Chapter 4

On the morning of day twelve, I scrapped the two-person setup and placed the camera at the far edge of the training field.

Noah arrived late. He carried coffee and toasted bagels, his voice deliberately gentle. "Last night was my fault. I shouldn't have hung up on you. Claire said she had a fever in the middle of the night, so I took her to the clinic. Once orientation is over, I'll reshoot every shot I owe you. Deal?"

I finished checking the memory card and hit record. "You don't have to report to me anymore. Where you go or who you're with is no longer something you need to explain to me."

He stepped in front of the lens. "Can you stop saying things you don't mean? Let's talk this through."

I looked up at him. "Noah, let's break up."

A few seconds passed. He tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You're trying to use a breakup to force me to cut Claire off again? I'm not doing that. You know I can't stand people trying to control who I'm friends with."

I looked at this person I'd loved for two years and realized for the first time how confident he was. He was so sure I wouldn't actually leave that he was setting conditions before he even bothered to ask me to stay.

"Whatever." I stepped around him and readjusted the camera.

He stood there, face tight. "Forgetting the anniversary was on me. I'll book a restaurant tonight and get you that lens you've been wanting. Once you cool down, you'll see there's no reason to risk our relationship over a few missed shoots."

"Eleven."

"What's the difference?"

I nodded. "You're right. No difference at all."

To someone who doesn't care, one and eleven are just numbers.

The assembly whistle blew. I picked up the camera and headed for the field. Behind me, Noah called out, "Go ahead and film. When you've calmed down, we'll talk."

He still thought this was the silent treatment, something dinner and a lens could fix before I slid right back into place. I didn't explain.

At noon, Claire came to find me. She didn't have the pallor of someone recovering from a fever. Her camp jacket was cinched neatly at the waist, and light pink gloss shone on her lips.

"Erin, Noah told me you two had a fight."

"It's none of your business."

"How can it not be my business? It's all because of me." She lowered her gaze, her voice pitched to exactly the right note of vulnerability. "I've been insecure since I was little. My parents are rarely around. Whenever something happens, Noah is the first person I think of. You have family, a roommate, and all those people who follow your work. But he's really all I have."

I'd heard that speech eleven times. Each time, I moved my boundaries back another step, until somehow even my boyfriend had become the only thing she had.

I slid my camera into its bag. "Claire, do you know how many sessions you've missed over fourteen days?"

She blinked. "I haven't been well. I've lost count."

"Eleven. I'm just curious why you always feel sick exactly ten minutes before we're supposed to film and recover as soon as Noah leaves the training field."

Something flickered in her eyes. Then they reddened just as quickly. "You think I'm faking it?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." My voice was steady. "I already broke up with him. From now on, you can be sick whenever you want. No need to schedule around my shoot list."

The wounded look on her face froze. "Broke up? You're really not doing the couple's series?"

"No."

"What about your followers? Didn't you build the whole account on the couple brand?"

I looked at her. She realized she'd let something slip and rushed to backpedal. "I'm just worried about your account."

"Thanks, but that's not your concern."

I turned to leave. Behind me, she called out, "Erin Bennett, even without me, you and Noah wouldn't have lasted. You turn everything into content. Even your relationship felt like a job. He just felt more relaxed with me."

The fake intimacy vanished from her voice, along with the fragility.

I looked back and smiled. "Then you should thank me for stepping aside. But there's one thing you may have gotten wrong. People don't watch my work because of the couple brand. If anything, the person dragging the series down these past eleven days was the leading man who never showed up."