Junior Year Box Set

She looked at me and saw I was really torn about what to do.

“You know what? Your uncle caused this mess; he can fix it,” Mom said, and got up and took me into the office.

She put the phone on speaker and dialed Uncle John’s number.

“This is John.”

“Hey, your youngest nephew has a moral dilemma. He says you caused it, so you get to fix it,” Mom said.

I expected her to leave the room while I talked to my uncle, but I think she sensed some juicy gossip, so she didn’t.

“Hey, Uncle John, it’s David.”

“What’s going on?”

“Remember when we talked about being a man of your word? Are there exceptions to the rule?” I asked.

“Yes. If you’re talking to your mom, dad, or me, you can tell us anything,” he said.

“That sounds like something you’d tell me when I was six to get me to confess to something.”

“Maybe,” he answered.

“I don’t have a lot of patience right now. Just spit it out, already,” Mom ordered.

“If I tell you guys this, do you promise not to let it go beyond us?” I asked.

“No,” they both said at the same time.

“You do realize it’s stuff like this that makes me crazy?” I asked.

“Tell us, or I’ll let your mom loose on you,” Uncle John threatened.

“Angie told me the reason she told the press about me was that she secretly thinks she picked the wrong brother to be with.”

Both Mom and Uncle John started to laugh.

“I call bullshit,” Uncle John said.

“Was she trying to justify what she did?” Mom asked.

“Yes, but there’s more: Angie told me she got pregnant with Kyle on purpose,” I said.

That sobered them both up. I spent the next forty-five minutes being interrogated by my uncle and mom. Dad came home, and Mom kicked me out of the office. I wanted to hear what had happened with Phil but thought better of it when Mom gave me a look.

I was actually glad they made me tell them. Well, that was my story, and I would stick to it.

◊◊◊

I watched Hollywood Central, and they had a woman on named Bridget Anderson who turned out to be the woman I had kept away from Rachel this morning. She explained how I had tried to attack her with a deadly weapon. There was absolutely no mention of her grabbing Rachel, and the video only showed me with my Bo staff under her chin. It turned out Bridget Anderson was the head of a women’s organization that wanted to be the voice for women who had been sexually assaulted by athletes.

I called Frank Ingram and told him what had happened. I got chastised for not telling him sooner. I wondered how many lessons I would learn this week. I needed my own film crew to follow me around for stuff like this.

◊◊◊

I drove to Halle’s house and found that she wasn’t there. Rita was the one that wanted to talk to me, and it looked like she wanted to do it without anyone else around. It was still hard for me to believe that I knew her. While Adrienne had been a fantasy of mine forever, Rita was different. She just seemed unattainable, for some reason. I’m not sure I could even explain why. The reality differed quite a lot from what I had created in my mind. Rita was very approachable, and all the wonderful qualities that came across in her movies were there in real life.

She led me to the living room and had tea ready. A hot cup of tea somehow felt right.

“How’s your first scandal going?” she asked.

“You make it sound like I’ll have many more.”

“David, it’s the nature of the business. I’ll say you picked a particularly nasty one to be your first. What you need to keep in mind is that eventually, this will be behind you.”

“My uncle says it’s part of growing up,” I said.

“Unfortunately, he isn’t too far off the mark,” Rita said and looked sad. “You’re lucky it’s happening now.”

I scoffed.

“I don’t feel lucky.”

“Okay, imagine this: your first movie’s in theaters, and you’re in Hollywood doing your press tours when this is announced. Instead of having your friends and family around you, and the support of the local press, you’re now laid bare before an international audience. That was what happened to me when it was leaked I was pregnant with Trip,” she said.

“You were about my age,” I stated, and thought about what she must have gone through.

“Fame is a double-edged sword. You can either rise up and face the challenge or let it slowly tear you apart. I’ve talked to Frank, and we have some ideas on how we can help you get past this when we get you to LA. That is, if you’re willing to be seen with an old lady like me?” Rita said with a mischievous grin.

“I wouldn’t have to date you or anything,” I said with a mock pout, and then brightened. “I’d be willing to do the whole Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore routine if I had to.”

I actually saw Rita James shoot hot tea out of her nose.

“Warn me if you’re going to say something like that again,” she said, as she got up to go get a towel.

“Do you think we should tell the kids together, or do you want to do it alone?” I asked.