Twenty Nine

"Are you alright, John? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Sonya asked.

"No, I'm fine ... shit!!" he ran his fingers through his hair, still annoyed by the circumstances.

Sandy was still wrapped around him in distress, but she was relieved that he was unharmed. Larry and Sonya went inside the cottage to assess the damage. Sandy was going to check on her place too, but John stopped her, "Don't go there ... it's a fucking mess." He pulled her back in his arms.

"You can't stay here anymore," she said quietly.

"I know, shit! I almost got him, he got away," he was still pissed.

"We can't stay together, ... they won't let us."

Larry and Sonya came out of the cottage, they moved on to Sandy's. John knew that was a done deal, the moment they saw what he did to the place, they were not to see each other again until the end of the shooting period.

When they came back, they laid down the rules and the damage control procedures. They had a procedure for circumstances such as this one, it's usually caused by a fan turned stalker. This was obviously different, and more complicated because it involved Sandy. John didn't like the terms.

John was going to be relocated to a confidential place of lodging, he was not to be seen with Sandy. The management will pay for any and all damages on the property and the rent will be paid in full, but Sandy had to sign an agreement that whatever had taken place that night was not going to be reported to the police or anybody else for that matter.

The management will deny any knowledge of the case pertaining to Sandy's past or deny any association with the culprit. In order to protect John's safety and his commitment to the movie production, they had to wash their hands completely from any association with a case like this. Otherwise it would jeopardize their production and they would have to face the horror of dealing with reporters should news like this come out to the public during production.

"I'm sorry Sandy ... but those are the rules, I wish it could be different," Larry said.

"And what if I don't agree with it?" John asked, he wasn't feeling it at all.

"They will terminate the production once the news is out or if something happens to you ... they'll sue you for breach of contract and probably ban you from future productions," Sonya explained.

"Fine ... I don't care," John replied.

"No! ... No!! No! He didn't mean that, John ... come on? It's fine I can handle this," Sandy tried to make sense out of him.

"Just pay them what they want ... I don't care, I'm not leaving her to fend for herself ... did you see what that asshole's done to the place? Did you read what he wrote on my wall?" he couldn't keep his cool.

Larry and Sonya had an uncomfortable look on their faces, they didn't like the rules either but they were all tied to the same contract.

"John, I can stay at Andrea's for awhile, it's fine," she held John's arm to calm him down.

"Andrea? How is that safe? He broke in here and trashed the whole place, Andrea doesn't even have a security alarm."

"John ... we don't like this as much as you do, we're just laying all the rules here ... it's procedure, we can find loop holes around it, figure something out, but the main thing is you cannot be seen together," Larry said.

"Actually ... John, there are security guards assigned to watch over me, they weren't here today because they followed me to the lounge," Sandy said.

John's eyes widened, he wasn't pleased to hear that at all, "Lucas?? Is that what you're saying?"

Larry and Sonya felt a fight was going to erupt, they took a few steps back. "We'll leave you two to decide on this, okay?"

John wasn't even listening anymore, "It just can't get any worse can it, Sandy?" He paced up and down the porch.

"John, please, it's best for everyone," she spoke with a low voice.

"No! No! It's not best for everybody! Where I come from, I would be the one to protect you, not some guy who've been wanting to sleep with you for years ... do you know how fucked up that it?" he was not calming down.

"He's doing this as a friend ... he's just a friend, John."

"You might see him as a friend, do you think he looks at you as a friend? I can't believe we're even talking about this, are we not there yet? Are we not at a point where I can say 'no' I don't want Lucas to have anything to do with you! No! I don't' want him constantly monitoring your life, and do things for you without being asked! Are we not there yet, Sandy?" he was on the verge of meltdown.

"I don't know where we are right now, we haven't decided on that yet, right? All I know ... we're in a difficult situation and Lucas's help is the only thing that makes sense," Sandy was still calm.

"I have decided, I have, and I just did it again ... but you said 'no'! You don't want me to help you on this, you chose Lucas instead!" he was starting to yell at her.

"It's too much for you to sacrifice, John, it doesn't make sense ... I'm trying to find a middle ground here where everyone can go on with their lives as normal as possible," Sandy held his hand.

"There is nothing normal about my life anymore, Sandy ... not since I fell in love with you ... but you don't seem to understand it, you just shut me down and go back to Lucas," he said.

Sandy shook her head, "You know that's not true, this is not what you think it's about ... gosh, I just can't make the sense out of you, you're too consumed with being jealous at Lucas and it's just too painful for your pride to take this road, which is easier for everybody."

John sighed sarcastically, "Maybe it's easier for you ... it's definitely not easier for me," he hung his hands on his waist.

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"I don't know, Sandy, what do you think it means? It seems like you've figured out everything for everybody," he kept pushing.

"Okay ... that's enough talking, I'm packing my stuff, you should too," she didn't want to prolong the argument that was spiraling down very fast.

He swallowed a bitter pill, he couldn't win with Sandy. He kicked a chair on his way inside to pack his bag. Once they were done, they left the cottage as it was. A professional cleaner was arranged to come the next morning under a confidential agreement, everything was organized by John's management.

They didn't say anything to each other in the car. When Sandy was going to step out of the car, John pulled her hand and kissed her, "I hate you ... I hate you for doing this to me," he softly said. She kissed him again, and closed the door after her.