Chapter 38: A Heart-Wrenching Innate Skill
Chapter 38: A Heart-Wrenching Innate Skill
Getting up early in the morning, Aniston hummed an unfamiliar tune as she happily busied herself in the kitchen.
After meeting with her father’s producer friend last night, it was completely finalized that she would play the second female lead in a hit TV series on NBC. Although it wasn't the main lead, it was already quite excellent for a newcomer like her. Moreover, this series could bring her a certain level of fame, which was exactly what Aniston needed most urgently right now.
"Morning, Jen." Her half-brother, Alex Aniston, carrying the grogginess of early morning, scratched his head as he stumbled past the kitchen door and casually called out a greeting.
Aniston turned her head, holding up a packed breakfast, and said to Alex, "Hey, Alex, breakfast is ready. You can eat when Dad and the others get up. I have something to do, so I'm heading out."
With that, without waiting for Alex to react, Aniston dynamically pushed open the door and left in a rush.
Having declined Eric’s invitation to the cocktail party, Aniston had felt a bit uneasy in her heart. Although the tabloids' fabrications regarding her relationship with Eric frustrated her, her love for Eric made her care deeply about her boyfriend's feelings.
She had already picked up on Eric's frustration over the phone last night, so she woke up early to thoughtfully make a breakfast filled with love, intending to soothe her boyfriend’s discontent while eagerly sharing the good news of landing the role with him.
More than ten minutes later, Aniston got out of a taxi at Eric’s door. She took out the key Eric had specially made for her, opened the door, and walked into the yard.
She didn't notice that inside an inconspicuous gray Buick sedan a dozen meters away, a white man who had been somewhat drowsy instantly snapped awake. A look of wild joy appeared on his face as he quickly grabbed the camera beside him and pressed the shutter, while simultaneously kicking awake his dozing partner next to him.
"Heheh, David, wake up quick, a good show is about to start."
The fat Black man, who was snoring soundly with a wide-brimmed hat covering his face, was suddenly attacked. He reflexively took the hat off his face, sat straight up, and stared out the car window with bloodshot eyes from staying up all night. "Wayne, did Eric Williams come out with Drew Barrymore? Where?"
"Way more exciting than that. Eric's convenience store clerk girlfriend just went inside. Haha, this is going to be magnificent."
The fat Black man named David looked again but didn't see Aniston's figure. He reached out to grab Wayne’s camera, but Wayne quickly stopped him. "What are you doing? Careful not to expose the film, otherwise our whole night of staying up will be for nothing. Don't worry, I already took the photo just now."
"That's good, that's good." David rubbed his chubby palms together and grinned. "I thought we'd make a fortune just by catching Eric Williams bringing Drew home to spend the night. I didn't expect something even more explosive. This time we're rich, Wayne. How much do you think we should ask for this time?"
"At least three thousand dollars. If that old guy Santos tries to drive the price down again this time, we'll switch to another newspaper. Anyway, there's definitely no worry about this news not selling."
In his sleep, Eric felt himself holding a ball of something soft. It was very comfortable. His large hand reflexively squeezed hard, and then he opened his eyes amidst a girl's cry of pain, instantly realizing that a warm body was resting in his embrace.
Due to the hangover, Eric’s mind wasn't entirely clear, and he assumed the girl in his arms was Aniston. Without standing on ceremony, he pinched and rolled the small cherry at the tip of that soft mass in his palm. "Morning, baby."
The girl let out a soft moan, tilting her small head to press a kiss against Eric’s lips. "Morning, Eric."
"Mmh... Ah!" A baby face that was both familiar and unexpected suddenly appeared before him. In his shock, Eric abruptly dodged the red lips the girl was pressing toward him.
The movement was too sharp, causing a wave of dizziness in his head, which felt as though it were packed with a heavy stone. Lightly rubbing his temples, Eric asked in bewilderment, "Dre... Drew... Why is it you?"
Drew seemed to be frightened by Eric's sudden move just now as well. Her body rolled to the other side, and she reached out to pull up the blanket to cover her milk-white little chest. Looking at Eric with a pitiful, delicate gaze, she said softly, "Eric, you brought me back last night, and then... and then... Don't worry, I don't mind. I... I was very happy."
I mind, though!
Eric sighed helplessly in his heart. He reached out to look for his clothes, inadvertently catching a glimpse of Drew's sly, flickering gaze.
His heart stirring slightly, Eric quickly lifted the blanket to check. The bedsheets were very clean, and sniffing hard, he didn't smell the scent that follows a sexual encounter. Breathing a sigh of relief, Eric glared fiercely at Drew. "Girl, we didn't do anything last night, did we?"
"We did," Drew protested, pouting her little mouth. "Eric, how can you be like this? You actually want to deny it."
"Then can you explain why the bed is so clean?" Eric asked casually as he found his shirt and slipped it on.
Drew’s brain spun rapidly, and the expression on her baby face became even more aggrieved. "You... you forced that thing into my mouth, and in the end, you even made me swallow it, woohoo... and when it was over, you made me lick it clean for you. You bastard, you did such a disgusting thing, and now you actually don't want to admit it. You've disappointed me too much."
Eric felt as though a million grass mud horses [1] had instantly roared past, and then stampeded back again.
My little goddess, where on earth did you learn all this? This is way too hardcore. Are adult educational films of such high caliber already around these days?
"Alright, Drew, stop messing around. Hurry up and get dressed."
Seeing that Eric believed her less and less, Drew quickly crawled out from under the blanket and threw herself naked onto Eric. "Eric, if you don't believe me, do you dare let me kiss you? There's still a taste in my mouth, you know?"
As Drew spoke, she opened her little mouth to kiss Eric. Eric instantly made a horrified face. If... it were true, that would be way too disgusting.
"Don't... ah... don't be like this, Drew, I believe you, I believe you... hurry up and shut your mouth!"
"You're not allowed to dodge! Ah, Eric, you are truly too despicable."
Just as the two of them were making a ruckus and rolling into a ball, the bedroom door suddenly opened with a click.
Aniston stood frozen at the doorway, clutching a convenience store plastic bag.
Silence.
It was as if God had suddenly pressed the pause button on the remote control in His hand.
A full ten seconds passed. Only when the distant sound of a car horn drifted in from outside the window did the three of them react.
Grief, distress, anger, sadness, disappointment... a series of emotions jumbled together. Mysteriously, a sense of relief welled up from the bottom of Aniston's heart. Things... seemed like they were supposed to be this way, weren't they?
"Eri... Eric, I... I brought you breakfast." Aniston's voice was somewhat faint, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.
Bending down to place the convenience store bag on the floor at her feet, Aniston turned and left. Unconsciously, her steps grew faster and faster. Her high heels stamped hard against the floor, making a clack-clack-clack sound that echoed through the somewhat empty house.
The moment her tears spilled over, Aniston had already rushed out of Eric’s courtyard.
She couldn't let him see her cry, otherwise, this bastard would surely be even more pleased with himself.
The clack-clack sound of the high heels completely jolted Eric out of his daze.
"Annie, listen to my explanation..." Eric quickly pushed away Drew, who was still tangled around him, clumsily threw on his trousers in a rush, and swiftly charged out.
Because his movements were too frantic, he almost missed a step while heading down the stairs. Fortunately, Eric caught the stair handrail just in time, rushing out of the yard in a wretched state, only to see a bright yellow taxi driving away in a cloud of dust, with Aniston’s silhouette faintly visible inside the vehicle.
Hurrying back into the house to fetch his car keys, Eric felt somewhat like crying but had no tears. What number time was this? Catching an affair again.
Uh... why did he have to use the word "again"?
In Friends, Rachel catches her boyfriend cheating; in his past life, in reality, catching Pitt and Jolie cheating [2]; and now, even after traversing into this world, things still wouldn't quiet down, and it happens yet again.
This kind of innate skill is just too heart-wrenching. Can he just discard it?
By the time he drove out in pursuit, the taxi was already nowhere to be seen. Eric could only drive toward John Aniston’s house in Beverly Hills.
Several tens of minutes later, after straightening his clothes, Eric rang the doorbell of John Aniston’s home.
"Hello, uh, Eric, are you here to look for Jen?" Aniston's half-brother opened the door and recognized Eric.
Eric asked anxiously, "Alex, where is your sister?"
Alex Aniston asked in confusion, "She went out very early. Didn't she go to look for you?"
Seeing that Alex’s expression didn't look like he was lying, Eric said goodbye and hurriedly turned to leave. Since Aniston hadn't returned here, it was highly likely she had gone to her own rented apartment in Burbank.
Arriving before the door of Aniston’s little nest, he knocked on the door, but there was no response. Eric looked around to see that no one was nearby, fished out the spare key from the flowerpot beside the door, and opened the apartment door.
The moment he walked into the room, Eric keenly sensed that Aniston had been back; the air still carried the unique fragrance specific to Aniston's body.
Searching all over, he ultimately only found a slip of paper on the living room coffee table: Eric, let’s break up.
He let out a sigh and once again dynamically rushed back to John Aniston’s house. The person opening the door was still Alex Aniston.
"Alex, you..."
Before Eric could finish speaking, Alex Aniston said directly, "Eric, you should leave. Jen said she went to New York ahead of schedule and told us not to tell you."
"Uh..."
Having a slightly lower IQ is sometimes actually quite nice.
"Is that Eric? Please come in." Just as Eric didn't know how to respond, John Aniston’s voice came from inside the house.
Hearing his father's words, Alex sideways allowed Eric through the doorway with some dissatisfaction.
"Come with me." John Aniston glanced expressionlessly at Eric, turning around to walk inside.
Eric nodded to John Aniston’s current wife in the living room and followed John Aniston to the study.
"Sit, Eric. Would you like something to drink?"
"Mr. Aniston, no need. Can you tell me which airport Annie went to? I think there are some things that need to be explained."
John Aniston swept a glance at Eric’s somewhat disheveled clothing and asked in return, "Eric, did you attend a cocktail party last night?"
"Uh, yes."
"After the party, did you go to bed with another woman?"
"John, this is a misunderstanding. I..."
John Aniston waved his hand and said, "You don't need to explain to me. I just feel that it’s better if the two of you separate. Perhaps you don't know, but these days, Annie has been under a lot of pressure, always appearing somewhat anxious and uneasy."
"Why?"
John Aniston said, "The time you two have spent together isn't short. Do you still not understand her character? Annie is a competitive girl. You have achieved such dazzling results, while Annie remains unknown. Adding in those words in the newspapers, it is very normal for her to develop these emotions."