Sugar Valley (Hollywood's Darkest Secret) (102 page)

Before his words could come out once more, in
the front row of the building, Jose and Darell’s presence came to
Damen’s sight. They were smiling at him, dressed in tuxedos, and
new leather shoes, with a smile to their faces that stunned and
immobilized Damen’s mouth and eyes. He rubbed them once, not
believing what he’s seeing, and then understood that this was
Sugar’s gift to him. Damen smiled toward them, showing a bit of a
tear to his eyes, and went on with his speech; the speech that
would be reminisced and remembered forever. “I always promised them
that I would find a way to make sure their dream happens. Well,
luckily I found their speeches in my old journal, and I have
combined them with mine. But, before I read it, I would like to
explain that our speeches were made up of poems. We all decided
that after we thanked everyone, while holding the Oscar, we would
read our speech. Well, that’s why I’ve combined them all to make up
one single poem.” He smiled toward these phantoms of his friends
that stood before him, smiling toward him, showing their presence
of happiness, not sadness. Damen took out the poem very slowly, and
started to read in a very passionate voice.

“As I walked down the Valley side, I realized
that it was safe, I realized that it was alive. But when I entered
the Valley, I realized that this is a glorious scene, a place where
happiness grew, a place where I realized my dream. I knew that one
day I would leave the Valley, and run away, I realized that I would
go, would go and achieve fame. I’m not going to let anyone stop me
from achieving it with flying colors, I wasn’t going to allow
anyone to even stop my blood brothers. Yet, I didn’t want to go at
first, but then I wondered, why did I practice these scripts, why
did I rehearse? I was afraid that my father would make fun of my
dream, I was afraid that he would hate me and force me to leave.
But the love for my dream was so strong, that I knew I would leave
anyway, it wouldn’t be long. I thank you all for giving me this
Award and making it reality, I thank you all for giving me this
memory. Through the vanities of dreams, the angel has shown her
wings, and taken me to a place where she made real, and now where I
feel safe. Through the vanities of nightmares, they have only made
me stronger, they have only made me shed no more tears. So, for all
of you with aspirations so true, follow them and work hard for
them, and one of these days your dream or dreams will definitely
come true.” Damen closed his journal, looked up at the audience
again, and saw Jose and Darell no more. He smiled toward their
vacancy, and spoke toward the audience of glamour with tears in his
eyes, “I thank you all for allowing me, Jose, and Darell to let our
final dream come true. Thank you.”

The audience clapped with Damen Schultz
finally standing in the place where he was destined to be, with
proudness to his soul; he did it, and he knew it. He walked down
the stairs and went back to his seat. He kissed Maria’s
tear-drenched face, and rubbed Jessica’s head. This was the first
time that Damen cried of pure happiness, not sorrow, but something
was missing to his prosperity, and that something was the complete
closure that would be made by him very soon, that would make his
tears pure in the eyes of prosperity.

Later on, he exited the building and walked
down the red carpet with Maria and Jessica on his left, and Chuck
on his right, finally comprehending that he had a gift, a gift of
acting. He passed the people who stepped on his face, such as
Chester Freeman, who turned Damen down as being one of his clients.
Damen signed autograph books while he passed by movie stars that
called him a want-a-be-actor, or a starving artist. While reaching
his limousine of elite quality, he saw Vivian pop out from the
crowd. Even though he wanted to get in the limo, he still felt
inside that he should approach her. So, he walked up to her with a
smile on his face, avoiding media and cameramen by not answering
their questions.

Vivian grinned at him, saying with sorrow to
her voice, “So, congratulations on your book, and your screen
play... and your Oscar. You really did some great acting in
it.”

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed
to be in New York?” Damen asked to Vivian, while turning around and
seeing Maria and Jessica entering the limo with Chuck by their
sides.

Damen turned his sight back toward Vivian and
heard her answer in disappointment, “Well, the director from the
soap opera fired me. Even my agent fired me.”

Through this conversation, and through
Vivian’s clothes of elegance, Damen had zealous, enthusiasts, fans
all around him, throwing autograph books in his face, pleading for
him to sign them. “Why did you get fired?” he asked, signing an
autograph book for a teenage girl.

“Because of the book you wrote. As soon as
they read that I cheated on you with Jose and a director, they
began thinking about firing me. Even with you changing the names,
they still figured it out. But as soon as they made a movie out of
it, they felt that I was a bad girl, and they didn’t want me to
ruin their reputation,” Vivian explained in anger. She began giving
Damen an attitude when she added, “So they gave my role to Helen,
she’s now working on the soap opera. So thanks a lot for ruining my
career.”

“Listen, Vivian, you ruined it, not me. I was
just telling the truth ... and you know it too.” Damen entered the
limo and closed the door, not wanting anyone to ruin his proud
night. Yet, Vivian began pounding on the limo window, so Damen
rolled it down. “What now?”

“Damen, okay, I’m sorry for getting mad at
you a second ago, alright? I just had a bad year with this damn
Sugar Valley movie. Okay? Would you forgive me?” Vivian’s voice
showed spurious and phony sincerity, like she wanted something from
him, but he didn’t bother investigating it at all.

Damen looked at Maria, and then looked back
at Vivian, speaking in a nice manner, “Alright, I forgive you.”

The flashes from cameras started to throb,
hurt, and pang Damen’s eyes. He was ready to close the window on
Vivian, but then heard her say, “Good, good, um, I also wanted to
ask you one more thing.”

Damen rubbed his stinging eyes in quickness,
trying this arduous exercise to get some relief to them before the
next flash came; but that was impossible. “Sure, sure, but make it
fast.”

“I was just wondering if you could help me
out here? I know that you have about five movies to do in the
future.”

Damen interrupted her, speaking with
reverence, “I have six movies to do, one in which my beautiful wife
will be appearing in as my co-star.”

Vivian was beginning to be pushed against the
limo by the media, speaking in a voice of panic, due to the pushes,
“Well ... I was just wondering if you can get me a small role of
some sort in one of them, could you?”

Damen reached into his wallet and gave her a
card, saying with attitude, “Since you apologized for cheating on
me in the past, and for loving this industry more than me, I’ll
help you out.” She then reached into his hand and grabbed the card.
“This is where I began, and this where you’ll begin again.”

She read the card while the limo started to
move slowly. She then looked up at Damen flabbergasted, dismayed,
walking with the limo’s moving body, and saying with fury, “Damen,
this is for extra work. Are you kidding me?”

“No, it’s no joke. You see, I only help the
ones who deserve the help. Tell Helen I said congratulations.”

The limo began moving faster as Vivian ran
with it, trying to keep up with Damen, wanting him to change his
mind and help her for real. “Damen, I can’t do it again, I can’t be
an extra. That’s so degrading,” Vivian said in a desperate
voice.

Damen told the chauffeur to stop the limo
immediately. He took out another card, reached over and out the
limo’s window, handed it to her, and spoke, “Alright, here’s my
card. Contact my agent, Chuck, and he’ll get you a role of some
sort.”

“Thank you,” Vivian yelled out. The limo
began driving again, but stopped immediately when Vivian ran in
front of it and yelled, “Stop!” Vivian ran back to Damen’s window
once again, saying, “By the way, I think this belongs to you.” She
stuck her hand into the limo window and dropped an object into
Damen’s hand.

“My Rosary, where did you find it?” Damen
looked at the Rosary, which he lost some time ago, smiling toward
it, remembering what life was like when he had this holy object of
love.

“I must have packed it with some of my stuff
when I left for New York.”

“Thank you, Vivian.”

The limousine drove off into the Hollywood
street, holding one of the world’s most finest writers and actors,
carrying the future of Hollywood in its glamorous stomach. Chuck
busted open a bottle of champagne, took a sip, and questioned,
“Damen, what sort of role did you want me to get for her?”

“I don’t know, Chuck, maybe you can get her a
zit commercial.”

Chuck began laughing while Damen put the
Rosary into his pocket. Little Jessica started to play with her
stuffed animals, and Maria started to sip the bottle as well,
feeling the sweet taste of this champagne, washing around in her
mouth as the limo swayed back and forth to the turns it was making.
Maria turned to Chuck and asked, “Are you coming to the party at
our house tonight?”

“Yeah, of course I am, but I was debating
whether I should go home first and shower up again; I heard that a
lot of pretty Leading Ladies are gonna be there,” Chuck stated with
Damen laughing away.

“Listen, you old love buster, just come to my
house right now. You see, we’re almost there. My house is right
around the corner” chuckled Damen; the limo passed a sign that read
Beverly Hills.

“Alright, you’re the boss.”

The limousine drove up into a driveway that
led to Damen’s gargantuan mansion, shaped in every man’s dream,
contoured in size to every man’s wants. It was enormous, with grass
that scattered all around the house with its natural beauty, and
trees that were placed separate from each other, but all over his
land; it was a masterpiece.

Maria kissed Jessica and hugged Damen at the
same time, speaking, “Damen ... we’re home.” Suddenly, without
warning, Damen had this confused look upon his face, a look of
estrangement, a look of captivated longing.

They walked up the stairs of his mansion, but
Damen turned around to face his front yard, before he stepped his
feet upon the gorgeous stairs. He looked about, and around his new
providence, and realized what he had to do first, before he was
ready to call this place, this palace “home.” “Listen, I have to go
some place first, I’ll be back later on, or else, tomorrow,”
muttered Damen. They looked at him, in confusion at first, but
suddenly a small grin came on their faces; they knew what he meant.
Damen stepped into the limo again, but Maria stopped the door from
closing.

“Damen, are you sure you know what you’re
doing?” she asked. “Yeah, I’m positive.”

She kept the door opened with her right hand,
and placed her left one on his face, questioning, “Do you have it
with you, or is it in the house?” Damen smiled to her, gave out a
small kiss to her face, and sat in the limousine motionless still.
She knew what that kiss meant. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.
Make sure you’re back before the other parties end.”

“I promise.” The limousine drove off, leaving
his land behind, and entering onto the streets of the Hills. Damen
jumped over to the seat that was right next to the chauffeur, and
inquired, “Hey, did you read my book?”

“Yeah, sir, I read it.”

“So that means I don’t have to tell you where
to take me?” The chauffeur’s smile reflected off the rearview
mirror, and Damen knew what it meant, he felt what he was going to
vocalize next; and he was right.

“No, sir, I memorized the ending.”

Chapter Eighty-Eight

The coldness of Mississippi hit Damen’s
tanned face, but he still proceeded to walk down the Valley’s body,
and complete the ending of his book. He stopped for a moment, when
he saw the gravestones of his friends, brothers, his reason for
moving on this journey, making his dream real, and that caused him
to bow his head slightly. He stared, like staring at a reflection,
and the Valley stared at him also, remembering his face, his
innocence, his blood, and most of all, his dream. Damen saw the
snow of the Valley, he stared at its white reflection, and how it
tingled, and glistened; the moon was the cause of that. The
Valley’s white, winter clothing allowed Damen’s mind to, somehow,
become saddened; he wanted to see its true skin, its true self. So
he bent down, placing one knee on the cold, ridged snow, and began
to dig at this white coat, in slow motion. As he excavated deeper,
he started his motion faster, wanting to see the reality of the
Valley once again, and wanting that feeling, that innocent pressure
that he felt, before he left the Valley, back in his mind again.
Blood started to form on his hands, due to the frost bite, and the
hard ice that was mixed in with the snow; but he didn’t care, he
just wanted to see the true Sugar Valley. Frantic ran through his
mind, knowing that he might not be able to see the green grass, or
the black, pure dirt that the Valley was made up of, due to the
thickness of the snow; but Damen kept digging, like it was his
mission, his destiny to see this memory, reflection, this God of a
Valley, once more.

Tears began to cultivate, breed in his eyes,
and as they fell to the snow, breaking away from his mind, so did
the snow itself, and Damen finally saw the Valley’s skin; pure
emerald grass was now in his view. He stared at this hole, looking
at wet grass, and soaked dirt, staring at it heavily, like he was
in a trance; a smile came to his mind, as well as his image. Damen
got up slowly, feeling relief that he saw the Valley’s grass, body,
its skin of beauty, and kept on staring at it, like it was a
mirror, or a gateway to his memories that were lost before,
shattered by struggle, trauma, and immorality that he saw in his
mind’s eye. His soul was filled, at least halfway, with pure
innocence once again, and just by staring at this small sector,
this little patch of grass, that would be normally disgusting to
anyone else’s sight, but beautiful to his. Turning away from the
patch of grass, he put down his satchel, and stared at the
gravestones for a brief moment, without words, without thought, and
then began his prosperous ending; an ending that he made real.
Damen opened his mouth, like he was ready to speak, then suddenly a
fish jumped up from the pond’s body. He was amazed, the pond was
frozen, but this creature, this fish was able to break through it,
or else find a small hole to reach the air from. “I remember you,”
silently said Damen. He remembered that same fish, or else a fish
like that one, jumping up from the pond when he met Jose and Maria
for the first time.