This City Is as Cold as Your Heart

Nikki tried to get me out of the room the rest of the night. Everything from, “I need to tell you something important” to “If you come out we will go get ice cream” was used. He even sounded like he was crying a few times, but it’s hard to tell the difference between sad and high with him. My stubbornness got the best of me and I didn’t even check to see if he was okay, which deep down inside I knew was like sinking down to their level. At around 19:00 there was another knock at the door. I groaned in response. I thought he would have given up by now.

“Melena, you’re agent is on the phone. She sounds pissed.”

“FUCK!!” I shouted and jumped out of bed, running for the door.

I snapped the door open and snatched the phone out of a surprised Nikki’s hand. Then turned right back around, slamming the door in Nikki’s face. There is no way he gets to hear this.

“Hello!” I tried to hide the panic from my voice by sounding cheerful.

“Don’t even try sounding happy with me, Melena Fagerholm. You had an audition today and you didn’t even show! I waited there for four hours and called you AT LEAST fifteen times and still you were a no show.” Veera Toivonen sounded as scary and stern as ever. She had spotted me during my leading role in Annie and offered to sign me to her talent agency. My first BIG audition was today and I had missed it. By BIG, I mean made for TV movie. I can understand why she is so pissed. The audition barely even crossed my mind today and I have been preparing for it for months.

“I’m really sorry. Veera, I honestly didn’t mean to miss it. I’ve had such an insane day that it didn’t even cross my mind.” I was on the verge of tears and I was positive that it was apparent in my voice.

“Huh,” She laughed sarcastically, “What could possibly make your day so crazy that you forgot to show up for the biggest audition of your life?”

“I had some health issues,” Not bothering to elaborate.

She scoffed, “Health issues? You extremely disappointed me today. Melena, I had very high hopes for you. You are an incredibly talented actress, but talent is not everything. If you’re not going to take acting seriously then why should I take my partnership with you seriously?”

Tears escaped my eyes and I let out a sob, “It won’t happen again, I promise. I SWEAR to you!”

Her voice was emotionless, “I will talk to you later, young lady.” She hung up.

I threw my phone across the room and it ended up smashing against the wall. I sunk to the floor and the sobs were wracking my body. The weight of all my problems crashed down on me at once. My acting career was the only thing looking up for me and now that's fucked. I sat there for what felt like hours just drowning in my pain. I didn’t move a muscle when I heard my bedroom door slowly creaking open, and I didn’t even flinch when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. Nikki pulled me to him and I buried my face into his shoulder. He stroked my hair, softly singing a song I’ve never heard before. Suddenly, I was really sorry for how I treated him earlier. He was here for me when no one else was. His soothing voice calmed me in a matter of minutes. I kissed his shoulder and snuggled deeper into his embrace, closing my eyes.

“Thank you,” I muttered under my breath. I guess that at the end of the day, knowing that I did have someone that cared for me, even if he showed it in weird ways, made all my troubles seem far away.