The Other Side - Chapter 43

"The Other Side - Chapter 42" 

Jacob sighed as he listened to his sister. As much as she loved her, right now he kind of wanted to throttle her neck.

"Look, Karlee, you'll get my answer, ok?"

She shook her head. "I know this is a hard decision for you, but Jake if you don't know now how are you going to know before midnight, hu? You have to let me know before midnight so I can tell them when they call me at 12:01 whether you will be signing or not..."

Jake ran his fingers through his hair. "Karlee, I'll know because I'll have to know! Now please, just... let me think..."

Karlee held up her hands in defense. "Ok, kiddo. I'll let you be." She leaned in to give him a spontaneous hug. "If you... need some help or something don't be afraid to ask. I don't know how much help I can be but I'll certainly try, you know that."

Jake nodded. "Yeah I do. Thanks Sis." With that she exited his trailer. Jake sighed as he flopped down on the couch. Karlee was right. How could he decide within the next seven hours if he didn't know now?

The telephone call to Becky had made a world of difference - because of her reaction Jacob felt like the world was not at an end, that he could finally release himself from this life. But... the thing was people like him don't just walk away from Hollywood and expect it to be the end. His leaving would create an uproar of the worst kind. Was that something he really wanted to deal with? He was a teenage star, the buzz around him would go down in a few years, he was sure, and then maybe he could just walk away quietly...

Jake grabbed a soda out of the fridge and popped the top. He guessed he knew what he would be doing for the next seven hours. Thinking and making an old fashioned pro/con list - complete with point values for each entry.

-----

Jim took off his cape with one hand and picked up the phone in his hotel room with the other. He had just gotten back into the room, and wanted to hear from Delany. The director had called time on the filming earlier than expected, which Jim took as a blessing. It was final day for the actors, but he as a gopher would probably be around for a while later, doing more with the film editing and whatnot.

Jim dialed the familiar number for home, and flopped down onto his bed. It was time to figure out where that Becky girl was. Little did he know, she was just a few miles away.
---

Becky hated it when the rain was too heavy for the lowest wiper setting, but too light for the next one up. She could never decide if she would rather squint through a constant sheen on her windshield, or deal with the horrible screeching noise of too-dry wipers.

She went for the squint, even if it did aggravate her eye. By the time she was in New York it had stopped throbbing, but was noticeably swollen. Becky felt a wave of self-consciousness go over her as she turned down a street, following AAA's over-the-phone directions. She was actually here, that spontaneity Lynn was always talking about had returned full force, but now what was she supposed to do? Especially with an egg protruding out of the side of her face?

Becky imagined the scene in front of her. "Hi Jacob! Nice to see you again. My boyfriend beat me, so I decided to come crawling back to you. Sound good? Great! Let's go back to Africa!"

Becky smirked. Even if the faux conversation was ridiculous it helped to ease her nervousness. Any conversation they were going to have would be better than that, she was sure. Unless he rejected her... but she refused to think about that. She was here in New York to finally see Jacob Jones again and to... somehow... ask for forgiveness. Somewhere along her drive (right along the border maybe?) she realized that even if he didn't take her right into his arms again, she would be ok. She needed to put that horrible ending to Africa behind her - and this was the way she would do it.

She turned the car down the appropriate street and felt her heart stop in her chest. This was it. This was the place. She pulled into a parallel space right in front of the building. She felt her heart soar. This is fate. I just found a parking space in New York City. I am supposed to be here. Becky stepped out of her car and ran to the meter. Ignoring the misting rain, she dug into her coin purse and fished out a couple hours worth of time. When she got to the front doors of the studio building they opened for her and she was greeted by a security guard's face.

"You need a pass to come in here, Love." The man was obviously near retirement. He reminded Becky of her kindly old grandfather, except for the slight glint in his eye that told her he had been kicking butt for 40 years and could still do it, if need be.

"Right... um... I don't have one." Becky bit her lip. For all the thinking she did on the way here, she didn't for one second wonder how she was going to see the famous movie star.

The old man shook his head. "Then, I'm sorry, you'll just have to -"

She shook her head. That wasn't an option for her. "But I have to get in. I have to see Jacob Jones."

The security guard raised one eyebrow and coughed. "I see, one of those - listen, you can get his P.O. Box number in Hollywood and -"

Becky cut him off once again, a smirk playing across her face. "Oh, I've already done that." She giggled a little at his expression. "The thing is that Jacob knows me. I promise I'm not some crazy stalker. Maybe... could you tell him that I'm here? I promise that he'll want to see me."

The guard looked at her for a moment longer, lingering on the swollen side of her face, before finally allowing her into the building. "I suppose we can try. At the very least I can let you stand out of the rain." He grabbed at the radio on his side.

"Hey - umm... there's a gal here who wants to see Jacob Jones. She says that he knows her. If someone is near Karlee..."

Becky felt her knees start to shake. Karlee, she recognized that name. It was Jacob's sister. Would she let Becky through? If Jacob was really messed up about her maybe Karlee wouldn't want her interfering...

The radio crackled. "No problem, Pete, I'll grab her."

Another series of crackles and then a woman's voice came to Becky's ears. Her response sounded important and slightly irritated. "A girl is here to see him, you say? Ha, what's new. What's the name?"

Pete, the security guard, pushed the button on the side and held the mouthpiece to Becky.

"Becky. My name is Becky."

There was silence on the other end. When Karlee responded, her voice had completely changed, soft and awed. "One second, Pete. I'll be right there."

Pete nodded to the radio and then looked at Becky in a whole new way. "Well, what do you know! Not very many teenage gals like you get to walk in and see the famous movie star, you sure are lucky!" He chuckled and then returned to his chair beside the door. Becky could hardly respond, simply nodding to his comment. Her mind replayed the image of Jacob in his mud soaked car in Sierra Leone. Suddenly, her heart started racing in her chest. It occurred to her that she had no idea who he was. She knew Jacob as a boy chasing after her in Africa, someone with whom she danced in the rain and took to her favorite off-beat restaurant.

But I'm in his territory now... What would she think of Jacob the movie star? What would he think of Becky the civilian? Suddenly, her thoughts and fears on thier last day togethr came back full force. They were worlds apart. They were different people. How they had somehow found a level playing field in Sierra Leone she would never know...

Becky saw Karlee approaching from across the lobby of the studio building which she had entered. It didn't take her long to distinguish the woman as Jacob's sister - her stature and even the way she walked was similar to that of Jacob's. Becky shook her head, trying to push away her fear. It was too late to turn back now.

Karlee stopped a good few feet away from Becky, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, I'll be. You really are as beautiful as Jacob says you are." Becky flushed to the compliment. "But it looks like you got banged around a little."

Becky looked down at the floor. "It's partly why I'm here. I'm... sorry. I guess I don't know why I'm here. I just need to see him. Although, now I'm starting to regret it..."

Karlee put her arm around Becky's shoulder and led her off to the side of the lobby door. "I know he doesn't."

Becky's heart caught in her chest, the words giving her hope. Karlee had to have known that wasn't what Becky meant, but... "Thank you so much."

Her thoughts whirred as she followed Karlee, walking double-time to keep in pace with Karlee's long, important strides. Desperately, Becky tried to run her fingers through her wavy, damp hair before giving up. It was no use; Jacob would just have to take her as she was. Oh, she hoped he would take her as she was. Please, please take me as I am...

Becky barely paid attention to any of the things she passed. She had no recollection of how she got there, or how long they had been walking, when suddenly Karlee stopped. Becky suddenly realized that she was actually outside, standing beside a trailer which obviously housed the movie star. A sudden wave of sheer panic came over Becky. She turned to Karlee, about to tell her that she wasn't ready, that she had to rehearse what she was going to say - but it was too late. Karlee gave her a nod, pounded on the door, and then walked away.

Becky held her breath.

---

Jake paced the length of his trailer. So he had made his pro/con list and it was almost completely in favor of pro - him leaving the business. That is, except for the thing he wrote in big capital letters at the bottom of the con section...

GUTS - 50.

He simply didn't have the balls to do it. He couldn't face the media and tell them he would rather be taking photographs. The questions they would ask! He couldn't even make Melissa believe that they were completely over – how could he convince the industry? And afterwards, what would he do? The fact was that when Jake was in Africa he thought he could do it because he had Becky to support him. Now, it was just himself. Karlee would support him as much as she could but, frankly, he needed someone stronger than that. He just can’t pull himself out of the quicksand he had stepped into on his own. He just couldn't do it. Jake sighed as there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." He mumbled, then instantly regretted it. He plopped down on his sofa and put his head in his hands. If it was Melissa trying to repair their relationship then she was never going to leave and then how was he supposed come up with anything? The door opened and he heard feet step into the room, but no words were said. Yup. Definitely Melissa. She was probably mad he wasn't standing and ready to greet her.

Jacob spoke to his toes. "Listen, Lissa, I have...something really big that I'm working on and I just don't have the time to talk -"

"I already said that you can leave, Jake."

Jake's head snapped up. He knew that voice, it sang to him like the songs they danced to in the club in Sierra Leone, like the sound of the beach where he dropped that bottle... "Becky." His voice came out as a whisper.

"Hi." Becky said, just as softly. She stood in the doorway, shifting her weight awkwardly. How could she be there? What was she doing there? He was having a hallucination, some kind of crazy delusion. He had finally gone nuts. Jacob wanted her there so much that she finally just appeared in his imagination. All he could do was stare at her. She had to be a part of his imagination, she just had to be. She looked like she did on that first day. She was wearing a khaki skirt, and a red sweater and the way her hair was damp from the rain...

Slowly, he stood up. Becky bit her lip. "I know that I should have... I mean... for me to just come in like this is..."

Jake finally found his voice. "Why - why are you here? I -"

"I just... I just started driving. We've been so stupid Jake - oh, what am I talking about? I've been so stupid." Her eyes were clouded with tears. "I feel so stupid just standing here in front of you, after I pushed you away so hard. I feel like a horrible person. But when you called me this morning... well, I didn't realize it but it was just what I needed. I even... I even found a picture of us together, Jacob, on that safari tour we took. We were really happy Jake, I know you know it, but I somehow was willing to throw that away. I thought it would be too hard, to be with someone like you. Someone whose life was so different than my own..." Becky took a deep breath, as if the confession had used up the last of the air in the room. Becky turned her head a little to hide her embarrassment.

Jake just stared at her figure in the door, letting her voice flow over him like a waterfall. It had been so long... desperately, he tried to reply. There was so much he wanted to say. "I never meant for my phone call to bring you here, I didn't want to turn your life upside down... again. But don't get me wrong - you being here has made me so happy..." Suddenly he noticed the disfiguration of her face. "Oh my god, Becky, what happened to you?"

Becky put her hand up to cover her cheek and eye. "Oh, it's nothing, I just..." Suddenly a different kind of tears filled her eyes. Jake got up from his position on the couch and walked over to her slowly, holding it breath. Jake gently took her hand into his.

"Becky -"

"I just started driving." Becky said, unable to stop the tears. "I just, I had to. I had no one to turn to where I was. I couldn't face the embarrassment. When... when I got hit... I just had to drive. I finally realized I had no reason to throw away something so wonderful. I have to say I'm sorry, Jake, I'm so sorry for everything..."

Jake was overflowed with emotions. Becky had to see him? After all this time? Becky was apologizing to him? But one thing stood out from the story. What did she mean by - "Becky, who hit you?"

Becky shook her head, casting her eyes downward. Jake ducked his head and peered up to catch her eyes. Her mouth opened but no words came out. Suddenly, Jacob knew and before he had a chance to think, Jake pulled her into his arms. His heart swelled when she didn't pull away, instead she leaned into him. Jacob tightened his grip on her.

Becky is in my arms. The overwhelming happiness that was flowing through him was dampened only by the sight of her swollen face. Without thinking, he softly kissed her left temple, wanting nothing more than to soothe her pain.

Becky pulled away from his chest, looking up into his eyes. "I feel like there's so much I should say. Some way for me to explain how scared I was when I saw that tabloid, when I decided that our lives were too different, when I convinced myself that you that you had to be evil and that your only intention was to harm me..."

Jacob searched her eyes with his own, taking her hands in his. He found himself unable to stop touching her now that he had started again. He never wanted to stop touching her. "I would never, ever intentionally harm you, Becky. Emotionally or... physically." He reached softly for her wounded face.

Her voice came as a whisper. "I know, Jake. I've always known it." Her words came out scattered as she fought to hold back her tears. "Jake...this morning you said... that I was the best thing. But you too...you were the best thing that ever happened to me. I want to go back to what I had in Africa. I don't want to be the person that I have been since I returned." Jacob's arms circled her body as he pulled her close to him.

Jacob was surprised to see a sudden smile on her face. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the tears. "I was so worried I wouldn't know what to say... but now I do. Your words can say it all." She looked deeply into her eyes, searching them, her heart catching as she realized they were still so familiar. "Please, Jacob. Take me back to the other side."

Jacob gently held her chin and captured her lips with his. He was thrown back to the dirt roads leading to Becky's house, to the wooden docks where they sat and watched the horizon, to the small, deceiving restaurant where they ate together, to the hotel where they danced, in more ways than one.

He was thrown back to the happiness he thought he had lost forever, and he was never letting her go again.

"The Other Side - Epilouge" 

Madame