Chapter 13

“Wow. That was a really heavy story.” Nicole exhaled. I nodded, following her out of the stuffy theatre. There were way too many people inside. The event had sold-out on opening night. The cold night air was a refreshment against my skin.

“I told you.” I mumbled. Nicole stopped walking and grabbed my shoulder.

“No, seriously. Wow. I mean, it didn’t stray from the original story, but, it was so much heavier when you see it acted out like that.” She repeated. I shrugged.

“Plus the cast did a great job.” I gushed. Nicole nodded.

“I think I could have played Charlotte.” She argued. I shook my head.

“You’re supposed to be retired. Just, be a mom. You left this world behind for a reason.” I pushed her shoulder. She laughed, looking down at her wrist.

“It’s so early still. I hate having a bed time. I feel like a kid.” She groaned. I took a few steps to the side to get out of the way of people trying to get around us. Nicole was completely oblivious.

“You’re being dramatic. You’re right. You would have been great for the roll of Charlotte. It’s a shame I had nothing to do with casting and you didn’t try out for the part.” I reminded her, crossing my arms. She laughed as she stuck her tongue out at me.

“I’m supposed to be retired.” She mocked. I rolled my eyes.

“I didn’t like the ending, but I liked the scene that opened it.” I confessed. Nicole laughed.

“The framing of it was pretty impressive. Even if they totally changed the ending of the book to make it good for the silver screen.” She rattled on. I laughed.

“They didn’t totally change it, they just made it more whimsical. I wish I had done that letter thing. That would have been cool. Instead, I just wrote a bunch of crappy poetry and, well, this.” I rambled nervously. I hated being in crowds and the public was starting to swarm around us.

“I think the best endings are the real ones.” Nicole added.

“I always thought so too.” A deep voice commented from behind us. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention. It had been ten years since we saw each other, but there was no mistaking his presence. I slowly turned to face him, letting my hands fall to the sides.

“James? Oh my God. What are you doing here?” I choked out. He smiled down at me, now standing well over six feet. He opened his arms and pulled me into a tight hug.

“I was invited by the producers.” He answered, stepping back. He looked me up and down, a smile spreading across his face. I felt hot under his eyes. I looked over at Nicole.

“So this is James?” She gawked. I nodded.

“James, this is my friend Nicole.” I introduced. He nodded.

“I’ve seen her show.” He answered casually. I felt increasingly uncomfortable. It only worsened when a random blonde lady latched her arm around James.

“This is my wife, Amanda. Amanda, this is Charlotte. The author of the book the movie was based off.” He introduced. I put on my best fake smile.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I lied. I’m sure she was a nice girl. I just felt my stomach twitch at the word wife. It felt like someone pricked a needle right into the center of my stomach. It was now the center of a rebellion against my other organs. It got worse as Amanda put her hand on my shoulder.

“You’re the author? You did an amazing job, I mean, you captured this guy perfectly.” She complimented. I kept my smile on tight, but felt the corner of my lip twitch.

“Thank you.” I offered pointlessly. Nicole linked her arm around mine.

“We should get going.” She cooed against my ear. I nodded.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, seeing you again.” I commented. James gave me a warm smile before walking in the opposite direction. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“What the fuck?” I exhaled. Nicole shook her head.

“Girl, you need to have a talk with Drew.” She suggested. I nodded. I don’t know what was going on in his head when he invited my high school boyfriend to the movie premiere. There was no way that wouldn’t be awkward for everyone involved. It was crazy. Why did James even come? Nicole grabbed my shoulder and pushed me towards the waiting limousine.

“Let’s go home and get drunk.” She groaned. I climbed in beside her, and looked out the blackened windows. There were people all over the street talking about two people who are nothing more than strangers. I let out a deep sigh and dropped my head against the window. Nicole sighed.

“I’m sorry if that ruined your night.” She apologized pointlessly. I knew she had nothing to do with it.

“It doesn’t have to.” I assured her with a smile. She nodded.

“That’s the right attitude!”

I had been proud of myself when the book was published. That didn’t last long. There was a lot of outrage, mostly from people who didn’t like the way they came across in the book. I had changed all the names. I left out any identifying markers. My name was the only thing I didn’t change. Everyone knew who they were. I didn’t really care what everyone thought. To me, the story wasn’t about the details. The story was about the relationship. That was the focus. After all, I had been trying to tell the story as a form of therapy. I needed it out of my head. I thought a bittersweet romance novel would be the best way to live out my girlish dreams. I guess the story was too close to reality for most people.

I ignored it at first. But every interview asked about the controversy and I was sick of it. I told everyone it was meant to be taken as a fictionalized rendition of reality.

When producers came to me about turning the story into a movie, I was on cloud nine. I saw it as an opportunity to show the characters and really focus on the relationship story line. It wasn’t an easy process. I butted heads with people at every turn. But I had a vision and I didn’t want my story corrupted. I stayed involved by volunteering and always being present throughout the production. I didn’t have the final say on anything. Not really. But I made sure my voice was heard when it needed to be. There were just some parts of the story I didn’t want the producers to change. I saw the movie as an opportunity to bring the vision to life. That’s why I was being a pain in the ass during production. In the end, I really felt like the whole project came together. The movie was exactly how I had pictured the book would be to everyone else.

The story now had a North American release. Theatres in small towns and big cities alike would be showing this love story. If you could call it that. It was a tragedy. But praise was coming from all media outlets. Everyone was talking about it. Everyone seemed to love it. I was happy, at first. The more I thought about it, the more I wish I had never wrote the book in the first place. The thoughts would have been better off in my head where no one else would ever see them. Now, everyone could pick apart this very delicate part of my life. They would too. I was controversial. I came from nothing and was going no where fast. I knew people, but was no one. I was an enigma. People loved to hate me.

A few days after the movie premiere, I got a phone call from an unknown number. It was James. He told me that whoever had sent the tickets had included my contact information, in case he wanted to get in touch. Apparently, he did. He asked me if I wanted to get together for a coffee and catch up. I said yes. That was my first mistake.