The Other Side - Chapter 2

"The Other Side - Chapter 1" 

Jacob jerked up in the lumpy suite bed when he felt something big and heavy land next to him. Drowned in a sea of pressed linens, Jacob swam to the end of the bed, blinking in the bright light that flooded into the room from the enormous penthouse windows that overlooked the rolling Los Angeles hills, half hidden in a low smoggy fog.

"So what's up for today, Karlee?" he asked, his voice groggy.

Karlee Kensington turned around and tossed him some clothes. Her thick brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. Jacob's scowl increased. Of course she would be showered and ready to go at... whatever time it was in the morning.

"You should know better than anyone. I told you to look over this week's schedule." She shook her head and took a deep breath. She put her hands on her hips, looking the part of business woman in a pair of light brown dress pants and ivory button down shirt. "But I'm sure you didn't. Gosh, Jake. What am I, your personal slave? You know, I bet I'm the only joy you get out of being a movie star. Karlee this, Karlee that. Could you press my shirts? I forgot to send this one with the others. I know you don't have an iron. Just go out and buy one, I'll cover it. Could you pick me up a mocha cappuccino? Where's my..."

He rolled his eyes and moaned, running his fingers through his messy brown hair. "Why don't women come with a mute button nowadays?"

She took a deep breath, clearly trying not to explode. Jacob imagined steam spewing out from her ears and chuckled.

"You know, Jake. I should have thrown that fan mail at your face while you were sleeping. Maybe you would have suffocated. I swear, you are so harsh on women. If it weren't for us women, you wouldn't be here."

"Oh, so is that what so rudely awoke me from my beauty sleep?" Jacob asked as he rolled out of bed. He held back a laugh as he pulled on his pants. From the look on his sister's face, she was ready to slaughter him.

"Oh, come on, Sis. You know you love me. I'm your baby brother. And you promised Ma you would take care of me." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. She pushed him away, but he saw a slight twitch from the corner of her mouth. Quickly, he became sincere. "Karlee, I really appreciate all you do for me. If it weren't for you, I'd be lost. You are the greatest, most loving sister a kid could ever have. I love you for it all."

Karlee sighed and gave up. "I love you too... even when you do use your acting skills on me."

Damn, she was good.

"But I still say you need to find yourself a woman so she can take care of you instead of me." She then pushed him toward the bathroom. "And you need to brush your teeth."

Jacob laughed and willingly went into the pristine white bathroom. Jacob leaned toward one of the many mirrors in the room, rubbing at the brown stubble lining his jaw. He pushed aside the blonde-brown lock of hair that perpetually fell over his eyes and looked at himself harshly. It was the face of a movie star - lean manicured eyebrows, tight jawline, and his main drawing point - crisp, green eyes.

He dropped his gaze quickly and squeezed a blob of toothpaste onto his toothbrush. He had finished his bottom row of teeth before before turning his attention back to his sister. "You know it's not easy to find a girlfriend. You're the only woman in this world who isn't after my bank account." He slurred his words around his toothbrush.

"What did you say?" Karlee asked.

Jacob spat in the sink and rinsed his mouth. "I said you're lucky. You're twenty-four and married to your high school sweetheart. I'm nineteen, filthy rich, angry at myself for getting into this gig in the first place, and can't keep a friend. I can't even look in the mirror anymore. How pitiful is that?"

"Pretty pathetic, I'd say," Karlee responded. "Hurry up. I have room service coming up with breakfast. You have a huge bag of fan mail to go through and the show starts in three hours."

Jacob walked out of the bathroom and found his sister sitting on the bed, surrounded by a mountain of letters she had poured out of the gray mail bag. She was studying one plain envelope in particular. "Jake... when was the last time you told someone your real name was 'Kilmer'?"

He furrowed his brow. "What? Why?" Jacob took the letter and stared at it. The letter's return address was from Africa and it was addressed to Jacob 'Kilmer,' not 'Jones.' "I never tell anyone my real last name."

"Well, obviously one of your beloved fans found out."

There was a knock at the door. "Room service!"

Karlee walked over to the suite's entry way and opened the door. An army of girls pushed against it, beginning to scream "Jacob! Jacob!" She backed up against the door, shifting all her weight to keep out all the fans. Jacob dropped the letter, ran across the room and helped her wrestle the door closed.

"Jacob, please, just let me touch -" The lone voice was muffled by other similar cries that still came through the door.

Karlee tried to catch her breath, her back up against the wall next to the entrance. "Oh, my gosh. I will kill whoever let those girls into this hotel. Where are your bodyguards anyway?"

Jacob led the way back to the main room and flopped on the bed. "I told Dave and Chris to go take a break and get themselves a nice breakfast. I read my schedule last night and knew I wouldn't need them this morning because we were going through fan mail."

She grabbed her cell phone, ignoring his blatant attempt at brownie points, and dialed a number. "Well, I'm calling Chris and telling him to bring something back. I am not opening that door again."

As Karlee was busy on the phone, talking in fury to Chris and explaining the problem, Jacob glanced to the ground and picked up the African letter. His eyes roamed over it. Kilmer. Deep longing touched his soul. It had been a long time since he heard that name. But anyone who knew him then, before he was Jacobs, would know his personal post office box and wouldn't have sent it to the address listed in Teen Beat.

So who is this? Jacob flipped the envelope over; nothing unusual about it. He brought it up to his nose and sniffed. No perfume; that was a good sign.

Jacob glanced up as Karlee snapped the phone shut and growled at it. "Some things just don't work," she cried. "Chris should be along soon to clear out the herd." She gestured her head back to the door, and Jacob nodded. "Until then, we'd better get started on the fan mail." Karlee sighed and sat down on the bed beside Jacob. The commotion outside rose suddenly, and then became muffled once again.

He waved the letter in front of her face. "Do you think I should open this?"

"Well, yeah. Just be prepared for one of your most crazed fans." Fists pounded on the door and she smiled. "Other than those of course."

Jacob gave her a half smile and slowly pulled back the envelope flap, ignoring the nervous shake of his hands. He pulled out the plain piece of notebook paper and unfolded it as Karlee began to open a different letter. He read the first line.

Dear Jacob,
         I found your bottle.

His heart stopped. Jacob read the line again.

         I found your bottle.

All of a sudden his heart started again but at super speed. A sweat broke over him. He remembered that bottle. He remembered that whole night.

It was on one of his many shoots, on location just off the coast of someplace in Africa. He couldn't even remember the name. He was so desperate. Karlee hadn't been on the trip with him.

"What's wrong with you, Jones?" The director asked him after yet another take gone bad. "Can't you get anything right?"

Jacob put his hand to his face, trying to calm the throbbing headache. It was boiling hot and the director was a raving perfectionist. The other actors weren't even trying, but he was the star, and getting the brunt of all the critiques.

"Don't cover your face when I'm talking to you, boy!" He shouted, pulling his hand away. "Don't you get it? This has to be done; we don't have all the money in the world to keep this running whenever our little star here feels like working!" He sneered and Jacob glared.

He had wanted to storm out of there that very instant, but he couldn't. Contract. It had to be done. So he sucked it up and did it. That night he sat on the dock, writing. Why, Jacob didn't know. He just wrote and shoved the letter in the wine bottle he snagged from the kitchen - now empty - then set it off to sea.

I never expected anyone to find it, Jacob thought to himself, coming back from the memories. But someone had. He looked down again at the paper and, all of a sudden, noticed Karlee talking to him.

"...something the matter? Jake?" He looked over at his sister and shook his head. She didn't know about the bottle.

"No. It's nothing, nothing," Jacob said, shaking his head, but he couldn't take his eyes from the paper.

"Who is that from?" Karlee asked, suspicious now.

Jacob shrugged a little. "Just another fan."

----

"...A few more questions here. Jacob, everyone wants to know. You're nineteen. You're young, hot, an actor... how's your love life? Got a girl?"

Jacob pasted a smile to his face, looking at the overly tan woman across from him. Why did it feel like he'd done this same interview a million times? They were sitting in front of a faux garden backdrop in ridiculous white wicker chairs. He took a deep breath. "Ooh, that's a hard one. Normally, I'd say I can't tell you anything, but everyone knows when I say it, that means yes, so... no. Actually, I'm single and looking."

Meredith Underhill's jaw dropped, her drawn-on eyebrows rising dramatically. Her dyed platinum blonde hair was beginning to show her mouse-y brown roots. "Really? Last I heard, you and your co-star Melissa Ettison from Crazed With A Passion were dating."

Jacob nodded, anticipating the comment. All they ever wanted to know was about him and Melissa. "Yeah, that was a while back. We moved on."

"What does the alluring Jacob Jones look for in a woman?" Meredith read off a note card. "That's from Kendra T. from New York."

"Well..." Jacob shifted in his chair and flashed a stage smile.

Backstage, Karlee was sipping some coffee and watching the show on the monitors. She sighed as Jacob went through his long list of what he wanted in a woman, including what color of nail polish she should wear. Karlee knew Jacob only did it to annoy the show hosts. They hated it when a guest rambled. But Karlee didn't think this was working. Meredith just sat there, nodding and batting her fake eyelashes.

Her cell phone vibrated. Karlee rolled her eyes and set her coffee down on the table full of snacks and props for later in the show. Being her little brother's schedule coordinator was not easy. Ever since their mother died, it seemed to be even harder. Carla Kilmer passed of breast cancer just two years prior and, by her bedside, Karlee swore to make sure Jacob didn't get off on the wrong foot.

It's not that Karlee regretted it. She loved her brother; she would've been stuck with the job sooner or later. It was a nice job but too many phone calls.

"Karlee Kensington here."

"He's doing it again."

She grinned at the familiar voice. She picked her coffee back up and walked further backstage, stepping over cords and wires, making sure she didn't disrupt the taping. "Well... Meredith asked for details, didn't she? I miss you."

"I miss you too, sweetie. Um, sorry, but Teen People wants another photo shoot in October. They misplaced your number, so... hey, they're giving him the cover."

Karlee took a deep breath, leaning against the cool painted black concrete wall. "Graham... why do you do this to me?" She juggled her coffee as she flipped open Jacob's schedule binder to October. "Day, time... you know the drill."

"Well, where's Jake gonna be on August 10th? They said they'd come to him, so no extreme arrangements needed."

"Um... on August 10th, Jake and I will be in New York. He's doing the last bit for the film for MGM, remember? Never Get Found or Attached or - something like that. I can’t keep his films straight."

"Never Get Caught. At least it's not another chick flick, right? Anyway, that will be great. I'll call you back with a time. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Just standing here with a nice cup of coffee and working endlessly for Jacob, as usual."

"Don't we all? Well, honey. I have to let you go. I'll see you back home on... Saturday, right?"

"Right. I love you, Graham."

He returned the sweet words and Karlee snapped her phone shut. She suddenly found herself with too few hands. The binder toppled to the floor. Karlee sighed - at least it wasn't the coffee - and bent down to pick it up. Luckily, everything was intact except for one little piece of notebook paper that fluttered across the floor. Karlee grabbed it.

"Hmm." She scrutinized the paper and read it over, grinning. "This is clever, Jake. Real clever."

---

Jacob paced backstage, pulling at the sleeve of his navy blue sweater. He had a habit of pushing his sleeves up his arms, but Karlee had very specifically said to keep them down at his wrists today; and what Karlee dictated, Jacob did.

He sighed, taking a deep breath. He wasn't nervous - God, no. It was just another interview. In fact, he wasn't even sure if he had already done the interview. Hadn't he talked with this lady just last week? She certainly looked just as fake, her shirt showing far too much cleavage for daytime TV.

"Okay, Mr. Jones, here are your questions." The reporter gave him a million watt smile with his note card.

Jacob ignored the way she arched her back as he looked down to accept the card. "Thanks, um - "

"Mandy." The woman said, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Mandy," Jacob instinctively grinned in return. "I'll take a look and let you know if I have any questions, okay?"

Mandy nodded and then walked back behind the rows of cameras aimed at the cheesy stage full of over-stuffed cushioned chairs, her hips swaying so widely he was afraid she might fall over. I guess this is a new interview, then. He thought as he looked down at the questions. He was almost certain the other woman had been named Meredith.

Jacob looked at the questions for a moment before tossing them away. Nothing new. I guess I'll just have to get creative on my end.

Jacob leaned against the backdrop of the stage, pondering how he could startle the interviewer. What could be his newest hobby? Maybe he could suddenly be extremely interested in whale research - or maybe he was now an extreme sport enthusiast. Wasn't there some kind of sport where people jumped off cliffs in Africa?

Africa. Jacob's lips pulled down a frown. That was where that letter had been posted from. He didn't know what to think of it - he wasn't even sure where he had left it. To be completely honest with himself, it had royally freaked him out. He hated to admit it, but he was sure that was what had been putting him on edge for the past week. He felt like he had to do something about it.

But what?

The backstage door opened and Karlee entered, one hand grasping his huge schedule binder and the other a venti Starbucks cup. He grabbed the cup of coffee from Karlee and took a sip, grimacing as he found out, too late, it was cold.

"Karlee, am I a hamster in a ball? I feel like I'm on repeat."

Karlee raised an eyebrow. "You know, you've always been a radiant ball of sunshine, Jake, but this week you've just been glowing."

"Funny," Jacob said sourly, recognizing that his moodiness only confirmed his sister's statement. He took another sip of the cold coffee.

Karlee sighed and put her hand on her hip. "So, why don't you just go to Africa?"

Jacob started choking on the liquid and dropped his cup. It hit the carpet and seeped into its clean white fabric. He silently cursed himself. Karlee snapped at a crew member to call a janitor as Jacob bent down to grab the cup.

"What?" Jacob finally answered, eyes wide in complete shock. Did she read his mind? Had he been speaking aloud before? Maybe he was finally going crazy.

His sister crossed her arms. "I said, why not go to Africa and find this... Becky person."

Jacob swallowed hard and demanded, "Are you kidding me? How did you find out about the letter?"

"I was adding to the schedule in your binder because Graham phoned and I found it. Oh, come on, Jake. I was gonna find it sooner or later."

Jacob ran his fingers through his hair. "Be reasonable, Karlee. That's just crazy. I mean, Africa... letter from so-called 'concerned' girl... total stranger...Africa. How am I going to... and why on earth would I want to find her? For all we know, she could be an obsessed fan or a serial killer or some—"

"You don't think she is, or that letter would be in the trash," Karlee pointed out. "Little brother, I know you better than you know yourself. There is something about this letter you wanted to investigate, you've been worked up ever since you saw it. I don't know what 'letter' of yours she found but... it's important."

Everything grew quiet as Jacob tried to figure out a way to deny what Karlee was saying. An elderly man slowly stepped in with a spray-bottle of stain-remover and a few rags. He was one of those men who looked as if they had worked hard their entire life, barely getting by with spare change. In his eyes, the janitor had dignity. Jacob was reminded of a cheesy line he once had to say in a movie. "I envy the working class. That's the life to have no matter how long and hard it may be." He had memorized that line just like all his others, but just now he was beginning to understand what the writer meant.

Karlee stepped over to Jacob and whispered, "Regardless of who Becky is, I agree with her. You need a major soul vacation. You need to figure out what you want to do with yourself. You might as well do it in Sierra Leone." She studied his face with her big blue eyes for a moment and handed him a piece of paper. "Your flight leaves tomorrow at nine. You'll be there for two weeks. Don't worry about anything. It took one million phone calls and a broken limb, but I got you the two weeks."

Jacob shifted his line of sight from the paper to Karlee. She just leaned against the doorjamb, eyebrows raised.

"But... all by myself?"

"Chris is going with you," Karlee said and then sighed. She walked toward her brother and put her hands on his shoulders. "And if it makes you feel any better, I don't do this for Ma or to be with Graham. I do this for you." She then gave him a light slap to the face and walked out of the room.

"The Other Side - Chapter 3"