CHAPTER 34 – WONDERFUL


“…how can you smile with all those tears in your eyes when you tell me everything is wonderful now…..I don’t want to hear you tell me everything is wonderful now”

“Brian, I don’t know if that’s a good idea, I’ve seen people that move too fast ruin a relationship” Arora spoke softly
“You don’t want to?” Brian accused
Arora struggled to find the words she felt, how could she tell him she thought he shouldn’t be so forgiving, that something wasn’t right……how could she possibly find the words to tell him that?

“Maybe it would be okay if I just stayed a few weeks, until I find an apartment” Arora sighed
Brian lips pursed into a full smile.
“It’ll be okay” Brian grinned kissing Arora’s forehead “Bianca will come around in time” he added as he stood up
Arora smiled thankfully, but inside she doubted it. Bianca would have never had said what she said if she didn’t mean it.

~ AN HOUR LATER ~

Nick lazily flicked through the channels on the huge TV in front of him. Nothing much held his attention for more than a few minutes. His eye was drawn up to a picture that Bianca had hung on his wall a few months ago. It was one that had been taken on tour, Nick was in the middle, his arm draped around Bianca, his head turned to look down at her as she grinned stupidly at the camera. A small smile flickered on his face as he remembered so many things about her so vividly. He sighed quietly before pulling his head away from the direction of the photo, he ran his long fingers through his unwashed hair and slipped back into the couch, focusing once again on the Television in front of him.

~ AT THE SAME TIME ~

Bianca starred up at the large cast iron gates in wonderment. She turned back to her car, then back up to the gates. She didn’t know what she was doing there, she’d just gotten in the car and driven, subconsciously this is where she had ended up. She closed her eyes softly, trying to find a motive or a reason why she was here.
“God Nickolas, why do you have to do this to me?” she whispered as a tear fell from her eyes.
She ran back around to the driver side of the car and hopped in.

~ AT THE SAME TIME ~

Alika’s mind wandered through the darkness of the tunnel. She saw light, but it flickered far away in the distance, she could hear muttered voices calling her, entreating her to walk towards the light, but she was tired, she wanted to rest, she wanted to sleep. A vision of her family flashed before her, her father, her mother, the people she was positive would love her had in their own way’s betrayed her. She’d lost so much, why would she even care about the light? Another face came to the picture a black face, she could barely make it out, a figure too was walking towards her crying, she reached out to touch them, but she was too far away.
“Tatum?” he mind called, the voice echoing through her body
She drew closer, the tears so loud they pounded through Alika’s head.
“Tatum?” she called again. The figure only moved closer, crying.
“Help me please” the figure whispered as the darkness encased her
The same as she was there, she was gone.
“TATUM” Alika screamed the sound of her mind bounding through the dream

The heart monitor beside the bed raced uncontrollably. Three nurses rushed into the room, pushing and pulling whatever they could find. She was going into an arrest, something they couldn’t let happen. Her body jolted and shifted across the bed, her eyes still firmly closed.

“TATUM” She screamed loudly, running down towards the light
Blurred noises haunted the back of her mind, muffled voices she couldn’t understand, beeps and tones she didn’t recognize, all of it simply making her more rushed.

In an instant it was dark again, it was black, cold, silent.

“Damn” one of the nurses cured, pushing a loose bit of hair behind her ear
The other two nurses backed away from the bed. She wasn’t dead, but they had almost lost her.
“I'm was so sure she was going to wake up” one nurses mumbled turning to check the heart rate, which had no steadied
“I think we all were. Keep fighting Alika, you can do it” another nurses smiled patting the side of the bed.

~ 2 HOURS LATER ~

Arora looked around the empty room, there was nothing but a bed in it, she would come back for that later. A soft tear slipped from her eye. Bianca was nowhere around, though she doubted Bianca would want to even talk to her, let alone say goodbye.
So, this is what its come to, this is what you’ve done she thought to herself taking one last look at the room before closing the door. She fell back against the closed door, and shut her eyes slowly releasing more tears.

“Ready?” Brian inquired walking down the hall.
Arora opened her eyes and grabbed the bag that was down by her feet. She nodded slowly as she followed Brian out to the front door.

~ THAT NIGHT ~

Bianca returned home about an hour beforehand to the empty silent house. She knew Arora would leave, it was a given really, she’d rammed the guilt so far into her face she doubted Arora would ever be able to return.

Bianca slumped down onto the couch, and slopped the contents of her pockets onto the small table in front of her. She pulled a cigarette from the packet and held in steady in her fingers. She’d started smoking when she was about 16, not exact the nicest habit but it keep the “shit at bay” she used to tell people. She’d stopped not long after her 17th birthday after Arora continuously pleaded with her to give it up – and she had done just that.

It wasn’t that she wanted the cigarette now, she just wanted to feel something familiar, something that no matter what always seemed to cloud the shit from her life, and make it at least in the smoky surface seem bearable.

She lit it quickly and pushed the thin white artificial happiness through her lips. Sucking back she breathed in a sensation she’d long ago craved. Pulling it from her mouth, she watched the spiral on enchanting smoke whip up into the air. She leant forward placing her elbows onto her knees, one arm slipped down, holding the cigarette still firmly between her index and middle fingers. She bent her head down, supporting it with her free hand as she cried quietly into the silence.

~ AT THE SAME TIME ~

Arora emerged from the bathroom patting her long wet hair dry with the towel she gripped in her hands. She was heading towards the laundry when Brian stepped in front of her.
“Come with me” he smiled taking her hand
Without a choice in the matter he pulled her back down the hallway and stopped in front of the master bedroom door. Brian stood with his back to the door as he smiled blissful at Arora. She looked at him with confusion as he clicked the door open, and pushed the wooden door fully open.

Arora looked around the room in wonderment, it was glowing with candles of all shapes and sizes and colors. The sweet aroma of roses pushed through her nose as Brian pulled her into the room. The bed was the main piece in the bedroom, now surrounded by pedestal candles and ones seated on either beside tables. The bed itself had one corner of the blankets pulled down, and was covered in red rose petals.

Brian closed the door quietly behind him as Arora walked around the shimmering room.
“What’s all this for?” Arora inquired as Brian took the towel from her hands and threw it into the corner of the room.
“For you” he whispered wrapping his arms around her thin waist.
She turned to face him, her wet hair falling across her body, drips from it running down her arm.
“I don’t understand” she whispered as he caressed her bottom.
“What’s there to understand” he spoke softly as he lips slipped along her moistened neck.
She backs up against the foot of the bed, and fell onto it like a toy puppet. Brian’s lips made their way from her neck, along her collarbone, as his hands slipped underneath the top she was wearing.

Arora squirmed underneath him before pushing him off her, and standing bolt upright.
“What’s wrong with you?” she questioned fixing the strap of her top
“What do you mean, what’s wrong with me? Is wanting to be with your girlfriend a crime now?” Brian shot back, standing up off the bed.
“Why are you doing all this?” Arora stammered. It didn’t make sense to her, it was like he was blocking the whole thing out.
“I'm trying to make YOU happy” Brian announced stiffly

It all fitted together perfectly, Arora understood now.
“You’re doing this because you think I love Nick” she muttered, annoyed she hadn’t seen that before
“Well how do I know you don’t? its like I don’t know you anymore Arora. So sue me if I'm trying to hold onto a relationship that probably already has one foot in the grave” Brian cried
“I told you Nick and I are nothing” Arora sounded pleadingly
“I'm trying desperately to make you love me Arora, that’s what I'm trying to do. I failed before, you went into HIS arms” Brian declared in response
“You’ve felt this way all along?”
“Look don’t worry about it, everything’s wonderful” Brian sarcastically replied falling back onto the bed

Arora sighed quietly as she sat down beside him.
“Stop it Brian, stop trying to block it all out, because it’ll only eat you up from the inside. Please just tell me how you really feel about me, because I need to know” she whispered
“You really want to know?” Brian sulked
“I need to know”
“Okay, then here it is” Brian started turning to face Arora “I hate you, I hate Nick, I hate the thought of you together, but most of all I hate myself, because in reality I don’t hate you at all, I love you, and maybe its that which I hate the most. Just tell me what I did wrong Arora? Why did you stop loving me?” Brian questioned, his eyes welling with tears
“I never stopped loving you Brian” Arora responded, finally seeing how this effected him
“Then why did you find comfort in his arms?” he whispered, his voice barely heard
“I don’t know Brian, I don’t know why I did what I did, all I know is I cant turn back time, I cant changed what happened, all I can do is try and make things right, all I can do is try to salvage what I destroyed. I'm so sorry Brian”
He laid his head onto his hands and wept softly.

Arora stood up, staring down at him with pain and guilt. She backed away from him, over to the door. She opened the door and walked out.





Chapter 35
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