Page 91 of Best Supporting Actor
Well, he’d remembered now, and he wasn’t going to let Jay fuck this up for him.
Flinging the box of pills onto the kitchen counter, Tag went into the bathroom to wash off the remains of his make-up and shower. After that, he dressed in his comfiest joggers and a t-shirt in a futile attempt to relax while he waited for Jay to come home.
He had a long wait. It was almost an hour before the flat door opened and Jay came in, sweaty and breathing hard from his run. Tag, who’d been perched tensely on the sofa scrolling on his phone, stood up. For a moment, they just looked at each other. Then Jay turned away, bending to unlace his shoes.
“Sorry I didn’t wait. I needed to…” He trailed into silence as he straightened, his gaze caught by something. “Have you been going through my stuff?”
Tag glanced down at Jay’s open bag with a flash of embarrassment that he quickly quashed. “I’m not letting you take those fucking pills, Jay.”
“You’re notlettingme?” Jay stared at Tag in haughty outrage. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
Tag’s hackles rose. “Your fucking co-star, that’s who I think I am. The one who’ll look like an idiot if you’re too out of it to give a decent performance. So, no, I’m notlettingyou screw this up for everyone just because you’re looking for an easy fix instead of doing the fucking work.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jay growled, “thework? You sound like my bloody mother.”
“Good! She knows what she’s talking about.”
Jay’s expression twisted. “Oh yes, Dame Cordelia knows everything—she’s a fucking national treasure, isn’t she? Well, newsflash: she doesn’t knowme. And apparently, neither do you.”
“Clearly,” Tag snapped. “I definitely didn’t know you were this bloody selfish.”
Jay laughed, bitterly unamused. “Selfish? That’s just… wow. Do you even—?” He broke off, shaking his head in disbelief. “You do realise I only agreed to do the sodding play for your sake? I’d have turned it down flat if you hadn’t been so desperate.”
“Come off it,” Tag shot back, his anger rising now. “You barely knew me back then, and you definitely didn’t like me. Why the fuck would you have agreed to do the play forme?”
“Because you were—” Again, Jay broke off, and this time he broke eye contact too, shrugging. “Because you made such a big bloody deal about how important it was. And I thought ‘Why not? I’ll do the man a favour.’” His scowl deepened. “Big mistake.”
“Yeah, well, lying usually is.”
Jay’s gaze snapped back to Tag’s. “Oh, I’m a liar too, am I? A selfish liar. Good to know you have such a high opinion of me.”
Something like pain flashed across Jay’s face as he spoke, but Tag ignored it, just as he ignored the stab of guilt that pierced him. Why should he care about Jay’s hurt feelings when Jay had been lying to him for the lastsix weeks? “Why the hell didn’t youtellme about your stage fright?” he demanded. “Why hide something this big?”
“Because I hoped I’d be okay.” Jay prowled over to the window, staring out at the drizzly river. Bitterly, he added, “Maybe I would have been if you hadn’t blabbed to Austin bloody Coburn.”
Tag glared at his back. “Blabbed? Blabbedwhat?”
Jay’s voice was flat now. “You told him I was in the play. You knew how I felt about keeping it under wraps.”
“Ididn’t tell him!” Tag cried. “Everyone at that bloody party knew. That's why they were there, for God’s sake. To meet the big TV star.”
Jay turned back around, his expression grim. “But you confirmed it, didn’t you? You even did iton the record. You gave him a bloodyinterview, Tag. You gave an interview to a journalist who I’d already told you fucking hates my guts.”
“A journalist of a mainstream newspaper who will be reviewing our play! Was I supposed to tell him to take a hike? And anyway, why shouldn’t I speak to him, or anyone else aboutLet Us Go Back? This is my play too, Jay. You might not want any media coverage, but Ido. I need this to be a success. I’m risking a lot on it.”
“So am I!”
Tag snorted. “What? A bad review? I’m risking my whole future.”
“Christ, you have no idea...”
“Because you didn’t tell me! I had to hear it from Austin.”
Jay’s lip curled. “And of course you believed what he told you. What was that, out of interest?”
“Nothing that today didn’t confirm. He told me you hadn’t been on stage sinceThe Birthday Party, except for a walk-on inDraculawhen you were totally wasted. And then I found you popping pills, so…” Tag trailed off, eyeing Jay unhappily. “What am I supposed to think, Jay?”
“You could try having a little faith in me.”