Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“Yep, so did Austin. A hugely talented actor that wasn’t cut out for the harsh reality of the celebrity lifestyle. I always thought I was clingin’ to Austin for my happiness while layin’ down all these rules about what we did and how we did it. But it was really Austin hangin’ on to me. I’m grounded and stuck to my land. My roots are deep. I didn’t ever want to leave it. Austin needed me to be that way. That was a mindfuck to get past.”
I nodded, listening intently, feeling like I was getting to that same understanding between Slade and me. I glanced around, checking on Pepper. Whiskey was there with him, munching on the grass at their feet. “I guess that’s where I’m at. I know all the things he’s said are truthful. But if I give him too much space, will he eventually end contact with me for whatever reasons he’s made by in his mind in all this chaos.”
“He needs to get back here,” Kitt said, angling his pole to send the hook flying into the water. “Who’d’ve thought they’d can him? Austin’s shocked, but he also sees a new entertainment industry formin’ that doesn’t value the actor. They see ’em as a dime a dozen these days. It’s why the quality of film has diminished…”
“Titan’s fired him?” I asked, my gaze clashing with Kitt’s. I couldn’t contain my shock. “When did they do that?”
“A couple of days ago, I think. Austin picked it up on his news feed. Both the studio and Slade released statements sayin’ it was a joint decision to give Slade time to deal with his life. Somethin’ like that. No one told you?”
“No. That’s the problem. He’s tryin’ to shield me. I don’t want that.” I had agreed to it when he’d originally left, thinking it’d be easier, but not knowing what was going on was clearly not helping.
Kitt was such an easy guy to be around. He spoke of these dire topics with casual ease. “He needs to let that go, remember y’all’s dreams.”
I let my line swing until the hook and bait plopped into the water. “Social media isn’t real.” My guy needed to remember that. No, he had to stop believing any of it mattered.
“But it’s real in their world,” Kitt added.
I didn’t like to hear that one bit. “Has it been bad for him online?”
“Don’t know,” Kitt said, slowly reeling his line back to him. “But it can’t be good on his ego. Actors like to be liked in an industry full of asshole critics.”
“Slade’s sensitive,” I murmured, now afraid Slade was hurting with no one there to help him through it. “Should I go there? I feel like I should.”
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea. You’re potentially puttin’ yourself out for the public to see. What does that look like for you?” Kitt suddenly jerked his rod up and back, hooking a fish, water droplets spraying over the otherwise calm surface of the water.
At least now I knew there were fish in the pond. I’d not known for sure until that moment.
“I don’t care. I really don’t. I like the bubble we created. Nothin’s penetrated it. Slade managed to live here every summer for years and no one bothered him. Man, I feel bad for him. I know he didn’t think Titan’s would fire him. He was afraid they wouldn’t let him out of his contract,” I said, drawing my line in as Kitt did the quick work of unhooking the fish and carefully tossing it back in the water.
“Good. Then you’re where Austin was when we went through it,” Kitt said, and baited his line again. “I think I did a better job at hidin’ my uncertainty than Slade’s doing, but I had other things in play against me. Without Austin, I’d likely have lost everything.”
I didn’t understand and waited for further explanation until he tossed his line back in the water. After several long seconds, I decided he wasn’t going to say more, so I changed the subject. “Did you hear that my lawyer’s gettin' an apology for me from the Dunn family?”
“That’s great news. That’ll help settle all this down,” Kitt said, slowly reeling the line back to the pole.
“I also took your advice. When the news first broke, I started an Instagram account and a YouTube account. I linked a donation option. We’re pulling in lots of new money,” I said and cast my line again.
“Way to turn lemons into lemonade,” Kitt said, grinning broadly, his gaze trained on the water.
“I was doin’ raw videos. They were super low-quality but that didn’t seem to matter,” I said, remembering those first videos. I’d had no idea what I was doing.
“Are you watchin’ the comments?” Kitt asked.
“Fuck no. Nobody even had to tell me not to watch them, but I’m sure followin’ the money. Tommy told me they’ll pay for views too. My followers are growin’ every minute. It’s good,” I said as I reared back to cast my line again, watching the hook fly through the air before hitting the water.