When Stars Fall by Wendy Million

Chapter Forty

Ellie

Present Day

My feet ache. I’m exhausted, and every time I’m near Wyatt, I long to curl into him. Luckily, I can do that whenever I want. The one high point of our otherwise exhausting day is my proximity to him.

During our extended break, we checked on everyone in the trailers. Anna looked better after a shower and fresh clothes courtesy of Camila. She was on the floor playing with Jamal as though the day before hadn’t happened. She was even civil to me. When we left, I felt better about trying to figure out a way forward together. Stable Anna wasn’t that bad. Stacy, Nikki, and Camila were keeping a careful watch on the kids. Everyone was fine.

“She seemed good there, almost pleasant.” Snow crunches under our feet on the way back to set. Wyatt grabs my hand and links our gloved fingers. My relationship with Wyatt has to work, and if Anna is part of the package, I have to find some bright spots.

“I used to be able to function pretty well some days too.”

There were days when I would have sworn he was sober. When he dabbled in combinations he knew well, he managed himself with precision. I suppose Anna’s the same.

“I don’t want to worry about how we’ll manage her or us.” We’re outside the hair and makeup trailer. “We’ll figure it out.”

Her ability to quit and her determination to get better—we have no power over that. I was powerless the day I asked Wyatt to quit too. In the end, the only thing I could do was leave. Neither of us wants to cut Anna out, but at some point, we might have to. I won’t suggest that again until we’ve exhausted other avenues or until it’s clear the kids won’t be safe with her around. I rise on my toes to kiss him.

He tugs me closer, going for a second, deeper kiss. The fire that burns for him bursts to life. I want our break in filming back. An empty trailer. Him. Me. A lifetime will never be enough.

Kelly, one of the makeup artists, catcalls us from behind.

“Ignore her,” Wyatt murmurs against my lips.

When other people join her, heat rises to my cheeks. Sometimes, it’s easier pretending to be someone else. In character, it’s routine to hide my real emotions. But right now, I’m pretty freaking glad to be Ellie Cooper. He breaks the kiss and gives Kelly an annoyed glance over my shoulder. “I’m making up for lost time here, Kel, and you’re interrupting.”

“Wyatt Burgess and Ellie Cooper, reunited. Myths and legends are made of this.” There’s laughter in her voice. “#TrueLoveReturns is trending on Twitter today. The two of you are the leads. #Wyllie.”

My attention hasn’t left Wyatt’s face. I could stare at him all day, every day, for the rest of my life and never wish for a different view.

“True Love Returns is the name of this movie.” He laughs.

“Just sayin’.” Her sassy grin is visible out of the corner of my eye. She’s flirting with him in front of me about his relationship with me. “The press is unreal.”

Unease flutters in my stomach. I let my social media manager follow Wyatt across our social media platforms this morning. He followed me back. Perhaps that was a bad idea.

“It’ll die down.” He senses my mood and kisses my forehead. “It always does.”

“I shouldn’t have let my team follow you.”

“Made me feel good to see those notifications roll in. Unfollow me now and people assume we’re fighting or indecisive. Ride out the curiosity. It’s been a while, but it’ll fade. I promise.”

Before this, I hadn’t done anything gossip-column-worthy in several years. If we’re forging a relationship, I’ll have to get used to the attention again. Maybe it’ll fade, but last time the extreme interest in my life didn’t vanish until I left Wyatt and moved back home to Bermuda. My saving grace was my island hideaway where I was the only high-profile famous person, and it wasn’t worth the cost for paparazzi to send their people there on the off chance they might see me. No one got a photo of me until long after Haven was born. The perks of having lots of family on the island to run my errands and shield me from curiosity. I could disappear then, but being back with Wyatt has tossed me right back into the center of the hurricane.

Reluctantly, I disentangle myself from him to walk to Kelly’s trailer. My stomach squeezes at the way she watches him saunter away. Everything about him attracts attention—something else I’ll have to get used to again. His magnetism makes him hard to resist in real life and when he’s on a screen, big or small.

“So the rumors are true,” Kelly says when I slide into the makeup chair to be touched up.

“It seems so.” Someone who has such an interest in following social media trends gets few details.

“The press is loving this reunion. Secret child. Reunited lovers. I mean, the two of you, when you were together the first time, you owned Hollywood.”

I laugh a little and suppress an eye roll. “It was fun then, for a while at least. Before most of this social media hoopla. Now I can’t walk down the street without someone taking a video of me or asking for a photo.”

“You don’t like it?”

If it was once in a while, I might not mind. Back then a lot of our fans seemed to think that they owned us or that we owed them something other than the movies we made, the interviews we did, or the photospreads in magazines. They wanted to consume as much of us as they could. Paparazzi wanted the money a single controversial shot would get them, and they did anything to achieve it. Leaving the house meant being switched on. I haven’t missed flipping that switch. “Would you?”

“I have no idea.” Kelly rocks back on her heels and tips my face around. “I guess the attention might be a bit much. Personally, I wouldn’t enjoy the bad photos.”

“Ah, yes. The cellulite catches. ’Cause, you know, we aren’t human.”

“Was there a bit of a commotion last night? Wyatt tore hot Rick from security a new asshole this morning. Something about his sister coming on set? I thought they were close. Her kid’s here, right?”

“Everything’s fine.” I keep my attitude breezy. She’d be the type to sell details.

“I’ve seen photos of his sister. She used to be so pretty.” Kelly dabs my lips. “Pretty is too mild, maybe. Stunning. A lot like her brother.” She winks at me in the mirror.

She hasn’t been this chatty about Wyatt any other day. Annoyance tugs at me. Odd to have him back, mine again, and still have to share parts of him with everyone else.

“I bet he’s also stunning in—” Kelly stops when the trailer door flies open, slamming against the wall.

Nikki appears in the entryway, her complexion ashen. My stomach drops to my feet. Something is very wrong. Nothing ruffles my sister. “It’s—it’s—” A sob spills out of her. “We called 9-1-1. They’re on their way. It’s Haven.”

“What?” I tumble out of my chair and grab my coat. “What?” My brain stalls on Haven’s name and 9-1-1.

“Come.” Nikki latches onto my arm. “Wyatt—he’s—he’s on his way to the trailer.”

Everything shuts down in my brain, and nothing makes sense while we run across the thick snow to the trailers. Wyatt sprints ahead of us. His presence, even from a distance, offers a strange reassurance. Whatever has happened can be fixed. Wyatt and I are creating a family. We’re a family.

Nikki cries and runs. Occasionally, she whispers, “Oh, God,” in a voice I’ve never heard from her.

I can’t bring myself to ask. Was it Anna? Will Haven be okay?

Wyatt yanks open the door to my trailer, and I say, almost to myself, “Why’s he going in there?”

“That’s where Haven is.” Nikki’s voice catches on a sob. “Camila is with her.”

“In my trailer?” When we left them, they were at Wyatt’s. Anna stayed in my trailer last night. Irresponsible drug addict Anna stayed in my trailer. “Why? Why was Haven in our trailer?” My voice rises on a wail.

Nikki doesn’t answer because we’re at the door, and I’m throwing it open. Before me is a sight so haunting, it’ll stay with me forever. Wyatt is doing CPR on Haven while Camila assists beside him.

“No,” I whisper, clutching Nikki’s arm. “No, no, no, no, no, no.”

Wyatt glances up at me with unconcealed panic. He counts compressions. I rush to Haven’s side, the one he’s not on, kneel and grab her hand. It’s warm, so warm. Warm means alive.

Nikki’s sobs echo through the trailer.

My daughter is so pale, so still. The scene in the trailer is filtering through mud. I can’t grasp what’s before me. This isn’t possible. I must be dreaming. We left here not even an hour ago, and everyone was fine. Haven was fine.

Wyatt pauses his compressions for Camila to breathe in Haven’s mouth. “Anna—Narcan! Did you find it?” As soon as Camila backs off, Wyatt presses down on Haven’s chest in a hard, fast rhythm.

Her little heart. Her poor little heart.

“El, Ellie,” Wyatt says in between compressions.

My body is carved out, hollow. This can’t be happening. A dream. I’m dreaming. No, a nightmare. For years, I dreamed of Wyatt coming. Then I dreamed this. My worst fear. The reason I couldn’t stay.

His features are set in a look of determination. In between counts, he says, “We. Will. Save. Her.”

“She’s almost ten.” I squeeze her tiny hand. “Her birthday’s in a month. She’s gonna be ten.” Nikki’s arm circles around my waist. She kneels beside me, and I notice a tiny rip in her jeans, just on her thigh. Sirens outside the trailer grow louder.

“The Narcan!” Camila calls to Anna, who is still in the bathroom banging around.

“I can’t find it!” Anna’s panicked voice catches on the last word.

Isaac, if you’re out there: Don’t let her die. I’m not ready to let her go yet. We need her here. We need her.

Isaac?

Isaac?

Are you there?

Something builds in my chest, rising, flooding, consuming. When the paramedics burst into the trailer, a guttural sob rips out of me.