Behind The Limelight 27: Confrontation

“Hey.”

Both Ryker and Maria were surprised to see Ashton just a few feet away from them, standing casually with his hands in the pockets of his pants. The panic on Ryker’s face was evident, as if he was a kid caught with his hand inside a cookie jar. He took a step towards Ashton, about to say something but his co-actor beat him to the chase.

“Can I talk to Maria, please?” Ashton asked. “If you don’t mind giving us a minute.”

“Sure,” Ryker’s voice was hesitant, as he glanced between the other man and their ex-girlfriend, who looked just as perplexed by Ashton’s request.

Ashton gave him a firm nod, and after a long stare, Ryker finally walked out, leaving Ashton and Maria alone. Ashton strolled towards Maria, taking in the vast garden that overlooked the balcony. The sound of the water flowing in the massive fountain and crickets chirping added to the awkwardness of the moment.

“Look, it really wasn’t what it looked like,” Maria was the first to speak up.

“What do you mean?” Ashton asked, sounding extremely cool and collected.

“We were just talking. Catching up. I hadn’t seen him in so long and we ran into each other and—”

“Why do you feel the need to justify yourself to me?” Ashton cut her off. Maria frowned in confusion, making Ashton elaborate further. “You’re rambling on as if I caught you both doing something that you shouldn’t. Why would you do that? Unless you know you were in the wrong.”

“We weren’t doing anything, Ash, trust me,” Maria said. “I really meant what I said to you the last time we met. I want to give us a shot. We had a great thing and… I just think we’re right for each other.”

“Is that so?” Ashton cocked an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Maria nodded, keeping her palm on Ashton’s arm. Ashton glanced between her hand and her face, before frowning.

“I always blamed Ryker,” Ashton spoke softly. “I hated him so much that I never saw the full picture.”

“What? What full picture?”

“You,” Ashton answered. “Ryker and you. I always put the entire blame on Ryker for taking you away. But that’s… you’re not a toy or something that he can just steal. You’re a human being who’s smart and capable enough to make her own decisions. And you chose to be with him after we broke up.”

“Ash—”

“And the fact is that Ryker didn’t owe me shit. We weren’t friends. We were nothing,” Ashton spoke. “But you and I? I loved you, Maria. We only broke up because it was hard to make time for a relationship with our busy careers. And you knew everything. You knew how I felt about Ryker and why. Yet it hadn’t even been a week after we parted ways and you started seeing him. Sure, we weren’t together or exclusive but… but I just thought you would have enough respect for me not to pull a stunt like that.”

“I—” Maria blinked, not having expected that Ashton would be calling her out like this. “I don’t know…”

“I was so blinded by my hate for Ryker that I never saw your part in it. And the bottom line is that he didn’t break my trust. He didn’t have anything to break in the first place. But you did,” Ashton finished.

“I’m sorry,” Maria frowned again, her eyes starting to tear up. “We were kids.”

“Nah, we were adults,” Ashton sighed. “I’m done, Maria. I can’t trust you again. Ever. I don’t think we should be friends either.”

“I respect that,” Maria said, her voice low. “I fucked up, I know.”

“I’m not holding any grudges. Frankly? I think I’m over it,” Ashton shrugged nonchalantly. He was about to leave, when Maria stopped him.

“Listen!” She said. Ashton turned to her again, looking at her expectantly. “I don’t know if you and Ryker have reconciled or not but I think you should know that I was the one who reached out to Ryker after we separated. I was reeling from the break up and…it might make me sound like a terrible person, which in hindsight I was, but I knew it would hurt you to see me with him.”

“Oh.”

“And we weren’t… I mean… he and I didn’t even date exactly. It was just weird. He and I didn’t even talk after the award show that year. So much for a red carpet entry, huh? Even in the few days that we did spend together all we used to do was talk about you,” Maria let out a dry chuckle. “He wasn’t even interested in talking to me today. I had to pretty much force him. So if you guys are friends again then you shouldn’t let me cause problems between you both.”

“We aren’t friends again,” Ashton muttered. “But thank you for letting me know.”

“Do you…do you think you can forgive me?” Maria questioned, making Ashton exhale tiredly.

“Not yet,” Ashton answered. Maria nodded in understanding, she gave Ashton one last, small and sad smile, before leaving.

Ashton stayed outside in the balcony, he didn’t have the strength to go back out and socialize. His head was spinning from everything that he learned today, especially about his father. He couldn’t believe the audacity of his mother to expect him to help them out. To try and manipulate a woman into silence.

Sure, the reputation of him and his family was on line. But if Cora was to go public, then it would be her decision. His father fucked up, and whatever the price for that may be…Ashton had no choice but to accept it.

And then there was Maria and Ryker. Any other night he would’ve probably jumped to conclusions upon seeing them together, but he just didn’t have the energy to cause a scene.

A part of him was feeling relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders after his conversation with Maria. He had always blamed Ryker, but only now was he realizing Maria’s role in everything too. It felt good to confront her, to speak his piece and get some closure.

Ashton heard footsteps but didn’t turn back to see who was coming up behind him. At least they weren’t the clicks of heels, otherwise he would’ve rather jumped off the balcony and ran away rather than speaking to his mother again.

He wasn’t surprised when Ryker stood next to him, a few feet away as if he was giving Ashton his space. The two stayed silent for a few minutes, no doubt that both were trying to figure out the words to say.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Ashton asked.

“I promised you that I won’t mess with any girls that you like ever again,” Ryker explained.

“I don’t have feelings for Maria,” Ashton clarified. “At least not anymore.”

“Oh.”

“Do you?” Ashton questioned. “Do you have feelings for her?”

“No. I never did,” Ryker replied.

“Okay,” Ashton spoke softly. “Do you want to sleep with her?”

“No.” Ryker’s answer was prompt. Quick.

“Then you have nothing to apologize for,” Ashton said.

“So you’re not…mad at me or anything?” Ryker asked. He seemed quite surprised, but also worried at how calm and rational Ashton was acting. It was unlike him.

“I’m not,” Ashton stated and Ryker finally breathed out in relief.

“Is everything okay?”

“I spoke to my mother.”

“Fuck,” Ryker muttered. He knew this would not be good. “What did she say?”

“Never mind that,” Ashton sighed. He didn’t trust Ryker to tell what had actually went down. He didn’t trust anyone enough to admit to what his father did. “Just her usual bullshit.”

“I see,” Ryker nodded, turning to face Ashton again. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“And do what?”

“Go home and get some sleep,” Ryker paused. “Or we could go for a drive. I don’t know about you but the tiny bite sized appetizers at such events never satisfy me. I’m really in the mood for some pizza. Or maybe McDonald’s? Oh yeah, I could really use some fries right about now.”

“I wouldn’t mind chicken nuggets,” Ashton mumbled, contemplating Ryker’s suggestion. “Maybe a burger.”

“Let’s go. We’ll make a stop at a drive-thru then head over to the Hollywood sign.”

One good thing about Kaufman events were that they were usually out of town  and in remote, high end mansions. This meant that there was no paparazzi to capture Ashton Archer and Ryker Cohen, the so called rivals of Hollywood, getting in a car together after a party.

Ashton rolled down the windows, feeling the fresh breeze on his face as he closed his eyes. Ryker glanced at him from time to time, a small frown on his face. Despite him playing it cool, Ryker’s gut was telling him that Ashton wasn’t as composed as his exterior seemed to be. There was a raging melancholy radiating off of him, too strong to ignore.

“Holy shit, you’re Ryker Cohen!” said the McDonald’s employee, his eyes wide open in surprise upon seeing the actor in the car.

Ryker politely smiled, autographing a tissue paper with a sweet and short note whereas Ashton kept his head turned to the other side, hoping that the employee would not notice or recognize him too. Fortunately, it worked. After getting their food, they were out of there.

The two munched on fries and nuggets as Ryker drove. He usually hated the idea of anybody eating in his car and leaving behind crumbs, but he made an exception for the night. The two stayed silent for the majority of the time, with only some lo-fi music playing on the radio.

Ryker parked the car once the Hollywood sign was visible. Deciding it was best not to hike to the top of the hill when it was dark, they got out of the car and simply sat on the bonnet, overlooking the sign.

Neither of them could recall how many times they had done this before. Just sat together and stared at the sign, wishing one day that they would leave their mark on the industry.

Ryker glanced at Ashton, who was staring straight up ahead, his face devoid of any expression or emotion whatsoever. Ashton could feel eyes on him, bit he didn’t look back at Ryker.

Ashton did not even look at Ryker when the man kept his hand on top of Ashton’s. Ashton did not move away his hand either, and the two just sat there with a gorgeous view and their fingers intertwined.

***

sorry for the late update, life has rly been life-ing lately