LOVE TO LAST

32. GENEVIEVE

Song for this chapter (Blue Monday, Gregorian)

I squinted my eyes to adjust to the whiteness of the room I woke up in. It took me about five minutes to finally put together the situation I was in at the moment. Paige was dozing off in the armchair with a magazine in her lap. There was a flower vase with orchids and water and two glasses on the bedside table, and I was in a hospital.

How I got here, I had no idea. I shuffled a bit and rolled my neck, I felt so stiff, like I hadn't changed my sleeping position for a long time. I needed water like immediately, my throat felt drier than an Arabian desert and I couldn't feel my voice. I felt hungry, man how long have I been here?
My endless tossing and turning woke Paige up. Finally, this girl sleeps like a rock lying in a peaceful stream surrounded by songs from the birds in the sky. Lucky rock.

"Oh my god, you're awake. Um...here let me get you some water", she said relieved.

Yes, water, please. She went to the table, poured some water into the glass, and brought it to my lips. She lifted my head to get the right angle so the water wouldn't spill. After four gulps, I finally felt a little bit of life creeping into my dead-like body.
I cleared my throat just to check if I would be able to talk without any hindrances. It worked.

"What I'm I doing in a hospital, how did I get here, and why I'm I here"? I asked her.

It was now her turn to clear her throat. She looked like she'd been crying and she also looked really scared. Like watching a horror movie alone and hearing your door creaking slowly kind of scared.

"Paige, what happened? And don't make me ask you again", I said.

"Um...well, first of all, don't get mad, and also wait until I'm done telling you everything okay"?

"Okay, I'm listening", I replied and got ready to also get scared, because I figured whatever was going to come out wouldn't be good.

"Okay, let me ask you a question first. What do you remember from Friday? Just try to remember something".

I searched through all the crevices of my memory. "I remember coming to your party alone because Evangelene had to go to Paris. I remember telling you I was going to join her and propose. I also remember I had a terrible headache and I had to drink something I hated, then...nothing", I replied.

"Okay well, after that, you also ate my weed candy and you were so shitfaced I had to send you upstairs to take a bath. I left to take care of my guests and I promised to bring you ice cream, but I didn't because when I was ready to, Eva came in...".

"She came?" I interrupted and she glared at me. "Sorry, continue".

"Yes, she came. I was surprised but I told her where you were and decided to leave you two alone. I needed some documents earlier from my study so I sent Charlotte to get them, way before Eva came. I waited for forty minutes and she still wasn't back, so I decided to go and check on what was holding her. When I got to my door, it flew open and Eva bumped into me. She was wearing my robe and she was also crying".

She paused to look into my face, like trying to get me to remember what she was saying but I couldn't. It all felt like she was telling me a horror story.

"I stopped her", she continued. "But there was nothing I could get out of her. Then I saw you coming out of my bathroom with Charlotte and you were both naked. With Eva crying, you and Charlotte naked, and the look on both your faces told me what I didn't want to believe. Eva ran out, you tried to go after but I couldn't let you walk out in your naked glory so I pulled you back. I must have underestimated how angry I was because of the force I pulled you with. You were wet so you slipped out of my hand and you hit your head on the bedpost as you fell. So this is the answer to all the questions you asked".

I had to blink, pinch and also slap myself a couple of times to realize that I was alive and that this moment wasn't a dream. I couldn't believe what was happening. Why the hell would I have sex with Charlotte was just one of the million questions that were running through my mind. But I had to ask the most important.

"Where is she"?

"Now, before I answer that, I need you to calm down first okay, Dr. Wayne said you wouldn't be able to remember everything at once, but it would all come to you gradually but you needed to be calm at all times and not trigger a headache else you might not remember anything at all. I had to ask earlier because I wanted to know how much of that night you remembered".

"I am calm", I replied. I had to remain calm, forgetting everything due to a triggered headache wasn't a risk I wanted to take.

"Are you sure"? she asked.

I just nodded.

"Okay, after you hit your head which was entirely my fault, I fired Charlotte and called the ambulance. I mean I had to make sure you were okay before anything else. After you were settled in here, I left to find her. She wasn't at home and she wasn't at the office either. So I figured she decided to leave for Paris earlier than expected. It was late, I decided to wait until morning to ask Mel. So I came back here to check up on you but you were in a shock-induced coma. In the morning, I called Mel and she confirmed that Eva had left for Paris that night and also decided to stay there a while. It's been 3 weeks now and we haven't heard from her", she ended.

"What"?

"Oh, and she took Desi with her", she added.

"She what? 3 weeks? I've been out for 3 fucking weeks"?

"Hey, calm down, don't trigger a headache please"?

"A headache? A fucking headache?"

"There's more but I can't tell you if you're going to behave like this. I know it's a lot to take in, you need to be calm to think rationally and find a solution, not give yourself more problems", she reasoned.

She was right, I took some deep breaths and calmed down. I motioned for her to continue.

"Okay, so according to Mel, Eva said she was going to spend some time with her friend Veronique and her family and she also didn't have the meeting in person, they did it via Skype. I called the hotel and I was told she checked in alright but left with Desi in a disguise and asked for a car to the airport some few hours after the meeting", Paige said and from the look on her face, it wasn't going to get better from there.

"What are you trying to say"? I asked her.

"What I'm trying to say is that they aren't in Paris. They left and we don't know where they are yet".

"Yet"?

"Yes, yet. I called Luis to try and track her down, but he said it hasn't been easy. Either they are in the desert or she changed both their names. He said to let you know that he would do everything to find her for you. I'll get Dr. Wayne now".

Wayne said I needed to stay in the hospital for a few more days just in case. I told him I had a headache and he said he would give me a shot of morphine later because too much of everything was bad. I also realized that I could have died. What was wrong with me? Taking aspirin, weed and scotch together? I just felt grateful to be alive.

I felt a slight sense of relief because Luis was already on it. And I did not doubt that he was going to find her. First, I need to remember what happened to be able to find some meaning or explanation behind my actions. I felt like shit, like I had lost everything. Both are my sources of joy, peace, laughter, and life itself. I felt like I was drowning in a dark abyss with nothing to bring me back to the surface, and the bad thing about it all was that I deserved it. I deserved all of it.

It hurts. The person whose attention is the only thing I need in my life right now is running away from me, she doesn't want to be found by me, and the worst is, I don't blame her for running. I blame myself for chasing her away. I chased her into becoming a new person to escape from me. I chased her into living a life that isn't hers. I chased her from her home. I only pray and hope I haven't chased myself out of her heart.

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SORRY FOR THE SAD PART, I DON'T LIKE IT EITHER BUT IT CAN'T ALWAYS BE THORN-LESS ROSES.

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Jewel 🔶 🔶
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