Fixing Luna

05

There's something about Luna Cooper on that day, no sarcastic remarks and bitchy attitude, no tantrums, and no complaints coming from her smart little mouth. It was the first day of shooting inside the hospital where most scenes will be held, there's nothing unusual about that day other than Luna herself. It all started when the actress entered the room with not just one but two huge guys on her side—France—her manager and the other guy who looked familiar to Kyler. The trio was carrying a heavy atmosphere that everyone seemed to pick up immediately.

"Hey man, isn't that Lexus Peterson the lawyer?" Clay approached him as he turned to the guy that his friend was pointing to; the name rang a bell to Kyler. 

Lexus Peterson is a famous lawyer for miraculously turning Frederick Adams, a former boxer who allegedly murdered his surgeon's wife was found and proven not guilty, it was a case that spiked a lot of attention both from the media and medical practitioners not just because Adams walked out of the court as a free man again but the fact that the case was found as a staged suicide courtesy of his very own wife Matilda Adams. The revelations from that case were labeled as one of the most bizarre cases in 2018, making the name Lexus Peterson known all over America.

Seeing Luna Cooper next to Lexus Peterson confused the hell out of him, the thought of them dating sounded a little troubling and left a bitter taste down his gut. Kyler quickly shook the thought of picking up his phone and doing some necessary research about Luna, something that was completely out of his character. The conversation with Chase Greene left him with more questions than answers, but he wasn't the type to go digging about something that he didn't have anything to do with. Plus, Kyler doesn't think that his mentor would be thrilled to know that he was interested in his precious daughter. Not that he was actually interested in her.

The camera started rolling but Kyler Bennett found it hard to focus on anyone else but the woman weeping like her world just shattered into a million pieces right before his eyes. Luna's tear-stained face twisted something inside of him, a feeling that he couldn't put a name to. Her pain radiated into every corner of the room, prickling into every soul that was watching her behind the camera, it looked and sounded all too real that he was having a hard time knowing if she was still acting or not. 

"You can't just tell me that he's dying ... you just can't," The sound of her broken and trembling voice made it harder for him to breathe, the emotions that she emitted were too strong and painful that Kyler had to look away from the screen of the camera and focused his attention somewhere else. He could see some of the crew tearing up in silence, whether it was a good thing or not, Kyler couldn't tell. 

Following Luna's lines through the half-wrinkled script on his hands, Kyler's jaw clenched, realizing that she was no longer following the script. Still, no one was wiser to tell because Luna was doing the scene so painstakingly beautiful that her presence alone overshadowed everything else. 

"Cut!" Kyler yelled as soon as the couple started hugging each other followed by a round of applause for the actor's performance. But Asher remained still on the bed looking a little worried as Luna clung tightly to him still bawling her eyes out, Kyler stood on his seat, ready to run towards her in a heartbeat but before he could even take a single step, Lexus Peterson was already walking away with Luna on his huge arms, carrying her so effortlessly as they left the room in a hurry, leaving everyone completely dumbfounded behind. 

"I'm sorry Mr. Bennett, we have to go Luna's been sick since last night and I believe that she has already done all the scenes for today," France surprised him that Kyler only managed to reply with a nod, still dazed of what just happened on his set. Luna's manager ran out of the room following the other two.

"What the hell just happened!?" His assistant director was the first to speak among all the staff followed by the rest of the crew, but Kyler remained silent on his seat. Watching everyone's bewildered faces.

The shoot continued with Asher's scene; everything went well but Kyler couldn't stop his train of thoughts about Luna. For some reason, the actress was occupying his mind since she left the room in Lexus Peterson's arms. He tried to shake the feelings away, but it kept on bugging him to no end. Tired and frustrated, Kyler ended the shoot earlier than expected.

"You okay man?" Clay approached him with a can of coke as his friend sat next to him. There were a few people left, most of them just pacing back and forth in the room making sure that they had everything back in its place. 

"Yeah, just tired," Kyler replied halfheartedly, knowing that most of the fatigue has more to do with "who" than "why" and telling his friend about his sudden interest in Luna will give Clay a reason to pester him.

"Do you think she's okay?" Clay voiced out, sipping into his drink.

"Huh?" 

"Luna," Kyler shrugged at him, trying his best not to dwell on the things that have anything to do with Luna Cooper. His phone starts ringing breaking the silence between him and Clay.

"Kyler Bennett speaking,"

"Hi Director Bennett, this is Lexus Peterson,"

To say that he wasn't expecting that call was an understatement. A call from a very famous lawyer was the last thing on his unexpected list! Kyler cleared his throat, ignoring the curious gaze from Clay who was watching him intently. 

"Umm, how may I help you?" His head was in an overdrive, recalling everything that had to do with Luna, because as far as he knew, a famous lawyer such as Lexus Peterson wouldn't be too lax to call him personally for other things but her. What if Luna told him about their talk? Cause that's the only thing that Kyler could think of at the moment. Kyler was no lawyer, but he was sure none of his encounters with Luna was enough to send his butt rotting in jail.

"I'm sorry to inform you that Luna will be taking a day or two off, she's sick and I believe she can also file for a sick day, right?" it was more of a statement than a question from him, keeping his cool at the not-so-subtle animosity on Lexus Peterson's voice. Kyler hated to admit it, but he was intimidated by him. Anyone in their right mind would definitely be. 

"Okay, I understand. Please let me know if she's okay so we can resume the filming immediately," Kyler finally released the breath he wasn't aware that he was holding, the fear of him going to jail anytime soon went out of the window in a flash.

Lexus ended the call shortly and Kyler did the honor of informing his staff that Luna would be on sick leave for the next two days. They were filming so quickly that they had already completed a week's worth of footage for the movie, so it wasn't much of an issue that they had a few additional free days. He just hoped that Luna would be just fine, after all, she's the lead star of the film and Kyler can't risk anything bad happening to his lead actress. Yeah, it's all about the movie, nothing less nothing more. And with those ideas running through his head, Kyler left the room and headed for his car.