16. One thing I haven't experienced is the warmth of a man.

                                    

                                          
Hi! How are you doing, lovely people?
                          
First off... 5k! *even more aggressive airhorns* Thank you so much, my friends! It's still really surreal to me, especially because it's been a month and four days (as of this writing) since I started this book. Amazing, really, and thank you.
                          
Four chapters to go after this one! I'm actually not finished yet with the next chapter, so I gotta get writing, mhm?
                          
Also: I put up a Courtney x Zodiac on my Insta fan account. A sample is up there in the media section... that's my sign! Go check it out @shourtney.longknee!
                          
Let's begin, then: Courtney's POV and see ya!
                          
-/-/-
                          
At least I know for a fact now that Shayne doesn't love me back.
                          
I'd say it was cool, but it really wasn't. But hey, what would I expect? We're actors. I should get used to this as we constantly act like a couple on camera. I should have known, right? It's not like he'd develop feelings for someone he considers as one of his best friends, has lived in his apartment for ten months, and is undergoing a divorce for an accidental marriage, right?
                          
But it's okay, I think. With that big speech he made about falling in love with me, at least my parents aren't angry with me anymore and are supporting us through the divorce. Even though Atty. George (whom I now notice shares the same name with the comedian) had lowered his fees for us, my parents still offered to help us shoulder with the costs. I felt nervous for Shayne though, because he didn't look like he was as ready as I was to tell his family about the divorce, but he knew he had to. We were two months away from finalization anyway.
                          
In other news, Kari and I had agreed on buying the last apartment Damien had recommended, and I was moving in by the end of the month. I was thrilled to have a much bigger apartment and definitely a bigger bed, but I wasn't ready to leave Shayne yet. I don't think I ever will be; I think I'll just wake up in my own bed one day and realize no one's sleeping on my right anymore. Honestly, in the case of a ghost sleeping beside me, I'd be thankful I didn't have a roommate anymore. But it's Shayne, the man I genuinely love with all of my heart even though we're slowly changing.
                          
"Hey," Shayne says as he snaps his fingers in front of my eyes, "Mom said that we should leave the office by noon so we'd catch our flight."
                          
I blink myself back to reality. "Oh, yeah," I mumble. "We can't go at the same time though. I haven't packed yet."
                          
"I have, so you should leave the office first," he replies. "So that Ian wouldn't get suspicious."
                          
I still believe that Ian should have known about the divorce as well, but with what happened at the diner, I knew I owed it to Shayne for saving me back there to not tell Ian in order to save him from the Hecox Wrath. Ian isn't really the type of guy who would get extremely angry, but Smosh and The Goldbergs are the only things going on for Shayne right now, and I didn't want to ruin that for him just because I felt terrible. Thankfully after the diner situation, Atty. George had decided against telling Ian too, so I think we're pretty good.
                          
"Yeah, sure thing," I reply as he puts the apartment's keys in my hand.
                          
Today was basically our last day at the office for the year. We had finished filming multiple episodes for the duration of Christmas until after New Year. This afternoon though, we're headed to Colorado, which was a 15-hour drive away from Los Angeles. Since Shayne and I were both pretty exhausted by pretty much everything going on, we had decided to opt for a flight instead, which Shayne's mom had agreed with and offered to shoulder the costs for, a nice gesture. Shayne had to tell her, however, that I was coming over for Christmas because my siblings were "all in different states and busy with work," not because I was there to help him explain the marriage and the divorce.