The silence lingering between us virtually strangled me and I didn’t know what else to say to him. Finally he said, “I can’t lose you again,” and I almost took back every word I had spoken in the last few minutes.

Almost.

“Walker,” I said, turning my body so I could face him. I wanted to reassure him that everything would be okay, but I didn’t want to lie. My internal conflict raged within me and I simply needed space. “I’m gonna go.”

I pushed past him and opened the door to my car. He stepped aside to allow me through, and when I looked up into his eyes, I winced at the pain I saw there. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” he asked through gritted teeth, as though I’d told him I’d call him next year. “No. Call me later. Call me tonight. I’ll be a fucking wreck.”

I chewed on my bottom lip before shaking my head and repeating, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

As I stepped on the gas to pull away, he didn’t try to stop me and I didn’t try to stay.

Driving away from Walker had been more difficult than I anticipated, but it needed to be done. I craved the peace and tranquility of my condo, and I desperately wanted to talk to Keri. This was too much to deal with alone. I needed my girlfriend. Walker and I hadn’t even touched on the fact that I’d lost my job earlier. My head was swimming with fears…fear for my professional life, and suddenly fears for my personal life as well.

When I finally pulled into my spot at the condo, I was reminded that the paparazzi had me on their radar as a few men loitered around the street, jumping out of their cars the second I arrived. Determined, I gathered my things and shook my head as I walked through them, refusing to look in their direction when they screamed my name and shouted stupid questions.

I had never realized before how hard it was not to look at someone when they call you by name. It’s like an ingrained response to at least make eye contact or acknowledge that you heard them. Keeping my head down, I unlocked the door and closed it tight behind me before heading out the back toward the far stairwell. Without Walker there to block me, I had no desire to be filmed as I waited for the elevator.

My phone beeped and I glanced down at it. The text message was from Walker:

If you call me tonight instead of tomorrow, I won’t hold it against you. You can even call me now. I promise I won’t mind.

Unlocking the front door with a sigh, I stepped inside and pressed my back against it, sliding all the way down to the floor. Instead of focusing on everything I’d learned about Walker today and his latest text message, I forced my mind to deal with the fact that I’d quit my job and had very little money in savings. I knew I’d be able to get by for at least a few months, but I needed to get a new job as soon as possible. And in this town, it wasn’t going to be easy.

Competition for everything here was fierce; especially in the entertainment industry. Feeling like I had royally fucked myself, I pushed up from the floor and headed into my bedroom, typing a text message to Keri on my way.

Please tell me you aren’t working late. I need you.

I wasn’t sure what else to say without freaking her out or losing it myself, so I kept it short and simple. She would assume I was still at the office as well. But I wasn’t. Because I quit my job today, called my boss names, and walked out the door. My phone chirped and I looked down.

Is everything OK? Will be home at normal time. I’ll bring food.

Thank God. The mere mention of food sent my stomach growling. I needed a distraction. Something to keep me occupied until Keri walked through the door, otherwise I might go insane. Heading into the bathroom, I turned on the water and ran a hot bath. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d soaked in the tub, but I needed to relax.

Turned out that taking a bath had been the perfect escape. My mind slowed as I let the warm water surround and soothe me. Before I knew it, Keri scared the crap out of me by barging through the front door yelling for me.

“I’m here! Where are you?”

Water splashed all around as I jumped up and pulled the plug free of the drain. Over the gurgling sound of water being sucked away, I yelled, “I’m in the bathroom. Be out in a sec!”

Wrapping the towel around me, I scooted from the bathroom to my bedroom so I could get into comfortable clothes. A pair of yoga pants and sweatshirt later, I waltzed into the living room where the smell of food invaded my senses.

“I’m starving. Thank you so much for getting dinner.” I looked down at the pizza, the order of chicken wings, salad, and garlic knots. “Uh, did you think you were feeding an army? You know just the two of us live here, right?”

Keri looked over at me with a wary look. I rarely texted her asking when she’d be home, and it was even more rare for me to tell her I needed her.

“I didn’t know what you’d be in the mood for,” she said, “so I sort of got a little of everything. I can eat it all myself, though, if you wanna bitch about it?”

I smiled. “First of all, I’d pay a hundred bucks to see you eat all this food yourself. Second, thank you. The pizza looks perfect. I need some comfort food.”

She looked at me with disapproval. “Only you would consider pizza comfort food.”

I laughed. “More like me and the rest of America. What the heck do you consider comfort food?”

“Grilled cheese, soup, macaroni and cheese,” she rattled out off the top of her head.

“And pizza,” I added.

After grabbing a slice of pizza, Keri scooped some salad onto her plate and moved toward the couch where I had just sat last night with Walker. “Get over here and tell me what’s going on.”

I reached for two slices of the greasy, cheesy goodness, grabbed a diet soda from the fridge, and sat next to her on the couch. Wondering where I should start first, I decided to drop the bomb about my quitting. I’d get to Walker later.

“I quit my job today.”

She half choked on her food. “You what? Why? What happened?” Before I could respond, she asked, “Oh gosh, what did that asshole do? Does it have to do with Walker? It does, doesn’t it? Everything he did to you is so illegal and he knows it. He’s not an idiot. Ah, this business makes me crazy sometimes!”

“Are you finished?” I asked between bites.

She eyed the ceiling like she was contemplating saying more, then shrugged. “For now.”

After I gave Keri a play-by-play of what happened with Jayson this morning, she raised her hand in the air for a high-five and I slapped it, feeling empowered. “You’re my fucking hero!”

I laughed and it felt good. “Well, I don’t feel like a hero. I mean, I know that what I did was the right thing to do for me. But now I’m jobless, so I feel more like an unemployed schmuck than anything else.”

“Being unemployed is a minor detail,” she said as she waved off my objections.

“Minor detail? You know how hard it was for me to even get that job without having strings pulled. How am I going to get another? It’s tough out there!”

“You can come work for my dad.”

“No, thank you. Maybe as a last resort.” I loved that she was this thoughtful, but I had no interest working in the movie industry. Working with the talent and negotiating on their behalf was definitely the side of the business I wanted to be on.

“Bitch,” she snapped out with a half laugh.

“You know production isn’t my thing. It’s your thing. But thank you.”

“Okay, but the offer still stands. Not that you’ll need it. I have complete faith in your abilities.”

“In my abilities to tell my boss off and blacklist myself from every agency within a fifty-mile radius?” I took another bite of my idea of comfort food and swallowed.