Just Physical by Jae Read Free Book Online Page A

about the Bible?”
    â€œAre you saying I don’t look like the typical devout Irish Catholic girl to you?”
    â€œUm…”
    Jill laughed and took pity on her. “I’m not religious. I’ve always preferred to rely on myself rather than some higher power. But my brother is big on religion. He quoted from the scripture whenever he had me over for dinner.”
    â€œHad?” Crash repeated.
    Damn. She was too perceptive for her own good. Jill resolved to be more careful about what she said around Crash in the future. While she didn’t mind sharing funny anecdotes about past movies and TV shows she had filmed, she preferred not to share too much about her private life with her colleagues. “Well, I’m here in LA, and the rest of my family lives in Ohio, so we don’t get the chance to have dinner together anymore,” she said. It was the truth—but not the real reason why she no longer had dinner with her brother. She hadn’t talked to him since the day she’d told him about the MS. Instead of telling her he was sorry or offering help, he had suggested it was her punishment for defying God by doing unnatural things with other women.
    Crash looked at her. Something in her blue eyes told Jill that she sensed there was more to it, but Crash finally nodded and accepted that no further explanation would be forthcoming. She reached for the script that lay on the middle cushion between them. “I hope I didn’t interrupt you memorizing your lines.”
    â€œThat’s okay. It wasn’t going too well anyway.”
    â€œYeah? Why not?”
    Jill shrugged. “I’m not sure.” It could be the MS messing with her focus or her memory, or maybe it was the fact that some aspects of her character’s behavior didn’t ring true to her and that was why the lines were giving her such trouble.
    â€œWould it help if I ran lines with you for a while?” Crash asked.
    â€œAre you sure you’ve got the time?”
    â€œOh yeah. I’m bored to death out there, waiting for them to need me for another gag.”
    â€œGag?”
    â€œStunt,” Crash said. She looked at Jill, her head tilted to the side like an overeager puppy begging for a treat.
    Jill had to smile. “Sure, why not.” Running lines with Crash might be fun, and maybe it would help her memorize her lines. “I’m granting you asylum in my air-conditioned domicile, as long as you don’t mind being threatened by a scalpel.”
    â€œUh, excuse me?”
    Jill chuckled. “You’ll see.”
    Crash reached across the middle cushion and picked up the stapled script pages.
    â€œThe highlighted lines are mine, so just read the rest,” Jill said.
    Crash took a minute to skim the first page before giving Jill a nod to show that she was ready. Instead of staying on the couch, she stood and moved around the room, as Jill had done in the past when learning her lines, before she’d learned to conserve her energy. She looked so powerful and energetic that Jill couldn’t help envying her.
    â€œYou need to get out of here, ma’am,” Crash said. She wasn’t just reading the text, but acting it out, lowering her voice to sound like the soldier who’d just rushed into the makeshift hospital.
    Jill stood as well and bent over the coffee table, pretending to be busy with a patient. “Doctor,” she said without looking up. “And we are getting out—but not without our patients. I need to stabilize her first.”
    â€œThere’s no time! If the fire reaches the park, the tents will go up in flames within seconds!”
    Jill didn’t answer. She remained bent over her imaginary patient.
    Crash crossed the trailer in two long steps, marching like a soldier on a mission. She cursed under her breath, grabbed Jill by the shoulders, and dragged her toward the door.
    â€œWhat are you doing? If