You and Me

One.

'Life is unpredictable. You don't want to enjoy life too fast because you never know when you'll be able to enjoy something like it again.'
At least that's what my dad always told me. My name is Sarah Rose. My dad is Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns N' Roses.
Yes, I'm a rockstar's daughter and the inspiration behind the world famous multi-platinum song Sweet Child O' Mine. I have been identified as only Axl Rose's daughter until I decided to change the partying rockstar label to become an actress. It's cliche but after acting in music videos since I was two years old, I figured I would have some type of talent.
I learned the hard way that talent can only take you so far in the movie business. After numerous failed pilots for tv shows and movies, I finally landed a role opposite Tom Hardy in a mob drama movie called The Boss. The role took a lot out of me by the time we wrapped filming. Not only because it was my first movie, but it caused me to spend hours in the makeup chair to cover my fully tattooed arms. I also had to dig down deep into the depths of my soul to bring up some painful shit for the gut wrenching scenes my character had to endure. I just thought of my mom abandoning me when I was a kid to live on the road with my dad. Blessing in disguise.

Tom Hardy and I became close friends during the filming of The Boss. The makeup artist I spent hours with, Lauren Mykal, ended up being a really close friend of mine too. We had another Lauren on set so I would refer to my Lauren as 'Mykie', a nickname mixed with her last name and Mickey Mouse, since we both had an unnatural obsession with Disney for adults.
We spent most of the down time after the press tour and premieres at Disneyland. It was never easy for me to go anywhere, especially the happiest place on Earth, but I never turned away a fan. Handling the paparazzi was part of my life after 22 years of it.

Mykie and I spent the day after Thanksgiving at Disneyland every year. It wasn't as busy since everyone was Black Friday shopping. We rubbed our happy bellies as we finished our lunch at the Blue Bayou Restaurant. Mykie opted to walk around the park before jumping onto more rides. The vibrating in my backpack tickled me. I tapped Mykie on the arm to motion her to the side of the walkway. She adjusted her long blonde hair in the ponytail while I dug through my backpack to find my phone.

"Who is it?" She asked. Her voice was bubbly as it usually is when we're at Disneyland.
"It's Rebecca's ringtone." I peaked over my aviators to roll my eyes. Whenever my manager called me, I answered immediately. I accepted the call just in time. "Hey BeccaBear. What's up?"
"BeccaBear?" Her annoyed voice made me giggle into the phone. "I guess you don't want to know about the Oscar nominations released today." She cleared her throat. I frowned my eyebrows.
"Why would I care about the Oscar nominations?"
"Maybe you'll care if you're nominated for Best Supporting Actress?" My scowled face melted to a blank expression.
"I'm..w-what?" I stuttered. Mykie mouthed 'what' to me several times.
"Congratulations. You're nominated for an Academy Award." I could hear the smile in Rebecca's voice. "This is the first time in our professional relationship that you have been speechless."
"Fuck off." I muttered. I glanced around me for any tiny humans within earshot.
"That's the Sarah Rose I know. Go enjoy yourself. You deserve it." The phone signaled the call had ended. I held the phone in front of me, staring at the wallpaper of me and my dad in Paris for my fifth birthday.

"Dude, what happened!?" Mykie's voice startled me back into reality. I nodded my head slowly. I tossed the phone back into my backpack as I could feel the tears starting to roll down my cheeks uncontrollably.
"No big deal.. don't freak out. There are children present.." I began. I wiped the tears from my cheeks. Mykie's head bounced in agreement. I brought my body closer her. "..I've been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress."
"No..way." She whispered. I nodded, cautiously waiting her next move. "No way!!" She screamed and forced me into a hug. The awkward glances by the people walking by went completely ignored. We held each other by our arms jumping up and down. I stopped the celebration once a thought came into my head.

"Oh, my god. Do you understand what this means?" I asked, still holding onto her arms.
"You get to go to the Oscars with Tom Hardy?"
"Yes.. Tommy and his girlfriend, Charlotte, dumbass. But I'm talking about something else." I let her think about it for a few seconds. "We get to go dress shopping!" We celebrated and jumped around again.

***

The texts and calls from family and friends were still flooding my phone as Mykie and I left the park a few hours later. I hopped off a curb into the parking lot. I fumbled through my backpack for my cigarettes. I released a squeal after seeing my phone light up with Tom Hardy's name. I answered the call to rest it between my head and my shoulder.

"Tommy!" I said into the phone excitingly. I placed a cigarette between my lips to search for my lighter.
"Hey you. I just heard the news. Congratulations, darling. You really worked so hard and deserve this recognition." His British accent always made everything sound charming. I squealed again at his kind words and finally lit the cigarette. I exhaled the cloud of smoke over my head.
"Thank you so much, Tommy. I couldn't have done this without you and all your help."
"Nonsense. You gave that performance and you pushed yourself. You didn't think you could, remember?"
"Yeah, I do." A giggle escaped my lips. I fumbled with the cigarette between my fingers to tap the ashes to the ground.
"Now look at you. You're nominated for a fucking Oscar!" Our laughing was in unison as I heard another voice on the phone. "Char says congratulations and we will see you at the Oscars!"

"Thank you guys! I'll see you then!" We all said bye together as I ended the call. I started replying to fans on Twitter, my favorite social media platform.
"I can't believe you're going to the Oscars. I can do your makeup, right?" Mykie asked, nervously. I giggled and finished a reply to a fan.
"Duh! I'm going to need you there with me!" I locked my phone to take another long hit from my cigarette.
"What if you win?"
"What if I don't?"
"Can I pick out your heels?" She fired back.
"Dude. I haven't even picked out a dress yet.." I abruptly stopped her mid stride with my hand on her. "..and who the fuck said I have to wear heels?!" Our laughing echoed throughout the empty parking lot.