Read See Jane Fall for Free Online Page B

burst on plane and am contajus.
    -LL
    Thx for leaving me all alone with GR, PJ and
Bassy. Sux. Mad @ u, LL. Still
    love you forever.
    -SS
    Jane rolled her eyes. GR was “Gay Ray”, PJ
was “Plain Jane” and “Bassy” was Sebastian. How nice.
    Jane read the remaining texts quickly,
wherein Laney encouraged Samara to still have a good time, be
beautiful, be fierce, and get laid. Classy.
    For as much as Jane questioned Laney’s
influence over her cousin, Jane had to admit that Samara was always
easier to manage with Laney in play. After Samara met Laney in a
nightclub about a year ago, she’d become a regular part of Samara’s
entourage, which had been a considerable relief to Jane. Whereas
some personal assistants might act as a coordinator, manager and friend to a supermodel or actress, Jane and Samara didn’t
have that sort of camaraderie, so Jane handled the business
while—more and more—Laney handled Samara. Laney went to premieres,
hung out with Samara at parties, held back her hair at the end of
the night as she threw up into the closest toilet, worked out with
her, and was for all intents and purposes Samara’s best friend.
Well, a best friend who got paid to be a best friend and agree with
everything Samara said and did.
    A paid companion , Jane smirked.
    Only once had Jane taken a shot at Laney by
taunting Samara—after a particularly brutal bitch-out session—by
exclaiming, “It’s no wonder you have to buy your
friends!”
    But, Jane had had the poor taste to make the
remark within earshot of Laney, and regretted it when she saw the
wince of embarrassment and hurt on Laney’s face.
    It made Jane realize that while Laney was
firmly on Samara’s side of things, she had feelings like everyone
else, and Jane took pains to treat Laney with kindness after
that.
    Laney was actually very useful. Samara was
calmer and happier with Laney around, and Laney was quite good at
getting Samara to do things that Jane couldn’t get her to do, like
charity photo ops or goodwill appearances. Not to mention, Laney’s
presence in Samara’s life took a lot of pressure off of Jane.
Without Laney, Jane wouldn’t be able to arrive two or three days
early for location shoots; she’d be forced to attend dreaded
industry parties and be around Samara a lot more.
    “This shoot just got a whole lot tougher,”
she sighed aloud.
    Jane shook her head, deleting the messages.
She wrote back to tell Laney she hoped she felt better soon and
reassured Samara that all would be ready for her upon arrival.
    Her phone dinged angrily in response:
    Where were u, Jane?! U know I hate it when
LL is sick. Don’t piss me off.
    Ding again, and the next text showcased all
of Samara’s charm:
    Don’t forget I can fire ur ass, Janie.
    Jane raised the phone over her head as if to
smash it on the floor, then took a deep breath and lowered it back
down slowly. Her thumbs flew as she typed a quick response.
    Sara, cell service here is terrible. Have
contacted local government to ask for improvements since
you’re coming to town. Getting things ready for you. Hope
    Laney feels better soon. -J
    A minute later she received a two-line
message back:
    My name is SAMARA. Don’t fuck with me,
Jane.
    She wrote back:
    My bad. Sorry, Samara. Have to go finish
unpacking your bags now. –J
    Jane turned the phone over, swallowing
painfully against the indignant lump in her throat. With Laney
down, Samara was on the warpath. Great. Just great.
    She shoved the phone into her back pocket
and braced her hands on the windowsill staring down at them, at
their freckles and whiteness against the medium-toned wood.
    I miss my parents.
    Tears welled up in her eyes, and she
blinked, wishing them away. After almost fifteen years, she’d
learned that tears didn’t help anything. Tears didn’t resurrect
your parents or change that fact that an uncle wasn’t a father, no
matter how much they looked alike. Tears didn’t change the fact
that Jane had had to grow up in