AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Happy?” He darts his eyes between us both. “You’re happy together in this weird relationship? That doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t understand how you can make one another happy. Are you even considering Wyatt in all of this? He might not like it.”
“He loves Zoe,” I tell him honestly. “They get on really well. Trust me, Freddie, I am thinking about Wyatt all the time, you know how important he is to me. He’s at the center of everything.”
We find ourselves at a bit of a standstill. I can see that Freddie isn’t happy, and I didn’t expect him to be, but I want him to understand just how important this is to us. This isn’t something that we have entered into lightly. It has taken us a roller coaster to get to where we are. We’ve been to hell and back, and now weknowthat this is worth the fight. Zoe is worth everything.
I truly don’t want to lose Freddie here. I love him too much for that, but I’ve had to make a decision and I have to say that I chose Zoe knowing what I’m risking.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Freddie finally admits. “I can’t accept this, you know.”
“But you love me,” Zoe interjects. “And you love Remy as well. There’s nothing that can get in the way of that.” She smiles at Freddie, but I don’t see him giving her the same expression back. “I know this might not make a lot of sense at the moment, but over time… you’ll see. You don’t need to lose either of us here. This doesn’t need to get messier.”
“I don’t know if I can handle this though,” Freddie admits. “I don’t know if I can see you guys together. In my heart, I don’t know if this is something I can embrace.”
“So, spend time with us separately, and see where this goes. Spend time with Remy like you always have done. Talk about safe subjects and see where it goes. Same for us as well.”
Freddie sighs heavily. “I love you both, so I suppose I don’t have any choice in the matter. It isn’t like I want to keep being on my own. I want to have you both back. But this is hard. This is really hard for me. I don’t think either of you appreciate how hard.”
“We do,” I insist. “We get it. But we also don’t want to keep secrets anymore.”
I know this is going to take us a very long time, and I’m sure both Zoe and Freddie understand that as well. But at least we aren’t yelling at one another. I’m taking that as a win. He isn’t going to punch me now, I don’t think, but I’m not sure if our friendship will ever be the same.
“I think it might be best if you both leave me alone now,” Freddie says sadly. “I need some time to process this. I will reach out to both of you when I’m ready to talk.”
A heaviness washes over me as we leave. Even though that went so much better than I was expecting it to, it’s still heartbreaking to be kicked out like that. To know that I have no idea when I will get to see Freddie again.
“Do you think Freddie will ever reach out to us?” I ask Zoe as we leave.
“Oh yeah, for sure.” She nods confidently. “We just need to give him time. Things will be back to normal soon enough. It’ll be fine, I promise you that much.”
I decide to trust her and hope for the best, because everything is going so well other than Freddie at the moment. Better than I ever could have hoped for. It seems like the obstacles that were in our way are smaller than we both thought, which is just further proof that we’re meant to be together. That we can make it work forever. That our love is enough.
Chapter 23
Zoe
Six Months Later…
“That’sgreat,Zoe,”thedirector, Melissa, calls out to me. “We’re done for the day now.”
I thank Melissa, reminding her again that she’s my favorite director of all time, the best person I’ve ever worked with. She laughs and waves me away, letting me go at the exact time we planned to leave for the day. This couldn’t be more different than the last awful job I’ve worked on, which only makes it that much better. Everyone is respectful and nice, communication is massive, and I feel like I’m doing something good here.
I didn’t think that I would ever be lucky enough to get a major role in an indie movie, especially after what happened with my boundaries, when I insisted I wouldn’t get naked or work with Chris again, but it’s all worked out for me. I feel great about it.
“Hey, girl!” Megan cries out to me as she meets me at the door. “Come on, it’s cocktail time.”
I link my arm through Megan’s, glad to see her again. It’s been a while since we last hung out since she’s based in LA now, her Hollywood dreams all starting to come true, whereas I’m happy here in New York City, but that hasn’t prevented us from being the best of friends. Mary Lou too, who’s meeting us at the bar for us to have a few drinks.
“I just saw your mother-in-law,” Megan laughs as we walk. “I can’t believe she used to be so hard. Sometimes I forget about the way she was with you in the beginning because she’s so soft and sweet now. It seems like she’s always been that way.”
I chuckle and roll my eyes. “I know, she’s the best, but when she despises you, it’s so hard. She has so many walls up, it’s basically impossible to break them down. I didn’t think I would ever do it. I can’t believe we’ve gotten to the place we are now.”
We arrive at the bar in giddy high spirits, almost drunk off of life. It’s so exciting to be here, having a laugh. I don’t even know what cocktails Megan is ordering for us all, but I don’t mind. I’m willing to drink anything she puts in front of us.
“How was your day?” I ask Mary Lou the moment Megan heads to the bar. “Are the kids good?”
“Oh yeah, they are great, and they were very excited when Remy brought Wyatt in for a play. They all had so much fun. But I am glad for a drink tonight.”
I miss hanging out at the unit, but for now I need to focus on the movie. Remy, Wyatt and I will have all the time in the world to play with Alice and the others soon enough. I have to concentrate on helping my acting dreams to come true. That’s thrilling too.
