Free Winter Wishes (Sharing Space #5) by Nina Perez Page A

wasn’t lying. In just one month I’d already pushed myself further than I ever had as an actor. Sure, sometimes the storylines were a bit over the top—rumor had it a killer robot story had been nixed by producers shortly before I was hired—but there was no denying that as an actor I was challenged and I’d never felt more proud of my decision to enter into the profession.
     
    “Damien to stage one. Damien, you’re needed on stage one.”
     
    Damien rose and stretched. “Well, that’s me. You done for the day?”
     
    “Yeah, just about to change and head out.”
     
    “Lucky you. I’m off tomorrow so I guess I won’t see you before the party, huh?”
     
    Christmas was a little more than a week away and one of our producers was hosting a holiday party at his penthouse apartment. The whole cast and crew had been invited.
     
    “I’ll be there.” I replied as Damien clutched his script, waved, and headed out for Stage One.
     
    I took a quick shower in the private bath attached to our dressing room, then placed the wardrobe I’d worn for the scene in a canvas laundry bag with the show’s name and logo on it. After changing into my own clothes I went to the phone on my desk and dialed the extension for the wardrobe department. They’d send an intern to pick up my laundry bag and mark the items as returned. When I arrived tomorrow morning, the same outfit would be cleaned and ready for me to continue the scene.
     
    I’d done very little to make my side of the spacious dressing room my own. There was a picture of Chloe, and the card that had accompanied flowers she sent my first day on the desk. I had a few changes of clothes hanging in my closet and that was about it. I’d joked to Chloe that my reluctance to make myself at home was indicative of the fact that it was still all a bit too good to be true, and that maybe I was afraid it would all be taken away. She assured me, while straddling me with her long legs on the sofa at home, that I had nothing to worry about.
     
    “You’re amazing. That’s why you got the job.” Looking at her confident smile as she wore my tee shirt and a pair of my boxers I felt like the luckiest and most confident man in the world. My cell phone vibrated on my desk, pushing me back to the present.
     
    It was Tara, my sister Charlotte’s dormitory roommate.
     
    “Hi, Patrick. She was just here, but she left before I could call you.”
     
    “Where did she go?” I asked.
     
    “I don’t know. I tried to get her to stick around, like you said, but she just grabbed some clothes and said she’d be back in a few days. I’m really sorry.”
     
    “It’s okay. I’m working tomorrow, but in case she comes back, you have my dad’s number, right? And my brother’s?”
     
    “Yup. I programmed them in my phone. If I see her or hear from her, I’ll call again.”
     
    I thanked her and disconnected the call. I wanted nothing more than to get home to Chloe, but I decided to call my father first. Chloe had been so supportive while I dealt with this family drama, but I felt she deserved a night off from hearing about it. When I got home I wanted to give her my full attention. My father answered on the first ring.
     
    “Charlotte’s roommate just called. She was there, but left almost immediately.”
     
    He sighed deeply. “At least we know she’s alive. Thomas was going to be there today, but he had to work.”
     
    My father and my brother Thomas had been taking turns staking out her dorm building, hoping to corner Charlotte into a conversation. I wasn’t so sure that was the best course of action. I’d seen her on Thanksgiving Day; they hadn’t. A forced confrontation would cause Charlotte to lash out and then retreat, but I understood that my family felt like they had to do something and she’d left us few options.
     
    “The resident assistant finally called me back. She was able to get Orbit’s off-campus address from another student. We were thinking we