Going Home

Prologue

Prologue
Fall of 1993, Hollywood

Nate faced the onslaught of reporters and fans that lined the runway to the movie theater. Flashes went off in the darkness, blinding him over and over again. The screams from the fans sounded like a dull roar in the distance, chasing after him. He forced a smile and waved as he hurriedly made his way up the red carpet and into the theater, relieved to duck out of the limelight.

He was tired. So tired of all it all. The attention. The stress. The loss of privacy. The super fast pace. No one had warned him about the side effects of being famous. He wanted a break and he'd told his pit bull of an agent that earlier, but Terence had said it was a bad time. He had too much going for him now. He would be a fool to cut out at a time like this in his career as a movie actor. This was his fifth big film and his name was sizzling in Hollywood. He was a wanted man, by the public, and by movie producers and casting directors.

His lips pressed into a firm line as he headed inside to find his seat. The other actors and their guests smiled, and he shook a dozen hands before he was able to sit down.

The irony was that he felt like an actor playing the part of a satisfied man in Hollywood. He felt washed up right at the point where he was anything but. He wasn't even sure who Nathaniel Hill was anymore. He'd played so many different people that he felt he was more them than himself. Was he the hero? The terrorist? The teacher? The firefighter? Or the actor from Beaver Hill? He didn't have a clue anymore.

As the film began, he sat there in the middle of the theater with the rest of the cast, his eyes burning into the film screen as his name flashed suddenly. 'Nathaniel Hill as Robert Starr'.

In the past, when he'd seen his name on the screen, his heart had raced with excitement. Now it thudded with fatigue. After the film debut came all the interviews and junkets where all the film critics and fans were given the opportunity to freely express their opinions.

His thoughts quickly turned to leaving it all. He'd been thinking of the idea of a vacation a lot lately, but Terence was always quick to shoot down his plans. He could just cut out of Hollywood, just take off for a while. He'd be back in a couple weeks or maybe he'd stay away longer. He had money now, and lots of it. He could definitely survive on his little nest egg for at least a few years. And that wasn't to say that he wouldn't find something else to do. He wasn't the type of man to just sit around. He liked to try new things, taste new experiences. He was the adventurer and he wasn't afraid of change. A change like this could do him some real good. He needed to just get away from all the flashing lights and fake Hollywood smiles. He needed to go back to his roots and find himself again before he was lost forever.

His heart began to pound the more he thought about it. When he saw that the movie was nearing the end, he rose from his seat, whispering to Terence that he needed to use the washroom. Terence nodded and Nate patted his shoulder before disappearing.

He was doing it. He was leaving. For two weeks or for good, he didn't know that yet.

Only time would tell...