene here.”

I nodded. I took another deep breath and closed my eyes as naturally as I could. I filled my mind with thoughts that gave me peace. I thought of wading through the warm water of a babbling stream. I thought of the breeze fluttering through my hair. I thought of Max’s slow sweet smile.

Suddenly I heard a loud crash. Yet again I’d been lulled into enough of a trance state that I was shocked by the sound of it. I instinctively grabbed the new lamp they had placed beside the bed and began to hurl it. Before I could the man in the mask shouted at me.

“Put that down or I’ll make things much more painful.” He warned through his mask.

Chapter 6

It was a little unsettling to me to have no idea who was behind the mask. I knew it wasn’t Liam. Slowly I placed the lamp back down on the table. I knew that I didn’t have a single line, so I wasn’t sure what to do next. I didn’t have long to think about it before the man in the mask had pinned me down against the bed. I was genuinely frightened as I squirmed in his grasp.

“After all that you’ve done, you deserve to pay. All of those poor men that you’ve slaughtered in this room. You’re going to be the one that takes the last breath tonight.”

He wrapped his hands around my throat. I opened my mouth to scream.

“Cut!” the director said.

Everyone stopped. The stunt man pulled his hand away from my neck. I had noticed that he was quite gentle, even though the gesture was frightening.

“Are you okay?” He lifted his mask to reveal cherubic cheeks and kind brown eyes. “I know it can be a little unsettling in a scene like this.”

“Thank you for asking. I’m fine.” I smiled a little at him. I wondered if maybe I had stumbled upon someone who would end up being more than just a person pretending to strangle me.

“Well, just tell me if I grip your neck too tight or anything like that. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” He nodded at me and then looked toward the director.

I felt it was very thoughtful of him to be so concerned.

“Okay, that was good, guys, but I want to do another take. This time, Samantha, when he grabs you, I want you to take a few swings at him. Really make it look real, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Set scene.” He walked behind the cameras again.

The stunt man walked off the set. He pulled his mask back down. I felt much more secure about the experience after seeing how kind the stunt man was. It didn’t seem so harrowing for him to have his hand around my neck when he was that concerned about my well-being.

I closed my eyes and waited for the loud crash. While I waited, I imagined the stunt man coming to my rescue rather than attacking me. I was lost in this innocent little fantasy when a loud crash startled me. I was expecting it, but it jolted me so suddenly from warm pleasant thoughts that the scream that escaped my lips was very real.

When I opened my eyes and saw him towering over me, I reached for the lamp. But instead of grabbing the lamp, my hand wrapped around a glass of water that was sitting on the bedside table. I wasn’t even aware that it was there before. I was expecting the lamp—my hand was already in motion to toss it. The glass was slippery and slid right out of my hand. It shattered against the set floor, spilling water everywhere.

The stunt double, who was expecting the lamp to be thrown, had shifted his footing. When he did, he slipped in the water. His legs shot up into the air. He landed hard on the base of his back. The groan that escaped his lips was clearly one of pain.

“Cut!” The director stormed on to the set.

Medical technicians rushed forward to check on the stunt man. I sat horrified on the bed. I was certain that I had just ruined the entire movie. I felt terrible for the man who was in too much pain to even move.

“What were you thinking?” The director’s voice was harsh as he glared at me.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Why did you drop that on the floor?”

“It was an accident. I didn’t mean to. It just slipped out of my hands. I was all sweaty from being nervous.” I frowned as I wondered if I had caused an even bigger problem than I had when I threw the lamp the first time.

The stunt man stood up and hobbled off the set. I cringed and felt fully responsible for the pain that he was in.

“It was genius.” He turned to face the actors. “We’re going to use it in this scene. In fact, we’re going to do a slight rewrite on the dialogue. Samantha here is going to say a line.”

“What?” I stared at the director. I didn’t know what to say. I had never imagined being in a movie, let alone having to say a line in a movie.

“Is that a problem?” He turned to look at me with a slight smile. “Don’t all extras dream of getting a line?”

I decided not to tell him that this was my first time even attempting to be an extra. “Absolutely.”

“Okay, so when Liam crashes into the room and Samantha tries to throw the lamp at him, we’re going to have him say his line. Then Samantha is going to say that she couldn’t wait to add him to the body count.”

I cringed at the line. It certainly wasn’t the sunniest thing I’d ever heard, or said. The director looked back at me. “Samantha, this is your line: ‘I can’t wait to add you to the body count’. Do you think you can remember that?”

“Yes.” I was slightly insulted that he wondered if I could. It was just a simple line, after all. Of course I could remember it.

“Okay, let’s give this take another shot. Liam, are you ready?” The director spotted Liam sipping a sparkling water.

“Ready.” He nodded and put down his bottle of water.

“Alright, since the stunt double was injured we’re going to have Liam enter the room. Samantha, instead of throwing the lamp at him, pick up the glass of water on the table and splash it in his face.”

“Will it be pure water? I mean, I don’t want any chemicals on my skin.” Liam frowned and crossed his arms.

“The mask will shield your skin, but if a drop or two happens to get on you, don’t worry. It’s chemical-free, pure water melted from virgin snow.” He shook his head slightly.

“Good.” Liam nodded his head. “Then I’m okay with it.”

I tried to hide a smile. I could tell that the director was being sarcastic. Apparently Liam could not.

Chapter 7

I braced myself. I was going to throw a glass of water into Liam Roderick’s face. It was unbelievable to me, but I was actually looking forward to it.

This time, instead of drifting off into my thoughts, I did my best to focus on what was about to happen. I didn’t want to lose track of what was happening around me again. Everything had to go perfectly. Otherwise, not only would I risk being sued, I might end up being assaulted by a pack of Liam Roderick fans on the way out the door.

I took slow steady breaths to make it look like I was sleeping. I waited patiently for the loud crash that would signal Liam’s approach. I waited and waited. It was so quiet on the set that I began to wonder if everyone had left. Was this some kind of joke at my expense?

Just when I was about to open my eyes, I heard the loud crash. I sat up and screamed. Liam was already beside my bed and reaching for my neck. I grabbed the glass of water to throw it towards him. Only, instead of my just throwing the water in his face, the glass slipped right out of my hand and flew straight for him.

It seemed like everything slipped into slow motion as the glass soared through the air. When it struck him in the forehead I jumped up out of the bed.

“I’m sorry! Are you okay?” My words were tangled up by a cry of shock as my feet caught in the quilt and I lost my footing.

Liam had crouched down in an attempt to avoid the glass, but it still struck his forehead. It bounced off harmlessly. However, my body slamming into his as I fell forward was probably not as harmless. Liam groaned as I essentially but accidentally tackled him to the ground. Cries of horror echoed from the extras that had gathered to watch the scene. To make matters even worse, the skimpy nightgown I was wearing split right along the seam.

“Could you please get off of me?” Liam’s muffled voice was riddled with annoyance.

I knew that I needed to stand up; however, the unfortunate event had drawn the attention of everyone on set. Medical technicians, actors, extras, and every staff member had gathered around to see if Liam was okay. I knew the moment I stood up my nightgown was going to fall apart. I had taken the chance of being an extra as a way of exposing my insecurities, not to expose my entire body.

“I can’t.”

“Please—you have to. I can’t breathe.” Liam wiggled underneath me. This only succeeded in making the material of the nightgown shift out of position, leaving me even more uncovered.

I knew I only had two choices. Stand up and risk being nude in front of a whole bunch of strangers, or stay right where I was and risk suffocating Liam Roderick to death. I sighed as I realized I didn’t really have a choice. I held my nightgown against my body as best as I could and stood up slowly.

The medical technicians rushed in.

“Liam! Liam, are you okay?”

I edged my way back toward the bed. So far the nightgown was keeping me covered.

“Don’t you move a muscle.” The director was striding right toward me.

“Oh, I need to cover up.” I clung to the nightgown.

Liam was helped to his feet. He looked a little upset but no worse for wear.

“I want to speak to you in my office now.” The director pointed toward a door at the edge of the open warehouse floor.

I didn’t want to be alone in an office with him. I certainly didn’t want to be there in a torn nightgown that was barely covering the vital areas of my body.

“Let me just go to wardrobe first and get my clothes.”

“Fine. Five minutes.” He turned and walked away from the set.