20 | Inciting Incident

"You sure you wanna work today?" Jody looked really concerned as we pulled into the set car park. The shuttle bus was pulling out and a hoard of people were headed towards the set. "I think a day off is warranted right now."

I shook my head. "I'm good." Jody didn't look convinced. "Really, I am."

We got out of the car and made our way to the director's tent, where I immediately said goodbye to Jody and headed over to grab my camera. "Skye, wait." I turned back to Jody. "Can you go to my trailer and grab the scripts?"

I let out a sigh. I just wanted to get to work and distract myself as soon as possible. But I agreed nonetheless. "Sure."

"Thanks, Skye." I waved her off and headed towards the trailers. "It's on the desk!"

I opened the door to Jody's trailer and ascended the steps. It was a similar layout to Ryder's trailer and my mind immediately went back to when Colt and I had just met and he'd invited me into the trailer. A small smile crept its way onto my face, but I shook it away and made my way into the office.

"There you are." I leaned forward and snatched the papers from the desk, skimming over them briefly. It was the third act for Metalstorm. I flipped over to the very last page, tracing my finger down the page.

SPACE COWBOY JUMPS THE CAR OVER THE RAVINE, LANDING ON THE OTHER SIDE.

My lips pursed in sadness. Jody so desperately wanted the stunts to be real, but it was probably going to have to be done in VFX, now that Colt was... gone. I let out a sigh and folded the script in half, turning around to leave. I was about to exit the trailer, when something moved in my periphery.

I turned to look, squinting in the darkness. "Who's there?" There was another shuffling sound to my right and I whipped around, my heartbeat quickening. "This isn't funny."

Completely over it, I reached out to open the door and shed some light into the room, so I could see, but something grabbed my arm, centimetres from. the handle. "No." 

My stomach lurched as I tried to rip my hand from the tight grip, the other reaching for the light switch. When I felt it, I flipped it, flooding the room with warm light. I was surprised at the sight in front of me. One of the Metalstorm aliens towered over me, my arm still in its grip. I furrowed my brows as it just stood there. "What is this?"

The alien retracted its hand and reached up to its head. I watched cautiously as it began to remove its helmet...

"Colt?"

My voice was barely above a whisper. I wasn't even sure if I had spoken out loud; but the smile that appeared on Colt's beaten-up face solidified that I had. "Hey."

Without hesitation, I lunged forward, toppling both of us over as I embraced Colt in a passionate, desperate hug. He chuckled in amusement as he fell to the floor, me landing unceremoniously on top of him. The smile was still on his face as my shaky hands reached for it. My eyes scanned his features, failing to miss he cuts, scrapes and burns that adorned his skin. "I thought you were dead."

The fact that I was basically straddling Colt went unnoticed as we stared into each other's eyes. He looked guilty, but I just felt elated. He's not dead. My heart was beating so fast, anyone would think I had just run a half marathon. He sighed. "Yeah, me too."

"But the explosion..." I was lost for words at seeing him right here in front of me, touching his skin. "The news; they said—"

"—I escaped." I listened intently. "I needed Ryder to think I was dead, so he would give up."

I nodded in understanding. "I know."

"Skye..." His hand reached up to stroke the large purple bruise that had formed on the side of my forehead. I winced slightly at his his feather-light touch and he withdrew his fingers. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault," I retorted, leaning into the palm of his hand which now cupped my cheek. "I should've left like you told me to." He chuckled breathily. "I was so scared, Colt." My voice shook slightly and his face softened, pulling me in so I was resting my head on his chest as he hugged me. "I thought you were gone."

We remained silent for a few moments, just relishing in the close proximity. Colt's voice rumbled in his chest as he spoke. "It's gonna take someone a little smarter  than Tom Ryder to kill me." I laughed at that. "I'm sorry I left you there. Jody came and got you, right?" I nodded. "Good."

Colt readjusted himself, so he was in an upright position, back leaning against the wall. I suddenly became aware of our compromising position and my cheeks turned red. I tried to move, but Colt's tight arm around my waist prevented me doing so. I locked eyes with him. "Colt."

His eyes glimmered mischievously and his grip tightened. He knew what he was doing. "Skye."

I tried one more time to escape his grip, then let out a defeated sigh. "Why do you do this to me?"

Colt just shrugged. "You love it." I rolled my eyes, but didn't protest. Maybe I do... a little. "Skye?" His voice took on a more serious note. "I'm so sorry about everything." I nodded. I had already forgiven him. "When the boat exploded, I thought I would be thinking about my family or my job... or even Jody." He let out a chuckle, interlocking his fingers behind my back and looking into my eyes with intense sincerity. "But I didn't." I gazed deep into his eyes, absorbing every single word he said with bated breath. "I actually thought about you."

I raised an eyebrow, my heart throbbing erratically in my chest. "About me?" He nodded. "Why?"

"I don't know," Colt replied honestly, with a shrug of his shoulders. "All I know is that leaving you and not seeing you again wasn't an option..." He let out a sigh. "We've known each other for—what—two days?" I nodded in confirmation. "But I feel like I've known you forever,"

I smiled down at him. "It's weird. I feel the same way." Colt beamed up at me and I felt a weird magnetic pull towards him, that I couldn't resist. I leaned in ever-so-slightly, Colt reciprocating my movement almost immediately. What are you doing?! My brain screamed at me to stop. It's too soon. He's going to ghost you like Jody! But—potentially against my better judgement—I closed my eyes and leaned closer.

"Jody!"

***

Sorry, not sorry. I guess you'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens 😈 😈 .