The Actor by Maya Brooks Read Free Book Online Page B

well-known, neutral activity
that kept them both from brooding. For someone looking on the verge of death,
he was hard to beat.
    The game took
almost two hours.
    Marc chuckled.
“Now I owe you money, and I’m hungry.”
    When did you
eat last before you came here? Better not ask…
    “We can order
Chinese.”
    “That would be
fantastic.”
    He was finding
his footing, and when the food arrived he stole shrimps from her plate and made
her giggle. He didn’t exactly return to the person she knew, but was more like
himself.
    When all the
food was gone, he leaned back and patted his stomach.
    “I needed
that.”
    Why are you
here? I’d love to think you came just to hang out with me, but that’s not it.
Are you hiding?
    Heather’s words
echoed in her mind. “Maybe you can put Pinocchio back together.”
    This would take
a gentle touch. She reached over the table to take his hand.
    “I’m so happy
you’re here, I’ve been more worried for you than you can imagine.”
    He sighed, but
didn’t answer.
    “If you don’t
want to tell me, that’s okay, but I’m dying to know what happened. Why are you
here?”
     
    *****
     
    Marc pulled his
hands over his face and leaned his elbows against the table.
    He hardly knew
this woman, but she was still the only one he trusted, and he was too ashamed
to tell the truth.
    I could tell
her I don’t want to talk about it. She’d accept that.
    Lying was tempting,
but not a real option.
    “I was at this
party a little over a week ago, you remember. I must have been driving you
crazy. I know you told me to go home…”
    I should
have kept you on the phone, asked you to talk me out of there, but I thought I
could do it on my own.
    She didn’t
comment, and he plunged in.
    “The next time
I woke up, I was in the hospital. There were tubes sticking out of my fucking
nose. My wife stopped by and yelled that even if you hear about stars dying
from overdoses on TV, it wasn’t supposed to be me. I didn’t get it. I had no
idea what happened. I still don’t know.”
    He leaned back
in the chair and kept his eyes locked on a point on the table, struggling to
regain some self-control.
    “When I got out
of there, no one was interested in picking me up. I took a taxi home and the
house was empty. They all hated my guts anyway.”
    Being all alone
was unbearable, and the desperation turned into a black hole, feeding on him
from the inside.
    Laura still
said nothing, but she reached her hand out to him again, and he took it.
    Her touch
didn’t help him break through the fog that surrounded the last week or so, but
it gave him the courage to speak.
    “I got drunk,
and lost… another three days. When I woke up I saw a text from you and it
seemed like a sign. I walked out of the house, hitch-hiked to the airport, and
now I’m here.”
    “So, that’s why
you came with nothing but a toothbrush in a plastic bag.”
    If I stayed
alone in the house for five more minutes I’d start drinking again.
    “Yes… I was
afraid of staying long enough to pack anything. I just… left. Guess I’ll have
to go shopping.”
    Laura squeezed
his hand, but he still couldn’t make himself meet her eyes. He expected her to
tell him to leave. She was much too sensible a person to want anything to do
with his mess.
    “I don’t know
what to do. I can’t live like this anymore.”
    His entire life
had become an act. His kids saw him as an ass, which he probably was, and when
he stopped acting in front of his wife, she hated him too.
    Coming here
might have been a mistake, but I’m grasping at straws, and you’re the last one.
    She rose and
moved over to his side of the table, wrapping her arms around him. He pressed
his face against her belly, and she ran her hands over his hair. What a
heavenly feeling to have someone touch him, comforting, without demanding
anything in return.
    “Not counting
today, when’s the last time you slept?”
    Marc didn’t
lift his head, but shook it a little.
    “I don’t