68A/N: Okay…this chapter will be the only chapter with Chris' POV. The rest would be in Bridget's POV so enjoy it while it lasts. Sorry! But then…I might surprise you people with another Chris POV…or maybe…gasp Mark's? Heh…I'm evil. Thank you. Please, read…READ!
Chapter Five: You're Beautiful
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true,
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
Cause I'll never be with you.
- James Blunt You're Beautiful
Chris's POV
The moment Chris walked in the apartment he regretted being friends with the host of the party, Kevin Whitman. Kevin was notorious for his parties and this one was no less painful than the previous one. It was only 9 o'clock but the music was blaring and people were grinding each other as they danced.
Chris pushed through the crowd and tried to squeeze in between couples groping each other. When he finally got out of the throng of people (only after being grinded into by both females and males) he went to his room and slammed the door. The sound outside was muffled. Just a bit anyway.
He put away his bag and flopped onto his bed with a sigh. He blindly groped on his side table for his MP3 player and when he found it, he put them on and his favorite song came on.
He might sound a bit gay by saying he loved Tyler Hilton's song When it Comes but the song had a really upbeat tempo and he had to admit that the guy had talent.
Chris, having memorized the whole song, sang with Tyler Hilton. He stuffed the MP3 player in his pocket and got up from the bed to find his guitar.
I started up my hollow
A piece of wood to follow
A day that doesn't come to the lucky
He plucked his guitar and sang along.
And I'll let you know
When it comes, when it comes
I'll let you know
But don't stay up for me
Don't wait up for me if I'm not home, yeah
The door to his room slammed open. He got up and was surprised to find Bridget Cohen standing at his doorway. She held a red plastic cup in one hand and the other hand was on the doorknob.
'I'm sorry,' her words slurred. She was drunk. He never expected the girl to drink. 'I didn't know it was occupied.' But that didn't stop her from tumbling in. She fell down and the contents of her drink spilled on the carpet. Chris jumped up immediately to help her.
He took off his headphones and tried to heave her up but she was heavy, due to teh gravity pull, he supposed. When he finally got her on the bed, he smelled something all too familiar. Her drink was drugged. He breathed out a sigh of relief. The girl he liked wasn't a drinker, he thinks.
'I remember you.' Bridget's voice wafted in his ears as he rummaged through his personal medical kit. He took out a piece of cloth and grabbed a bottle of water from his cabinet (his room had a built in refrigerator, a television, a cabinet full of dried goods and bottled water and also his own bathroom. Yes…he was rich enough to own all the things in his room) and wetted the cloth. He walked to the bed and pressed the wet cloth on her forehead. She winced. 'Cold…' she said over and over again.
'It will go away in a minute.' Chris smiled as he looked at her scrunch her nose up.
The door was still open and the words 'You're beautiful, you're beautiful it's true.' came into the room.
The irony of it all, he thought as he tended to the drugged beauty in front of him.
'I have to go out there.' Bridget started to stand up but she fell back down immediately with a wince. 'You were drugged, I doubt you'd want to move anymore.'
'But I gotta shake my booty.' She mumbled.
A chuckled released itself from Chris's throat. 'I gotta work it on Kevin's table.' She continued.
'Bridget…what are you talking about?' Chris asked as he took his medical kit and took out a small bottle of Pepto Bismol1. He rummaged through his cabinet to find a spoon. When he found it, he poured the medicine onto the spoon and helped her up.
He sat on the bed beside her and placed his hand on her back to keep her from falling.
'Drink this. You'll feel a lot better.' Chris coaxed her gently and she opened her mouth obligingly and took in the medicine. Her head dropped down to his lap and he almost jumped away but she had already curled up. 'You smell nice.' She murmured before snoring gently. He adjusted a bit so that his back was to the board.
He placed the used spoon beside the bottle on the side table before slipping on his headphones. Baby Bash's I'm Back played into his ears. He didn't know where to place his hands so he just curled it behind his head and closed his eyes.
He was just about to drift off to sleep when someone knocked on his door. He opened his eyes blearily and saw an unfamiliar guy.
'Have you seen—Bridget! Did you do anything—'
'No! I'm not a sleaze!' Chris blurted out. He was about to jump out of the bed but he didn't want to wake her up. 'Someone spiked her drink and she came tumbling into this room and then she passed out after I gave her some medicine. I swear.'
The guy narrowed his eyes. 'You sure?'
Chris pointed to the Pepto Bismol. The guy relaxed and nodded. 'Is she snoring?' he asked as he walked into the room. Chris nodded. 'Huh…lucky girl. No dancing then.' The guy said as he walked to the bed.
Chris raised an eyebrow as the guy effortlessly picked Bridget up from his lap. Immediately his lap felt cold so he pulled his legs up to his chest. 'Mind my asking…where are you going to take her?' Chris asked when the guy was almost at the door.
The guy turned and raised an eyebrow. 'What is it to you?' he asked. Chris failed to acknowledge the teasing tone the guy had adopted. Chris shrugged. 'Just asking.'
'Home. She'll be annoying if she's not in bed when she wakes up. She'll need my waffles tomorrow if she wants to go through the day.' The guy grinned as he stepped out of the room. 'Thanks for taking care of my girl.' He said before disappearing from the doorway.
My girl? Chris rapped his head mentally. Of course she had a boyfriend. With a face like that…what did he expect? Her to fall head over heels in love with him just because he happened to save her twice?
Okay, maybe the first incident was his fault. He wasn't looking where he was going and he had knocked her down. And maybe this second time, all he did was be her pillow but nonetheless, did he really figure she was going to fall for her just because of that?
A nagging voice in his head screamed yes. He did figure she would.
He shook his head and put his headphones back on and tried to get some sleep.
(Back to Bridget)
When Bridget opened her eyes, she smiled when she smelled the familiar smell of Mark's delicious blueberry waffles. She got out of bed, a bit woozy for awhile.
Yesterday's events ran through her mind. Someone offered her a drink and she stupidly took it.
Next thing she knew, she was stumbling in a room that was occupied by a familiar guy. Those weird eyes…she thought to herself. She also remembered how he had tended to her.
Dejà vu, as she remembered the time she had hit her head because of him. She smiled. The last thing she remembered about last night was her falling into his lap.
'Oh no…' she groaned. What did she do last night? Refusing to believe she did anything stupid, she shook her head before grabbing her towel to take a shower.
She rushed through her shower and dressed into a black drawstring corduroy2 and a plain white t-shirt which accentuated her curves favorably. She tied her long dark brown hair into a tight ponytail, making sure not a strand was out of place, before going out.
When she arrived in the kitchen area, she chuckled when she saw Mark. He was wearing an apron and mitts. Mark looked up and smiled. 'Morning sleeping beauty.' Mark placed a plate with two waffles on the small dining table. 'Come and eat.' Mark waved her over.
She sat on the chair on the opposite of Mark as he placed another plate with yet another two waffles in front of him. 'Mom's house warming gift. Homemade maple syrup.' Mark tipped his chair backwards and opened the fridge which was right behind him and took out a small dark blue squeeze bottle and placed it in between them before closing the fridge door.
Bridget reached for the bottle and filled each individual square on the waffled with the syrup. When every square was filled with syrup, she began to eat slowly. The rich taste of the waffles and the sweetness of Mrs. Young's syrup and also the added taste of blueberries filled her mouth and she smiled. 'Good.' She drawled.
Mark smiled, pleased with himself.
'Have you opened the box3 yet?' he asked, breaking the silence.
'Oh…I completely forgot!' She went to her countertop and took out the silver box from the drawers and opened the letter.
Pralines, mocha, solid white
All neatly arranged in this box so tight.
Pop one in your mouth and do not waste
What so many men have sought to taste
-Anonymous
'You and your poems.' Bridget grinned. She opened the box and smiled. White and dark chocolate all neatly arranged. 'They look good.'
'They taste good too.' Mark nodded. 'I tried to make them myself but they didn't come out right so I just bought it.'
'Must've cost you a fortune.'
'Worth it.'
Bridget kissed Mark's forehead and took two out before placing the rest in the fridge.
She gave Mark one and ate one herself. The chocolate just melted into her mouth and she shivered. 'Nothing better than to wake up with your waffles and these to-die-for chocolates.'
'A great combination if you throw one Mark Young in it.'
'Arrogant twit.' Bridget grinned as she finished off her waffles.
::-::-::-::-::
After breakfast, Mark and Bridget left together in Mark's ancient Corvette.
The journey was filled with catching up on the four years they didn't see each other. Mark's anecdotes on the Dawns were hilarious and it made Bridget feel good that Mark never succumbed to either of them. Mark also told her that Scott Dustin got dumped by his three-year girlfriend just after graduation. That should be sad.
Bridget told Mark everything that had happened on campus. How she's acing all her subjects and she told him how all the teachers praised her for her excellent work. She told Mark that it sometimes overwhelmed her but it was great, having people notice your hard work. Mark interjected by saying Bridget didn't have to work hard to get an A and Bridget blushed at that.
When they arrived at school, Bridget noticed a really pretty andpetite girl with straight long copper brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. When she waved her way, she was a bit surprised. But when she saw Mark waving back at her, Bridget rolled her eyes and smiled.
'Just day one and you already have an admirer? You sure work fast, Marky.' Bridget commented teasingly. Mark shrugged. 'I'm a stud, what can I say? That's Lizzie Devereaux. Daughter of Jonathan Devereaux—'
'The Jonathan Devereaux? The multi billionaire who owns five different companies which have franchises all around the world, that Jonathan Devereaux? And you're dating his daughter?'
'I'm not dating her. She happens to be in one of my classes and she's assigned to show me around campus. You'll like her. She's not the word that rhymes with witch.' Bridget grinned at Mark's analogy and they continued on their way.
'Bonjour Monsieur Mark!' Lizzie greeted him with a heavy French accent as she air-kissed Mark. 'Who's your friend? Introduce me!' she said. Her voice and smile was warm and Bridget doubted she would hate the girl. She looked like the perfect copy of a china doll with wide eyes and porcelain skin.
'I'm Bridget Cohen. Nice to meet you.' Bridget smiled, extending her hands to shake the French heiress's hand. Lizzie would have nothing of it as she air-kissed Bridget as well. 'You are the one who will be graduating in October, no?'
Bridget nodded slowly. 'Yes, I am.'
'Ah…Harvard has produced fine minds and you are going to be among them. Are you happy?' Lizzie asked.
'Very.' Bridget smiled.
'Well…I shan't keep you here long. Monsieur Mark needs my assistance and I shouldn't deny him his tour of the campus, no? Come, come.' Lizzie ushered Mark away from Bridget. 'We will be seeing each other very soon, I hope!' Lizzie called to Bridget who smiled and waved at both of them.
'Me too!' she called back. Lizzie blew a kiss at her and Bridget grinned.
No…she definitely won't hate her at all.
::-::-::-::-::
'Bridget! You're here! I thought you'd never come!' James jumped as he pulled Bridget behind the counter. She was in a good mood so nothing could happen that would change the mood. She flitted around giving the patrons their orders in record time. Even her regulars were surprised. 'You're never this quick. You should be happy more often.' One haughty customer said before turning around with his nose up in the air. He was the last customer for the rush hour and she smiled at James who raised an eyebrow.
'What happened today?' he asked as he wiped off the countertop. Some of the coffee had spilled and was beginning to leave a mark. James scrubbed roughly at the spot to make the stain go away.
'I got two A stars and one A for my theses 1 and Professor Kingsley, you know the one who's like…always grumpy and stuff? Well, he paid me a compliment!' Bridget's smile widened.
'Good for you.' James said flatly. Bridget stuck her tongue out at him.
The door jingled, signaling a customer. Bridget turned to face the door and saw Logan and Anthony enter.
'Hey buster.' Logan waved at Bridget and nodded at James who nodded back. Anthony had his head up in the clouds. Bridget tilted her head and frowned. 'What's up with him?' she asked Logan, pointing to Anthony.
'He just got a job.' Logan rolled his dark brown eyes, eyes he inherited from their father. 'It's a $150,000 paying salary4.'
'You didn't have to shout it loud.' Anthony poked Logan's sides as he sat at the countertop. 'Hey darling.' Anthony smiled at Bridget. Bridget leaned forward and kissed his cheeks.
'What time will you be off? Jeremy wants to celebrate my getting a job.'
'Mark's here.' Bridget said suddenly. Logan who just sat on the high stool almost toppled over.
'What's the little tyke doing here?' Anthony's eyebrows rose.
'Where is he?' Logan asked excitedly. Logan and Mark also have a history together, just like Mark and Bridget. It was also the reason why Bridget and Logan were so close.
'The little tyke isn't little anymore and he's at campus right now, doing a project. He just moved here a couple of months ago and guess where he lives?'
Anthony and Logan shrugged. 'Just beside me!' Bridget exclaimed.
The two Cohen brothers adopted the same quizzical look. 'Wow…' Anthony whistled.
'I know, right?' Bridget snorted. She sounded like a Valley girl.
'Invite him for dinner tonight.' Anthony said. Bridget nodded. 'With pleasure. Oh…where are we going? I'm only going to leave after six so I'll just meet you there.'
'La Guardia. The reservation's under Jeremy's name.' Anthony said. Bridget nodded again. 'Another family reunion in less than two days. How fun!'
Dinner was a blast. Everyone was so happy to see Mark. Mark had always been a brother to the Cohens. Even Jordan was animated that night, and that was something to be amazed by. Jordan was always quiet and he almost never smiles. Mark's special that way, Bridget guessed.
The night went smoothly as they talked about everything and nothing. They also found out that Anthony was the head of his department of the company he was working with.
That night was also the night that Jeremy proposed to Anthony5. It was a sickly sweet ordeal.
'You've been there for me for as long as I can remember. You stayed with me even though you knew your dad would not think twice of disowning you. You were there for me when my mom died. You stayed with me and protected me from the people who keep taunting me. I've come to a decision that I want you to stay with me for the rest of my life. To have and to hold in sickness and in health for better or worst till death do us part. The whole nine yards, Anthony.' Jeremy took a deep breath before continuing. 'I want our roles to reverse this time. I want to be there for you, no matter what the consequences are. I am in love with you and I know that won't change.'
Bridget couldn't help but coo at the words Jeremy had used. It was awkward in the sense that it wasn't between a guy and a girl. But it was so sweet, Bridget forgot about all that. She couldn't believe Anthony was going to get hitched. Yikes…that's a big deal.
'I…I, I don't know what to say. I mean…we won't be allowed to hold ceremonies, Jeremy. I mean…the society hasn't quite gotten over the fact that there are gay communities in this world…I mean—'
'Then we won't hold anything. I just want you to accept this ring as a token of my love. I want you to be with me for the rest of my life without anything holding us back.' Jeremy said as he took out a velvet blue box out of his pocket and opened it. It was a simple silver band that had something written in the inner part. 'It's nothing much. No diamonds—'
'Those are for girls, Jeremy. I…are you sure about this?'
'Anthony!' the rest at the table groaned. Their older brother and friend could be so stupid and frustrating at times. Jeremy hid a smile as he pushed the box towards Anthony.
'All I want is for you to accept this ring…that's all. Also to spend your entire life with me and me alone. That's it…'
Anthony smiled and nodded and everyone hooted with pleasure as Jeremy and Anthony smiled at each other before Jeremy slipped the ring into Anthony's finger.
Anthony was walking Bridget back home after promising Jeremy he would be back before the night was over. Jeremy was reluctant to let his new husband go but he complied with his wishes. The other brothers were too tired to follow the two for a walk at the beach and Mark needed to unpack some more stuff he had procrastinated till now.
So Bridget and Anthony walked together to the nearby beach with their shoes in their hands. It was such a romantic setting and Bridget wished she would sometime do this with someone other than her oldest brother. Although she loved Anthony more than she loved all her brothers put together, she wanted to experience the love men and women feel when they're…well, in love.
'Bridget…we really need to talk.' Anthony said after a moment's silence of their previous conversation. 'About dad.'
Bridget's body tensed but she didn't show it to her brother, deciding he had a lot on his plate already. 'What about dad?' she played the fool for awhile.
'You know what, Bee…don't act like you don't.'
Bridget sighed exasperatedly. 'What do you want to know?' she finally asked.
Anthony motioned for Bridget to sit down on the sand. She nodded and sat close to Anthony, to soak in his warmth. 'For starters, why did dad really leave?'
Anthony was never stupid, Bridget knew that. He saw through the well-rehearsed lines his younger brothers and sister had recited two nights ago.
'We didn't really lie about him leaving because of mom.'
'But you withheld the main reason why he left.'
Bridget nodded. Kudos for Anthony for not being stupid.
'After you left, mom and dad fought a lot. About money, about all of us…especially dad's behavior towards you when you came out. Jordan and the rest didn't want any part of it so they stayed out of it most of the time. But then, dad started beating mom up.'
Anthony took a sharp intake of breath. 'What?' came his choked reply.
'It wasn't that awful at first. He'd just shove her towards the bed really roughly. But then, flying saucers were sighted.' Bridget laughed harshly. 'It was so clichéd, you know? The plates and cups flew back and forth. I sometimes giggle whenever that happened.
'But then, it got worst. Mom would have bumps and bruises all over her body the next day. One time, she even had blood stains on her shirt. When Logan commented on it, she looked down and was surprised to see it.
'My bedroom was next to theirs, right? So I heard all of their shouting and screaming. Jordan, Ethan, Devon and Logan would always come to my room to keep me company and try to make me focus on something else. It sometimes worked but mostly, I couldn't think of anything else except their shouting.
'It went on for two years, Anthony. Sometimes, mom and dad would start arguing first and then dad would hurt her. Sometimes, dad comes home and just beats her up or screams at her. Sometimes, he's drunk when he does it.' Bridget choked on her tears. 'Those were the worst. He would use his belt on her and I'd hear her screams…it was horrible. I was only two, Anthony.' Anthony pulled his sister closer to him.
He was torn between wanting her to go on and asking her to just stop. If he asked her to go on, they would both be too hurt, but if he asked her to stop, he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it and he would eventually go straight to the source and beat the crap out of him. He shook his head. He reminded himself that Jeffrey Cohen was still his father and if he has this murderous streak, who's to say Anthony wouldn't? People have always commented on how Anthony and his father were the same. He used to think that was something to feel good about. Now, he wanted to prove everyone wrong.
'I felt so helpless. Mom became weaker and weaker until one day she just shut herself off. Dad stopped his tirade and everything was almost normal again. Only…without mom, nothing was normal.
'You know how dad would sometimes come home late or not be home for two or three days, right?' Anthony nodded. 'On those occasions, Devon and I would always curl up with mom on the bed with Jordan, Ethan and Logan on the floor. We would just stay there and sleep with mom. Mom never said anything those nights. Even Ethan and Devon didn't have the energy to crack a stupid joke.
'But mom didn't die because of that, you know. If you were thinking it I mean.'
Anthony grimaced. He had been thinking that. At least he could have an ammo when he wanted to put his dad in jail, if he wasn't already there…or dead.
'We found out that her lungs had been polluted. A tumor had grown in it. There's a scientific name for it but I can't really remmeber what it is. But the tumor clogged up mom's lungs…both of them. Even with operation, she couldn't have survived. The day mom died, I wanted to shout with joy. She's done with her suffering. But that started something else.
'After you left for the second time, dad turned his attention on me. He would start to beat me up for no reason. He actually once broke a glass of milk on my back.'
Anthony was horrified. 'Take your clothes off.'
'No…'
'Bridget, do it.'
'Anthony—'
'Bridget, do it!'
Bridget slowly peeled off her coat and subsequently pulled her baby blue tee over her head. She hugged herself in the cold winds. 'The bast—'
'Don't even think of finishing that word.' Bridget hissed warningly. Anthony complied, knowing that Bridget meant it. Bridget had that effect on people she came in contact with. No one could ever challenge her, not even her older brothers.
She put her tee and coat on and Anthony pulled her closer to him. Bridget laid her head on his chest and Anthony draped his arm over her shoulders. 'One day, he knocked me unconscious. I was sent to the hospital. I was treated for my wounds and the doctor told me I suffered a concussion. Jordan took control when dad came to visit me at the hospital. He pleaded for my forgiveness. If Jordan hadn't stepped in, I would have forgiven him. I was only four at the time. Ethan told me I was too smart for my own good sometimes.' Bridget smiled bitterly before continuing.
'Three months later, all of us were sent to live with Aunt Rosa and Uncle Micah. We were lucky enough they took all of us in. I don't know what would happen if we were separated. I was glad that Aunt Rosa and Uncle Micah lived in the neighborhood. We didn't hear from dad since.' Bridget blew out a sigh of relief. She'd gotten everything out. Her tears were streaming down already.
Anthony pulled her closer and Bridget cried freely on her brother's shoulder. She sobbed as flashbacks invaded her mind hit by hit. That made her cry even more. Her hacking sobs worried Anthony but he didn't ask her to stop.
He knew she had kept all of this bottled up for too long. She needed to let it out. He let her the whole night.
A/N: Okay…I targeted fifteen pages on Microsoft Word but this came out…it's only…um…eleven pages long but it's okay. Okay…I'll answer them questions that have been nagging your minds.
Vah'n Kais: You're my first guy reviewer! Fun! Anyway. Thank you for saying Mark is awesome! He is…I'm in love with my character! Hah! Oh…and that dance? Um…hehe…sorry. I can't do that. But if you want to see the baby dance, go to this website and then you will see there are seven images, click the third from the left. Enjoy!
deerocks: Thank you for your updates. To answer your question, there are six Cohen siblings. Anthony, Jordan, Ethan, Devon , Logan and Bridget, in that order. Bridget is the baby of the family but Logan is the last boy in the family. So don't get confused when I say the youngest boy or the youngest Cohen. Youngest boy is Logan, youngest Cohen is Bridget, okay? Okay, hope that answers your question. And yes, Anthony and Jeremy are gay.
yarrowicefrost: Lifehouse does rock, don't they?
.mind: Three reviews at once? I love you! Haha! Anyway, you don't really have questions I can answer because the answer is pretty much in this chapter. To clear the air, Jeffrey isn't a homophobe. He was just surprised that it was his son who's the homosexual. If you were to find out your son or daughter was one, you'd be shocked too. I guess Jeffrey loved Anthony too much to ever expect that of him. And it's not Matt, it's Mark. But no worries…and lastly thanks for the review…made me smile today after such a horrible day.
CuteButPsycho27: Sorry I forfeit the dare…been a hectic day ahead. My fifteen chapter idea just went down the dumps. But hope this makes up for it somehow! Thanks for supporting me!
And thanks goes to:
Lady Akina
alicia
Kierce
baby-g465
for your lovely reviews!
Hasta!