Eye of the Tiger // Survivor

Ten seconds of stilted silence pass before anyone makes a move. Then Ryan, the tipsy guy at the table, says something ridiculous to break the tension.

"I never said you were a Curt replacement!" Ryan says loudly, not quite a yell but close to it.

"Yeah, you did. He told me after you pulled him aside at the court appearance last month." Seth says.

"Is that why he's been a little bitch? I never said he was a replacement. I said he was no Jason Newsted."

Seth gives Ryan a look. "The former bass player from Metallica? What the hell does that mean? Jace is our drummer. And we don't play thrash metal."

Ryan puts his head in his hands, shaking back and forth in tipsy exaggeration. "Newsted was a replacement for Clint, who died. The guy never gelled. They resented that they even had to hire him. He was an outsider even when they were hitting platinum status. Jace isn't a replacement. He's the one. You understand what I'm saying? No Jace, No C1. We're just a second-rate garage band without him."

Seth looks back at Alex before dropping his head. "Why the hell haven't you said that to him? The kid is here thinking you hate him no matter how many times I tell him the opposite. Go say all that to him."

Ryan groans. "This dinner better be worth the drama it's costing me."

"The drama is from the shots you knocked back before we came."

Ryan shoots a pointed finger at Seth without even turning back to look at him. "That we can blame on Curt. The a-hole put me in a mood."

Ryan disappears down a stairway looking for Jace while the rest of us sit in more stunned silence.

"Well, that was unnecessary." The woman I don't know speaks from the end of the dinner table after Zack follows the girls out.

"Misty." The guy she came with reacts in a warning tone. Clinton groans. The C1 guys lean back and let the next show play out, not a care in the world written on their faces.

"What? It's what we're all thinking." She throws her hands up.

"Frank, if you ignore it, will it go away?" Clinton asks with a shake of his head.

"Pshaw," the woman, Misty, brushes him off. "As if he could get rid of me. The man needs me to figure out all the unsolved cases."

This time Frank groans.

"Um...what's going on?" I lean forward, not sure I should even be asking.

Clinton points to Frank. "This is my brother Frank, a homicide detective, and his girlfriend, Misty."

"Girlfriend is code for full on clinger," Frank says, earning an eye roll from Misty.

"Keep telling yourself that, babe. I know feelings aren't your jam." Misty leans forward to look at me directly. "I'm the answer to his prayers, cause the man wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hades to solve a crime without me." She brings a hand to her mouth in mock whisper. "He tries real hard, though."

"I'll show you hard," Frank smirks.

"For fucks sake, keep your creepy foreplay behind closed doors. My kid is right here." Clinton's already covering his daughter's ears.

"I'll take her to the bathroom while this gets...worked out." The woman I've assumed is his ex stands to lead the kid out of the restaurant.

What a shit show.

"What I'm wondering-" Misty starts but gets cut off when Frank covers her mouth with his hand.

"Ew!" He shouts seconds later, pulling his hand back and wiping it vigorously on his napkin. "God, every time."

"If you wouldn't put your hand over my mouth outside of the bedroom, you wouldn't be covered in my saliva in places you don't want to be covered."

"Oh my God." Clinton covers his face, then his ears, then squeezes his eyes shut. "Make it stop."

My eyes wide and jaw dropped, I survey the craziness surrounding me. Most of the crew that had been invited to Brianna's 'family' dinner got up to leave when she did. The shit show that's left is a select few, those of us with more personal ties. Other than this Frank and Misty couple that only seem to have ties with Clinton.

"What I was trying to say," Misty starts again, having leaned out of Franks reach and looking right at me. "Why are you still sitting here?"

"Um...uh..." I glance around. Good question. I start to get up. "Yeah I should just..." I say trying to excuse myself but my phone rings. Wondering if it's Zack or Char trying to get ahold of me, I pull it out to check but I see it's my agent calling. Perfect timing, as usual. I haven't heard from her in weeks.

"Sorry, it's my agent. Gotta take this."

Misty rolls her eyes and says something about everyone being an actor. I mean, she isn't wrong. There are a lot of us out there.

"Jacob, I'm so glad you answered. What is it with this generation not answering their phones? If I had a dime for every actor that sent me to voicemail..."

"Hey, Estelle, you know I'd never ignore your call." I cringe at how that sounded like a suck up, but it's the God's honest truth.

"So, news." Dramatic pause on her end. "The lead for that movie role backed out. Scheduling issues, wouldn't you know. If he were my client, I would have ironed that out a long time ago. Anyway, you're up. They want you on set in 48 hours. I'm sending a link and a passcode for the digital script. Get started on memorizing your lines."

What the fuck?

I look around the table, my jaw dropped and most of the eyes on me. It's the break I've been waiting for but I'm not jumping for joy at the news. I know why but don't know what to do about it.

"Okay, thanks. I'll get started."

"I'm also emailing you the details for location and set time, a contact for the film and your assistant's information."

My assistant? Suddenly I'm living in the Upside Down.

"Book your ticket ASAP. Put it on your card and send me the invoice. It's covered in your advance. If you need a hotel room to be closer to set, let your assistant know and she'll bill the production company."

I slowly sit back down as Estelle keeps talking. Eventually she stops bombarding me with details and hangs up. I'm not even sure I said goodbye.

What now? I look around, clearly shocked. I figure I might as well tell everyone the situation. Discretion might be a better idea but I can't think of reasons why it would.

"I got the role. The lead part in a feature film. The A-lister dropped out so they're giving it to me."

Silence follows my revelation for a few seconds before the accolades kick in. I'm still trying to let this sink in and be excited.

But...

I look to where Char disappeared knowing this is the absolute worst time to leave. She's just gotten to a good place with me, but this dinner party, the entire dramatic night, feels like a major setback.

It feels like I'm in a no-win situation. Clinton stands up. The look on his face tells me he understands my hesitation and shock.

"Do you or do you not care about her? Are you or are you not all in? You don't half ass it with a woman like Char."

"Of course, I care. Of course, I'm all in. But this beast of a dilemma is kicking me in the teeth. Who the fuck am I? No one. I have no power in this." I gesture toward Char's direction. By this, I'm referring to everything. Her, me, the Curt fiasco, this entire night, her feelings. Literally everything.

"What's that saying, 10% of life is what happens to you, 90% is how you react. Figure out how you need to react and then Do.That."

He's right. He's f-ing exactly right. I thought that's what I was already doing, making a choice to react by supporting Char. But I also realize that giving up this opportunity could be the biggest mistake ever.

"Listen, brother. The fact that you don't automatically have the answer is concerning." Clinton leans down closer and says directly into my ear. "You take the job. You haul ass to your woman and tell her your good news. You also lay out your feelings so there's no question about your standing before you go. You make a plan to move forward with her. And then you execute." Clinton slaps me on the back. "It's not a life sentence in prison or an open-ended job on the other side of the world. She's on tour. It will end. You're filming a movie. It will end. The relationship doesn't have to."

"Fuck you're right. I'm an idiot."

"Damn straight, I'm right. So, go."

I get up and do just that, hoping that Char will see things the way Clinton did.

***

I find her sitting on the beach in a turquoise Adirondack chair. The skirt of her dress is splayed across the seat. She's digging her toes in the sand having taken her sandals off. He gaze is over the horizon. The sun has long set, but the moonlight is glistening over top of the water. Diamonds winking at us again, just like the night of our date. I take it as a sign that everything will be alright.

There isn't a chair next to her, so I plop down on the sand, taking her by the hand. The fact that she lets me is another good sign.

"Are you okay?"

Char looks down at me. Her glowing face looks peaceful, but I know that could be deceiving.

"I am." She reaches for me, her small hand sliding into mine effortlessly. I'm instantly filled with relief.

"I should have followed you immediately, but I thought you might need a minute alone. I'm sorry it took me so long."

She nods, looking out onto the water. "Zack explained to both Bree and I what he meant. And you're right, I needed some time to breathe after that. But you're here now."

"You can talk to me. Tell me anything. Or nothing at all. I'm not going anywhere." The last word sits in my gut like a rock. Didn't I come out here to do just that? Tell her I'm leaving?

"There's really nothing more to say. Curt did a number on me and it's going to take time to recover. I feel responsible for the fallout." She looks over at me again. "He's ramped up his lawsuit with C1, specifically targeting Jace, because I served him with the divorce. He filed an official complaint against my brother 2 hours after he got my document. I found out right before I got here. I was waiting to tell you
after dinner was over but," she scoffs, "we never even ate."

"Zack is one hundred percent right. All of this, every part of it, is on Curt. It's messed up that he's upset about being served by you but punishing everyone else. There's something wrong with him, not you."

"It's hard to keep that mindset when everything around me is imploding."

My stomach sinks. I'm about to implode her, too. But like Clinton said, this is temporary. My silence must be telling because Char calls me out on it.

"What's wrong?" She leans over the arm of the chair to look at me. I stand up, pull her from her seat and switch places with her, pulling her onto my lap. When her arms wrap around my shoulders, I take a deep breath.

"I got a call a minute ago from my agent."

"And?"

"And they offered me the lead. The guy they had tapped for it bailed. I'm supposed to be on set day after tomorrow."

"What? Oh my gosh, Jacob, that's amazing!" Her arms pull me in closer, yet not as close as I want to be.

"Are you okay with me leaving?"

Char pulls in a lungful of air before sighing. "Yes. I'd rather have you with me, but you can't pass on this opportunity."

I kiss her, hard. My fingers itch to tangle through her hair but I don't want to mess up her do any more than the breeze already has.

I pull back. Char touches her forehead to mine.

"We've got this," I say.

"Totally."

"It's just for a few months."

"Right."

"I'll miss the hell out of you."

"Me, too."

"This part sucks."

"So bad."

I look Char in the eyes, feeling those three words deep down in my soul but not willing to say them as I'm headed out the door.

When I get back to her, however, all bets are off. I'll let those three words fly free.

More drama at the party, but I didn't feel like it was over yet. Jacob is hopping a plane back to Hollywood which means...some fun late night phone calls 😉

As for this song, it seemed perfect for the opening of this chapter. I love in the video how the band is so serious as they walk down the street in a V formation like a gang of bad asses, haha! Just the right level of cheesy for the Ryan/Seth exchange. Misty and Frank are right on par.

https://youtu.be/btPJPFnesV4

Loooooove eeeeeet!