A Scandal in Hollywood

I packed the last of my shirts in my suitcase and zipped it closed before standing up and gathering my other two bags. I slung one over my shoulder and rolled the other two to the door. As I reached for the knob the doorbell rung and I opened the door to find Brett standing there.

“Oh, you’re leaving already? Looks like I caught you just in time. I wanted to say goodbye before you left,” he said with a sad look on his face. It had been two weeks since I’d last seen him when he came to pick up the check. Looks like meeting his girlfriend would have to wait.

“You can always visit me on set, it’s not that far away,” I said.

He shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll stop by sometime with Laura. She might like to see what it’s like to be on the set of a big Hollywood movie.”

I nodded and he moved forward and took the two bags from me. We walked to my yellow sports car and put my luggage in the trunk. I pulled him into a hug before getting in my car and driving off. I waved to him as I pulled away and he waved back.



I walked onto the campus with my backpack slung over my shoulder as I looked at a map I’d picked up at the front desk. Ok, my first class was English, then History, then lunch, and then Forensic Science I. Well, at least my first day wasn’t too hectic.

My two classes passed by easily, considering it was only the first day. When I walked into the cafeteria I was surprised to see Brett sitting at a table, looking around curiously. I walked over to him with a smile

“Hey, Brett. What are you doing here?” I asked as I sat down next to him.

“Can’t I come and see how my girlfriend is doing?” he asked before leaning over to give me a kiss. “Come on, let’s go out to eat.”

We got in his black car and I was pleasantly surprised when we pulled into the parking lot of Olive Garden. We walked inside and got a table and while we were waiting for our food Brett leaned over to tell me something.

“I know you just started you classes and all, but I’m gonna be visiting my dad on the set of his new movie in a few days,” he said with a nervous expression on his face.

“That’s great! Have fun,” I replied with a smile. This seemed to put him at ease and we continued talking until the food arrived.



I walked back into my hotel room after a day of running over the script with my co-stars. I’d been here about a week and just gotten a call two days ago from Brett, telling me he was going to be visiting me. I was glad we’d get to spend some time together. He even said he’d bring his girlfriend along for one of the trips. I was curious to meet the girl he was so entranced with.

I walked over to my bed and hauled my suitcase on my bed. After a windy walk home I wanted to fix my hair before Brett came over and we went somewhere to eat and just talk. I heaved my suitcase onto my bed and shifted through my shirts and jeans as I looked for a simple comb. I know I packed one, so where was it? I saw a small compartment that I hadn’t noticed before. Maybe I slipped it in there without realizing it…

I opened it up and reached down to feel something soft and silky inside. I pulled it out and saw it was Aimee’s pink and purple striped scarf she liked to wear with all her outfits.

I felt a wave of emotions wash over me as I felt the smooth cloth between my fingers. I brought it up to my face and breathed in her scent that was still left on it. I could feel my eyes watering as I brushed the scarf against my cheek.

A sudden knocking came from my door, making me jump. I quickly put the scarf away and cleared me throat to get rid of the lump that had formed there before going to the door and opening it. I saw Brett standing there with a smile on his face. His smile quickly slipped from his face when he saw the expression on my face.

“You Ok, dad?” he asked as he walked in. I nodded before leading him back into the room.

“You ready to go? I hear Subway has a good deal on subs this week,” he said with a grin. I nodded before looking around for that stupid comb that I still hadn’t found.

“Yeah, just a sec. I have to find a comb or something. Can’t go out in public with your old man looking like he doesn’t take care of himself,” I half-heartedly joked as I checked some of the drawers in the desk next to my bed. I turned back to see Brett reach into his back pocket and pull out a comb.

“Here, I always keep one in my back pocket,” he said as he tossed it to me.

“Ah, now I know you’re my son,” I joked before running it through my hair.

When we got to Subway we got a small table in the back away from the door and the crowd. I hated wearing a disguise when I went out, so I always just tried to as inconspicuous as possible and not draw attention to myself.

“So, how are things going with you and Lauren-that’s her name, right?”

Brett rolled his eyes playfully, but slightly in irritation. “Laura, dad. And things are going pretty good. She started her college classes just a week ago and she loves it!” he said before taking a sip of his soda.

“That’s good. What’s she want to major in?”

“She hasn’t decided yet, but she says she’ll figure it out before the spring semester starts in a few months,” Brett said with a shrug.



I was laying on my bed on my stomach as I read through chapter one of my English book. It’d been a week since college began, so all the fun and games were over and it was time to buckle down and get to work. My chin was propped up on my palms, my hair was up in a bun, and my bangs were pushed away with a headband I’d found in my suitcase. I crossed and uncrossed my legs as I read and tried to concentrate on the words.

Suddenly my phone buzzed from the nightstand. I smiled and closed the book, glad for a distraction. My head was swimming from all the reading I’d been doing for the last three days. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to do so many classes for my first year.

I rolled over in my bed onto my back and grabbed the phone off it’s place on my desk and answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, guess who!”

I laughed and pretended to not know who it was. “Hm, could it be my best friend Selena Gomez?

“You know Selena Gomez?! Did Brett introduce you to her?”

“No, I was only joking, Erika,” I replied, still laughing.

“Oh…so, how do you like college life?”

“It keeps me busy, but I love it,” I said with a smile as I sat up and pulled a pillow onto my lap.

“That’s awesome! So, how are things with Brett? How is that autograph coming I asked you for? And you never did tell me what Brett looks like!” she reminded me.

“I’ll just send you a picture of him,” I said.

“Ok, that’s just as good.” I exited the call screen and clicked on Gallery from the menu. I clicked on a recent photo of me and Brett only last week at Olive Garden. I clicked send and went back to the call screen and waited for Erika to get the picture. A few seconds later I heard an excited squeal on the other end.

“He is cute!” she gushed, coming back on the phone. I laughed and agreed with her but that feeling in my gut, something that I’d been feeling ever since I started taking my profiling class, came back. I thought it’d be an interesting class; you know, being able to spot little things about people that tell you about their personality, and since I was taking forensic science I figured they went hand-in-hand. It was definitely interesting and I was getting an A in it, but…I don’t know; ever since I took that class and I thought about how Brett had paid for everything for me to move here…I got an uneasy feeling. I felt uneasy and I didn’t know why.

“Laura, are you Ok?” Erika asked, breaking though my thoughts. I nodded before remembering that I was on the phone.

“Yeah. Why?”

“You were silent for a good minute…”

“I just…something doesn’t feel quite right…about all of this…”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just…why would Brett ask me to come to California to be with him? Why would he do all this for some girl he barely knows?” I blurted out. It was silent on the other end for a few seconds.

“Maybe he fell head over heels when he met you.”

“Yeah, maybe…but it still doesn’t make sense. Even if it was love at first sight, why wouldn’t he wait a little longer to get to know me? I mean, for all he knows I could be a crazy, psychopathic boyfriend killer or something!”

“I think I know you better than that.”

“Be serious, Erika.”

“Ok, yeah, it does sound a little weird that he wouldn’t get to know you. Maybe he just has this way of telling who’s being real with him and who’s not, he’d have to if he was the son of a movie star, so he trusts his instincts. And you’re like an open book, Laura, anyone can tell you’d never hurt a fly. He just really likes you, that’s all there is to it. Why else would he buy you all this stuff? You’re not a crazy killer, and he’s totally into you. You have nothing to worry about.” It was silent for a full minute while I took it all in. “Feel better now?”

“Yeah,” I said, even though that gut feeling in my stomach wouldn’t go away. I glanced at the clock on my desk. Eleven o’clock already, and I had a class early next morning.

“Erika, I have to go now. I have class early tomorrow and it’s pretty late,” I said while stifling a yawn just thinking about sleep.

“Alright, I’ll let you get to sleep. Oh, and don’t forget-autograph from Neil McKelvey.”

I laughed. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. Goodnight, Erika.”

“’Night, Laura.” I closed the phone and put it back on the desk. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a flame in a hurricane.



When I got back to the hotel room it was half-past eleven, and I was tired and ready to hit the sack. I said goodnight to Brett and walked back over to the bed. I pulled the scarf out from my suitcase and ran my fingers over the material as I remember how Aimee would never go anywhere without it. How’d it end up in my suitcase? For the first time since Aimee died I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away and turned away to see the TV was on. I must have left it on from when I was watching a movie before Brett came. It was on the news now and there was a picture of Aimee and I at the Oscar’s only a month before she died. I grabbed the remote and turned it up.

“We reported when Neil McKelvey signed on to be the lead role in director Dave Norman’s new movie a mere two weeks after his wife passing away under mysterious circumstances. We now have the official autopsy results and they show no sign of strangulation or struggle. But still, some are still questioning why she had a wound on her head and are still saying McKelvey pushed his wife overboard. Some are looking for a thorough investigation of the boat and calling for charges to be pressed against Neil.”

I quickly turned the TV off and threw the remote across the room as I ran my hands through my hair. Why couldn’t they just believe me when I said it was an accident? I told the police the truth, and yet people still want me to be tried and thrown in jail.

I jumped up from the bed and grabbed my key before walking downstairs to my car waiting outside. I just needed to drive. There was no way I would be able to sleep after this.



I walked along a narrow, purple road. On either side of the stone road was a never-ending abyss of black and swirling grey. I carefully walked down the path that was made for only one person. I looked off into the distance and saw small purple dots flying over the horizon. I stood there and they got closer. I took a few steps to get a better look and as they got closer I saw that they were numbers and words flying towards me. They opened their mouth, exposing a long row of razor sharp teeth.

I screamed and turned to run away but I stumbled and almost fell off the path. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled as fast as I could to get away. I suddenly felt something grab my leg and they grabbed my arms and pulled me up. I turned my head to see a number standing there with a grin on it’s face, showing off it’s jagged teeth. It’s red eyes seemed to shine with delight as it grabbed my arm and bit down on it.

My own screaming woke me up. I reached over and turned the light on as I looked wildly around my room. I let out a sigh when I realized it was only a nightmare. I tried to calm my racing heart as I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. I heard something thud onto the floor next to my bed and leaned over to see it was a book. I must be studying way too hard if I had a nightmare about number and words.

I laid my head back against the pillow but I knew it wouldn’t be any use. I was already fully awake and alert. I got up and walked into the kitchen, grabbing the keys to the new car Brett bought my before he left to go visit his dad.

I walked outside and got in before starting it up and rolling down all the windows. I needed some fresh air and somewhere to go. I pulled out of the parking lot and drive down the road. I didn’t know where I was going, I just decided to see where I end up.