Old ends new beginnings

Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter 8 -- Epilogue .

Chapter 1

The man was walking down the dark and deserted hall, he was completely afraid of the dark. He was also unaware that a pair of eyes were studying his every move.

He could feel the presence of the others behind him, and that reassured him a little bit.

Suddenly, something grabbed him and he screamed in pain, hot blood flooding from his body.

He was dead, he knew that.

Riddik was simply staring at him, while the dark monster was took off his head.

“These bad boys know our blood now” he muttered to himself, not daring to look over his shoulder to the other man that was with him.

Sensing their movement, the beast turned to face them, growling deep inside, ready to attack.

“Should we give this bitch a go?”

Klein raised an eyebrow, as if considering Riddik's question. He let out a low humming sound as he studied intently the monster, nodding, then flashed the other man a sidelong glance. "Yeah. I seriously think we should."

Riddik growled, before he threw up his gun and started to shoot to the monster, followed by Klein, moving swiftly, encircling the beast that was now caught in the crossfire.

The creature tried to catch them, but they were well trained and had no problem avoiding it.

Just when they succeeded to kill it, a loud shout came from behind them.

“CUT!!”

Sighing deeply, Vin pulled off his goggles, nodding to some cameraman and sitting on his chair.

He didn’t talk a lot to his co-star.

Josh Brolin wasn’t too friendly with him, maybe he was also a little snobbish, and surely he was a jackass, so he just avoided him, trying to concentrate on his character.

Holly looked at him from some distance.

Some days ago James Cameron had called her to propose a job.

They were going to shoot the Pitch Black’s sequel, Riddik, in Vancouver, and he would like to prepare a photo book.

She had been chosen among a lot of young talented photographers and he knew that she would do a great job.

Obviously she had accepted, and a week later she was on a plane to Vancouver.

Holly passed her first days there making landscape photos, and hadn’t gotten any real occasion to talk to the actors.

Trying to seem professional, she walked toward Vin Diesel and smiled at him.

“It has been a long time, Xander Cage”

He looked up at her, surprised.

“Holly? Oh, fuck, It’s wonderful to see ya! How are you doing?”

Vin tried to seem unaffected by her presence there, but he can’t do it.

She was beautiful, even more beautiful than three years before.

Her long chestnut hair fell in soft waves upon her shoulders, and her bright green eyes were sparkling in amusement.

They met on the XXX set, she was a talented photographer, a smart and funny person, and they spent a lot of time together.

Until the day he started dating Pavla. Then she changed, avoided him, and the day she left the set, he noted the hurt in her eyes.

Now she was here, again, facing him with a smile, those inviting full lips had taunted him for months.

“I’ll stay there with you actors, I have to make some photos for a book” she explained.

His dark eyes were shining with interest and she suddenly picked a little digital camera from her purse and took a photo of him, a satisfied smile curving her lips.

In that moment Brolin entered the room, shaking his head and mumbling something about "damned lawyers" as he carelessly threw his cell phone into his backpack. When he saw the other two he merely nodded a greeting, and swiftly put on his jacket. "I'm goin' back to the hotel." he announced.

Vin didn’t care to respond to him, and just looked back to Holly.

“Mr Brolin, I’m here to take some photos during the filming. My name is Holly Harris, it’s a pleasure to meet you” the girl said, smiling at him, knowing that he wasn’t a friendly person, 'cause all of the crew didn’t talk much to him.

"Just call me Josh" he replied, shaking her hand.

"Excuse me but I must take care of some important business right now, and I have to hurry." With that he put his sunglasses on and quickly headed to the door, almost colliding with a young woman who was just entering the room.

"Sorry." he excused himself, and then left without another word.

"Sure he was in a hurry.." said the newly arrived woman, slightly shaking her head, then smiled to Vin. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Diesel. I will take care of the interviews for the book. My name is Eileen Beckett."

“Nice to meet you, Eileen” he smiled politely at her.

“She is my co-worker. It seems that we’ll have to stay together for the next eighteen months” she chuckled, exchanging a knowing look with his friend.

“Well, to stay with you would certainly be an interesting experience” he smiled wickedly.

Eileen darted an amused glance at Holly and cleared her throat, a hint of a smile upon her lips. "Well" she began, "I will see you both at the hotel tonight. Now I think I'll look for some actor or cameraman to bother with my annoying questions."

“I’ll be there!” chuckled back Vin, following her with his gaze, before to face Holly again.

“So, how are you doing? Plenty of women as always?” she asked, trying to seem uninterested.

“I’m fine, even if I miss home. And I’m completely alone, so you should take care of me, honey” he murmured, an amused glint in his eyes.

“I’m not here to take care of you. Don’t worry, you’ll soon find one of those models or fans that is eager to come to your bed” Holly replied not looking at him.

“That would work, but it’s you I would like into my bed” he whispered, putting one large hand to her cheek turning her head to face him.

“Don’t even think about it. I’m not that kind of girl” she said uncertainly back, avoiding his gaze and walking towards the door. “See you at the hotel”

When she was finally outside, she started to breath again. It was always difficult to think when he was too near, but she couldn’t give in. he would just use her and then move away, as he always did with women.

Sighing deeply, she called a taxi and went to her room in the hotel.

Later that evening, they met in their reserved dining hall. When a gloomy Josh entered the room Eileen lifted her head from the notebook and stopped writing, smiling a bit. "Good evening, Mr. Brolin." She felt strangely thrilled by his presence, and she couldn't really figure out why. He looked quite downhearted, but despite that he was indeed a handsome man, to say the least. She silently admitted it to herself and studied him intently as he sat down and flashed her a quick smile, with a curious look lighting his deep, hazelnut eyes.

"Good evening, miss-er.. Do I know you?"

"My name is Eileen Beckett. I'm a journalist."

"That doesn't sound good." he replied, sniggering, and then asked: "You're here for the book, then?"

She merely nodded, before dropping her gaze to scribble something on the notebook with a little smile playing at the corners of her lips. Josh shook his head and frowned slightly at the sight, watching her as she wrote. She had delicate features and a silken fall of long, blondish hair framed her face, where a pair of sky-blue eyes stood out glimmering. Despite her job, Josh resolutely decided that she was quite a delight to look upon.

Holly was stepping out of her room, when she saw him.

“I was waiting for you”

“Vinnie…I thought I was the last one to go down to dinner” she smiled shyly.

“Let’s go…” he murmured, taking her hand and guiding her toward the elevator.

She was thrilled by his behaviour, even if she knew he was doing that just because he would like to bed her, and nothing more, but it seem that her small hand fitted perfectly his large one, and she felt somehow protected at his side.

They entered the dining room, and when Holly saw the smile that occurred between Josh and Eileen, she took a photo with her digital camera, smiling to herself.

“What a nice couple” whispered Vin, before taking the chair to help her to sit down.

“Thank you” she smiled back.

“It’s a pleasure, miss… you’re the most beautiful girl here” he told, then flashed a wicked smile to Eileen. “I mean no offence to you…”

"I'm not so easily offended." she promptly replied, without even trying to disguise her morale. To see the way he treated Holly amused her to no end, and she already knew that Holly had a soft spot for him. The eighteen long months ahead would surely be interesting. On his part, Josh silently watched the exchange, sipping some wine.

“I think that eighteen months together will be enough to catch you, sweetheart…” he murmured to Holly. “You escaped three years ago, and I regretted that for a long time. Now we can have a lot of fun, don’t you think?”

“Don’t play that games with me, Vin” she told him, looking away. “I am not that kind of girl, I already told you that. You will have to find someone else to have fun with”

“So you wouldn’t mind if I ask Eileen to come to dance with me tonight?” he asked, smiling to the girl.

His words stirred an emotion that she immediately buried deep inside her heart.

‘ I’ll not be jealous of him. He can do what he wants, but I have no right to be jealous.’

“No, just leave me alone”

Caught off guard by such proposal, Eileen considered her chances for a moment. Should she decline, nothing would change at all. Should she accept, she would have the chance to discover the true reason why Vin was acting so messed up towards Holly.. And maybe even ask him a few questions about Josh. Who was watching her as if eagerly waiting for her response. She almost blushed for the intensity of his stare, and quickly averted her eyes to look at the other man.

"Alright" she finally muttered, without real conviction.

Am I just trying to make Josh jealous? Why in the name of God should he be jealous anyway? I'm acting like a love-struck teenager. Damn!

Holly felt cold inside, and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to act as if everything was fine to her.

She ate just a little, then excused herself and went straight to her room, punishing her bodily reactions to Vin with an hot shower that almost burned her skin.

Why Eileen accepted?

Did she like Vin?

She wasn’t jealous. Eileen wasn’t an enemy. She was a friend.

But she was just making a fool of herself.

She had fallen for Vin three years ago, her long denied feelings were now evident to everyone, she was sure of that.

The girl tried to get some sleep, and so she put on a pair of jeans and a shirt and went straight to the hall, sitting on a chair, and asking for a mojito.

Josh was sitting at the table next to hers, but she didn't seem to have noticed him yet. The man sighed deeply.

"Can't sleep?" he then asked without looking at her, and took a swig from his beer.

“No” she answered, turning to face him.

She sipped her cocktail, not daring to move to his table, wondering why he was still awake.

Maybe now Eileen and Vin are…

No, I don’t have to think about it.

He finally turned to look at her, and put the beer down on the small table. Then he gestured for her to join him, smiling faintly.

"Come here and have a seat, would you?"

“Sure” she answered, sitting at his table, and smiling back at him.

“I’m happy you’re here. I just need to avoid thinking to my problems”

"That's exactly why I'm glad to have you here" Josh said, "I was tryin' to drown all of my troubles in a mug of beer, but I'm afraid it's not working at all." He shrugged, and took another swig before meeting her eyes. "Tell me something about you."

“What’s to say?…I’m a photographer, I love my job, my dream is to have a safari in Africa, I could take wonderful photos there” she started, hoping that he didn’t consider her as a boring little girl.

“What about you?”

"About me?" he shrugged again, smiling. "I'm here to work, of course I love it and I'm trying to deal with my hysterical ex wife, who decided all of a sudden to make a hell out of my life. Not much to say."

“I’m sorry…” she muttered, suddenly understanding why he was so gloomy.

“If you want to know the truth…I can’t sleep because…I’m fighting myself, blaming my heart for what I’m feeling towards Vin. I can’t accept it, I know how he act. He’s famous and rich, and he’ll use me, breaking my heart and then going on”

She had told him everything, but just in that moment she realized that maybe she had made a mistake.

“But I know, my problems aren’t so much important. Your situation seem really serious”

"It is" he nodded, "And I'm lucky I can afford a good lawyer. But I believe it must be quite hard for you as well.." he suddenly stopped, as if uncertain about how to continue, and met her gaze as he drank again. "How long have you been in love with him?" he asked after a few moments, eyeing her curiously. "You don't have to answer, if you don't want to."

“I met him three years ago” she answered. “But I’m not in love with him, I’m just…I don’t know but I’m sure I don’t love him”

At those words Josh raised an eyebrow, but didn't inquire further on the matter; he decided to change the subject, instead. "So you will stay with us 'til the end, right?" he asked as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt's pocket.

“Yes” she smiled, taking a photo of him while he was lighting his cigarette.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I have orders to make a lot of photos”

"Just go ahead" Josh chuckled, "At least don't take any more when I'm half drunk.. as I happen to be right now." He grinned before taking the last swig of his beer, and put the mug down in front of him. "I've been sitting here forever, I don't know how many of these I've had."

“Well so I think it would be better for you to come back to your room, or at least if you don’t want we could walk a little outside the hotel. I doubt that there could be journalists at night waiting for us…” she smiled, tilting her head and waiting for his answer.

"Let's go outside then" he smiled back, and abandoned the cigarette in the ashtray before getting to his feet. Once outside he took a deep breath, and looked at her, offering his arm.

Smiling, she took hold of his arm, looking at him just for a moment, before she blushed a little.

They walked in silence for a while, the night was cold and there was a light breeze.

“I needed that. I think that if I hadn’t met you tonight I could have stayed all the night at that bar…”

"Nah" he replied, shaking his head and grimacing a little, "I've had enough beer for the both of us, trust me. And anyway I'm more than sure that things will turn the right way between you two. Don't think I haven't noticed the way he looks at you.." He turned his face to meet her eyes, a knowing smile on his lips, and leaned closer to gently brush away a lock of hair from her forehead.

“You’re wrong, Josh. He want just sex. Like always. He’s just…Vin” she answered, revelling in his kindness.

“I’ve always thought that you were arrogant and a snob…I’m just happy. It’s really nice to stay with you”

At those words a wide smile brightened Josh’s features, and he let go of her arm to take her hand into his, but didn't stop walking.

"I love your company as well," he said, "so I guess we should become friends. What do you think?"

“Sounds good!” she said, smiling at him.

Outside the hotel, they met Vin and Eileen who had just exited a limo, followed by a pair of bodyguards.

When Vin saw them, he froze.

That bastard was walking hand in hand with his Holly!

Josh quickly let go of Holly’s hand when he saw the other two, and smiled. "Welcome back." he greeted them, flashing only a quick glance to Eileen, just to turn his attentions back to Vin a second later. "Did you enjoy yourselves?"

“Sure. And as I can see that you guys had fun, too.” He told him, noting the guilt on Holly’s face.

“I’m going to sleep. Good night”

Vin entered the hotel, his heavy footsteps the only noise on the silent corridor.

Why?

I just can’t have her. I continue to lose her, like in Prague.

His mind was wandering when he went to his bed.

I’m not jealous. I don’t own her. She means nothing to me…

Eileen couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw them, walking hand in hand, smiling to each other.

Why must life be so unfair? The one time I find a man I'm really attracted to, he likes my friends. No wonder.. He’s too much for me. I shouldn't even think about him, he's rich and famous, surely he has plenty of women.. And I can understand why perfectly. He's beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. I've never seen such eyes.. and his smile. It could brighten the darkest day, and the whole world seems to stop in awe whenever he smiles..

Oh God, what's the matter with me?

She unceremoniously took the pillow and slammed it over her head, trying hard to quit thinking such nonsense. It didn't work. Exasperated, she got up and went outside on the balcony, sitting in the cold night air, and with a deep sigh she raised her eyes to look at the star-streaked dark sky.