Mr. Hollywood

Prologue

“I don’t want you to go Zacky!” I cried as his mom pack up his last bag into the back of their van.

He looked at the tears that were starting to form on my face and pulled my into a hug before they escaped, “Don’t cry Bella please!”

“I can’t help it you’re leaving for Los Angeles to go to that art school that’s far away Zacky.” I sniffled pulling back to look at him, “Really, really far.”

“It’ll be okay Bella.”

“No it won’t your leaving! I don’t want to be alone Zacky I don’t.”

“I’ll write you and email you all the time Bella. It’ll feel like I never left you’ll see.”

Of course it would feel like he left. He would no longer be right next door with his mom. Or to wake me up in the morning, or to walk me to school, to talk to me through our windows at night when neither of us could sleep, to hug me, to kiss my forehead, or make jokes to put a smile on my face, protect me from bullies at school, or to cheer me up when I’m sad. It would be all gone.

I mean I’ve grow up with this boy since we were in the crib all the way to now in the 6th grade. We did everything together, our parents used to always call us peanut butter and jelly we were that inseparable. Having him gone after all this time together would be like having no air on the earth left to breathe. He just wouldn’t be here, and as much as I hate it a letter is not the same as a person.

But I couldn’t say that. He was trying to make this less painful for me, and I just had to accept that he was leaving for that art school in Los Angeles and to go live with his dad instead of in good old Manhattan, Kansas with his mom. So instead I nodded and asked, “You promise?”

He chuckled pushing a piece of my unruly dark brown hair back into place and putting my thick glasses back on my thin tiny nose the right way instead of almost falling off, “I don’t just promise I pinky cross my heart promise.”

I knew he was going to keep to his promises then. Whenever we meant something we would always say that and we would always know it was going to happen no matter what.

“Okay Zacky.” I smiled the biggest smile I think I have ever had even though this was like the worst day of my life. But he promised never to forget me and to always write, and that was all I could hope for.

He smiled before giving me one last squeeze and a kiss to the forehead, “Don’t worry Bella nothing’s going to change between us.”

“Okay Zacky.” I nodded in understanding.

Then he backed away letting his grip on me go and I already felt empty inside without him there, “Bye Bella.”

“Bye Zacky!” I waved as he got into the back seat of his mom’s van and they drove off, “Please don’t forget me….” I whispered to myself just praying that he would keep his promise like he always has.  

*6 years later*

 

I stood in my rather large kitchen waiting for my morning coffee to be ready. My brain really can’t run properly until I’ve had my coffee, how people can survive without ever have having coffee in their life is beyond me.

I mean I must look a right mess right now with my long dark brown hair in a messy bun on top of my head, my giant glasses I only wear when I don’t want to have my contacts on that covered my hazel eyes, and wearing my favorite sweatpants, large t- shirt along with my rather large jacket. I was seriously going to miss this when school starts back up again in a few days. I’ll actually have to start dressing in decent clothes again.

When I heard the ding of the coffee maker signaling it was done and ready to drink I immediately poured it in my cup and started drinking it. The hot liquid burning my throat but I didn’t care.

My life really had gone to the toilet after all these years. Here I am Senior year of high school I only have 3 really great friends, which I can’t really complain about since I love them to bits. My actual dad died two years ago from a stupid drunk driver and now I have a horrible step dad who treats me like crap every time my mom is not around, hell sometimes even when she’s around. Who happens to have convinced her that I need to work at his diner so I’m stuck being a waitress and a bus girl for way less than minimal wage. Oh and if that wasn’t enough it was like I was the target of everyone in school to pick on and bully. I swear they even made it an actual sport where you can get medals and everything!    

Plus now everywhere I go I see HIS face plastered on every billboard and magazine in the state!

That boy broke every promise he ever made to me! Sure he wrote for the first year and it was great like nothing had changed except for the distance between us. Then the letters and emails started getting fewer and fewer until they just stopped completely. I tried sending him some when they first stopped but after the third time I tried with no response back I took that as I was no longer important enough to talk to.

I felt a few tears come to my eyes but I quickly brushed them off. I was not going to think about that anymore cause I got over it a long time ago.

“Good morning Annabelle.” My mom said staggering into the kitchen.

Sure she might have remarried to a total monster but I still loved her with all my heart, “Hey mom, want some coffee?”

“Oh no I just wanted to show you what was on the news!” she beamed and she turned on the little tiny TV we had in our ‘little’ kitchen.

The fuzzy little screen showed an anchorwoman smiling one of those smiles that you can almost always seem to find on any anchorwoman you watch on those news networks, “That’s right folks. Teen heart throb and Hollywood boy wonder, Zackary Damon, is coming back to his home state of Kansas to finish out his senior year of high school. So girls protect your hearts and guys hold on to your woman because Zackary is back in town!”

“Isn’t that great?” my mom asked over the woman still going on and on about the amazing singer, actor, and dancer Zackary who was coming back and talking about all his latest successes, “He’s coming back and moving in right next door. It’ll just be like old times.”

Ha! Yeah right, old times my ass!

That was what I wanted to say what really came out was, “Yeah mom sure.”

She must have liked my answer because she beamed and walked right back out. Great as if my life couldn’t get any better than it already was! Now I have to deal with this mess that was my ex best friend.

All I know is if he thinks that I’ll come crawling back like nothing ever happened. Like he didn’t just ditch me for fame, fortune, and runway models and that he didn’t break every single promise he ever made to me when we were kids then he has another thing coming. That is for sure.