Episode One-hundred-twelve: Final

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Episode One-hundred-twelve: Final

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A few days passed, and I took turns filming with Seth and Tyler for their channels before they helped me once more in the kitchen. I had a lot of fun, but it wasn’t the same as all of us together.  

It was the final week of shooting for Edward. I knew that he was going to miss his new friends that he made during the filming, but I had a feeling Sarah was going to be in our lives. At least for a little while. I was glad about that. I needed another female pal in LA, even if she was so young. But I enjoyed talking to her, and we had a lot in common. 

I had agreed to go with Edward again to the set since I didn’t have anything else planned for the day that I couldn’t do on my tablet. All I was going to do was more food research for videos. The boys had a giant list of ideas and suggestions. I wanted to be able to post as much as possible, like them. 

Edward joked that it was just so that I could have lunch with Sarah, and I denied it, of course. But it was a little true. Not entirely, but a tiny bit. He didn’t mind at all. He was just happy that I was excited. 

Sarah threw herself at me as soon as she saw me outside the trailers, hugging me with a giddy little squeal. Her costume was getting more and more torn up as the movie went on, the yellow hoodie looking like it got ran through a car engine while Edward’s always remained perfect. Apparently, it was a part of the joke. 

“So, what should we get today?” She wrapped her arm around mine as we walked to the set. “Food trucks again? Or should we order?”

“I wouldn’t mind some sushi,” Edward offered in the background. He was trailing behind us a couple of feet. 

“Mm,” Sarah hummed as she thought about the options around us. “There’s the food truck that does sushi burritos and Poke bowls. Have you tried that?” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “It’s good,” she returned, opening the door for me to let me go inside first.

He held it open for her to go in after me. “I haven’t. That sounds good.” Edward paused. “And by the way, you totally just checked my girlfriend’s ass out. I saw that.” 

“I-” she began as if she was totally offended, grabbing her shirt and making her eyes huge. “Totally did,” Sarah laughed. “Sorry, not sorry. No offense, but is it yours?” She sincerely asked as she touched my arm. 

“The only cosmetic stuff that I’ve had done was to fix my face,” I explained. She leaned in a little to see if she could tell where, and I turned my chin to the side and trace the scar up to my cheek. “Car accident. And I was a kid.” 

She pouted a little. “Ow. I was kind of hoping you had a good plastic surgeon. I need one.” 

Giggling, we took each other’s arm again as we continued through the sound-stage. “You need a surgeon or a butt?” I quipped with a slightly wicked smirk. 

“Obviously, both.”

“Honey, your ass is just fine. You have an amazing figure,” I complimented, leaning my head against her shoulder.

“Aw, thank you!” She gushed in return, tilting her head against mine. “So do you. But if I got my butt done, I would want it to look like yours.” 

Edward came around us, shaking his head to himself. “Conversations you can only have in Hollywood.” We both giggled. 

“I think that I want a poke bowl for lunch.” Sarah ignored him, smiling over at me. I nodded as well. “Oh, and they have Hawaiian shaved ice, too.”  

They worked for about four hours solid together before Sarah got a break. Once again, we had found a comfortable spot on the yellow wooden pallets where we were out of the way and to relax in the darkness that wrapped around us.  

“So, I was trying to figure out when I could find time to make the cooking videos. I have all Sunday free,” she began as she hopped up beside me. She leaned her head on my shoulder again, obviously a little tired. “I mean if you’re not doing anything for Easter. And I have some time next week.” 

“Oh!” I drew out in surprise. It was a lot sooner than I thought she would be able to. “Actually, Sunday is our six-month anniversary, and I know that he wants to do something,” I explained. “He won’t tell what he wants to do, but he’s planning stuff. We like to surprise each other. It’s our thing.”

Sarah smiled, putting her hand on my arm. “Aw! That’s cute!”

I leaned in and playfully whispered, “it probably means that we’re going to have a snobby meal and sex in a new place.” She laughed loudly enough to make an assistant turn around and look at her in confusion. She snorted and covered her mouth with her hand. “It’s true.”

“It sounds like fun to me.”

Laughing, I nodded my head. “I’m sure that he’s going to get me something too, so I should probably buy him a gift. I don’t know what, though.”

“How hard is that going to be?” Sarah questioned, and I answered with the so-so gesture, wiggling my hand. “Hm… It’s not like you can get him gift certificates.”

“No,” I snorted. 

She shrugged and looked over at me with a smirk. “Nude pictures?” I laughed, quickly covering my lips with my fingers as my cheeks went pink. The assistant turned around again. He apparently couldn’t tell where it was coming from. 

“But I already gave that to him for Christmas,” I replied honestly. She cackled, covering her face with both of her hands before she could stop herself. We both dissolved into giggles. 

My phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out to see Jasper’s picture on the screen. It was just before nine o’clock in the morning there. 

“Oh! That’s the guy that…” she trailed off, her eyes getting bigger. I giggled again. 

“It’s his best friend. I’m going to go outside and take this,” I explained, hopping down from the pallets. 

“He’s cute,” she whispered. I nodded my head in agreement. “Gay?” I just kept nodding, smirking as I brought the phone to my ear. “Yay! Got it right!”

I rolled my eyes, sticking my tongue out a little in amusement. “Hello,” I whispered as I made my way to a side door. 

“Hi,” Jasper breathed and sniffled deeply. “I don’t suppose you have a few moments, so I can vent to you? I’m sorry to keep doing this to you,” he said quickly. “I just need to get it out, and I know that Tony’s working and-” 

I sighed softly. “Of course, I do.” I made my way to Edward’s trailer, opening it with the key that he slipped to me before filming. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Jasper huffed quietly and took a moment. When he started to speak, his voice was shaky. “So, you remember that lump of shit that you met at the mall? Well, he’s a fucking pig. All the goddamn time. There’s a girl who I work pretty close with that I try to shield as much as I can. But he just grabbed her ass right in front of me! She’s married and pregnant. Pregnant! He tried to get me to praise her ‘new lush arse.’ She quit on the spot, and I just lost it. I gave him a real piece of my mind. And he wrote me up,” he concluded with a broken laugh. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I demanded, instantly furious. I wanted to punch someone for him.  

“No,” Jasper sighed. “I’ve not even got that long. And I’ve never been written up before. What’s the fucking point? Just to take the piss out of me. That’s why. Just make me a little more miserable.”  

I sat down at the small table. “Honey, what the fuck are you doing? Why- why… why-” I stuttered in anger. “Why the hell are you taking this bullshit? Are they seriously the kind of people you really want to be loyal to?”

“No,” he mumbled softly. “It’s just a little longer. I just need the-”

“If you say money, I swear that I will smack you next time I see you.”

“Bella-”

I shook my head. “No!” I snapped. “This is ridiculous, Jasper! Do you want to work for people like this?”

He actually whimpered. Jasper had never heard me truly furious before. Neither had Edward. He obviously didn’t like it. “No. Of course not. Dove, I-”

“Are you happy?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“Yeah, I do, which is why I’m confused. You would literally rather suffer than take this lifeline that you keep being offered. Jasper, why are you killing your soul for these people? Some things are more important than money. Have enough confidence and pride in yourself to know when it’s better to walk away. You have to know that we only want your happiness. There is no honor in this.”

He clicked his tongue and could hear his tears in his voice. “I know.” 

I took a deep breath. “Let me get the rest of your loans. Let me help you. We can do a payment plan if it really means that much to you. Or you can help me with videos in exchange. I don’t care. I don’t give a damn about the cost. Please? You could be here by tomorrow night. Please,” I begged as tears began to fill my own voice. “This is not worth it. Have enough dignity to walk away.” 

“Yeah… Okay,” he hesitated for a second. “I can’t take this anymore,” he said in the tiniest voice. I could barely hear it. There was a moment of silence between us. 

“Really?” I asked excitedly. 

“Yeah. You’re right. They don’t deserve my loyalty. I can’t accept this kind of behavior for another moment. I’ve been trying so hard to prove that I’m a man by following through, but I’m just making a fool of myself.” 

“No,” I swiftly argued. “You’ve just been stubborn. But you don’t have to be.” 

Jasper sighed. “No. No, I don’t. So, um,” he lightened his voice a little. “I could be there by tomorrow night? Do you think so?” 

I hurried to my purse to pull out my tablet, quickly typing in nonstop first-class flights from Sydney as soon as possible. I laughed when I saw it. “The next flight is at three pm, and you would arrive around noon tomorrow. Is that enough time to pack your clothes? We’ll come back to get the rest together,” I promised. 

“I could be there in about twenty-four hours?” He questioned quietly. 

“Yes!” I laughed happily. 

“Yeah,” he laughed as well. “Yes, that’s enough time. Get that ticket, dove.”

My fingers were shaking as I pulled out my debit card and bought the most expensive plane ticket that I ever had before. It was worth it, and I knew, without a doubt, the money was there. My heart was pounding in my chest wildly. “There! I bought it! I just sent it to your email. Now, go tell those motherfuckers bye so you can get ready!”

Jasper laughed again. “Oh, my god! I can’t believe that I'm doing this. I can’t wait to tell Tony.”

A wicked idea popped into my head. “Want to surprise him? You know that he loves them.” 

“Sure,” he chuckled. We were both giddy. “Wow. Yeah. Let’s surprise him.” He blew a long breath. “Alright. Time to tell that son of a bitch that I fucking quit.”

“Yes!” I exclaimed jubilantly. “Call me when you get home! I want to make sure that you got the tickets, and everything is right.” 

“Okay. Shit,” he mumbled lightheartedly before laughing nervously. “See you soon, dove.”

“See you soon.” 

I put the phone down on the table and put both of my hands over my face. I felt so overwhelmingly happy and relieved. Tears stung my eyes, and I leaned my head back to keep them in. Laughing, I took a deep breath as I tried to figure out how I was going to hide this from Edward. 

As if he knew I was thinking his name, he texted me. “Where did you wander off to?”

I licked my lips and tried to think of how to answer. It was best not to lie. Yet. “Jasper called, and I didn’t want to bother anyone.”

“Everything okay?” 

“Yes!” I promised quickly. I looked down at my tablet. The app was up for my recipes after I closed the Expedia one. “He was on a smoke break and wanted to chat. Then I just had a recipe thought and was looking it up before I returned to the set. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” 

“Oh, what kind of thought?” He curiously asked. He must have had a moment of quiet. 

“Desserts,” I commented vaguely. 

He sent three emojis with heart eyes. “Ah, one of my favorite subjects to entertain. What kind?”

I realized that I knew exactly what kind of dessert recipes that I needed to look up, but I wasn’t going to tell him about it. I had promised Jasper that I would make him macaroons when he visited. “I’m just looking up where to get some nicer ingredients for something that I want to practice tomorrow for a video. Fresh farm eggs, Madagascar vanilla, almond flour. Those sorts of things,” I explained. None of it would be a lie. I would look at that information up and go get them before he arrived to make those for him. “To practice for Sarah’s video.” That was a lie.

“That’s going to be so much fun to film,” he replied quickly. “Acting again. This is the last scene before lunch.”

“Okay.” 

I took a moment to calm myself down, trying to think of all the things that I needed to do. I started making a list: Get stuff for dinner and dessert the following day. Put fresh sheets on the bed and make sure the drawer of fun was ready. Pick up condoms. And send Jasper the money for the loans. 

I decided to do that first. It was quick and easy, and he might have needed some money for traveling. I wasn’t exactly sure how much he required, but I was going to give him four thousand to start. That was probably more than adequate, and if not, I could give him more.  

For the first time ever, I brought up the new bank app for my tablet. I hadn’t looked since Edward and I started sharing an accountant while we were still in Sydney. I had spent very little, and I knew that my shop was doing well enough to cover any of my bills. It was just extra stress that I didn’t want to deal with for a little while. 

When I saw the amount in my account, I loudly gasped.  

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