Choices 42

CHOICES

DB#10

Edited by Pat

Making the right choice is not easy.

***

CHAPTER 1

A text message pinged on Melissa's phone, she clicked on the link included without thinking. She didn't bother reading the content of the text knowing it was from her younger sister and assistant, Lindsey.

Usually, her sister sent her links about charity events she could attend, rumors about a new movie, or news from their parents. From time to time, she sent her funny videos to make her laugh.

This link, however, had nothing to do with any of this. When Mel read the headline, her heart stopped.

The video appeared grainy at first as the cell phone camera adjusted to the dim lighting in the club. Her current boyfriend, Brandon Allen, was smiling at the camera. An overly busty blonde sauntered into view, showing more skin than clothes, dancing seductively as she made her way toward him. He reached for her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She straddled him, her legs wrapping around his very private area in very plain sight.

Her brain screamed at her to stop watching. Something inside begged her to look away, turn it off, throw her smartphone across the room, but she couldn't. It was obviously bad enough for Lindsey to send it to her, so she had to keep watching. No matter how much it was going to hurt.

The blonde's skirt rode up, revealing her bare ass, and Brandon's hands were suddenly there, squeezing it, slapping it, lifting her skirt higher. Then he fisted a handful of her hair, and yanked her head back, causing the rest of her hair to spill provocatively behind her. His lips pressed against her neck as he licked his way up to her mouth. She laughed, and then he kissed her. It was a mess of tongues and body parts grinding, with hands roaming in places hands shouldn't be roaming in public.

She had seen more than enough, so she stopped the video and tried to remind herself that she didn't love Brandon. Their relationship was mostly a publicity stunt trying to revive their careers. They had been part of a very successful show in the past,

Teenage Dreams

, and their characters got together in the show finale.

Mel played the part of a small-town girl who moved to the big city. Her character was well-liked by the fans. Even now, three years after the final episode, she was still popular even when she hadn't been able to land a good role, mainly because she couldn't shake off her girl-next-door image. She starred in several made-for-television romantic comedies. The movies were sappy an unrealistic but they helped to keep her career alive.

Pushing off from the couch, she walked to the hotel window and glanced down toward the street, noticing the swarm of paparazzi already beginning to form.

They were quick. Like sharks smelling blood.

This wasn't the first time claims of infidelity like this had been leveled against her ex-co-star boyfriend, Brandon Allen, but it was the first time evidence of his cheating leaked to the media.

Falling back on the couch, she tried to unsee what she had just watched. She couldn't believe Brandon was so blatant and stupid. He was probably high on those darn pills.

It was kind of ironic because she had done the same thing to her high school boyfriend. It was just her karma returning to bite her in the ass.

Melissa had been his best friend, and his girlfriend until she cheated on him destroying all the dreams they had.

She wondered what her old boyfriend, Spencer, thought when he read the news. Did he laugh and thought what happened to her was poetic justice? Did he still care about her?

Melissa was pretty sure Spencer still hated her. She hated herself for what she did to him. The last time she checked on him, he was still single. Probably too bitter about what had happened between them to trust his heart to another woman.

Staring down at her cell phone, she scanned the various tabloid headlines being sent to her nonstop from her sister, her agent, her manager, and her publicist.

"Brandon Allen Cheats on America's Sweetheart with Stripper!"

"Brandon Allen Caught in Cheating Scandal with silicone blonde!"

"Not the First Time Brandon Cheats on Mel -- Read the whole story on pages two to five!"

Then her phone rang. It was her sister's ringtone.

"What now, Linds? Brandon had an affair with the Golden Bears Cheerleaders?"

"Mel, that's not important now. I just got a voice mail from Mom. I just send it to you. You should listen to it." Her sister's voice sounded like she was crying.

Mel found and played the voicemail with shaking hands.

"Lindy, this is your mother. There is no easy way to say this, but... your father is dead. The doctor said he had a heart attack. He said he didn't suffer..." For a couple of minutes, all she could hear was her mother sobbing. "Please, Lindsey, I need you and Milly to come home. I need both of you with me."

CHAPTER 2

When Spencer heard the news about his ex-girlfriend, Melissa being cheated by her boyfriend, he couldn't help but smile.

"Now she knows how it feels to be cheated on,"

he thought. "

Karma caught up with her."

Reaching out, Spencer picked up a nice chunk of cherry, a mature piece with good grain showing. The hunk of wood was irregular, but turning it over, he could almost imagine the tall, delicately fluted bowl inside, just waiting for him to rasp away the surrounding wood and let its true beauty emerge.

He fitted the piece into his lathe, got it spinning, and began gently, carefully cutting away pieces of the wooden block using a heavy chisel. As his hands moved over the spinning, tumbling block of wood, his mind wandered back in time.

Spencer and Melissa had grown up together. They were childhood sweethearts. By high school, they had decided that they wanted to marry one another. They were going to have their happily ever after.

When they finished high school, Spencer headed off to Portland to major in business administration as they have talked. But Melissa didn't follow the plan. She was determined to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. She had been an enthusiastic member of the theater group in high school, but Spencer never thought she was serious about acting. He always thought Melissa's interest in acting was just a hobby like his leisure activity was working with wood.

Her decision to go to California took Spencer by surprise.

"What happens with our plan, Mel? What about our dreams?"

"I'm still going to marry you, Spence. It'll just take a bit more time. I need you to do this for me. Acting has always been my passion."

"What about US?" he emphasized the last word. "You know pretty well that the vast majority of long-distance relationships are doomed to fail."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him long and hard, and said, "We are not like the vast majority of people, Spence. What we have is real. We'll make it work."

They argued back and forth, till Spencer realized that his girlfriend's mind was already made.

He went to college as planned and Melissa went to California to pursue her dream.

At first, they texted back and forth every day, and they talked on Skype. After the first six months, Spencer started to think that maybe, they would have a chance as a couple after all. He started to make plans to visit her during the summer vacation.

Then, one of his mates dropped a bomb on him.

"You should check Brandon Allen's Facebook page, Spence," he advised him.

"Why? I'm not into teen actors. Specially jerks like him."

"Well, apparently, Mel is dating him," his friend said and watched as the realization slowly took over. "It's all over his Facebook page."

His friend just placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder, and mumbled, "Sorry, Man."

That was something in his friend's voice that made him shiver. Spencer looked for Brandon Allen's page and checked the photos.

Then his world exploded in a rush of searing pain.

There were several photos of Melissa with Brandon. The fucker had written things like, "Me and my new girlfriend/co-star of my upcoming TV show."

They were smiling at the camera, holding hands, cuddling, and kissing. In some photos, she was sitting on his lap. Their smiles were wide and reached their eyes. She looked happy, like real damn happy. They looked the same way Mel and Spence looked when they were together.

Tears burned in Spencer's eyes. His heart was beating with painful violence.

"What a fucking joke."

His hands were shaking when he called Melissa.

"How come we broke up and I didn't get the notification?" he growled.

"Spence? What are you talking about?" Melissa stuttered.

"I'm talking about you and that fucker, Brandon Allen being a couple. Pictures of you two making out and looking madly in love are all over the Internet. Congratulations, you are finally famous," he said with all the sarcasm he could muster.

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Spencer, I can explain... It's not what it looks like," her words came out almost a croak. "This is a great opportunity. It's the breakthrough in my career I've been looking for all these months. Brandon and I meet in a club. He's very well connected in the business. He was a child actor. He knows people and he offered to help me. There is this new show coming out. He says it's going to be a huge success. I would be crazy to let an opportunity like this pass. He's going to help me with my audition. That's all. I don't love him, I love you."

"I'm afraid to ask but, what did you have to do for this fucker in exchange for his help? A blow job? A roll in the hay?"

For a few seconds, Mel's only answer was silence.

"Congratulations, you just graduated as a Hollywood whore."

Finally, she said in a shaky voice, "I'm sorry, Spence. It has nothing to do with you. I did what was necessary to achieve my dream."

"I thought our life together was your dream. It certainly was mine."

"It is. I'm sorry, Spence. Please try to understand..."

Spencer drew in a deep breath as his sudden anger about this blindsided him. "No, you're not sorry. You don't love me either. You can't love me and do what you did. What did I ever do to you to make you hurt me like this? After all these years I think I deserve a bit more respect from you. I hope your career is worth what it cost you. I'd wish you luck but I'd be lying. Fuck you!"

When Spencer went back to Middletown for Christmas vacation, he told everyone that he and Melissa had broken up, but he kept the real reason to himself. Mel's parents were good people and didn't deserve the pain of knowing their daughter had become a slut. Luckily, they were not much into social media.

"We drifted apart. Keeping a long-distance relationship was harder than I thought it would be."

Of course, both sets of parents suspected that there was more than what he was saying, but they didn't press Spencer for the truth.

Lindsey, who was still in high school at that time, knew the truth behind their breakup. "Mel cheated on you, right? She started dating Brandon without breaking up with you, right?"

Spencer gulped and nodded unable to say anything. The pain was still too raw.

"It sounds like my sister. She always wanted it all."

Lindsey hugged him tight and Spencer clung to her as though she were the only thing he had left in the world. Her hug reached into the deepest part of his soul like a soothing balm.

Spencer never forgot that moment.

Every holiday, every vacation from college, Lindsey was there for him and helped him in more ways than she probably even knew.

When Lindsey finished high school and announced that she was leaving for California to work for her sister, Spencer's heart broke again.

He didn't blame Lindsey for leaving. They were only friends, after all. "Just be safe, please," were his parting words.

They kept their friendship over the years through letters, emails, and Christmas and Birthday cards. Lindsey was careful not to mention her famous sister more than necessary.

The smell of sawdust brought him back to the present. He loved working with wood, ever since he was a kid. Standing in the workshop that he'd created in the large shed in his backyard, surrounded by hunks of wood and various machines and tools, Spencer felt the last bit of anxiety fade away.

CHAPTER 3

Lindsey was standing at her sister's side looking as shocked as Melissa was.

Their father was dead. Gone.

Lindsey was nothing like her sister in appearance or personality. Lindsey had always been the courageous and dedicated one. She was very down to earth, and rather shy.

The news of their father's death was too much for them to bear. They had to go back to Middletown, but they didn't want the paparazzi to see Mel in tears and come to the wrong conclusion, that she was crying for that asshole's betrayal.

Melissa held the phone in her hand thinking about all the things she had sacrificed to achieve her dream. She didn't regret it, she couldn't. But she did regret not being there when her father died.

When Melissa left Middletown she was only a naïve eighteen years old girl with a dream. She was lucky, Brandon helped her to get a role in a teen drama series called

Teenage Dreams

which became one of the Network's top shows. The show ran for six seasons and Melissa Carpenter, who had changed her name to Mel Dawn, became a starlet.

As soon as her younger sister, Lindsey, was eighteen, Melissa called her and offered her a job as her personal assistant. Lindsey imagined herself meeting celebrities and walking down the red carpet. Life in Hollywood sounded glamorous and exciting.

Lindsey pondered her options before deciding to give up college and take the job. Her parents were supportive, even when they thought she was making a huge mistake.

Lindsey didn't want to leave Spencer, but she knew nothing could happen between them. For one, he was still in college, but most importantly, her sister was still in love with him.

In her calls and emails to Lindsey, Melissa made it clear that her feelings for Spencer were still strong.

Lindsey soon discovered that working as her sister's assistant was an exhausting, stressful job, that demanded long hours of hard work and attending a lot of boring social events.

Her job included a series of tasks such as make and receive phone calls, send emails, write letters, and post social media updates on behalf of Melissa. She researched the paparazzi that normally trailed her and requested their criminal records to ensure she was safe. She ordered and sent gifts to Melissa's family, friends, and professional acquaintances. It was like being a juggler most of the time. She made a lot of mistakes at first, but very quickly learned the job and got better with practice.

It wasn't her dream job, but it paid well.

"Mel, we are going back to Middletown, right? We can't leave Mom alone," Lindsey begged her sister with tears in her eyes.

"Of course, we are going back to town! We need to be there for Mom," Mel replied. She wiped the tears from her own eyes and said, "Book a private jet to Portland. The sooner the better. Have a rental car waiting for us at the airport to drive us to Middletown. Use one of my aliases. I don't want reporters tracking me down. Cancel all my appointments for the next two weeks."

Lindsey went through her tablet.

"You have a shooting this week and a charity event," Lindsey informed her sister. "We can reschedule the shooting, but you wanted to assist this event to meet Malcolm Merton, the famous director."

Mel shrugged. "Call Cassandra, my fellow actress from

Teenage Dreams

. She always liked you. Are you still in touch with her?"

Cassandra Clemens was the closest thing to a friend that Lindsey had. She was closer to her than to her own sister.

"Yes, we text and talk on the phone on a regular basis. She's going to get married to Alan and she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids."

"Okay, tell her I owe her one."

Lindsey nodded and grabbed her phone to start making the calls.

Melissa was happy with Lindsey's work. Her younger sister was very reserved and she was sure she would never speak of private matters such as personal meetings, sexual exploits, or the times she had to send someone to fetch her because she was wasted.

For as far back as she could remember, Lindsey had been invisible. She had always lived under the shadow of her sister, a sister who was not only older but more assertive, more beautiful, and more intelligent.

Lindsey didn't mind being in the shadows. She wasn't made for the spotlight. She was invisible to almost everyone. Especially men. Completely and utterly invisible. It couldn't be helped being around Melissa. She attracted all the male attention.

Why would anyone pay attention to the ordinary-looking Lindsey standing beside and a little behind the beautiful, and charismatic Mel Dawn?

Most of the time, Lindsey was standing in a corner, watching her sister flirting with everyone who could help her in her career.

Lindsey was the kind of woman whom men only saw when they need to reach her sister, the girl that no one noticed until she was needed.

She could blame them. She wasn't what most people would classify as beautiful. Her face was a bit round, and her eyes sparkled with kindness. Her outfits were very simple and professional. She usually looked pale, and tired with big circles under her eyes.

She would have loved that a man could see her as a woman for a change. But that wasn't going to happen.

CHAPTER 4

During the drive to Middletown, Melissa's mind couldn't help but go back to a time when life was simpler and slower than it was now. A time when she and Spencer were madly in love.

They hadn't talked in almost ten years. She was too ashamed of herself to try to contact him. Besides, what could she have said to justify what she did?

The night Melissa went to bed with Brandon, she felt she had sold a piece of her soul to achieve fame.

The driver slowed down as they made their way through town. The streets were empty. It was still early in the morning.

"We're home," Mel announced looking through the car's window. "The weather is colder than I remember."

Lindsey opened her eyes and stretched at her side.

Home, Melissa thought. What a strange word. All during her career, she had lived in hotels. They were easy, peaceful with top-notch security. She had someone that did her grocery shopping and laundry. When something broke, someone was there to fix it and her guests were screened.

It had been four years since Melissa and Lindsey had been in town for Thanksgiving. That was the last time they saw their father.

Everything was quiet. No car horns or traffic jams. The car turned left, turned right, and suddenly, they ended up on the street both sisters grew up on. The driver stopped in front of their childhood home, one light was on outside and one inside. Her mother was already awake.

A flood of emotions filled both sisters' hearts.

Mel looked at her parents' house and imagined that Spencer and she would be living in a house like this by now. They would have one or two kids. They would be madly in love and happy. Melissa had no doubts about that.

Did she make the right choice? Was her career worth shattering their dreams?

She needed to see Spencer. It was time for a long-delayed talk between them.

Melissa didn't want to get out of the car. It was like accepting the inevitable. She knew nothing would bring back her father, but maybe she could prolong it just a little bit longer. Lindsey paid the driver and waited patiently at her side.

"Milly, Lindy, you are here," both girls jumped at her mother's voice that snuck upon them. Her mother was staring at them, standing by the passenger side of the car.