I'm in Hollywood

“Hurry up and eat, then I’ll take you home. You’ve been yawning for a while, I know you’re tired.”

Drew took a sip of juice, and gave Eric a charming glance: “You want to take me home ? Sure, I really don’t mind.”

“Cough…” Eric chocked and quickly covered his mouth with a napkin as he stared fiercely at her, this little girl was really wanton.

A few minutes passed and Eric gradually found out that Drew was eating slower then less and less, and finally, even her hands started to tremble slightly when she held her knife and fork.

He was about to ask her if she felt uncomfortable anywhere, when he suddenly remembered about some people from his past life, and seeing her now, he was soon sure of it: Drew’s addiction was acting up.

Such bad timing, Eric smiled bitterly as he looked at Drew who was doing her best to endure, he quickly shouted: “Waiter, the bill !”

He just wanted to leave as soon as possible right now. Although Drew’s drug addiction matter was not a secret anymore as it had been discussed by many and relayed by even the newspapers, there wasn’t any tangible proof to show for it. In many people’s hearts, Drew was still the cute girl who kissed the alien in E.T. If it was found that she was having a seizure in public or even be photographed, that would be a severe blow to her image.

After settling the bill, Eric looked at the slightly absent-minded girl and said: “Drew, let’s go, I’ll take you home.”

They went out of the restaurant holding each other’s arms, and when Eric felt her petite body trembling against his, he couldn’t help but feel pity.

In the car, Drew huddled shivering in the passenger seat, and as soon as Eric started the car she said: “Eric, can you help me buy… buy…”

“No.” Eric categorically refused: “Drew, bear with me alright ? I’ll send you home so tell me your address.”

“No!” Drew hastily shook her head as she suddenly shouted hysterically: “I don’t want to go home, if that woman sees me like this, she’ll definitely sent me to rehab, I won’t go back, I won’t go back !”

Eric quickly reassured her: “Alright, we won’t go there.” He then started the car and drove towards his home.

Parking in the garage, Eric brought the completely confused Drew into his bedroom.

“Eric, Eric, I beg you… I beg you please buy me some of ……” Drew was shrinking in his arms as she grabbed his collar and pleaded in tears.

“No, Drew, I can’t do that, it will only make things worse.”

Bleeeegh –

Even a beautiful little girl wouldn’t look good when she vomited. The steak that had just been eaten was regurgitated all over the bed and some of it even splashed on Eric as the room was quickly filled with an unpleasant smell.

Eric frowned slightly, but looking the half-unconscious girl struggling in her own mess, his expression softened.

He pulled off the dirty sheets, then found a towel as he picked Drew up and started to carefully wipe the vomit off of her.

Feeling the coolness on her forehead, Drew slightly came to, she caught Eric again and muttered while shivering: “You… If you don’t help me buy….. I, you….”

Eric hugged her and said: “Drew, you need to endure it, taking those things will just have the opposite effect. You don’t need any, you’re strong, you’re the lucky girl who kissed an alien, remember ?”

“I…. am not….a…. lucky girl…”

Eric didn’t know how to deal with those kind of things. Although he had also encountered several drug addicts in his past life, he had never found himself in a similar situation. At this time, he thought his body’s temperature might be of some help to her, so he hugged Drew in his arms and kept stroking her back in an attempt to make her feel better.

Drew begged, threatened and cursed Eric for more than an hour, but the latter kept holding her tightly as he patiently tried to soothe her. Finally, he realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms.

He had stayed in the same position for so long that his body had become stiff from the waist up.

He tried to lay the girl down on the bed, but who knew that as soon as he would let go of her arms, the girl would start struggling like a fish out of water, waving her hands as if subconsciously trying to find something.

Eric sighed. He found a more comfortable position and took the girl in his arms again.

As Drew’s head touched his chest, her once rough breathing turned gentle again.

Holding her like this, Eric suddenly remembered his wife and son from his past life. His son was five years old and his wife used to be a clerk but quit to become a full-time housewife after their marriage since Eric’s salary was enough to support them. He wondered how they were doing after his sudden departure, he hoped they were okay.

Drew dreamed that she was a certain movie’s heroine. She fell and found herself in a dark forest, confused and alone. Then the prince emerged and saved her from her stepmother’s poisoned apple, and Drew, together with him and the dwarfs, fought against the evil queen’s oppression. The two people held a grand wedding in a palace decorated with candies and cakes, then the prince held her in his embrace as he took her to the bridal room. He laid her next to him on the bed that had dozens of cotton-wadded quilts on top of it, and Drew clung to his body as she smiled like the happiest of flowers.

Then she woke up.

She found herself leaning in a man’s warm embrace, and her arms were tightly holding his waist. After a brief moment of confusion, Drew started to recall last night’s events, albeit just some intermittent fragments.

She looked at Eric’s handsome face in a slightly infatuated way, as the sight of his blond scattered hair and the feeling of his gentle breath against her skin made her heart thump faster.

Everybody thought of Drew as God’s favorite child; she was young, famous, and had unlimited prospects. But she had never felt happy, her father’s indifference and disregard, and her mother’s mean and greedy ways had made her feel suffocated, like a bird trapped in cage who desired nothing but freedom. So she gradually indulged in bad stuff as her own way to express her dissatisfaction towards life.

After realizing her daughter had started using, Drew’s mother wasn’t concerned about her, but worried that she might not be able to make money anymore. It was that cold indifference that had lead to Drew’s addiction.

Which young girl didn’t dream of their prince charming ? Ah, he had to be gentle, tall, handsome, talented, he couldn’t be rude, he had to be patient, give in to her, fan her when she’s hot, hug her when she’s cold, take care of her when she’s sick, comfort her when she’s down, and if she were to perish, he would ride his dragon even to the depths of hell to get her back… (TL: Ok that’s not a prince, that’s a freaking xianxia MC.)

And now, such a prince had really appeared. Well, although there were some deviation from what she had imagined and the one he loved wasn’t even herself, those were just minor details.

Drew’s original plan was to snatch away Eric from Jennifer Aniston as retaliation to the latter’s hurtful words, but now that things had developed to this point, she realized she had instead fallen hard for him.

Perhaps because he felt something, Eric opened his eyes to see Drew looking at him. He gently smiled and said: “Drew you woke up, you must be hungry. I’ll make breakfast, so you go and shower in the meantime, the smell is really unbearable.”

“Hey Eric, why are you so good to me ?”

“Um ?” Eric was startled, he reached out his hand and rubbed Drew’s little head: “Well, we’re friends.”

He had just sat up that Drew swiftly kissed his face.

“Ah Drew, your mouth stinks.” Eric said with a smile.

She loosened her grasp on his neck: “Eric, I love you.”

“Well I don’t, ah.” He put Drew down and opened up the curtains to let the sun in.

Drew looked at his back and pouted: “You just need to know that I do.”

“I know.” Eric squeezed Drew’s lovely face.

“Hey Eric, I just realized one thing.”

“What is it ?”

“You held me the entire night without even reacting, I think there might be a problem with your thing, want me to help you check ? I’ll do it for free !”

“That’s really generous of you Dr. Barrymore, I’d rather you hurried to take that shower or we’ll be late.”

“Will you join me ?”

“No, I’ll go wash downstairs.”

“Ah that’s not right Eric, we should use water resources frugally, we can’t be wasteful. Think about those people in Africa who lack water so much that some of them even die of thirst.”

“You’re right, I’ll start saving water tomorrow, let today be the last I spend in luxury.”

“You…”

Summer of 1988, a girl shrouded in darkness came across a bright and warm light, and like a child drowning in water, she firmly held onto it, with all the strength she could muster.