In Episode 4 – Young Hollywood, teen heartthrob, Warren Voss visits his long time crush, Adriana at the hospital. His motives run deep and somebody is about to get hurt.
The Recap
We jump back in time a little in this episode. In Episode 2 – Dear Friend, Zax is peeved by his encounter with Warren at the hospital. He confides in Leighann.
In Episode 3 – Doctor Uncle, Adrian learns that Warren has been talking to the tabloids. Here’s how it all went down. Enjoy!
Seventeen-year-old Warren Voss, was voted one of Young Hollywood’s, 25 hottest stars under 25. On the fast-track to Hollywood’s ‘It’ list, his days on the number one daytime soap opera, My Whole Life was a distant memory. While the show opened a lot of doors for him, he was mostly proud of his silver screen accolades. Still, My Whole Life was where he had met and fell hard for Adriana Kelly Banovic. Thanks to their roles as teenage sweethearts, their first kiss was immortalized on camera and replayed on late night reruns courtesy SoapNet.
To fuel their storyline on the show, someone started a rumor that the young lovers took their romance off set, the press went wild and he and Adriana played along.
Warren was on location in South Carolina when he heard about Adriana’s accident on the news. He immediately called their agent to find out how she was doing. During his three-day downtime, he was finally able to head back to Los Angeles to see her. Even though they remained good friends, he still harbored feelings for her.
Warren was thrilled when he found out that he was one out of the two people she remembered. The icing on the cake was that she thought that they were dating. If her warped memory would allow, he planned to exploit the situation to the full extent. Back in their soap-opera days, Adriana had crushed him when she told him that she wasn’t into him, and that she was just doing her part to boost the show’s ratings.
Earlier in the day
When all the bruises heal, she’ll be my beautiful Adriana again. Warren thought as he looked at her bruised and swollen face. Her head and arm was cocooned in a cast and it was obvious that the wreck and beaten her up very badly. She looked fragile and helpless and his heart went out to her.
Upon seeing him, she half smiled as he entered the room slowly.
“Sweetheart,” he gently cupped her free hand.
“Thanks for coming.” She said softly.
“I would have gotten here sooner, but I was on location.”
“You’re here now,” she sounded upbeat.
“I’m only here for 3 days, but I’ll be back every chance I get.”
Adriana nodded slightly.
“Are you in any pain?”
“I probably look worse than I feel, they have me on pain killers. They say my body will heal completely —” Adriana trailed off and he could see the sadness in her eyes.
“You’re worried about your memory?” He supplied.
“I can’t remember my own mother.”
“I’m sure she understands. Don’t rush it, it’ll come back when it’s supposed to. What exactly do you remember?” He pulled a chair close to her bed and took a seat. “About us?”
Warren listened to Adriana talk about their relationship as if it were real. She reiterated the storyline of their characters, Shayanne Montgomery and Mason Westwick’s on-screen romance. He played along, reminiscing about the good times they shared. Lucky for him, she didn’t remember his character being killed in a car accident, and he made sure that the conversation never went there. She was clearly not in touch with reality and seem to have chosen to recall only the good parts of their on-screen romance.
Warren thought about how this turn of events could work in his favor; the opportunity to turn Adriana Banovic into his perfect girlfriend was a dream come true. The press would have a field-day with them as a couple again. Since the accident, Adriana’s popularity had gone from ‘that girl from My Whole Life’, to ‘Hollywood Starlet Survives Horrific Crash’. Judging by the paparazzi camped across the street from the hospital, she was a hot commodity.
Warren needed a good ‘romance’ story to white-wash the rumblings of his late-night trailer hopping with his A-list, much older, married, male co-star. All it took was one leak from a “source” to tarnish his young Hollywood heartthrob status. He depended on the hordes of pubescent fangirls who fantasized about him to keep him relevant in today’s social media obsessed society. Fortunately, the big budget film he was working on, had the crew sign a gag order to protect the A-lister, so the incident was contained … for now.
Warren saw Zax Banovic, at the window keeping a watchful eye over his visit with Adriana. He felt a sense of power over Zax-the-almighty and the Banovic family; they needed him to keep Adriana calm and hopefully help bring her memory back.
“Get out.” Adrian Banovic, ordered as soon as he entered the room.
“You know, for a doctor you have really poor bedside manners.” Adriana shot at the offender.
Warren smiled, even without her memory, her feisty side was still there.
“Visiting hours are almost over and I need to examine you.” Adrian replied.
“Can’t we have a few more minutes?” Adriana pleaded.
“No.”
“It’s okay sweetheart, I’ll come back tomorrow.” Warren leaned in to kiss her and Adrian slipped the clipboard between them causing Warren’s nose to touch the object.
“Ah-ah you don’t want to infect the patient.” Adrian chimed sarcastically.
Warren quickly said his goodbyes, sans kiss and headed out the door. He pretended not to see Zax.
Zax stopped him with a firm grip above his elbow. “If you try to take advantage of her in anyway, I will kill you. I don’t care how famous you are, I’ll make sure no one ever finds your body.”
Warren straightened his spine and looked at him. He considered himself tall, but he was no match for Zax’s towering figure. He noticed that Zax, was better looking than most of the leading ladies in Hollywood.
“I’m just doing my part, Zax.” Warren smiled sarcastically, the look in Zax’s eye told him that the threat was not idle.
“There’s that Banovic spirit.” Kevin Banovic’s voice interrupted the tense standoff.
“Hey, when did you get here?” Zax turned to his brother, giving Warren his chance to escape.
“Just now. Any change?” Warren heard Kevin ask.
“Adrian’s in with her.” Zax replied.
“Why don’t you head home? You need to rest up for the game tomorrow.”
As Warren waited for the elevator, he saw Kevin side-hug his brother. He prayed that the doors would open so that he could disappear before Zax faced him again.
Zax was only a few feet away when the doors opened and Warren hurried in and pressed the door-close button, forcing it to close in Zax’s face.
Relief washed over him as the elevator descended. Even though Zax had threatened him, Warren felt no ill will towards him, he understood that Zax was trying to protect his little sister. Warren knew that if she regained her memory and realized that he’d taken advantage of the situation, he’d be the one needing protection … from her.
To Warren, Zax was the best out of the big-dick boy’s crew at Westwood Academy. Members of the Westwood Academy’s basketball team were treated like royalty, and with good reason; they were the best in the state.
They hung out together in their exclusive cliques but within the group, was a sub-group made up of Zax Banovic, Frankie Malone and Joel O’Leary. The three of them were as tight as thieves, and in a way Warren was jealous of them, but he’d rather die than to admit it, after all, he was a movie star and they were jocks. After graduation, they’d be forgotten, but he would forever be immortalized on film.
Warren loathed Frankie Malone with a burning passion. Frankie had tortured him for years, so much so that he hated going to school and even considered transferring out of Westwood Academy. However, his parents wouldn’t have it; Westwood Academy was one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Warren endured the torment until Frankie discovered girls and quickly became the biggest poon-hound on campus.
His hatred for Frankie had subsided until recently, when Astrid, his then girlfriend, happily announced to him, that she’d been fucking Frankie every day in the natatorium locker-room. Even though Warren was not in love with Astrid, the news sucker punched him in the gut. He remembered the smug smile on her face and the sweet pleasure in her voice when she delivered the news. That, was Astrid Wilson’s style; she didn’t just break up with somebody, she made sure to crush them into the ground until they were fragile little pieces.
Bitch! Warren thought.
Everyone knew that Astrid and Adriana were enemies, and Warren thought about the high it would give him when Astrid found out that he and Adriana were together again.
A diabolical smile curved Warren’s lips as he thought about that sweet revenge headed Astrid’s way.
As he exited the hospital he removed his cap and sunglasses and smiled for the paparazzi. Shutters chorused and questions followed. Warren stopped and politely chatted with them, he planted just enough information for them to concoct a juicy story of their own.
“How is Adriana?”
“Is she up?”
“What condition is she in?”
“When will she be leaving?”
“She’s pretty banged up, but my girl is a fighter.” Warren assured them.
“Are you two back together?”
“She’s the love of my life, and I’ll love her no matter what.” Warren paused for dramatic effect. “She doesn’t have to love me back, but she does, and I am grateful.” His voice cracked. “That’s all I can say, I have to go.” He hurried to his car. Warren was proud of the soundbite he left them and looked forward to hearing about it in the news.
Look for Episode 5 on August 10. Missed Episode 1? Read it now.
In the meantime, learn more about The Family Portrait series. Or get the box set which contains books 1 through 5.
Copyright ©2018 Gillian Felix. All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, email the author Gillianfelix23{AT}Gmail.com
