Him

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading my first story on Reedsy. I'd like to issue a few warnings for this story and recommend you read it only if you're 16 years or older.

Warnings: My OC is literally the worst human alive, mentions of guns and slight gore (?), prime manipulation, smoking, mentions of a heart attack, classism.

Once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading!

Russo’s shadow lingered beside her no matter what she did. She could get rip-roaring drunk, and he would be right there, watching her silently. She could be at work, immersed in one of the many roles she played, and his contemptuous eyes would be looking right at her. Hell, she could be on the edge of death, as she almost had been when her yacht sunk, but he didn’t care. His ghost was always there, waiting for revenge.

Of course, Inanna knew it was fake. He wasn’t really there, it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She had done nothing wrong. If only she could convince herself of that fact. 200 nights had passed since the death of her beloved, but still sleep evaded her.

That much was obvious to anyone that looked at her. Inanna puffed on a cigarette and lazily watched herself in the mirror. The makeup girls were hard at work dusting glitter on her cheekbones and trying to hide the dark patches of skin under her eyes. One of the girls wrinkled her nose slightly as Inanna blew out a breath of smoke. Her skittish eyes immediately went to the Actresses’ face, trying to see if she’d noticed her slight insolence. She had.

Inanna simply cocked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow as she rolled her eyes at the girl and tapped her cigarette against her ashtray.

“Empty my tray. And get me a stack of that strawberry bubblegum. David doesn’t like it when I smell like smoke.”

She immediately dropped her brush and went to do as she had asked. Inanna was just satisfied that they had stopped insisting that they weren’t assistants. She glanced back at the mirror and met the eyes of her lover. Of course, nobody could see them. If they could have, the trailer would have been full of screams.

Russo still came to her dressed as he had been the day he died. The only difference was the gunshot wound on his forehead, complete with blood trailing down to his chin. If she looked closely, she could see through it.

Needless to say, she did not look closely.

Her eye contact with Russo was broken when the makeup girl from before came back, holding a roll of Hubba Bubba. She handed it to Inanna with her head lowered, taking care not to meet her eyes.

She tore off a chunk and popped it into her mouth, standing up. The makeup girls moved away from her in slight confusion.

“I’ll finish my makeup after I change.”

And with that Inanna shrugged off the small bathrobe she wore, exposing her beige undergarments to the girls. They looked away in embarrassment and left. It didn’t matter to her, she had never needed to change behind a screen. After all, she did work out for a reason.

As she grabbed the crimson dress she was supposed to wear, she felt a slight chill.

All of a sudden there were hands on her waist, cold to the touch.

Inanna screamed and whirled around, expecting to see Russo’s cold eyes looking at her. Surely if he could touch her waist, he could strangle her throat while she slept!

But when she whirled around, it was David who stood there, hands raised in shock.

“Somebody’s a little jumpy. You doing okay love?”

She glared at him for a total of two seconds before she deigned to reply,

“I’m fine. It’s not my fault you didn’t make any noise before coming in.”

The actress turned back around and slipped into her dress, stiffening when David came to zip her up.

“Your stomach is starting to show.”

She honestly considered slapping him. Somehow, Inanna managed to restrain herself and sauntered over to the mirror, applying a thick layer of red lipstick on her plump lips. 

She paused to stare at her lips and wrinkled her eyebrows in distaste when she noticed her imperfections were returning. She was due for another lip filler soon. She hummed and turned back to David, trying to ignore the taller frame of Russo behind him. 

“I suppose the belly is another thing I have you to thank for. You better cast me in some sort of pregnant role when I start showing.”

“Darling, I won’t have you work when you’re close to your due date! That’s utter nonsense.”

“I have absolutely no intention of sitting at home while you give another wannabe actress my roles. Now let’s go, we have work to do.”

And with that, she strolled out of her trailer.

The cold air bit at her bare shoulders as she walked towards the set, her heels making clacking sounds on the pavement. She could hear David behind her, struggling to catch up with her long paces. And behind her, she could feel Russo’s presence, his long legs easily keeping pace with her without making a sound. 

Around her, the hustle-bustle of the crew continued to go on. Cameramen checked their lenses, assistants ran back and forth and her supporting actors read from their script.

Inanna scoffed when she saw them. They were all amateurs, scurrying around David and trying to curry his favour. She would put them in their place

The set seemed to still a little bit as she took her position on the velvet settee that had been artfully placed beside some spotted lavender. David hurried onto his chair, casting a perplexed look at his fiancée. He made his commands as Inanna prepared to jump into her role, plastering on a fake smile on her face as he yelled,

“Action!”

Inanna tipped her head back and let out a melodious laugh as the supporting actor came forward. She grinned at him coyly as he sat down beside her. The camera zoomed in as the actor leaned towards her, whispering his lines into her ear. Her eyes roamed the area as she listened, trying not to roll her eyes at the awful recitation she had to deal with. 

And then her eyes landed on Russo.

He was standing behind David, head cocked eerily to the side. She noticed how good the red in his hair looked before she noticed the gun held in his hand, aiming for her head. 

With that, the noises of the past began echoing in her ears as she jolted forward, accidentally crashing into the actor beside her.

She heard David yell, 

“Cut!” 

But the sounds still overwhelmed her, crashing into her mind like waves in a storm. All she could hear was the sound of a gunshot firing, the sound of threats being made and promises being broken.

And then the memories began to drown her.

“I promise I’ll always stay by your side Dollface.”

Inanna giggled as Russo nuzzled her, whispering these words into the crook of her neck.

“Oh, that sounds nice. I’ve been meaning to change my personal assistant.”

Russo laughed then, a deep throaty chuckle coming from his mouth.

“You joke but I know you’d work me to the bone if we ever lived together.”

“I joke? The biggest joke here is the thought of us living together.”

Russo hummed as he glanced at their intertwined fingers, lifting their hands up from the bed.

“Couldn’t we though? You could buy us one of the farms in the country. We could have a pet horse.”

She snorted as she snatched her hand back from him, rising from the bed.

“That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of. Plus, horses aren’t exactly my thing.”

Russo stood up with her, grabbing her hand and turning her to face him.

“Okay, so no country home. We could get an apartment somewhere and move in together. You could finally leave David for good.”

Inanna glared at his hand until he dropped it, raising his hands sheepishly.

“Please. I would never leave David for you. In case you haven’t noticed, my fiancé is filthy rich and you’re.... not. Plus, whoever told you I want to spend the rest of my life with you?”

Russo stammered out a reply, his face crinkling,

“B-But you told me you loved me! You said you wanted to stay in my arms forever! You promised you’d never hurt me like this!”

As a single tear fell down his face, Inanna rolled her eyes.

“Oh, would you stop getting all emotional? It doesn’t suit your pretty little face.”

She reached up to wipe his tears away but before she could, Russo moved his head aside.

Her hand curled up into a fist and she scoffed,

“Look, it’s obvious to anyone who looks that I’m only sleeping with you because you’re attractive. I only said all those things because it seemed like good fun at the time. Face it, Russo, I’m in a whole different class from you. People like us can’t be together, not without sacrificing their careers. And that is something I’m not willing to do. You knew all of this before we slept together so don’t bother acting all shocked.”

Inanna turned away from him, slipping into her shoes as she made to leave. However, Russo’s next words made her come to a full stop.

“I’ll tell everyone.”

She whipped towards him, acting like the very embodiment of a deer caught in headlights. 

“W-What do you mean?”

He took a step towards her, smiling mirthlessly when she took a step back.

“I’ll tell your precious David everything. If you leave me, I’ll ruin your career. Those assistants of yours are looking for a reason to leave you, you know.”

Inanna gulped, wincing as she took another step back and her back hit the wall.

“They won’t believe you! You’re crazy”

Russo snorted at her as he took the final step separating them,

“Of course I’m crazy. I waited 5 whole years for you to notice me. I always roamed around your sets, walked in front of your house whenever you were supposed to come outside. I loved you from the second I saw you but it took so much work for you to notice me. I’m not letting you leave me now.”

A cold flash of fear went through her then, a feeling so terrifying that she could barely breathe.

“You’re a stalker! You need mental help!”

“The only thing I need is you.”

And then the fear was replaced by defiance. The red hot anger she was so familiar with washed away everything until she was glaring at Russo.

“Well, you can’t have me!”

His only reply was to stare at her, his cold eyes looking for something in hers. And then he took a step back. Inanna let out a breath and relaxed her tense muscles. But that too was short-lived, any feelings of relief dissipating in the wind as he whipped out a gun and levelled it at her head.

“If I can’t have you, nobody can.” 

Her mouth went dry as she stared at his unflinching eyes and then into the barrel of the gun. Russo noticed her wide terrified eyes and smirked, pressing the barrel into her forehead. Inanna shivered as the cold metal touched her, wincing slightly as Russo pressed it hard enough to hurt. 

Inanna tried to speak but she felt as if her throat had choked up. The only sounds she was able to make were pitiful whines. She felt as if she had disconnected from herself, watching the scene unfold from a perspective that wasn’t entirely hers.

And then he turned the safety off, the loud click resounding in her ears. The finality of that moment made Inanna snap back into herself. She knew what she had to do.

“Wait!”

Russo hesitated, his finger on the trigger.

“You got some last words for me Dollface?”

Inanna swallowed her pride and nodded eagerly, nearly falling down in relief when the pressure on her forehead decreased.

“Y-Yes. I’m sorry Russo. You deserve someone much better than me. I just get so angry sometimes but I can’t help it! I love you so much and I’m terrified of losing you! I just got scared at how fast we were moving…..”

Inanna let out a sob as tears began to fall down her cheek. Russo frowned slightly, lowering the gun.

“Really? You really love me that much?”

She mumbled a yes as she fought to control the onslaught of tears. Instantly, Russo’s entire demeanour changed. He lowered his hand entirely and stepped forward, wrapping Inanna in the tightest embrace she had ever been in. 

“Oh thank god. Of course, I forgive you Dollface. I never wanted to really hurt you.”

And as Russo cradled Inanna against his chest, she smirked, all traces of the oscar-winning actress vanishing from her face for an instant. And then she drew back, smiling so happily at her lover that nobody in the entire world would have been able to identify the hidden viper in that smile. Her hands slowly slid down his arms, grasping his hands. 

And then she snatched the gun.

In an instant, Inanna had it pressed to Russo’s head, her smile replaced by a cocky smirk.

“You’re really stupid if you believe I could love a pathetic stalker like you.”

And unlike Russo, Inanna didn’t hesitate when she pulled the trigger. 

When her eyes opened, David was sitting beside her, looking worried to the bone. When he saw her eyes were open, he let out a big sigh of relief and hugged her so hard she could barely breathe. 

“Thank god you’re okay! I kept on thinking something had happened to the baby.”

Inanna just hummed as he fussed over her, her eyes focused on the smirking figure standing behind her fiancé, the gun he held levelled right at her head.

“Wait Russo don’t!”

But her words fell on deaf ears as Russo pulled the trigger.

FAMOUS ACTRESS DIES SUDDENLY

Dear Cosmo Club readers, it is with great sadness that we inform you that the beloved, oscar-winning actress Inanna Fowley has passed away at the young age of 29. She was reported to have passed out for a total of two hours before she woke up and suffered a heart attack. She passed away before EMTs could arrive on the scene. Her fiancé, the famous director David Lodge was present at this time. Unfortunately, he has refused to provide us with any comments. Our hearts go out to the grieving director. 

However, a source who wishes to stay anonymous informed us of the Actresses’ last words. Inanna Fowley had called the name of someone known as “Russo” before she had a heart attack. Is this just a coincidence or is there more than meets the eye here? Cosmo Club will keep you updated! Tune in tomorrow to listen to the thoughts of a private investigator on this mind-boggling case.

Sincerely,

Cosmo Club.