Episode 21: Wolf In A Sheep's Clothing

As scheduled, the following day, Emily was on set for the continuation of filming her upcoming series.

The day was colder than before, the early morning air making her shiver uncontrollably as she rubbed her arms up and down – a futile attempt to make herself warmer. Her manager who stood beside her removed the scarf from around her neck. She pulled Emily close by the arms, making the girl look up with interest before she secured the piece of cloth around her neck. Shaking her head profusely, the actress tried to give it back but Talia stopped her with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"But-"

"If you end up sick then it's all going to be my fault. Imagine the repercussions for the directors and everyone else here. Just thinking about that gives me a headache so just take it."

A pout was formed onto Emily's lips as she looked to Talia with flushed cheeks. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine. I have my jacket to warm me up. Speaking of which, where is yours? Emily, do you want to die of hypothermia?"

The accused grinned sheepishly.

"I forgot it in the car earlier when we arrived on set. Not my fault – I didn't think it would be this cold even with this sweater on."

"That sweater's awfully thin Emily."

She had a point.

It didn't do anything against the chill surrounding them.

The snow was falling lightly in the dawn of the day. They were like little white grains of sugar that melted as they came into contact with the earthy ground. When she was younger, Emily would stick her tongue out and collect them in her mouth. Her grandfather used to scold her strongly about the effects of the components of the snow. He always said only God knew the kind of diseases one could catch from it whilst pulling her in from the chilly weather.

The sulky little girl would end up outside playing in the backyard once again, her face adorned by a blissful grin the minute Chelsea had returned home from school – much to her enjoyment.

That only made her grandfather's face darken with a concerning red. His head would remind her of those cartoon characters' who had reached their limits, ears producing steam out of pure anger.

It was always a sight to behold.

It was funny because her grandmother would have the opposite reaction to her husband. She'd be apart of the entire mess they'd make in the yard after building and re-building a snowman. Her face was never more youthful than it was in that moment; admirably pink with joy and cheeks generating a broad grin. One could hear her laughter from inside the mansion and maybe that was why her husband tend to linger by the window sill despite his objections.

When all three of them had entered the house with a trail of white dirt behind and their faces as red as Rudolph's nose, Emily could remember how his cheeks had struggled to not raise in amusement. His eyes could never tell a fib to her though. Expressive round orbs which shined with love, the wrinkles at the sides turning upwards as if they were smiling at their expenses.

She felt her heart tightening painfully within her chest at the fond memory.

Oh, how Emily missed her grandparents terribly.

They had been very brutal with their treatment towards her for leaving her parents' house, even more so than the acting industry.

You see, they were untiring advocates for unity within a family. Both of them were firm on the stance that it was important to have a strong relationship among each other no matter what. So when Emily trampled all over their traditional dogmas in which they were pleaders towards the saying ‘blood is thicker than water’, they were inexplicably upset and disappointed in her.

To make matters worse, she never gave them the explanation they wanted from her, but she was glad she didn't back then. It would've only caused them more disappointment because of how incomprehensible it would've been from their perspectives.

Nobody but her could understand what she was going through at that time.

Sometimes the pain could only be kept inside and not shared. Because if it was, it would cause more damage than good.

The real her behind the smiling mask, if she was to reveal that person, it would have been more disastrous than her sudden departure.

As much as she hated Jake and what he did to her, she didn't regret her decision of getting involved with him the more she thought about it. She had learned so much from him, despite all the pain. Emily decided to take the three years with him as a lesson learnt and will not fear to be seen in the future. She will become the version of herself that makes her the most proud.

Back then, she had adapted to acting with everything, wanting to give her entire life to it. Dedicate her soul. But as she kept doing that, she couldn't bear the storm inside her heart.

Truthfully, she was still scared, but she has to keep going. It's now become a must to meet the version of herself hidden in the storm.

Because it was the one she needed to love.

"Stay right here. I'll go and grab your jacket."

Talia's words sounded as if she was above water, shouting out to her and Emily was still down below, lost in her thoughts. It was all muffled. She was drowning in her memories.

She didn't notice anything as she felt the young actress from the other day, Adrianna, came and stood beside her.

Even then, Emily didn't acknowledge her until she grasped her arm, unnecessarily strong at that, and made her look at her.

"Emily, did you hear what I just said?"

The reminiscent woman held her head as if she was the victim of a bad migraine.

"Um…no. Could you please go over it again?"

"I said, the makeup and costume staff told me to tell you to be on standby. They said they'll start prepping you in twenty minutes."

"O-Okay."

She was still feeling light-headed.

Adrianna looked up at her with seemingly worried eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Emily snapped all too quickly.

"You look very pale though. Is it because of the harsh weather? Or because it's too early and you haven't awoken as yet?"

"Adrianna," Emily sighed, trying not to sound out her growing annoyance, "I'm fine."

The young girl seemed to get the message as she nodded slowly.

Emily looked down at her arm, silently telling her to let go.

She did immediately.

Emily was at a distance in her strides before she felt someone grab her once more. She looked up.

It was Adrianna.

Again?!

"What-"

"I think you should try and have a nap before the shoot."

Emily folded her arms before her.

"Adrianna, what are you saying?"

"Just hear me out, okay? It would be best for your health and performance if you could calm down for a minute. I don't know what's wrong but you seem…troubled? I don't know. But it's obvious something's up. A nap in the trailer truck would do you some good right now. A little healing time."

The idea was tempting.

Notwithstanding her desires, Emily didn't want to welcome the thought of slacking off before shoots. She preferred to run through her lines and practice key facial expressions. This was to ensure that she wasn't lacking in any aspects before the cameras started rolling.

However, she wasn't feeling like herself.

Homesickness?

She had no clue.

It had been years since she had been living on her own, but after meeting her mother back in Los Angeles, she felt something change inside her. As if her heart had been found to be broken in half all this time, longing for the place she once called home. She came to the terms recently that Nicholas was now her new home, more than anywhere else, but she still wanted, no needed, the original.

All these remembrances were not helping her case either.

It seemed like she was going to end up making that visit she had promised her mother earlier than she intended.

"I'll be bloated if I fall asleep." The woman argued weakly.

"You won't. It'll only be fifteen minutes. No more, no less. I'll even wake you if you're not up by the time I'm back with five minutes to spare." Adrianna reassured, a mouth-splitting grin on her face.

Her senior was wary of her intentions.

Since day one, Adrianna had been unnervingly nice to Emily.

However, the woman tried to shake her suspicions.

Not everyone was as evil as Jake.

Emily had to give others the benefit of the doubt until they proved her wrong.

Innocent until proven guilty right?

Emily sighed and gave her a stern look.

"Five minutes before, okay?"

She practically squealed.

"Okay! Five minutes. I'm so glad you decided to put your health first. Working hard is great and everything, but what's the point when you're in terrible conditions physically, mentally and emotionally?" The inky haired girl rambled as she walked in step with Emily as they made their way to the trailer truck that was unusually a bit far off set.

Emily couldn't argue with what she was saying.

She also valued her health immensely.

Personal space and a sense of privacy in between getting the job done, the actors' luxurious on-set trailer did all of that with a massive living room for watching TV, a kitchen big enough to make a family meal, and a master bedroom where someone could sneak in a nap.

The 48-foot-long trailer was featured on Celebrity Motor Homes, Adrianna had bragged, as if it was owned by her and not the production manger.

The thing was a stand out for its sheer size.

As Emily took a seat on the small recliner that was the size of a college dormroom's bed, she held Adrianna with a firm gaze. "Give me your phone."

The new actress' eyes tore open in fear, her pupils shaking.

"W-Why?"

"For me to set an alarm in case you forget about me being inside here."

Adrianna laughed as if what she had said the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"How can I forget about you? YOU’RE THE MAIN STAR!"

Regardless of that fact, Emily went to take out her own phone and go on the alarm app to set it for herself. She couldn't find it though, and then remembered it was left in her jacket –  the one that Talia had gone in search for.

"What are you looking for?"

"My phone. I was going to set an alarm with it but turns out I left it outside." Emily said distractedly, missing the glint in the girl's eyes as she threw her feet off the recliner to stand up.

"Okay! Okay! I'll set the stupid alarm!" She fished out her phone and quickly set the alarm before showing it to Emily.

"Thank you." Emily smiled even though she didn't like her choice of words.

"No problem. Now, go and sleep. You have less than thirteen minutes now."

Emily chuckled and shuffled onto the tiny bed after kicking off her shoes.

Just as her eyes fluttered shut, she heard Adrianna leave.

For a small small moment she swore  the subtle sound of a lock clicking hit her ears, but fatigue had already overshadowed her paranoia.

• • •

The darkness of the film site was a gloom that permeated every aspect of script and plot. Clouds loomed in the sky, every shade of monochrome from sliver to storm grey, leaving gaps only for the black night. 

For a moment, the only movement was the shuffling of Emily's body, still half-asleep.

However, her eyes flew open upon the sudden cognizance towards her surroundings that flooded her mind.

Drowsy and uncoordinated, she shot up off the recliner of the trailer. The temperature had dropped to an unbearably degree, and as a result, her arms cradled her shivering body. Her feet carried her to the door and she pried it open with her hands only to find that it...wouldn't open.

Emily's eyebrows protruded with confusion washing over her like a tidal wave.

Her attempts to open the door grew more aggressive and frantic as the minutes went by. Her breathing was shallower than before as she realized that it wouldn't budge.

As an alternative, her legs carried her over to the broad, semi-transparent windows to the side where she pulled the curtains away to take a look outside.

She felt her jaw drop in surprise.

It was already night.

Not an evening that had come forth due to the seamlessly impatient hands of time, but a dark night which was at the hour where you started getting ready for bed. Or already snoring away beneath the sheets.

An incomparable sense of panic crawled up the disbelieving woman's spine.

How long had I been sleeping inside here?

Dreading the actual answer, Emily found herself sitting back onto the recliner with her head in her hands.

From what she could see, there was nobody outside anymore.

The crew had packed up and left along with everyone else, leaving her all alone in the trailer. They must've left the vehicle on set, not bothering to move it because there would an early shoot again tomorrow and the area was private anyway.

But how unfortunate could she be that not a single soul had come looking for her?

That nobody stepped a foot inside the trailer all day.

Her hands balled into a tight fist as she remembered how insistent that Adrianna girl had been about coming back to wake her.

A sick feeling lurched itself inside Emily's stomach.

She had felt it before it had happened.

Deep down, a part of her had foreseen this situation she was currently stuck in. Both figuratively and literally.

Maybe not that she'd be abandoned in the trailer, nevertheless something similar, like missing her scenes.

Well, she could strike both of them off her unwelcomed bucket list today.

Releasing a sigh, the actress ran a hand through her messy hair as she thought about the fact that she'd be trapped inside here for the whole night.

Admittedly, it was her fault for not being more preventative despite having a hunch of this awful predicament.

Her mind rewound to earlier in the week. It was when there had been constant signs making their appearances which held a promise of something unfavourable happening in the future. Much like the shattering of the glass of wine she had been a victim to the other day.

Is this it? Emily thought apprehensively. The unfavourable happening?

Surely, there could be nothing more awful than being stuck inside a luxurious on-set trailer, a sarcastic fragment of her mind added.

She couldn't be humored like she normally would because it was a serious issue.

Not only had she missed her scenes to film today and would be delaying the production team as a consequence, she would be worrying Nicholas who was probably at home waiting on her arrival.

Letting her imagination run wild about what his expression will entail as the night continued to grow darker and she hadn't returned home as yet, it was like holding a knife at her throat.

Emily could no longer breathe.

How worried he was going to be made her feel like the most godawful person on the planet.

She started pacing the length of the room as she bit down on her fingernails.

If only she had her phone...

Talia!

Her manager must be worried sick as well. She had gone to retrieve her jacket, but ended up not seeing the sight of Emily for the rest of the day.

Her self-blame was going to be massive this time around.

Emily saw it coming from a mile away – this malevolence that lingered in the air surrounding her all week. She found herself having self-deprecating thoughts for her recklessness in stopping its victory over her.

Her rebukes towards her stupidity transitioned to a feeling of suspicion aimed at a certain newbie actress.

Emily plopped down onto the big bed vertically opposite to her. She couldn't shake the feelings of a sense of confirmation. Giving Adrianna the benefit of the doubt despite her odd tendencies and clingy nature was something Emily had been working on.

But now that was completely torn to shreds.

The girl had given Emily a reason that was necessary to garner the raising of both eyebrows in judgement.

She could no longer trust Adrianna.

Behind her sunshine smile and positive attitude, there was something fraught with danger and deceit.

While she rolled over onto her side, Emily's eyes narrowed in a retrospective thought.

I'm going to have to play my cards wisely when dealing with this one.

***

Good night. Sleep tight. Let the bed bugs bite.