Page 172 of Dream On

I think about the possibility of still coming out of this as friends as I turn the showerhead on to full heat and scorch away my inner wounds until my skin nearly blisters. It does nothing to warm me. The chill only festers as I methodically dry my hair with a bath towel and slip into clean clothes before finding the strength to head back downstairs.

Rudy and my mother have their backs to me as they chop vegetables on the counter near the industrial stove. I’m about to make a dig at Rudy playing homemaker when my curiosity gets the better of me.

“—had hoped our temporary move to Chicago would be a fresh start for him.”

Rudy feigns interest, his muscles tight and flickering with discomfort. “What made you leave LA again?”

“Well, there was an incident,” Mom replies. “A misunderstanding, if you will. My sister lives in Highland Park, so we had a tie to the area, and we were still close enough to a big city with industry connections. I figured I’d give Lexington a little time off to decompress and reassess his priorities. It was always our intention to move back here once he got a taste of normal living and was ready to buckle down again.”

Wait.

An incident?

I never told herwhyI wanted to leave Los Angeles.

Rudy makes a noncommittal noise. “Got it.”

“I know I’m hard on you sometimes,” she continues, her golden hair bouncing at her back as a double-bevel knife thumps against a cutting board. “But I’m not oblivious to the way you’ve helped Lexington get back on his feet. I recognize your talent and assets.”

“Appreciate that.” He doesn’t.

“It’s just…I had a dear friend who was one of the best agents in the industry. She still is—a female powerhouse in a male-dominated field. Bianca was an excellent mentor to Lexington and could have gotten him further, faster.”

My stomach rolls.

Shewasan excellent mentor to me—at first. Bianca promised to take me under her wing, get my foot in the door, introduce me to opportunities that could change my life.

At a cost.

Then she ruined me instead.

“Yeah, I know her,” Rudy mutters, his tone lacking any inflection. “Lex doesn’t talk about her much.”

Mom hesitates, her head bowing slightly. “No. He wouldn’t.”

“Because of an incident?”

I never told Rudy about what happened.

The thing is…I never told my mother either.

I wedge my shoulder against the wall, the hairs on the back of my neck springing to attention, my hands tightening at my sides.

Mom sighs with dismay. “Yes, well, that was unfortunate. And highly inconvenient. Lexington had a meltdown over a silly misunderstanding and nearly derailed his entire career. He refused to show up to his work commitments and threatened to leave the industry altogether if we didn’t relocate. That’s when we decided to move. A little break was necessary—I needed him to realize he was about to blow his big chance at stardom.”

A dark feeling swirls inside my stomach, and my mouth goes dry like stale crackers.

A silly misunderstanding.

There’s no way she knows I was sexually assaulted by her best friend.

That would be fucking impossible.

Incomprehensible.

“It’s really not my place to share, but you understand the inner workings of this industry better than anyone. It’s a give-and-take world. Bianca may have made a little pass at him,” she explains, shrugging her shoulders. “It was nothing. I’ll never understand why he chose to run.”

Rudy goes still, letting the words register. Setting the knife down, he glances at her, pressing forward on the counter. “How old was he again?”