3 GUYS, A GIRL, AND A ROSE
Chapter Forty-Six
Tommy came inside, guitar in his left hand,
the other holding daisies. He had gone home to get dressed up, and thought of
playing his guitar for her. The daisies he had bought, knowing how much she
loved them. As he watched her lying there asleep, he placed the guitar in a
chair in a corner of the room and put the daisies in the empty vase on the
night table. He looked over at her, placed his hand on her forehead, and bent
down to kiss it. How close he had come to kissing her that morning. Who knew
what would have happened after that?
He quietly picked his guitar up off the chair
and sat down. The strumming of his guitar soothed him as he watched her lie
there peacefully, something she hadn't had for a long time. To him, watching
her sleep was one of the most beautiful things to witness. A lot of things
about her were beautiful to him--her exotic beauty, her long, flowing dark
hair, and the looks she gave with her beautiful brown eyes, making her seem
mysterious. The smoothness of her skin aroused him and her pink lips were
beautiful to him, especially when she smiled.
Then there was her body. He thought that her
shortness made her the cutest thing. He stood nine inches taller than her. Her
legs were perfectly shaped, and her body had all the right curves. She had a
perfectly flat stomach, showing her shape. Most of all, she was all natural. A
natural beauty. Not only outside, but inside, too. Her only weakness was Jack,
which bothered Tommy. But he wasn't going to think about that now. He only
wanted his beautiful sunshine.
He began to strum a tune of Lifehouse's,
Wash. He remembered the words correctly, always hearing it played like
other Lifehouse songs when he was around Christina--in his car, her
apartment, his apartment. He sang quietly.
Everything in the world was falling
through
All I knew was to look at you, my sunshine
All my life never found my place
Until I felt the sunlight on my face, my sunshine.
He coughed a little, adjusted his guitar for
more comfort, and continued.
Never meant to waste your time
Never meant to fall out of line
I always tried to get closer to you
Now it seems with every step
Feels like I'm losing my breath
I don't know what else I can do.
He sat up straighter.
But you wash over me
You wash over me like rain
And you wash over me
You wash over me like sunshine.
Christina began to wake up, hearing the
familiar song of her favorite band. She listened as Tommy went on.
And you wash over me
You wash over me like rain
And you wash over me
You wash over me like sunshine.
Christina giggled a little, Tommy hearing and
looking up at her.
He smiled and went on.
And you wash over me
You wash over me like rain
And you fall into me
You crawl into me like sunshine.
He took the guitar off of his lap and leaned
against the side of the chair. Getting up from his seat, he walked towards her
with his hands in his pockets. "Hey, sunshine." He stood by her
bedside and held her hand in both of his, smiling at her.
"Hey, Tommy. Nice performance,"
Christina said, smiling back.
"Exclusively for you, only!"
Christina gave him a weak smile. She was
thinking about what her mother had said before, about leaving New York to go
home with her to a rehabilitation center and mental institution. Then, before
that, she had been washed up in an emotional turmoil with Jack again. He had
just had to kiss her. It had been something both of them hadn’t been able to
resist. Deep down, Jack had been lusting for it. Christina couldn’t fight the
tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Tommy asked,
wiping the tears off of her face and running his fingers through her hair. For
some reason, she could not bring herself to tell him about Jack. She didn't
know why she felt so guilty.
"Everything is so shitty!" she
cried out. "My mother told me that I have to go to a mental institution
and rehab!" Tommy's eyes opened wide. Mental institution? Rehab? What was
going on?
"What?" Tommy was speechless.
"After I get out of this place, she
wants me to go with her to Connecticut and go to a mental institution and
rehabilitation center."
Tommy couldn't believe what his ears were
hearing. Sure, he knew she would have to get help, therapy or something, but
the mental institution was going too far. Christina was not insane. She
certainly was not an alcoholic. This couldn't be. He couldn't afford to lose
her.
Christina began to break down. She buried her
face in her hands, letting them get drenched. Tommy couldn't stand to watch her
suffer like this. It was killing him inside. He sat on the edge of her bed and
wrapped his arms around her soft body. She rested her head on his shoulders,
crying uncontrollably. Tommy stroked her hair, trying to calm her down, to no
avail.
I can't let her be taken away from me! a voice inside his head yelled. He had to prevent
this from happening.
"Chris, I'll be right back!" he
told her.
"Don't leave me here," she pleaded.
How could he turn away from a face like hers?
"I'll be gone for a few minutes. I
promise I'll be right back!" He kissed her forehead and left the room.
After walking into the waiting room, he spotted Christina's mother talking to
Jack, Rose, and Fabrizio. He crept up behind her and tapped her on the
shoulder.
"Mrs. Arias?" he called to her. She
turned around to face the man in love with her daughter.
"Oh, hello there…" She paused, not
remembering his name.
"Tommy."
"Right, Tommy! How are you?"
"Fine. Just fine. I just wondered if I
could have a moment with you. There's something we need to discuss."
*****
If she could have turned back the hands of
time, Christina would have. It would have never gone this far if she had been
able to control herself a little better. Now, it had led to all this--being
dragged away to Connecticut because her mother thought she was insane.
It was a stupid suicide attempt that
Christina admitted was a huge mistake. Not even she could understand why she
had done it. Now she was to be forced, against her will, to leave New York for
who knew how long. What for? What was the purpose of the whole thing? Because
the man she loved didn't feel the same for her anymore? Because the man she
loved was in love with someone else? It made no sense to her at all now.
I wanna go home! she repeated in her head. Christina wanted to be in
her own room, asleep in her own bed. The hospital made her feel queasy. It
wasn't a feeling she liked. To make it even worse, it was her own fault.
"Hey, babe!" She turned her head to
see one of her best friends, Fabrizio.
"Hey, Fabri," she quietly said. He
noticed the frown on her face. If there was anything that Fabrizio didn't like,
it was seeing his friends down.
"What's wrong, sweetness?" Fabrizio
asked, sitting on the end of her bed and holding her hand. "That's not a
frown I see, is it? Because if it is, it'll kill me!" Christina smiled a
little. "That’s a girl! So, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she lied. "I'm just
tired and want to go home. Oh, yeah, and Jack kissed me after you and Rose left
earlier!" she quickly blurted out. Fabrizio blinked twice and his eyes
went wide.
"Excuse me? Did I hear that
correctly?" Fabrizio asked.
"Yeah."
"Was it just a tap kiss?" he asked,
to make sure.
"No. He slipped his tongue inside my
mouth, and of course I kissed him back!" Christina practically screamed.
"Don't tell anybody, Fabri. Please!"
"You have my solemn promise!" he
said, doing a boy scout’s honor. "So, what happened after that?"
"Rose came back in and he left the room
with her. It was just too awkward! Oh, God, I don’t even want to think about it
right now!" she said, running a hand through her hair.
"All right. Anyway, your mother went
shopping earlier and bought you clothes and shoes. She forgot to give them to
you before!" Fabrizio handed her a Macy's bag and a bag from Pulse.
"Anyway, let me give you some time to rest. See you later, babe!" He
kissed her on the cheek and closed the door behind him when he left.
Christina looked in the shoebox to see a pair
of white Adidas sneakers with three black stripes on them. In the Macy's bag,
there was a baby blue J. Lo velour suit and a plain white shirt. It was
actually very nice and something comfortable. Then she turned her head to the
vase of daisies Tommy had left. She smiled at how Tommy did the sweetest things
for her. Then she saw his wallet next to it. Another crazy idea popped into her
head.
*****
He quickly walked down the hallway, anxious
to tell her the good news. Tommy and Isabella were able to compromise on some
things. It must have been his affable charm that had swayed her over, or just
the fact that she could tell he was in love with Christina. Whatever the
reason, the conversation with her had worked out perfectly. The things he would
do for Christina…
No amount of money could measure up to his
love for her. He would climb Mount Everest for her. He would kill for her, even
if it meant his own life. That was how much he loved her.
Tommy rubbed his hands together in bliss.
There was a huge adrenaline rush running through his body. It was great. Soon,
he'd see the smile on his sunshine's face.
When he walked into the room, it was empty.
He looked over at the vase. The daisies were gone. The hospital gown lay on the
unmade bed. Christina was gone.