Kill the Lights

Tony’s eyes got wide, and Mason calmly nodded his head and said,

“Until August, I’ll give it to you like this for three months. From now on, even though I don’t have any acting job, help me out a little for three months.”

I need someone beside me to tell me about me. Haley’s friend relationship or family relationship even a smallest secret that he needs to know in order to live as Haley from now on. –He wasn’t stupid to go out to a battle field without knowing anything. Because of what Mason said, Tony had a puzzled look.

“What, what about after three months?”

Helping him for only three months. What is he gonna do after that? Tony blinked his eyes like he didn’t get him and asked him, and Mason scratched his cheek and smiled.

“Well…, if I don’t have a job in three month, it’ll be hard to live… Anyway isn’t it better for you to look for another celebrity for yourself? Not like me who is falling.”

“What, what falling……. What, what are you saying…..”

“Isn’t it true?”

Tony made a face that he didn’t know what to do at Mason’s indifferent word. It is true, but Haley was always self-conceited, but now he's saying, ‘I’m an outdated celebrity.’ Even if Haley said ‘I’m over!’ crying, Tony would’ve been sad, but Haley said it indifferently, and that made him sadder.

He felt like tears were about to pour out, but Tony pressed his eyes with his sleeves and held his tear. Thinking Haley would be sadder saying those words, so he couldn’t cry.

Mason didn’t care if Haley was falling star or rising star. He was just looking at his physical exam result. It wasn’t as bad as the financial status, but his healthy was almost in bankruptcy. In some part, it was worse than the financial status.

“-What is this?”

Tony turned around to hide his tear and blew his nose. When he was about the throw away the tissue, he stopped and asked. It was because the trash can was filled with white bags.

“Ah those…”

In the physical exam result, Mason checked all the things that Haley got addicted to – alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy and others- and scratched his head.

When he woke up in the morning, he pulled out his heavy body and looked around the house. Last night he was too tired, so after he arrived his house, he just went straight to the room that Tony pointed at and slept like he fainted. He didn’t have any energy to look around the house. Last night he thought he was going to die just by washing himself, and he crawled to the bed. His neck and shoulders were very stiff, and his legs were shaking, and his stomach felt sick and even had a headache. He even thought a human can die without getting stabbed or shot.

Sleeping in a place where he didn’t even check if it was safe, it never happened to Mason who was a mercenary for more than 10 years. But he couldn’t control Haley’s weak body.

Even when he woke up in the morning, his legs were shaking, but he stood up and looked around.

Haley’s house is in the middle of Beverly Hills expensive mansions. His mansion isn’t that big, but the interior design was well done. Mason walked back inside shivering at the Beverly Hills atmosphere where it’s very relaxed and quiet unlike when he had to take care of security and safety.

In front of the gate, swimming pool, and garden, he found some small unknown cameras unrelated to the CCTV, but looking at how they hid it, it was too innocent and not threatening. He turned the camera lenses to little bit different direction and came inside and looked around the house.

The house had two bedrooms, one guest room, a bathroom with a Jacuzzi and a small restroom next to the bedroom, modernized pretty kitchen. The 2^nd floor even had a big dressing room and a fitness room.

This beautiful celebrity’s house looks like a healthy life is possible, but once you look into it, it was ‘anti-healthy.’

A refrigerator looked like two healthy men can fit in only had beer and Evian. In the cabinet, it was full of wine, cognac, whiskey… he didn’t even have a cheese to eat it with. The fitness room looks like he never even opened it because dusts were covering everything. He had all different kind of machines, but because he didn’t use it and didn’t take care of it, everything was very stiff and even got rusted. Food and exercise was the problem in this house, but there was a bigger problem.

Mason looked at the frames hanged in the living room. From seven feet tall ones to hand sized ones, it was all when Haley was little and pretty.

Instead of looking at the picture that was sending off narcissistic energy everywhere, Mason took out some of the pictures. Sure enough, behind the frames that didn’t collect dusts, bags filled with white powder dropped on the floor. It was obvious. No one hides sugar behind the frames.

Mason found each bag from underneath the stairs that go up to the 2^nd floor and behind the toilet. Some places gave him thoughts like did he have to hide it like this. Mason found some more at behind the ceiling where Haley made a small hole and put the drug bags and covered it with a tile. Only cocaine was like that. Marijuana was at a closet, drawer, underneath the bed, and more. Seriously it was everywhere.

He just started to collect all the drugs hid in the house, and soon the trash can was filled with drugs that he can even open a shop for those. When Mason was trying to go to the basement where he suspect the most, Tony came in with the financial documents and physical exam result.

“Where did you hide all… No, do you remember where you hid them?”

Tony asked with surprised looking at a pile of cocaine and marijuana.

“Ah… I did remember these.”

Mason thought it was weird to explain how he found every single thing, so he just answered simply. He avoided Tony’s eyes looking at him like you really did love drugs and checked his physical result.

Addicted to all different kinds of drugs and alcohol, and because Haley lived very irregular life-style, 24 year old Haley’s body was like in 50s. It wasn’t even a red light; it was about to go off.

His strength was all out just because he looked around the house. He stood up massaging his shoulders. He thought he needs to exercise suitable for his poor body. If he did any harsh exercise, this body will die from heart attack.

Tony stupidly asked seeing Mason grabbing a towel and a water bottle, “What are you gonna do? By, by any chance exercise?”

“Yes. Ah, you don’t have to say bye when you leave. I’ll call you when I need something.”

Have a good day. –Mason waved his hand at Tony who was standing pixilated and went up the fitness room.

“Ex, exercise? He’s gonna exercise?”

Tony rubbed his eyes looking at Haley going inside the fitness room that he have never been in after he moved to this place. Because he hate to move around, except for go buying a coffee from a place where lot of celebrities go there to get a coffee, he never even try to move. That Haley trying to exercise.

“Oh my gosh.”

Haley’s back going inside the fitness room overlapped with someone else’s shadow just like yesterday when he was acting.

Even if he’s amnesia, can a person change that much? He looks like he became a totally different…

“-Oh yeah.”

Haley came back outside the fitness room. Tony stopped his thought and looked at him still pixilated.

“I didn’t do anything that makes me not able to go on an air plane, right?”

He asked because he thought if it’s Haley it’s possible, and Tony asked back.

“An air plane? Wh, where are you going?”

Except for Malta Air, everything else is fine. Last time you…, no, anyway. –Tony murmured, and Mason bitterly smiled.

“-To New York.”

Tony looked at him like why New York? But Mason didn’t say anything just smiled and waved his hand at him and went inside the fitness room again.

New York 119^th Street. Mason Taylor, it was where his actual home was.