Chapter 9

Ashley woke up cool and naked, her head pounded like a bass-drum. Her mouth tasted like a sewer, her hair was damp and matted, and there was a weird smell. She wasn’t covered by anything, no blankets or towels, and she was on a cold, hard enameled surface, not a warm soft bed. She stirred, moving her legs which were strangely wet.

“You peed yourself.” A tired Rick said as he sat on the floor next to the tub. He’d noticed her wake up from his designated spot to keep an eye on her.

“I ... what?” Ashley held her head, the pain was immense. She looked down at her legs and saw a puddle of yellow-tinged liquid beneath her.

“It’s kind of our fault, I think we made you drink too much water to try sobering you up.” He said flatly, his arms stretched above his head and feeling his aging bones crack.

“Wha—what the hell happened last night?” She’d blacked out, forgetting the mess she’d made. The last thing she remembered was eating nachos and having her second glass of wine. She’d scrolled through her phone and stopped on a picture of herself with Trisha from their first week living together. She spiraled.

“You tell us,” Scott appeared in the doorway; having heard Sleeping Boozy was awake. “We came back to find you a wreck, half in the bag.”

Ashley was curled up in a fetal position, her legs smelt of stale piss. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry...” Ashley apologized. “I guess the debrief didn’t go well?”

“You could say that,” replied Rick firmly. “They’re talking about kicking us out of here.”

Scott yelled, “RICK!” Chastising him for going against their plan to keep Ashley from knowing the truth.

“What! She’s in no shape to work today, Scott. It’s best we be honest with ourselves now. We’re done here.”

Scott brushed his partners comments aside, looking to deal with the current problem in front of them. “What the hell’s going on with you?”

Ashley shook her head, her damp messy hair covered her face which helped with her pounding headache. She moved her hand and touched soft cloth, and realized it was a pile of towels near her. They felt wet and smelled gross as well. She moved her hand away, putting it on her forehead to rub her temples.

“UGH ... I don’t know.” Ashley replied dejected. “I think it was a combo of exhaustion, misery, and self-doubt. I made the mistake of thinking about Trisha ... and then seeing myself next to all those girls ... I don’t belong here.” Ashley felt like crying, but her head hurt too much. It just made her more depressed.

“You’re being ridiculous.” Rick said bluntly, getting a stern look from Scott. “What? She is ... Ash, you’re one of the most natural and easy-to-shoot models we’ve ever had.”

Scott added, “You wouldn’t be here at all if you didn’t deserve it, even DiPietro knows it. He’s worked with half these girls and I doubt he knows their names let alone personally vouch for them.”

“But they’re all half a foot taller, and at least a cup-size bigger than me. I even heard Edith’s camera guy say I’m an amateur. The truth is, he’s right,” said Ashley, she felt sorry for herself.

“You know, for such a smart girl, you can be kind of an idiot.” Rick was never one to mince words. “None of that stuff matters, if it did, you wouldn’t have gotten as far as you have in only a few months.”

“I only have because I’m screwing you guys.”

“UGH! You can be so frustrating sometimes.” Rick stood up and walked out the door. Scott stayed behind and knelt next to the tub.

“You really think that?” he asked calmly.

Ashley wavered, “Well ... kind of ... isn’t it though?”

Scott shook his head, “YOU impressed Anya with the photos you took; YOU impressed DiPietro modeling his clothes; YOU got all those contracts for lingerie and swimwear and all that other stuff. You didn’t sleep with those people, did you? You did all that yourself.”

Scott stood up and reached for the water for the shower. “Now clean yourself up and let’s get out there today!” He cranked the handle and freezing cold water soaked Ashley to the bone. She leapt up to turn the water to hot after Scott blocked her from getting out.

A couple hours and several Advil later, Ashley was once again out on the grounds in one of the sponsored swimsuits. This one was a lime green two-piece with thin rectangles over her breasts and slightly larger crotch coverage than the previous piece of fabric, though not by much.

They moved to the pool area, where a few other models had already set up, including Edith. Ashley watched the blonde eye her when they walked onto the stone patio and found a spot out of the way of everyone else. Still feeling self-conscious and still suffering a mild headache, Ashley did her best to put on a smile and ignore what was going on around her.

“Come on, Ash. Over here! Ok turn, right shoulder. Head dipped, good!” Scott called out, his camera drawn, shutter snapping.

She still didn’t feel right. Scott knew it too but kept it to himself, as he kept her posing, and snapping, hoping he could find the magic he knew was in her. She looked good, she always did, but there was a cold lifelessness to her; her eyes didn’t sparkle playfully like normal. Rick switched out when Scott’s card filled.

“Alright, let’s get some shots of you in the pool.” He suggested, “Maybe dip your toes in, hanging your legs over the side...”

“Careful, she shouldn’t drown!” a female British voice yelled from the other side of the pool area.

“Silence, Edith!” a French accented woman shot back from somewhere else.

“I just worry the Yank might not know how to swim, she may need rescuing again.” Edith said aloud to no one in particular.

Ashley couldn’t help but look, her confidence began to shatter again. Scott snapped his fingers, trying to get her to focus on Rick.

“Ignore her, Ash. She’s worried.” Scott said with surprising assuredness.

Ashley looked at her feet in the water, making ripples as she wiggled them. “Why would she be, she’s perfect.”

“A perfect bitch.” Rick grumbled. “It’s bad form to heckle and bother other models on shoots, like yelling during golf.”

Scott added, “That’s right, you’ve got her spooked to be acting out like that.”

Ashley sarcastically laughed, Rick snapped a picture, as it was the most genuine look she’d had all day. He looked quickly at the monitor and it wasn’t terrible. Better than what they’d gotten to that point so far.

“What’s she have to be nervous about? Yesterday was a disaster and today is barely better.”

“Dip your foot to your calf ... there ... look away ... other shoulder ... ok...” Rick snapped more pictures, before responding. “She probably looked up some of your work; she might know you’re actually a threat and is trying to throw you off. Ignore her.”

But that was easier said than done, as Ashley became distracted and distant once more. They tried switching bikinis, stopping for breaks, and changing locations but nothing seemed to work. Ashley was stuck in her own head, struggling to figure herself out. As the light began to fade on another day, Rick and Scott had to hope they’d gotten something Luca and his team could use to justify them staying.

“I want to go with you.” Ashley argued, having changed into a light and flowing gown.

“They’re brutal, Ash. You don’t want to hear them dissect you, especially in your state.” Scott tried to reason with her. Models rarely ever go to these types of discussions; the ones that do rarely stay in the industry. They both wanted to protect her from the harshness of marketing people.

“I can handle it,” Ashley replied but even she knew she was lying. Her confidence was at an all-time low. She felt as helpless as she had when she lived with her parents in those final months before finally moving out to chart her own course.

Rick hugged her and then so did Scott as they got up to leave. “We’re sorry. Let’s hope we did enough today,” said Rick heading to the door with their shots from the day. He didn’t have high hopes though.

“I’m sorry I ruined your dream.” Ashley lowered her head, admitting defeat.

Scott hugged her again, “There’ll be a new dream. You’re what’s important.” He gave her a warm smile but added, “Don’t order any wine while we’re gone.”

“I won’t. When you get back, and if it doesn’t matter anymore; can we...” she grinned, hoping to make it up to them in the only way she knew she could.

Scott looked at Rick, who nodded and grinned at Ashley. “I don’t see why not. One last night in the garden of Eden, might as well take a bite of the forbidden fruit, right?”

It made Ashley cheer up slightly, “I wouldn’t suggest biting, but eating it is ok by me.”

“We’ll be back. Don’t drink!” Rick said firmly as the door shut behind him.

Ashley nervously waited. She didn’t like this part, even when things went well, but it was triple agony that night. She’d never been fired from a job before, granted she’d never had a real job before Rick and Scott, and this modeling thing. Still though, she held out hope that they’d see enough potential to keep them around; or just Scott and Rick. She’d willingly go home by herself if it meant they got to stay and continue.