58.2 & 58.3
Kris stared out the window of the car Anthony had borrowed from his parents, her gaze fixed on the darkness outside, while her mind traveled at a thousand miles per hour through the highway of her thoughts. She had the uneasy feeling that there would a head-on collision occurring sometime in the near future.

After her visit to William's apartment, Kris had decided to bury herself in schoolwork. Classes became her sanctuary for the remainder of the week. She'd avoided the set. She'd avoided Julianne's apartment. Worst of all, she'd avoided Julianne.

Kris knew they'd had an agreement to go out dancing the night before, but she'd chickened out of the dare. The fact that she had wanted to go scared her. Kris had figured that if she avoided Julianne until the weekend, she'd be safe. The weekend would show her that Anthony was right for her. I hope…

Kris turned her attention away from the window. "So, what are we doing tonight?" she asked, hoping to strike up a conversation. Talking would keep the silence at bay. Silence was dangerous. Silence led to thinking. And thinking led to guilt. How could I ignore Julianne like that? The thought nagged for her attention; filled her with uneasiness.

"We could build a fire," Anthony suggested. "And watch a movie. I brought some."

Kris nodded. "That sounds nice," she told him, searching her mind for another conversation starter. Why couldn't she ever think of anything to say around him? Conversation came so easily when she was with Julianne. UGH! "So, um, do you come up here often?"

Anthony shook his head, his gaze on the road ahead. "No, my parents usually like their alone time to be … well, alone." He smiled, glancing at her quickly. "I think it's sweet that after all of those years of marriage they still manage to find romance."

Kris nodded. "Yeah, that doesn't happen often," she said, recalling her parents' divorce. "I think true love is hard to come by," she added, not sure why she was saying that, especially to Anthony.

"I don't know, sometimes you get lucky," Anthony replied. "We're almost there."

Kris glanced out of the window, noting the change in scenery. She wished she could feel happier about being out in the woods, surrounded by undisturbed beauty.

The car came to a stop in front of a small log cabin and Kris stared at it for a moment. Several horror movies came to mind.

"I'm sure it's a lot less creepy in the day time," Anthony teased, as if reading her thoughts. "Come on, let's get our stuff inside. We've got a fun-filled night ahead of us."

Yes, fun-filled, Kris thought, and stepped out of the car.

*********

Julianne was trying desperately to pay attention to everything that Naomi said, but her mind kept drifting. Why hadn't Kris called? Had she scared Kris off? Were her feelings too obvious?

"Julianne," Naomi said, breaking into her thoughts.

"Hmm?" the actress glanced up, realizing for the first time that she'd been tapping her fork against the table. She ceased the movement at once and regarded the director with an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"Are you okay?" Naomi asked, her voice full of concern.

Julianne glanced around the restaurant for a brief second before turning her attention on attentive green eyes. She cares about me … why can't I care about her? Why must things be so complicated? "I'm just having trouble concentrating, I'm sorry. It's been a long week."

The director nodded her head, taking a drink from her glass of wine. "Want to talk about it?"

"No, I just … I just want to stop thinking," Julianne answered, wishing it were that simple.

Naomi motioned for the check, and sat back in the chair, staring thoughtfully at Julianne. "Do you want to go home?" she asked gently.

Home. What was that? "I'm not sure I want to be alone," Julianne answered, not really caring how it sounded. She's going to get the wrong idea, a little voice warned.

"You don't have to be," Naomi replied.