Never Look Back (Counting Stars Book 1) Read online

  "Pres! I'm wearing a dress! Put me down!"

  He laughed and sat me down at the bottom of the staircase. “I should do that across stage at graduation.”

  I punched him on the shoulder. “I’ll kill you before you even make it to LSU!”

  Daddy walked into the front door, followed by Wyatt. “Morning Babe. You look beautiful as always.” Wyatt gave me a kiss and headed straight for the kitchen.

  Typical.

  He and Pres were whispering about something when I walked in the kitchen a few minutes later. They both looked like they were caught doing something they shouldn’t be. “Ugh, yeah, that’s cool Preston. Hey Becca, I was thinking we could grab some breakfast together before graduation. You ready to head out?”

  Wyatt seemed nervous. I felt myself pouting. “Wy, we were supposed to go to breakfast with Mama, Daddy and Pres.”

  He wrapped his arms around my waist, giving me his drop dead gorgeous smile. “We need to talk, and then we’ll head to graduation. Your dad said it was cool.”

  I felt anxious all of a sudden. “What do we need to talk about?” Was he going to try to break up with me before we left for college? I’d kill him. Ok, I wouldn’t kill him, I’d let Pres do it.

  My knee was bouncing a mile a minute when Wyatt pulled his truck down the dirt road that led to the lake that we claimed as “our spot”. He turned the engine off and jumped out of the door. I took a deep breath, and then smiled nervously when he opened my door. He picked me up and placed me on the ground. He grabbed my hand and led me to the lake.

  “Alright, what do we have to talk about?” I was scared. Really scared.

  He pulled my hips to his. “Well, today we’re graduating. We’ll be heading to LSU in the fall. We’re about to end one journey and start another, and the only thing I care about being the same in my life when we get there is you and me. I’ve loved you my entire life, Rebecca Adams. I can’t imagine my life with anyone other than you. As we end our high school career today, promise me you’ll be with me forever.” Wyatt knelt down on one knee, pulling a small black velvet box out of his pocket. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands. Wyatt chuckled, pulling one of my hands down to his. “You’re all I need in life, Bec. Will you marry me?”

  Engaged at 17? We’ve only been dating a year! “Wy, I love you so much, but don’t you think it’s soon?”

  He smiled. “I’m pretty sure I can’t live another day of my life without having this ring on your finger. I need you to be mine, forever.”

  Tears streamed down my face. I’ve loved him for so long, why delay the inevitable?

  “Yes.”

  Wyatt placed the small gold diamond ring on my finger with pride. I bent down and grabbed his face, kissing him with every ounce of love that I’ve built up over the last 17 years for him. He picked me up and twirled me around in circles. “I’ll make you happy for the rest of our lives Bec, I promise.”

  I tightened my hold on him, knowing that he could keep that promise of forever.

  Chapter Five

  I sat straight up in bed, my heart about to pound out of my chest. I began taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself down before the panic attack began. Breathe in…breath out…breathe in…breathe out…this wasn’t doing it. I reached into my night stand, grabbing the bottle of Xanax the psychologist gave me before I came up here. After popping one in my mouth, I laid against my pillows, continuing my slow breathing…

  Ryleigh had told me last night that we had to be on the set by 9:15 in the morning, which wouldn’t be a problem for me. For the last six years of my life I have been up every morning by five. My body developed an internal alarm clock so I wouldn’t feel the repercussions of not being up on time.

  I was showered, ready and had breakfast on the table by the time Ryleigh came out of her bedroom at 8:30. She grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at the table with me, looking at the food in amazement. “You really fixed pancakes, bacon and eggs before I even got out of bed? Damn, remind me to thank Marcus.”

  “Marcus?”

  She smiled. “Detective Taylor. His name is Marcus Taylor. Anyways, you don’t have to suck up in order to live here, although I do love food.”

  Remembering the promise I made to her last night about waking up and starting over today, I forced myself to laugh. “I’ve been cooking for so long that it’s just a routine for me. Well, I mean the old me. So maybe the new me shouldn’t cook…”

  She put her hand up to stop me. “First of all, don’t over think this ‘new me’ vs. ‘old me’ thing. Just be you. And secondly, I like the cook from the old you. You should keep it.”

  This actually made me laugh for real, which made Ryleigh smile. She took a bite of her pancakes and closed her eyes while chewing. “Hmm…Kelsey these are the best pancakes I’ve ever ate.”

  “Thank you. Southern Belles know how to cook.”

  Her head tilted to the side. “I thought I heard a southern accent. Where is the new you from anyways?”

  I sat up straight extending my hand. “How rude of me to not properly introduce myself! My name is Kelsey Franklin, I am twenty-four years old and I am from Jackson, Mississippi.”

  She looked at my hand, then laughed hysterically. “I bet Marcus made you practice that a ton didn’t he!”

  I nodded. “Hey, I need to practice it for today!”

  “You’re right. Speaking of which, we need to get going. I texted Collin to tell him you would be coming with me today. He said he’ll let Spencer know you’ll be there so he can meet up with you.”

  “Is getting to work like that every day?” I asked Ryleigh as we got out of the car. We had to stop by three security checkpoints; the first one was to check to see if our names were on approved list to enter, the second one was to check the vehicle for any bombs or weapons, and the third was to check our ids. Why they couldn’t have done that at the first was beyond me.

  “Yep, getting in here is like getting into the White House, but at least everyone here is safe and secure. You ready to meet Collin?” She asked, walking up to a trailer that had a white sheet of paper that had “Collin O’Neil” printed on it. Thankfully they were all marked. Otherwise, I would get confused with the other ten trailers lined up in a row.

  “I guess.”

  We walked into the trailer to find a man with short dark hair sitting in an oversized recliner. He stood up when he saw me walk in behind Ryleigh. “Hey! You must be Kelsey, I’m Collin. It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to Vancouver.”

  Wow, he was tall. I felt like I was stretching my neck to look at him! His eyes were light brown and he had a very boyish smile. He looked younger than me, but he was very attractive. “Thank you Collin.” I said, extending my hand. He took my very small hand in his extremely large hand, shaking it gently. “How tall are you?” I blurted out. Crap. “I’m sorry, that’s terribly rude of me.”

  Collin smiled, shaking his head. “No, it’s fine. I get that a lot actually. I’m 6’5, I’m freakishly tall.”

  Ryleigh rolled her eyes, walking past him. “You are not freakishly tall, I’ve told you that a million times. You can’t use the word freakishly until you reach 6’9, so you are just really tall, ok?”

  Collin laughed, nodding towards Ryleigh. “She gets on me about being negative about myself.”

  I gave him a polite smile before looking back to Ryleigh. She was looking at Collin and me, smirking. “You two look like the odd couple. Kelsey, how tall are you?”

  “I am 5’1. I’m short.”

  Ryleigh giggled. “How cute is that. Collin you’re almost a full foot and a half taller than her, it’s hysterical!”

  Collin chuckled. “Now Ry, just because I can use her as an arm rest…” he began as he put his elbow on top of my head… “doesn’t mean she’s that short.”

  I laughed, pushing his arm off my head. “That’s rude.”

  “What a second, did I just hear a southern tang come out?” Collin questioned.

  “Yeah, I’m from
Mississippi.”

  “That’s awesome. I’m from Arkansas. Small world.”

  “Very.” Ryleigh laughed. She looked at her watch, then to a piece of paper in her hand. “Collin you have to head over to hair and makeup now. You’re due on the set at 10:30.”

  Collin grabbed his phone and keys before walking out the door behind us. “Thank you my handler. I’ll see you around the set today Kelsey, I hope you enjoy it.” He flashed another smile and headed towards one of the other trailers.

  Ryleigh nudged my arm after he was inside the other trailer. “What do you think?” she asked.

  “He seems nice.” I smiled. Ryleigh crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow.

  “He seems nice? Of course he’s nice. I’m talking about his looks. Isn’t he beautiful?” she sighed.

  “Yeah, I guess. He’s attractive.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyways, I’ve been secretly crushing on him since I started on the set last year. He started dating an extra a few months ago, but she’s a total skank. From what I’ve overheard during his phone conversations, I think they’re going to break up soon.”

  I politely smiled at her. “I hope it works out for you.”

  “Me too!” She squealed.

  For most of the morning, I followed Ryleigh around, watching Collin film his scenes. I was introduced to so many people along the way there is no way I’ll be able to keep everyone’s names straight in my head. Collin’s girlfriend, Jessica, stopped by the set before lunch. Ryleigh’s demeanor completely changed, instantly becoming distant from Collin. When the director called for the lunch break, Collin ran over to Ryleigh.

  “Ry, do you and Kelsey want to have lunch with Jess and I? We’re going to hit up that new sushi bar downtown and I know how much you love sushi.” His smile towards her was bright, hopeful almost.

  Ryleigh looked over to me before answering him. “I think we’re going to stay here, I want Kelsey to meet Spencer before he leaves for the day.”

  I shrugged my shoulders at her. “It’s ok, you should go with him. I can wonder around until I find him. If I don’t meet Spencer today I can come back some other time.”

  Collin’s girlfriend Jessica walked up to him, looping her arm around his. “Ready for lunch sweetheart?” She wasn’t what I would have expected Collin to choose for a girlfriend, honestly. She was around Ryleigh’s height, red hair and dark eyes that were traced with dark eyeliner. She was wearing an extremely short dress that could barely be seen under her coat, and her sky high heels made my ankles ache just by looking at them.

  He smiled down at her. “Yeah, I’m trying to convince Ry and Kelsey they should come along.”

  At the mention of Ryleigh’s name, Jessica looked at her with a fake smile. Oh boy.

  “Oh, of course. Ryleigh, how are you today? And Kelsey, are you new?” she asked.

  “I’m fine.” Ryleigh bit back.

  Collin finally noticed the small amount of tension and jumped in. “Uh, yeah. Kelsey is new to Vancouver, she’s Ry’s roommate. She is actually meeting with Spence today for his assistant position.”

  Jessica’s high pitch laugh both hurt my ears and nauseated me. What was there to laugh about?

  “Oh, Spencer and his assistants. He can’t keep one for more than-“

  “That’s enough Jessica.” Collin scolded her. She crossed her arms, pouting. He gave me an apologetic smile before turning to Ryleigh. “I’ll be back in a while. Is there anything I can get you?”

  She gave him a half smile. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to ask you? No, I’m ok. Thanks anyways.”

  He grinned at her before leading Jessica towards his trailer. Ryleigh let out a frustrated moan, walking towards the food trailers. I hurried behind her, not sure what else to do.

  “I hate her. HATE her Kelsey. She is a terrible person.” She huffed, walking to the long line for the Mexican food trailer. I didn’t know what to say to make her feel better about the situation with Jessica, so I decided to mention Collin.

  “I know he’s involved with her, but I think he likes you, Ryleigh.”

  She gave me a blank stare, then began giggling. “Whatever. You’re insane.”

  “I’m serious! He asked you to come to lunch with him and his girlfriend when he could have obviously gone on a date with her alone. He was trying to convince you for Pete’s sakes! Then he asked if he could bring you anything back? I don’t know, Ryleigh. I think there’s more than just a work relationship there.” I really hope this would take her mind off of Jessica.

  “I seriously doubt this. Anyways, I’m not allowed to be near him unless I’m here on the set. Jessica forbids it.”

  “The bitch forbids what now?” I heard a raspy voice ask from behind me. I turned around, finding a tall man with brown hair and beautiful green eyes. His attention was on me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

  “She doesn’t let me be near Collin unless we’re working.” Ryleigh said, looking up at him. Then, like a light bulb went off in her head, she gasped. “OH! I almost forgot! Kelsey, this is Spencer Mills. Spence, this is my friend Kelsey Franklin that I texted Collin about.”

  Spencer’s attention was still on me, and I was beginning to feel nervous. I brought my shaking hand up to him. He looked down at it, then back to me. He took my hand in his, gripping it firmly. A small smile played at his lips. “Kelsey.” He still had ahold of my hand. I tried to pull away, but he didn’t let me move. I moved my gaze from our hands back to his face. His smile became wider when he noticed the obvious panicked look in my eyes. He let my hand go, and I quickly turned away from him. I felt my cheeks getting warm. This could be my boss? Was he trying to psych me out? Ryleigh was smirking as she silently watched us.

  “Kelsey.” I heard his deep voice say again. I turned around slowly. His smile had left his face this time. Was that a test to see how I could handle him? If so, I am totally not getting this job. “Can you start tomorrow? Be here the same time as Ryleigh, Collin and I are shooting scenes together tomorrow. She can show you around and let you know what is expected around here, then I can go over what I expect of my assistant.”

  I nodded my head, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’ll be here tomorrow.” Ryleigh looked at Spencer with a confused look, then back to me. “Um…so she has the job?” Ryleigh asked.

  Spencer shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, why not? I need an assistant. Can you take her over to the lot where you got your vehicle and get her one later today? She’ll need a work vehicle. I have an account over there. Tell them to call me if there are any issues.”

  Ryleigh’s face scrunched even more now in confusion. “Already? Spence, usually we don’t-“

  “Yes, Ryleigh. I’ll call the dealership and have a car waiting for her. Do you have any issues with that?” His voice was stern. I’m not sure if I want to cross him…

  “Actually, I don’t need a work vehicle. I was going to look for one for myself this weekend.” I said as politely as I could. He narrowed those green eyes back on me, crossing his arms…his muscular arms…

  “As I just said to Ryleigh, you’ll have a vehicle. No arguments.” And with his tone, I knew this was no longer a topic of discussion. Ryleigh and I got our food and picked a table to sit down at to eat. I watched Spencer in the corner of my eye. He got his food and went directly to his trailer.

  “He’s an odd bird, that one. Once he lets you in, you’ll understand him more.” Ryleigh said, interrupting my thoughts. I shrugged my shoulders, taking a bite of my taco. She studied me a moment before commenting. “It’s odd…he always has his assistants fill out applications and checks references. Then he makes them do a trial basis before he even considers getting them a vehicle. He is extremely picky. Somehow you bypassed everything.”

  “I really don’t know what to say. I’m thankful he’s taking a chance on me.” I smiled. Ryleigh gave me an unsure smile before returning to her lunch. Maybe it’s the tacos, but something isn’t settling well in my st
omach.

  Chapter Six

  Mama and Daddy surprised Preston and I with a family trip to Disney World for our graduation present. We took the trip two weeks before we were set to leave for college. Growing up, our family vacations usually consisted of going to the coast for a few days and spending time at the beach, but Daddy insisted we go to Orlando since they couldn’t afford to take us when we were little. Our first few days were extremely fun, spending a lot of time in the water park, causing Pres to get a wicked sunburn even though Mama begged him to reapply sunscreen. He spent the entire next day begging me to ask the hotel staff to fill one of the swimming pools with aloe so he could still go swimming without the pain. The next day we were standing in line for the Tower of Terror. I was so excited, Preston not so much. He was pacing while in line, causing Mama and Daddy to laugh hysterically.

  “You don’t have to get on the ride Preston.” Daddy told him.

  Pres shook his head. “No way. I’m getting on that thing. Becca won’t let me live it down!”

  Mama’s phone rang and she stepped off to the side of the line away from Preston’s whine fest. She walked back over a few minutes later, her face pale.

  “Everything ok honey?” Daddy asked.

  She looked at me, then back at him. “We need to head back to the hotel. We are going home tonight.”

  We all looked at her with worry. “Mama, tell us what is wrong.” Pres demanded.

  Her eyes filled with tears. “Becca, Wyatt and his parents were in an accident this morning. He’s in bad shape.”

  I felt my knees go weak as my world began falling around me. The two hour flight felt like it lasted days. We drove straight to the hospital and learned that Wyatt was in the ICU. I got to his room and his Aunt Tina stepped out into the hallway. I tried to walk past her into his room but she grabbed my shoulders.

  “Becca, before you go in there we need to talk. Amy and Frank died in the accident. Someone hit the passenger side of the vehicle and caused it to go over an embankment. Wyatt has serious injuries, so they put him in a medically induced coma to allow his body to start the healing process on its own. If he bounces back-“