Someone Else's Fairytale by E.M. Tippetts Page B

I'd hate it if you got evicted or something because one of my fans is breaking her property. You have to let me talk to her. What's her number?”
    “She'll be here in a few minutes.”
    “Even better. Let me talk to her on Skype.”
    “Chloe?” Lori called from the front room. “Eli's here.”
    “That's our landlord,” I said.
    “Carry me out.”
    “You don't-”
    “Do it. Please?” His eyes were narrowed, his expression was all stubborn resolve.
    I gave in, picked up the netbook, and carried it out to the front room. Eli blinked at me from behind her thick, round glasses. Her graying hair was piled on top of her head. She was a dance instructor who lived in Nob Hill. I held the netbook screen up to her. “Eli, Jason, Jason, Eli.”
    “Jason Vanderholt?” said the cop.
    Lori stuffed her hand in her mouth to suppress a giggle.
    “Here,” I handed the netbook over.
    “Please let me pay for the windows,” I heard Jason begin.
    I turned my back on that conversation and went to sit by Matthew.
    “He called you?” Matthew moved over to make room for me.
    “He called about the tabloid stuff today. Normally, he doesn't call.”
    He slipped an arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him. “Thank you,” I said.
    “For?”
    “Being you. I needed a good friend today.”
     

     
    That evening, after the cops had left and Eli had nailed plywood over the broken window, someone else knocked on the door. I was eating my leftovers from Tia Anita's.
    Lori was gone. She and Charles had taken off for the evening, and I couldn't blame them. I peered through the peephole to see a Hispanic man in plain clothes who looked vaguely familiar. I opened the door.
    “Miss Chloe,” he said. “Jesse Baca. Officer Baca.” He stuck out his hand.
    “Oh, hi.” He was the cop who'd written up the report on my slashed tires.
    “I heard about what happened here.”
    “Yeah, I think we're okay. Just-”
    “I wanted to let you know, you're gonna be safe. We'll be patrolling your street for the next little while, all right?”
    “Thank you. You don't have to-”
    “It's been ten years, but I won't ever forget that phone call when we heard you were gonna pull through. It was a miracle, the shape you were in.” He patted my shoulder. My right shoulder. “You're going to be all right, you hear? Can't help it if a pretty girl like you is attracting movie stars. And two incidents this far apart? That's not good.”
    “That is going above and beyond, really.”
    His smile was fatherly and kind. He gave my shoulder another squeeze and stepped down off our front step. Sometimes it paid to be from a city that was such a small town in so many ways. Even though I hadn't admitted it to him, I would definitely sleep easier knowing that some crazed fangirl wasn't going to climb in my window and take me hostage.
    Jason had seemed able to sweet talk Eli into being sanguine about all this. I was grateful for that too.
     

     
    “Any more break in attempts?”
    “No. The windows are fixed. It's all good.”
    “Your landlady wouldn't let me pay.”
    “I'm sure she's got insurance, but thanks for offering.”
    “So you're okay?”
    “I'm fine, really.”
    “I really am sorry. The whole fame thing can be pretty stupid.”
    “Well, you said it.”
    “And you don't disagree. That's refreshing.”
     

     
    “So it doesn't look like there's any more media coverage of you. No wild rumors about you carrying my love child. All good.”
    “I'm so relieved.”
    “Had enough Hollywood glamour in your life?”
    “To last several lifetimes, yeah.”
    “How's Matthew?”
    “Huh? He's fine, I think. I still owe him a movie sometime.”
    “He around a lot?”
    “Yeah, he doesn't live all that far. Walks past our house on the way to campus.”
    “Oh, okay.”
     

     
    “How are you tonight, Chloe?”
    “I'm good. You?”
    “I'm eating celery, and I keep wanting to offer you some, but I don't think I can find a way to stuff it through the