“I knew you’d be happy to hear that,” Mom said. I heard an inaudible voice murmur something to her, and she laughed. Then, to me she said, “One sec, your dad wants to speak to you.”
I hadn’t heard my dad’s voice in months—since the court date where I was sentenced to Serenity Hills to be precise—so when he came on the line, I had to press the back of my hand against my mouth to hold the sob in. “Happy birthday, baby,” he said.
I couldn’t decide if I was more excited to speak to him or angrier that it had taken this long for him to pull his head out of his ass, but regardless, I was crying. Pulling in a deep breath to gather my bearings, I said, “Thanks.”
“Looks like you’ve been staying out of trouble,” he said, which meant he’d been scouring the gossip columns to see if I’d stepped out of line.
I hadn’t.
“Yes, I’m—” I thought of the past month and everything that had happened and gave a tiny sigh. “I love Hawaii,” I whispered at last.
He made a little noise in the back of his throat. “Your mom and I would love to come see you when you’re ready to have us,” he said in a tentative voice.
But I wasn’t ready for my parents to visit me. Not now when things were going so well.
I tangled my hands into the corner of my sheets. “Thanks, Dad, I’ll let you know.” My voice was polite, but firm enough to let him know that probably wouldn’t be anytime soon.
Our call ended a few minutes later, and I swung out of bed, suddenly high from the news Mom had given me at the beginning of the call. I was too happy to even let the fact Clay had called her instead of me bother me. What my mom had told me was hands down the best birthday present anyone had ever given me. It was three years too late, but I’d take it.
I was a jittery mess for the remainder of the morning, running on very little food and too much Red Bull and adrenaline, so when I went to my probation meeting in the middle of the afternoon, I was shaking.
Officer Stewart narrowed her eyes at me from across her desk and straightened a stack of papers before saying, “Have you had any run-ins with the police since our last meeting?”
I swept my hand across my forehead, shaking my head. “No,” I said. I didn’t mention the fact one of Justin’s fans—a girl he already had a restraining order against— had snuck onto the set a couple days before and the police had questioned me along with other members of the cast and crew after they arrested her.
Stewart tapped her long, French-manicured nails against the hard surface of her desk. “And everything else is still the same?”
I nodded.
“Nothing special planned for your birthday?” The way she said the word special, like I should automatically insert my drug of choice there, made my muscles tense up.
I cleared my throat a few times before answering her. “I’ve got work in the morning.”
She tilted her head to one side thoughtfully, to gauge whether or not I was telling the truth. I wanted to let her know that I’d been too busy to even think about getting messed up, and that the few times it had entered my mind for even a flicker of a moment, I’d automatically flushed the thoughts out and reminded myself of how well I was doing without going numb.
I had friends.
I had a job.
Holy f**k, I had Cooper.
And now, if everything went right with my attorney—
I let out a shake sigh because for the first time in years, I was golden.
Officer Stewart typed something on her laptop keyboard, twisting her lips to the side as she worked. “You know that if you fail another drug test I’ll have no other choice but have you arrested.”
Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes. “I’m not on anything.”
“You know I’ve got to make sure, right?”
I’d loaded up on energy drinks and water for that very reason.
After I passed my screening with flying colors, she ushered me back to her cubicle where she brought up the subject of my community service. “Dave says you’ve not been back for the last couple weeks,” she pointed out.
I linked my thumbs together in my lap, settling my palms on the stiff fabric of my new Rag & Bone skinny jeans. I’d splurged on them a week ago when Paige had dragged me away—with Miller in tow, of course—to go shopping when her younger sister Delilah was in town. To date, the jeans and fluttery chiffon shirt I was wearing was the only thing I’d spent any of my work advance money on, aside from food and basics.
Thirty days down and no drugs. It was a record for me.
“Do you plan on finishing your community service?” Officer Stewart asked in a soft voice.
I took a deep breath before answering. “I’m planning on going back once things die down with work. We’ve been shooting quite a few of my scenes because—”
Because I’m unreliable and Dickson probably thinks I’ll bail.
Stewart shook her head slowly, her light brown hair swinging back and forth around her shoulders as she did. “I understand that, but don’t forget that if you don’t complete your community service, I’ll—”
“Have to report me to the courts. I get it,” I answered in a sharp voice.
She sighed and dropped her chin for several seconds. When she lifted it, she was nibbling the corner of her lip. “I’m not doing this to be mean, Willow. This is my job. While you’re a very . . . nice girl, I have to be thorough when it comes to my career because I like having an apartment and food.”
I understood Stewart had to look out for her career, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder if some of her coolness towards me had anything to do with her sister and Cooper. I couldn’t exactly come right out and say anything to her. For starters, Stewart was my probation officer and I wasn’t going there with her and secondly, confronting her would out my relationship with Cooper.