#AegisHeir
897 Words
Michelle woke to her phone vibrating off the nightstand.
7:03 AM. 47 notifications.
Top one was @filmtea247:
`So William Denver crying on Breakfast Daily was giving “trust fund pain” 😭 #AegisHeir #HottestSelfMadeNepoBaby`
1.2M views.
Under it: `BREAKING: William Denver’s mother identified as 90s star Evelyn Shaw. Father confirmed as Richard Denver, CEO of Aegis Entertainment.`
Whitney called before she processed `CEO of Aegis Entertainment`.
“Covers. Are you awake.”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Diamond is a zoo. I’m setting up the presser for noon. I need you to go check on William at Bel Air.”
“Check on him?”
“He’s not answering me, or Deke. With `#AegisHeir` trending, I need eyes on him. You’re closest. You’re quiet. No one knows you’re affiliated with William. Go.”
Whitney hung up.
Michelle threw on jeans and Lila’s UCLA hoodie. Lila was already gone — photography gig.
The Bel Air gates were familiar. Last time was three weeks ago — five coffees, one for every time he changed his mind, and she'd left feeling wrung out. But Alistair was up.
He opened the side door. “Miss Michelle. Didn’t expect you today. House is quiet. Martha’s gone to get cleaning supplies.”
“Thanks, Alistair.”
Alistair lived in the east wing and kept to the front of the house in the mornings. He wouldn’t have heard a bomb go off in the kitchen.
She let herself into the kitchen. It was supposed to be the same invisible job as last time.
It wasn’t.
William was on the floor, back against the island, knees up. Hands in his hair, pulling. Breathing wrong — too fast, too shallow.
She’d seen William Denver on billboards. At 7:30 with coffee she made him. Never like this. Her stomach dropped, but her hands stayed steady.
Last time she saw his hands, they were wrapped around that coffee mug at 7:30. Now they were pulling at his hair like they could tear the thoughts out.
“William.” Her voice was low.
He flinched. “Get out.”
“Whitney sent me.”
“I don’t care. Get. Out.”
She didn’t. She sat three feet away. Not touching. Just there.
His phone was screen-up. `#AegisHeir` was #1. The tweet: `He said in 2022 “I earned this.” Sir your dad OWNS AEGIS.`
He made a sound like he’d been hit.
Four minutes. She counted under her breath, the way she did at home when the numbers helped more than words.
“You’re supposed to be invisible,” he said. Voice raw.
“I am. You’re just having a very loud day.”
He almost laughed. It broke.
“Do you have medication?”
His eyes flicked to the counter. Brown pill bottle. Same spot as three weeks ago, next to the coffee machine she’d been wiping down at 7:30. She grabbed it, checked the label, shook one out. Water.
He took it without looking at her. Spilled half the water.
“Go away, Covers.”
“You first.”
“Lie down,” she said. “It’ll take twenty minutes.”
He stood, swayed, and walked out. She heard him go upstairs.
She stayed in the kitchen. Whitney’s orders were to keep him fed and away from Twitter.
Forty minutes later she was outside. The smell of lasagna was already coming from the kitchen. Alistair had come through earlier to check the rose beds. He’d left his gloves and trowel by the steps when he went back to answer the landline. Still no clue what happened inside.
She was on her knees, dirt on her jeans, when she heard the slider door.
William. Sweatpants. T-shirt. Hair a disaster. He looked younger without the performance.
“You planning to bury me in the roses, Covers?”
William Denver was back. Dry. Amused. 90% fine.
`He’s good at looking fine.`
She looked at herself — Lila’s hoodie, Alistair’s gloves to her elbows. “I’m undercover.”
“From who.”
“The paparazzi. And your roses. They look aggressive.”
He huffed. Real. Sat on the top step, six feet away.
“You didn’t have to stay.”
“Whitney would’ve fired me.”
“Probably.” Pause. “You were… calm. In there.”
“My little sister gets them,” Michelle said. Eyes on the roses. “Panic attacks. Since she was twelve. I’m used to it.”
He nodded once.
A chopper circled downtown. The landline rang inside.
“Is it true?” she asked.
He knew what she meant. Looked at his hands. They weren’t shaking.
“About Aegis? Yeah. It’s true. But I’ve never taken a paycheck from my father.”
She nodded.
The oven timer went off.
She stood, pulled off the gloves. “Lasagna’s done. Read online it’s your favorite.”
“Wait.” He looked at her outfit, mouth twitching. “You read about me online, Covers? Stalking me now?”
She rolled her eyes. “Eat something, Aegis Heir.”
His smile dropped. Came back smaller. Realer.
“Yeah. Okay.”
She left him on the step and went inside.
Her phone buzzed. Whitney: `Presser in 10. Do NOT let him see Twitter. Text me when you have eyes on him.`
Michelle pulled the lasagna out, set it on the trivet, and typed back: `I have eyes on him.`
- Writer
