Chapter 16
My eyes opened and I felt the ground rumble beneath me. I sat up and saw Tristan. He smiled back at me before turning back to the sight of the road. "Good morning." He sung. "'Morning." I yawned.
"Where are we going?" I asked. I looked around and passing cars passed us by when I saw what I knew and felt my heart ache. "Back home." He said. I collapsed and huffed a big protesting huff.
"Do we have to?" I whined. "Yep, we have to face them sooner or later." He pointed out, and my eyes tried to adjust to the city.
"Tristan, did last night really happen?" I ask thinking of the dark blue lake, and my body bare. His wet duckies and his soft lips. Oh god I hope it did.
"Why have any regrets?" Tristan asked kind of worried traces in his voice. "Yeah, leaving." He laughed and I pouted. Bye bye perfection.
"What do you suggest we move out there and become wild and bath in the lake, and spend the rest of our lives with each other with no food and water." He suggested, and I thought it was a swell plan. Especially the part about spending the rest of our lives with each other. "We could skinny dip every night." I dreamed out loud. "And soon you wouldn't be wearing anything, not even boxers." I laughed at his face when I saw him actually considering this.
"No matter how good that sounds, I don't think it could happen." He said sadly and my heart went all warm and fuzzy when I knew he actually liked my plan. Then my stomach growled from hunger.
"Um Tristan could we possibly stop by IHOP or something." I asked and he smiled and quickly pulled into a parking lot of a Clicky Mert. I have taught him well. I sat up from the blanket and realized how funky me and Tristan looked.
I was wearing a perfect dress, with messy hair, and no make up. Tristan was wearing a messy tuxedo, with wrinkles and messy hair. Oh and no underwear, but that was only for me to know.
We walked inside and not with out stares from the early morning rush. I waved at a woman with kids. She smiled and we proceeded walking to the junk food section.
I picked out about twelve bags of different chips ending in -etto and picked up two slurpees. I tried to find Tristan and he was looking out the window with his eyes wide.
"Tristan what's wrong?" I asked and he didn't turn away from the window. All he said was, "They're here."
I looked out the window and saw the two guys and their car from last night. "Did they follow us?" I asked Tristan keeping an eye on them. They stood there as if they were just ready to pounce on us when we got out there.
I looked around for something to help, when my eyes met with the mother's. "Um excuse me, miss?" I got her attention easily. "Yes?"
"I was wondering if I could possibly borrow your jacket." At first the woman gave me this dirty look. "I'll bring it back I promise you." She reluctantly gave it to me when I explained that we had two stalkers on our tail and we were going to try and trick us. "Good luck."
I walked over to a shelf full of gag things and picked out two pairs of glasses with the big noses, and the mustaches. We bought our stuff and ran out of there with Tristan wearing the jacket and both of us wearing the glasses. I would have laughed if I wasn't in such terrible danger.
We ran to the car while watching our backs to see if they spotted us, but they were enjoying the muffins too much to notice. We jumped into the car after a gave the woman back her jacket and Tristan started the engine and sped off. We were so lucky that they didn't notice us until we were long gone.
"That was too easy." Tristan pointed out, looking over his shoulder paranoid. I shook my head. "Don't worry my planned worked, and may I say how bizarre and funny you look in those glasses." I giggled. He gave me a smirk.
"Oh yeah cause you look so beautiful in your." He said sarcastically. I laughed. "Oh I know." I laughed and we kept laughing all the way home to our apartment. Oh how I love that. Our apartment.
We parked and we both got out of the car some more reluctant than others aka me. "Do we have to go back, why don't we just move to Nebraska or something and then I can just come back when they're gone and go to UCLA and you..." "Ronny we have to go, and don't worry it won't be that horrible." I hope he's right.
"Hey Lucas." We walked in and Lucas was there sitting on the couch reading a magazine. Newspapers strewn across the table. "What's up with all this?" Tristan's asks, and Lucas looks like he is hiding a laugh.
Tristan picks up a newspaper and starts to read the first page. Then he dropped it from shock. "What's wrong Tristan?" I asked bending over to pick up the paper seeing a blurry figure. "Nude Moonlit Dip in the Lake." Oh god no.
I took it in my hands and began reading. "A couple was seen taking a moonlit bath in the lake, the twosome including Tristan Anderson, The Japan's Ambassador's son, previously seen with the girl at the new opening of the restaurant J'ai T'aime. The same girl coaxed him into taking off all his... No I did not. He did it on his own free will." I screamed at the paper as if it would all run away.
"Oh there's more." Lucas handed me a tabloid. I lifted it to my eyes and a picture of me with my middle finger up filled the front page. I almost fainted.
I opened the pages and when I got there it was like a scrap book of the car in the field me diving into the water and Tristan climbing out. 'Sex scandal!' Screamed off of the magazine and hit me right in the face.
"Turn on the news." Tristan told Lucas and I watched as me, myself, and I dived into the lake. My white body parts blurred for the little minds out there.
"How did they find us? I thought we lost them last night?" Tristan pondered as my mouth hung open. "Huh?" Was what I remembered crossing my lips.
"So it really did happen, you guys had the you know it the forest?" Lucas asked sadly excited. "No!" We yelled at him in unison. "Okay I believe no need to shout.
"Oh god my mother." My eyes shot out as Tristan pointed out that his mother would see this. The woman who already thought I was a slut.
"Tristan!" My body became still as I heard her shriek from all the way from the next room.
"Lucas we were never here." Tristan whispered and Lucas nodded. Tristan took my hand and led the rest of me to his room. He locked the door right when his mom came barging in along with the rest of them by the number of footsteps.
"Shhh" Tristan hissed and led me out to the balcony. He quietly called Spot to his side and all three walked out to the balcony with a blanket. Me and Tristan sat on chairs, but I couldn't sit still so I had to go back and listen to what she was saying.
"Ronny don't." He tried to stop me, but I was already in the room and listening to her loud and clear. Her shrieks probably heard all the way down the hall.
"Where are they Lucas?!" She demanded while the rest of them said good morning. But the old bat didn't even bother. "Where are they?" She repeated.
"They're not here, Mrs. Lang." Mrs. Lang? "What do you mean they are not here, oh my god what if they are still making trouble?!" Her voice getting annoyingly high. I cringed even from the other side of the door.
I heard Tristan's dad mumbling for her to calm down or something like that. "Don't tell me to be calm, for all I know that little slut is coaxing him to rob a bank this very moment." That was kind of mean. I felt my knees shake with anger. My eyes got blurry too.
"With all do respect, I don't think Veronica did any coaxing madam she would never do that." Thank you Lucas. He was like the big brother that I never had. Along with Andrew.
"Well when they come back from their over wild adventures tell MY SON that he is never to see that girl again." My breathe caught and my body fell.
"What was that?" I shot up had I just made a noise. Oh crap.
"Oh that was just Spot their dog." I felt those tiny little salty warnings of your heart breaking spill all over my cheeks. Spot came to lick them away and Tristan to kiss them, but I just sat there long before the woman had left trying very hard to pretend I didn't just start slipping into a hole of crap.
"Ronny?" Lucas's voice came through the door after a long time of silence and I just sat there as he knocked.
I felt my body give way as he opened the door. Lucas looked down at me with a sad smile on his face. One smile that begun annoying me and then just made me feel completely pathetic.
"Ow." I whispered because that is what I usually said after hitting my head, but my head didn't hurt at all. My heart had taken the bullet along with every other thing.
"Are you okay little sis?" Not the perfect time to pick up a sweet new nick name but it made me smile for the little seconds that it hit my head. "Call me that again." I sighed, a weird request, but he smiled and repeated my little nick name. "Little sis." He actually did feel like my big brother when he picked me up from the floor.
"Thanks." I whispered and walked back up to Tristan and let him take it from there. I let my little warnings melt off onto his nice high class tuxedo shirt. While I wondered what they actually called those type of shirts in big froo froo land where all the rich people hung out, while trying to distract myself of my real thought, would I be able to be with him?
Damn it, didn't work!
I sat down with him and his arms engulfing me, like some childish fort so I didn't have to see the real world right then. I welcomed it easily and then like some little kids reality check Tristan's cell played out the Dashboard Confession's song I had danced to so many times.
He ignored it a few lyrics, but my reality check had fully pulled me out so I picked it up and started to listen. Hoping it wasn't some angry wicked woman that gave birth to a certain boy that had his arms, forbiddingly, wrapped around me.
"Hello?" It was a woman, but she hadn't given birth to my Tristan, but to me. "Hello is this Tristan?" She sounded like she would of gone off he would have said yes. "Hey mom what's up?" I stood away from Tristan and he sat there watching me look at him.
"I need to talk to you, alone." She used an assertive voice, not one that I was used to. So I quickly nodded, and hung and headed out.
"Ronny, where are you going?" Tristan called after me and all I did was answer him with a click of the door. I needed to go alone and he got that when I didn't hold the elevator door for him.
I let my fingers play with my keys nervously. I was alone and I was nervous. I walked out to my car and hopped in with my rose key chain jingling with the music that turned on. Nothing I recognized, but the little tune that came afterward was that of my favorite radio talking show, about the big stars, and now it just kind of became annoying.
I listened anyway for the sake that I didn't really want to or felt like changing the channel. I was in driving mode and I wanted it to stay like that.
"So have you heard that Japan's very own ambassador is here in L.A." Their voices awed and ohed like this was like the cure to cancer, but all I said was, "Yeah and I'm dating his son." Just a little bit of my own little cynical self.
"Well his son is trying out for the nude swimming team..." My mouth hung open as if Tristan was trying out for it with some other girl. My mind actually made me think that for a couple of seconds.
"My sources tell me it was some girl named Veronica Seren." The woman's voice sounded questioning and I just turned it off before I had the chance to answer.
The ride to the hospital was easy, but the walk in felt like I was walking into the freezer. I looked around for a second getting used to the feeling, and realized I was still in my evening wear.
I speed walked past the counter and into the endless hall of rooms. I came up to a door 315 read on it and walked in.
The room was sterilized blue and cold when I walked in. "Hey mom." She didn't smile just looked up from the tabloid she was reading, with my face on it. "Hello."
I walked to her side and sat down on one of the chairs and tried to laugh the whole thing off. "Whoa that's not my best picture is it?" I tried to make a joke of it, but my laugh was fake, a desperate tint to it, well the whole thing seemed desperate actually. I looked at my mom and she didn't even try. I sighed and put my face in my hands. "I'm sorry." I sighed.
"What were you thinking?" I shook my head. I was probably thinking god Tristan looks hot tonight let's get naked. Not really, but some how maybe it would be easier if I had.
"We didn't do anything." "Beside getting naked and make out on public property." My mom wasn't letting off and my eyes had no more tears for today so I just huffed. She huffed and we both felt angry at each other, but I was the only one that was angry at myself.
She put her hand on my back and rubbed it, a surprising gesture from a mom who had done nothing wrong, but for my mom who had me get her home when she was drunk, it felt right. "I don't want you seeing this Tristan boy anymore." What?!
I stood from the chair and shunned her hand. "How dare you mother?" I posed it as an actual question and waited for the answer. "How dare I? You are the one who embarrassed me when my nurse walked in with a magazine with your face plastered all over it!" She was getting riled up, not good for a person who could slip back into a coma, but I felt like I was going to faint so we were on the same playing field. Sort of.
"Mom it's not like you have never embarrassed me." Okay that was a little too far, maybe I should stop. "You drunk."
She stopped talking. I probably should have said sorry, but it wouldn't help my dramatic exit. I walked to the door. "You never did this when you were with Jerry." I pushed the door open and walked out into the hall.
I hated right now, if I had the power to change last night I wouldn't. For the world, but maybe my mother.
"Ms. Seren may I speak to you?" I turned to see a doctor I saw the day my mom was hospitalized. He gave me a smile and motioned me to follow him. Maybe it was good news, but that wasn't really going on today so I just sat in his office and waited for the worst.
"Um Ms. Seren..." "Oh call me Ronny." I tried smiling to make him feel comfortable, or me. Which ever one it worked for. It was silent. It didn't work at all.
"Okay um how are you today Ronny?" He said my name uncomfortably and I squirmed in my chair when I noticed his two eyes were wondering.
"Can you get to the point." I demanded and he cleared his throat I guess hoping that his eyes would snap back into his eyes sockets. "Well there is no easy way of saying this..." Oh. "Your mom needs a liver transplant." Well it didn't sound so bad except for the part that we had no money to pay for it.
"She will probably pass on..." AKA die. "...if we don't." My mouth opened and I was sure my heart had broken. She would lose her life.
"How much is the operation?" I asked and my heart seemed to shatter as he said a number that was bigger than I could really think about right then. I ended up just walking out and leaving getting into my car and going to my house and walking into my room, to cry.
The house was locked and it felt kind of spooky to be all alone in it but it felt good to curl up in the comforters of my bed and hug my teddy and sleep as my eyes wet the pillow it made me think of my mom in a much better light. Not the one who likes the guy who cheated on me more than the guy who loves me more than anything in this world. Vise versa.
So I just sat there and hoped that today was just a dream and I would wake up in Tristan's car any second now, but all I did was close my eyes and slipped into my dreams.
I woke up walked down stairs and saw my family at the table. My mom had nothing to take and she was sober. But really scared me was my non existent dad sitting there with some Andy Griffith smile on his sober face.
"Okay who died?" Both of my parents laughed and asked me to come join them, but before I could the door bell rung and big surprise, when I opened the door, there was Tristan. "Please Ronny don't let me leave his eyes pleaded with me and my eyes seemed to plead to my brain, and my heart. So I shut the door and broke down right in front of him, with a big piece of wood in between us.
I woke up and wiped my eyes of tears. "It was just a dream." I looked at my clock and that dream took five hours of my day and I felt for the phone as it started to ring. A reminder that I wasn't alone.
"Hello this is the male prostituting service for lonely women one of our escorts Tristan, said you had quite a nice skinny dip and your best friend is wondering why exactly you didn't tell her about?!" She squealed the last part and I laughed into the phone. "Hey Beth."
Of course like any other girl, she skipped the hellos, and went straight for my throat. "So does he have the greatest bod ever, I mean they don't show you much on the pages of every magazine in the city." I heard her laugh and to my surprise I laughed too.
"So you heard too?" I heard her skin rub against the phone as she nodded. "So what color is your mood ring?" I looked at my finger expecting something to be there. My finger was bare. "Huh?"
"Oh sorry it's my new way of asking how are you?" She laughed sympathetically. "I guess it would be the yuckiest brown known to man." I almost let a tear fall on that one, but I stopped when I thought there was nothing to cry about.
"Why my little Ronny?" She sounded like she was kidding, but that was her way of being sympathetic. "I was told by two women that I was not aloud to see Tristan again, one would be my mother and the other would his mother..." "Ouch." She said her voice seriously sympathetic.
"Oh and unless I come up with an enormous amount of money my mom might..." And then I felt my heart choke up and my tears pressed out of my eyes. "Oh god Beth." I cried and she made soothing noises over the phone. "It's going to be all right Ronny." I laughed. "You sound just like Tristan." She laughed too, but I knew neither she or I thought it was at all funny at all.
"Babe would you like for me to come over or something?" Then I thought of something. "Actually meet me at Mona Lisa's in an hour, bring your fake ID." I was proud of the thought it made me feel courageous for once in my life time.
"Okay." She agreed and hung up. She knew if she questioned I might have changed my mind, but before I could I ran into my bathroom. Took my evening wear off and hopped in the shower and got ready for a night out.