Claiming Addison
By: Zoey Derrick“Addie,” I hear Sam call from the front door.
“In the kitchen,” I holler back.
“Girl, you need some help with that?” I ask her as she lugs her suitcase up the steps.
“Nope,” I hear her grunt followed by her suitcase falling on my hardwood floors. I come around the corner of the kitchen and she is standing at the top of the steps, huffing.
“You’re so full of shit. We could’ve gone down for your stuff, you know?”
“Nope, I got it.” She gives me a wink.
“Is that all?”
She looks down at her suitcase dubiously then back at me. “Uh yeah, why?”
“You’re staying here for twelve weeks, remember?”
She rolls her eyes. “This is mainly for this weekend. I told bitchface that I’d be back on Sunday. I haven’t told her that I am disappearing for three months. Besides, my apartment is ten minutes away from here. Not like I’m leaving town for twelve weeks like some people.” She sticks her tongue out at me.
I laugh and shake my head at her. “You do realize that while I’m gone, you’re more than welcome to move all your stuff in here.”
She looks around the apartment dramatically. “Like I can afford this place.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes. “Wine? Then we can discuss your moving in.”
“Yes, please.” She grabs the two bags of takeout that I can smell all the way over here. It smells really good. Reminding me I haven’t eaten much today.
Once we’re in the kitchen, I grab plates and pour the wine into two very large goblets. Hmm, maybe I should’ve bought a couple more bottles. That one bottle fit into two glasses. “Trying to get you drunk,” I say sliding the glass to her.
“That will definitely do it, though with Chinese food, you never know.”
I hold up my glass. “Cheers.” We clink and dive into divvying up the food. “So is Jess pissed you’re staying here?” I ask her as we both reach for the egg rolls. I hold my hand out for her to go ahead.
She shrugs and takes a bite of her egg roll. “I don’t really care if she is or not. She’s got her own place, no reason for her to stay here.”
“Well, you have your own place too,” I remind her.
“Yes, but it is occupied by bitchface.”
I roll my eyes again. At this rate my eyes are likely to freeze looking at the back of my head. “So if it’s so bad living with her, why haven’t you moved out already?”
She gives me a half smile. “I feel bad because I know she couldn’t afford it on her own. I think half of the time she’s just pissed off because her grandiose plans fail. Either that or her latest fuck toy screwed her over. Ultimately, I just think she’s a really angry, jealous person. Hence why I didn’t tell her I was staying here. She’d get all whiny and I’d rather fill her head with bullshit, like having a new boyfriend and I’m spending all my time with him.”
“What would happen if you moved out?”
She shrugs. “No clue. The lease is up in two months and lately she’s been prattling on about moving back to Michigan or wherever it is that she’s from. Says that this acting bullshit is exactly that, bullshit.”
I snort. “Is she any good?” I ask honestly, not that I’d do anything about it. Sam looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “That bad?”
She nods. “Something like that. Not to mention the fact that she keeps asking me to talk to you and hook her up. She thinks that if she can get an agent, she’ll have better luck. But she can’t get an agent because she either sucks or she’s a bitch to them. She has an entitlement complex, thinks she’s entitled to whatever she wants.”
I scowl at Sam, “Entitled? Ha! Hardly. You don’t just get handed acting jobs or celebrity, you have to work your ass off for them. She wants you to talk to me. You’re kidding, right?” She shakes her head. “Okay, first of all, I don’t do actors, so I haven’t a clue what they even look for. Second of all, if she really sucks, it comes back on me and she’ll turn around and blame you. Lastly, as much as I hate to admit it, Hollywood thrives on good looks and she…”
