“Hello?”
“Hey, Kevin, can I talk to you?”
“Annie?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Do you know how long I’ve been trying to get in touch with you?”
She half-smiled, “I know, the blinking light on the answering machine starts to bug you after a while.”
“Well, you said you wanted to talk. Would this talk have anything to do with the reason why I can’t say your name without Nick and Brian giving me dirty looks? Will I be the first to get the privilege of a straight answer from Annie?”
“Thank you, monsieur comedian. If you’re quite done now – “
“Sorry, that was low. I’d love to talk to you—on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“We do this in person. Some conversations just weren’t meant for the phone.”
“Fine, where do you want me to meet you?”
“Just come here, to my hotel room.”
“Okay—on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“No funny business. No people magically appearing from behind doors or miraculously being able to hear private conversations. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Okay, see you in 15.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“Did you have any trouble getting up here?”
“No, the BG’s haven’t forgotten me yet,” Ann used her pet name for the bodyguards.
Kevin held the door open, “That’s cool. Come on in.”
“Thanks.” She threw her track bag onto his bed and then went to the window.
“Oh, no, please, make yourself comfortable.” He waited for her caustic remark, but none came. “Annie?”
She turned to him and his heart broke. Something in her normally shielded eyes pained him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. “Hey,” he spoke softly, “come here.” They met in a comforting hug about halfway through the room. He rocked her gently and petted her hair until the tears she had been fighting finally let themselves fall.
“Shhhhh…it’s okay, honey, it’s okay. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I feel so alone.”
That was it! Kevin finally realized what it was—the disturbing look in her eyes. This normally stable and secure young woman was looking vulnerable.
“You want to talk about it?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. The tears are screwing with my brain. Now I see why I don’t cry that much.”
“There’s nothing wrong with crying. There’s nothing wrong with letting people know exactly how you feel.”
“That’s just it! I don’t know exactly how I feel. I just needed, something, somebody, you.”
He smiled and kissed the top of her head, “Okay, then, just tell me what happened. Better yet, I know what happened, tell me why it happened.”
“You mean why I broke up with Brian?”
“That and why you had a fight with Nick.”
She sniffled, “Well, I got mad at Nick because he was so busy trying to get me and Brian back together that he didn’t even bother asking how I was feeling. He kept telling me over and over about how bad Brian was feeling; how I had hurt him so much, without even thinking that that would hurt me more. He was only seeing without looking.”
“What do you mean?”
“He took the situation at face value without really considering all the factors involved; things like my character, my emotions were completely overlooked. He told me that I didn’t care. If he really knew me, he’d know how much I do care.”
“Do you?”
“Yes! It wouldn’t hurt if I didn’t.”
“True. Tell me what happened with Brian. Why’d you break up with him?”
“It just got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. Him being away, half the world knowing how he’s doing before I do, angry teenyboppers, my picture all over the place, wanting to call him mine but millions of teenage girls more than willing to stop me, it was all too much. It took me three years to realize I didn’t have the strength to handle that kind of abuse. To top it all off, the calls and the e-mails became less and less until they were virtually non-existent.”
“Annie?”
“Yeah?”
“Next time you do that, remember to breathe.”
She laughed, then sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Seriously, though, I knew it would be hell coming into the relationship. What I didn’t know was that I -- I personally wouldn’t be able to handle it. I was also under the impression that Brian would be trying to make it work, too.”
“Does he know everything you just told me?”
“No.”
“So, tell him, you owe him at least an explanation.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“He’ll do something sweet and I know I’ll just end up right back where I started.”
“Where’s that?”
“With him.”
Kevin thought for a second, “I want to ask you something, but I need you to be completely honest with me, okay?” She nodded. “Do you still love him?”
She hesitated, “I…well…yeah…I love him, I still do.”
He hugged her a little tighter. “Okay, it’s okay. I think you’ve had enough for today.”
“Ditto.”
“How about you work out some of this stress in the gym?”
“But—“
“No buts. You’ve already got on sweats and a tank top, you’ve even got your track bag.”
“Okay, fine, we’ll go to the gym. I was going to go jogging anyway.”
“Whatever. Give me a sec to change and we’ll be on our way.”
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