Free Time Spent by J. David Clarke

him. "So this is what
you do now?"
    Tyler laughed. "This is it."
    "This your girlfriend, Tyler?" the director
asked, looking Becca up and down. He was a pot-bellied man in white
pants and a purple shirt, top three buttons open and a gold chain
nesting in his graying chest hair.
    "No, I'm just a fan," Becca said.
    "You a model, yeah? No, actress! Yeah?"
    "Oh yeah! I pretend to give a shit all
the time ," Becca said with a wide smile.
    "Well you keep an eye on this one, hah?" He
reached over one meaty hand to give Tyler's butt a pat. "He going
places!"
    "Okay, we'll be right back, Dario." Tyler
ushered Becca from the studio.
    "Ty," one of the men on set called after
him, a young guy with blond streaked hair, wearing headphones and a
three-piece suit. "you're on for the club later, right?"
    "I'll be there!" Tyler said with a wave.
    In the hall, a girl passing by said
"Tylerrrrrrr!" loudly.
    "Hey girl, hey!" Tyler waved. "I have no
idea who that is," he said to Becca.
    "I bet." Becca said. "Just like you had no
idea that old man's hand was on your ass."
    "Who, Dario? He's harmless. He just likes to
flirt."
    "Ew."
    "Come in here," he said, ushering her into a
small room with a few couches and tables. Once they were inside, he
turned on her. "Why do you have to be that way, Becca?"
    "What way?"
    "You know what I mean. 'I pretend to give a
shit all the time'? That way."
    Becca shrugged. "Born without the capacity
for bullshit, I guess."
    "Okay, well this isn't bullshit, this is my
life, and these people have a lot to do with how my career goes. So
you have to put up with some bullshit, so what?"
    "Fine," she said, throwing up her hands.
"Sorry!"
    "Why are you here?"
    "I came by to see you."
    Tyler stared at her.
    "Ugh. Okay. Look, I just...the truth is...I
don't have anywhere to go."
    "What do you mean? You always have
places."
    Becca sat on one of the sofas. "Yeah, I
mean, I can have a place, if I want one. I can always have a place.
I'm trying to stop. I've been trying to stop."
    "Stop using your power, you mean. To control
people."
    "Yeah."
    Tyler sighed, and sat next to her.
"Okay."
    "I never told you, but my mom...she killed
herself."
    "I'm sorry," he said.
    "You didn't do it," she said.
    "I didn't mean...."
    "I know. It's just...my dad left us when I
was a kid, and then my mom killed herself, and then the bus crash
on top of that. When I found out I could make people do anything I
wanted, I...I went off, I guess. I went too far. You don't
know."
    "I remember," he said.
    "No, worse than making people wash my hair,"
she said grimly. "Way worse. I was using people all the time, and
using drugs to make myself feel better about using the people. I
thought it was a non stop party, but...I think..."
    "What?"
    The next words came out in a whisper. "I
think I was killing myself."
    Tyler looked down.
    She swallowed. "Not at first, but after a
while. I wasn't thinking about a future anymore, not after a
while."
    Tyler looked for a moment like he had
something to say, but then he shook his head.
    "I don't want to be like that anymore,"
Becca said.
    Tyler nodded. "Look, you can stay with me
for a while, okay?"
    "Really?"
    "Yeah. No more talking shit to industry
people, though, deal?"
    "No promises," Becca said.
    Tyler laughed. "Well, at least you're
honest."
    "Always."
    They stood, and Tyler put his arms around
her. "Everything's going to be okay," he said.
    HHOW DO YOU KNOWW
    I just do, Tyler sent, and tried to
cover the real thought behind it: I don't.
    ______________________
     
    The sparks were flying between them with
greater and greater frequency, soon becoming lines of energy that
arced from one to another and leaped into the sky.
    There was a flash then, all around them. For
just a moment, Tyler lost his sight, except for a point of light in
the sky.
    "My eyes!" he cried, putting a hand to his
face.
    The point of light in the sky expanded to
form a shimmering circle. A sound rose, like the sound of cracks
opening in ice, only a