All of Me

1. Chapter One – Everything Changes

1

Chapter One – Everything Changes

He levelled the g*n at her and she knew this was it. “I thought you loved me,” she said in a calm voice. Only a slight quiver at the end gave away her heartbreak.

“I do,” he nodded, his eyes soft, “but I have to do this.”

She drew in a deep breath as he fired, then crumpled slowly as the bullet ripped through her abdomen. Her legs gave way and she sank to the floor.

He put down the g*n and came to her, cradling her in his arms. She felt his tears drip down onto her face. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, her voice weakening as she bled out, “it’s all over now.”

“I love you,” he said, beginning to sob, but she shook her head.

“Love doesn’t do this, my darling… Love doesn’t do this.” She gave one last shuddering gasp of pain, then went still.

He clutched her to him and gave a howl of bottomless grief.

“And cut! Good job, people.” The director and his team clapped the actors, and Tiger opened her eyes and grinned up at Sifrido, her costar.

“Douchebag.”

“Drama queen.” He helped her up as they laughed and high-fived each other. Sifrido nudged her with his shoulder. “And lucky, too, to be finished early. So, what’s next for you?”

“Hanging with my brother.” Tiger smiled back at her friend and costar. She and Sifrido had worked on many movies together now and had been close from the start. She enjoyed spending time with him and his wife Lucy when they were in the same place, which was rare if they weren’t working, and it was with half-regret now that she told Sifrido that she was going out of town. “Apollo is between jobs and wanting to spend some quality time with his big sister. So, we’re going to the Olympics for a week with no internet, no cellphones. We bought a small cabin up there.”

“Nice.” Sifrido nodded approvingly. “Washington is one of my favorite places.”

Tiger smiled at him. Sifrido’s wife, Lucy, and his biological son Nicco, both taught at a college in Seattle. “Then I have the Malevolence press junket for a month. First here, then London and on and on.” She grimaced and Sifrido laughed.

“You’re really not used to them by now?”

“I just don’t like being around that many people for that long. Thank God Teddy will be there to make me laugh.”

Tiger said goodbye to her friend and went to thank the director. Cosimo DeLuca was one of her favorite people, and he frequently cast Tiger in his movies. He had been responsible for her first break in the industry ten years ago, and she remained utterly loyal to him, even doing small cameos for free and for no credit if he needed it.

He looked tired now as she went to find him in his trailer. Biba, his gorgeous wife, was with him, and she greeted Tiger with a hug. “You were incredible as always, Tiggy.”

Tiger smiled at them both. “I hate to do this, but I have to say goodbye for a while. But promise me, when we’re all free, we’ll meet up for dinner at least?”

Cosimo, a devastatingly handsome Italian in his late forties with bright green eyes and dark curly hair, grinned at her. “It’s a date. Just let us know when you’re free, Tig, and we’ll make it happen. And thank you for this… Not every actress would come in for a part where they were killed off in the first act.”

Tiger laughed. She looked down at her costume, covered in the corn syrup they used for fake blood. “Are you kidding? A great death scene? Give me more.”

Biba chuckled. “Actors.”

“Actors,” greed Tiger with a nod. She bid them goodbye and went to her trailer. Peeling off her ruined dress, wrinkling her nose as the syrup stuck the fabric to her skin, she removed the small ‘blood’ bag taped to her skin by the props people and stepped into her shower.

She took her time, enjoying the hot water cascading down her skin. Drying herself, she took a critical look in the mirror. She had never been one of the skinny actresses; she refused to lose weight for any role that required her to be unhealthily thin, and she had retained her curves through hiking and swimming rather than dieting.

Her skin was porcelain, her hair a dark, dark brown and cut into a bob. Her large violet eyes and full mouth made her passionately sought after by beauty brands to be their spokesmodel, but that wasn’t Tiger’s scene. She earned enough from her movies to make her financially secure and she wasn’t a spendthrift.

Tiger valued her privacy more than anything. At thirty-two, she and her younger brother Apollo had been on their own since Tiger was eighteen, their parents both dying of cancer just a few months apart. Tiger and Apollo had been devastated, but she had known she had to step up to the plate and care for her fourteen-year-old brother. She’d intended to go to college but had been scouted by an elite model agency and started to get jobs right away. Her extraordinarily photogenic features helped make her an overnight sensation, and when she was offered her first film role, Tiger found her true vocation.

She’d proved all the doubters wrong by putting in a supporting performance that attracted awards buzz, and she’d even taken home a few of them. Since then, she had been in demand, which had made life for her and Apollo a whole lot easier. Her brainiac brother was able to go to Harvard—something of which Tiger was envious—but she was able to pay his way easily, and he swore he would one day pay her back.

Apollo was her best friend, her buddy. With his light brown hair and green eyes, he was popular with the opposite s*x, but it was his warm, kind, loving character that drew people to him. He was more outgoing than Tiger, and although she didn’t like to admit it, Tiger had learned a lot about being social from her younger brother, and it helped her overcome her natural shyness.

Now she hurriedly dried her hair and shoved it up into a messy ponytail, leaving her face free of makeup. She donned old sweats to be comfortable for the flight from Los Angeles to Seattle and packed up her belongings. She never brought much to set, just her books, laptop, and precious photos of Apollo and her friends.

The flight to Seattle was mercifully quick, and as Tiger hurried through the Arrivals lounge, she scanned the crowd for Apollo. Soon enough, she saw her lanky brother, leaning nonchalantly against the wall at the far end of the hall. Tiger gave a whoop of joy and ran to him.

Apollo swept her up into a hug. “Oof, big sis.”

“Ha ha, shut up.” She punched his arm lightly as he put her down, and he took her bag from her. “You look good, Pol.”

“I know,” he said cockily and grinned. “And looking forward to our trip. Can you even imagine what those trails are going to be like? I hope you’re fit, sis.”

Tiger made a face, then laughed. “Hey, as long as there’s plenty of food.”

“Always.”

They got into Apollo’s car and he pulled out of the parking lot. “So… what happened with David?”

Tiger rolled her eyes. David Bao was her very recent ex-boyfriend, a sensationally attractive Korean-American actor who had loved her and who she… liked. There was no other word for it; David had been more invested in their two-year relationship than she had been, and eventually Tiger had to admit to herself that it wasn’t fair on David. He was perfect: kind, funny, gorgeous—the full package—but Tiger just couldn’t give enough of herself to him.

When she broke up with him, David had been devastated but accepting. “Just promise me, you will try to love someone someday.” He’d told her softly during their tear-filled breakup. “You’re too special not to be with someone.”

Tiger had promised him but she knew she had been lying. Something was broken inside of her, she thought, that she couldn’t trust enough to love, to give herself over to someone, and what was frustrating was that she didn’t have any clue as to why. She hadn’t been abused as a child or assaulted as an adult. Yes, she’d put up with her fair share of harassment and inappropriate casting couch proposals over the years, but she’d maintained a reputation for never being one of those actors, someone who would sleep around for parts.

She would also speak openly about that side of her craft in interviews, naming the worst offenders. It had cost her roles, sure, but it had also increased industry respect for her.

Now, as Apollo drove back to his apartment in the city, she grinned at her brother. “Not much to tell. He’s doing okay, as far as I know.”

“And you?”

“You know me.”

Apollo’s mouth set into a hard line, and Tiger was surprised to see him shake his head. “What’s up with you?”

“Tigs… David was a good one.”

“I know, but at the end of the day…”

“You couldn’t let yourself love him.”

Damn, Apollo knew her too well. Tiger looked away, out of the window. “It is what it is, Pol.”

“You’re thirty-two, Tigs. Isn’t it time you figured this s**t out? Why does this happen all the time?”

“Just leave it alone, Pol. I’m happy being single.”

“And I’m all for that… but I don’t think it’s just a case of you liking your own company. There’s a block there and I cannot figure for the life of me what it is.”

“Seriously, why are you asking me this now? I thought we were here to enjoy a vacation together…”

“I met someone.”

Tiger’s eyebrows shot up and she saw that there were two spots of pink high on her brother’s cheeks. “You did? That’s wonderful.”

Apollo nodded and couldn’t help the smile breaking across his face. “She’s wonderful. Nell. She’s a postgraduate at college.”

“Cute?”

“Beautiful. All dark hair and dark eyes and the longest legs you’ll ever see.”

Tiger smiled at the love in her brother’s voice. “How long have you been seeing her?”

“Six months.”

Tiger was shocked. “Six months? How come you haven’t mentioned her before?”

Apollo was silent for a few moments as he concentrated on his driving. “Tig… she’s pregnant. Three months.”