15 | Sound Check

I offered to give Colt a lift to karaoke, so we headed back in the direction of my car. As we made our way along the peninsula, Colt's wide eyes scanned the harbour.

"it's crazy to actually be here," he said, holding up his phone to snap a photo of the Harbour Bridge. "Like I've seen photos..."

I chuckled. "I guess it's just normal for me." I fished around my jacket pockets for the car fob, retreiving it and clicking the unlock button. A beep sounded in the near distance. We made our way towards it. "I guess it's like you and the Hollywood sign, or Santa Monica Pier."

"Yeah, I guess." We got into the car and I plugged in the address of the karaoke bar. it was about ten minutes away. I pulled out onto the street, Circular Quay visible on our right. Colt looked past me and out my window to see it. "Maybe I should move to Sydney." I chuckled and he shot me a confused look. 'What? You don't think I should?"

"No, I didn't say that," I replied, turning onto the express way. I looked over at him as the Harbour Bridge came into view ahead of us. "I think you should. I just wasn't expecting you to suggest it."

Colt leaned forward in his seat, looking up as we drove onto the bridge. "I really do like it here. LA is so fake, you know?"

I nodded. "I can imagine." 

When the bridge was behind us, I turned off the express way, following the GPS towards the karaoke bar. "Stop!" Colt suddenly exclaimed from the passenger seat, causing me to slam on the brakes, subsequently throwing us both forward harshly.

"Shit!" I shouted, turning around to make sure there were no cars behind us. Luckily, there weren't. "What the fuck was that for?"

"That's Ryder's assistant," Colt replied sheepishly, pointing at a short lady, being pulled along the footpath by two dogs on leashes. "Come on. She might know where Ryder is!"

I stuck out my arm, barring him from getting out of the car. He leaned back in his seat. My face was emotionless, but I was utterly livid. "Are you telling me you almost made me crash my car because you want to talk to Ryder's assistant?" Colt visibly swallowed. "Are you fucking kidding me, Colt?"

Colt chewed the inside of his cheek, guilt washing over his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." I rolled my eyes, unlocking the passenger side door. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened it, eyes following Ryder's assistant as she continued towards us. "You coming?"

I shook my head. "I'll see you at karaoke." My voice was monotone. Colt let out a sigh, but nodded anyways, before exiting the car and shutting the door behind him. I let out a frustrated sigh, my heart still racing from the scare. "Holy shit..."

***

Jody looked up at me as I entered the bar, her eyes immediately furrowing at Colt's absence. She opened her mouth speak as I sat down next to her at the bar, but I beat her to it. "He's coming later."

"Okay." Jody nodded, my shortness not going unnoticed by her. "Is everything okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." The bartender approached us, handing Jody a colourful drink. "Can I get a gin and tonic, thanks." He nodded and got to work making my drink. I turned my attention back to Jody. "I just can't with Colt, right now..."

Jody nodded knowingly. "Yeah, I've definitely been there before." She let out a low chuckle, taking a sip of her drink. "What did he do this time?"

I rolled my eyes as the bartender placed my drink in front of me. "We were driving and he just shouted out of nowhere." Jody chuckled disappointedly. "I thought maybe there was something on the road or... I don't know. I could've crashed the car."

"So, where is he now?" Jody asked as I took a large sip of my drink, almost drinking half of it in one gulp. "You kicked him out?"

I shook my head. "No, he wanted to talk to someone." Jody's expression, made it clear she wanted to know who that 'someone' was. "Ryder's assistant."

"Hmm." Jody's lips pursed in thought. "Why?"

I knew I couldn't tell her. Gail had made that clear. I also didn't want to worry her or distract her from making Metalstorm.  So i shrugged unknowingly. "No clue."

We sat in comfortable silence for a minute or so, before; "Next up we've got... Jody!"

I smiled at Jody, who tipped the last of her drink into her mouth. "You've got this Jody."

She just smiled and made her way up to the stage as the rest of the Metalstorm crew that was there cheered for her. I turned around in my chair, watching her whisper with the DJ for a second, before standing up to the microphone, the heartbreaking piano chords of Against All Odds by Phil Colins playing through the speakers..

"How can I just let you walk away? Just let you leave without a trace."

I watched Jody, sipping my drink, entranced by the emotion in her voice. My mind began to wander. Should I have just left Colt? What if he was in trouble?

"How can you just walk away from me, when all I can do is what you leave?"

When my glass was empty, I set it back down on the bar, taking out my phone. I immediately went to Colt's number, clicking on it and holding the phone to. my ear. As it rang, I returned my gaze back to Jody.

"So take a look at me now. There's just an empty space."

Colt didn't respond. I was just met with his voicemail, which I hung up on. I opened Messages and sent him a text. Where are you?

"I wish I could just make you turn around; turn around and see me cry."

Delivered, but not read. I sighed and placed my phone on the bar. If he was in trouble, it was my fault, for letting him go by himself. I had made a promise to help him out... But then again, he had assured me that he was done.

"And you coming back to me is against all odds, but it's the chance I've got to take."

I returned my attention to Jody as she belted out the final few sentences, earning a massive applause from the patrons of the bar. I joined in, clapping enthusiastically as she made her way back over to me.

"So," she said, out of breath, as she resumed her seat beside me. "What did you think?"

"That was awesome," I replied sincerely as someone else got up on stage to sing. "You are a really good singer."

Jody smiled bashfully. "Thanks, Skye." She ordered another drink, which the bartender placed in front of her. "Did Colt show up?"

"Nope." I tapped my phone screen, checking for any notifications , but there was nothing. "D'you think he's bailed?"

Jody shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him." She took a sip of her drink. "Do you want some friendly advice?" I furrowed my brows in confusion. "I've known Colt for a long time and he is a great guy—truly. But, he cannot handle commitment."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Jody shrugged. "I notice you've been spending a lot of time together." She didn't look jealous, which I took as a good sign. "I've been there, done that. He shut me out after his accident... Did he tell you about it?"

I shook my head. "No, but Dan mentioned an accident."

Jody looked surprised at my reaction. "Yeah, about a year ago, on Tom Ryder's last film." I listened intently. "Wait, he really didn't tell you?" I shook my head. "Wow, okay." 

"What happened?" I asked, leaning my elbows against the table in intrigue. "Dan said it was pretty bad."

"Well, I was a camera operator on Ryder's last film—that's where I met Colt and Gail—and there was a stunt, where Colt had to fall like twelve stories with a rig and it broke." My eyes widened in shock. "He broke his back in like a million places and had to quit stunts for a while. This is his first job since then, I think."

My eyes were wide. "Oh my god..."

"Yeah," Jody sighed. "I wanted to be there for him so bad, but he kind of just shut me out after that." She put a hand on my shoulder. "That's why I'm telling you this. I've had a year to get over Colt, but I don't want the same thing happening to you."

***

I just wanna be clear, I do not want Jody to be an antagonist in this film. Yes, she is the love interest in the film and now that is Skye, but I like Jody and I want her to be Skye's friend.

I've started watching The Gray Man and I'm about 20 minutes in and I'm already lowkey bored. I expected it to be similar to Red Notice and it kind of is, but it's not that interesting.  Can someone who has seen it tell me if and when it gts better?????