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Avery walked into the kitchen of the restaurant and clocked out of work.
Rather than leaving, she went to the relatively empty bar and stood across the only other customer. “Can I ask you a question?”
The man glanced at her and her position at the opposite side of the bar, raising a single eyebrow. “Have I ever said no to that?”
She looked him dead in the eye. “I don’t know if you want to answer this question.”
“And you’ll figure that out once you ask it. Fire away, kid.”
She leaned across the bar. “Your last name is Hawthorne, right?”
“I’d think so, since I’ve been goin’ by that name for a couple decades, Ave.”
“Any relation to Tobias Hawthorne?”
Nash Hawthorne fixed her with a glare sharp enough to cut wood. “Why?”
Avery drummed her fingers on the bar top. “Curiosity. The kind that relates to background checks.”
Nash scoffed. “I would die before I hurt Libby. Tobias Hawthorne would kill before he hurts his family. There’s a difference, and that difference is lives, Avery.”
Avery grimaced -someone's feeling dramatic, she thought- and poured him a glass of the nearest bottle she could find.
Nash wouldn’t mind him giving her a drink, and Libby, the owner, also her sister, didn’t care either, so she figured it was okay.
She slid the glass over and he gave her a mock salute as he took a sip and continued talking. “The show business isn’t meant for people with heart, with emotions, or flaws. You gotta be perfect for the people, or the people bite back.”
“You didn’t like it?” She asked.
“I liked my family. I liked having them close by, but we all grow up, Ave. I see them at Christmas, birthdays, every other national holiday. It’s nothin’ different than it was before, except I don’t have the paparazzi after me 24/7 and I’m happy with my job for once.”
Avery hummed and Nash looked at her again. “I mean it, Avery.”
From: [email protected]
Avery Grambs, you have been chosen by Tobias Hawthorne. Please refer to the attached document for further instructions.
chosen? for what?
She checks the file. It was an audition schedule.
(It turned out to be a chemistry read.)
“Don’t get mixed up in that business.”
(XXX)XXX-XXXX: Mystery Girl!
(XXX)XXX-XXXX: first day on set, how do you feel?
“And don’t get mixed up with my family.”
Contact Added: Jameson Hawthorne
Contact Added: Grayson Hawthorne
“They’re dangerous people.”
A newspaper in the filming tent catches her eye. The headline reads ‘THE HAWTHORNE BOYS REUNITE FOR THEIR GRANDFATHERS LAST MOVIE, STARRING NEWCOMER AVERY GRAMBS.’
“Dangerous living means death.”
‘Jameson and Grayson Hawthorne’s last movie featured their childhood friend Emily Laughlin. Well-loved by the public, her death during a stunt was a shock to the world, and credited as the downfall of Hawthorne Productions.
Has Tobias Hawthorne taken precautions, in his first movie since her death last year? Read more on page 15.’
“And in that industry, death is literal.”
Avery’s eyes widened. “Well, now I definitely don’t want to do that. But for you, I won’t.”
Nash grinned. “Thanks shortstack, means a lot comin’ from you.”
Avery dropped the newspaper and slumped against the empty tent. What do you think of me, now, Nash? Still the sister you never had?
“Oh definitely.” A drawl came from behind her. “None of my siblings can listen to me, even if it’s for their own good.”
Avery turned, and saw Nash, his mouth pressed in a straight line, no carefree grin in sight.
“Nash, I had no idea the puzzle-“
“What’s done is done.” he sighed. “Tobias Hawthorne would’ve gotten to you somehow. Atleast this way, I can be there for some of it.”
He helped her up, and walked her outside the tent. “Welcome to Hollywood, Avery. Try to not let it kill you.”