Soulmate

Chapter 5

June, 1991

Catherine opened her eyes, blinded by the light coming through the window. She turned her head to the bedside table and looked at the clock on it. Damn, it was already eight o'clock. She went to get up immediately but an arm around her prevented her from getting up. As much as she loved having her boyfriend hold her while they slept, she was really in a hurry "Kev, babe, let me go, it's late." she whispered carefully shaking Kevin, who was still asleep. He let out a small grunt and released his girlfriend. Catherine frantically got out of bed, grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom. Once there, she quickly showered and got dressed. She chose black leggings and a white tank top. She chose some platform boots, also black. Since she didn't have time to straighten her hair, she made a somewhat tousled bun, but it looked good on her. She didn't put on too much makeup either, just her lips and some blush on her cheeks.

When she came out of the bathroom, she saw that Kevin was already awake. He was sitting up in bed, trying to finish waking up. Catherine smiled; Kevin was very sleepy. 

She stood in front of him "How do I look?". He looked at her with his eyes still half-closed from sleep, and immediately smiled 

"Beautiful, just the same as always." Catherine had to blush. She picked up her bag and walked back over to her boyfriend

 "What time are you going to finish work today?"

 Kevin thought for a few seconds "Around 7:00 pm" 

"Well if you want, I can come pick you up and then we can go out in the evening, how about that?"

Kevin smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist "I'd like nothing better."

Catherine looked at the clock again. It was 8:20. "I have to go." she kissed her boyfriend softly "Wish me luck."

Kevin hugged her tightly and kissed her several times on the head "Good luck, good luck, good luck..." the last kiss was on her lips "Remember I love you."

"Remember that I love you too"

"I never forget."  

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Catherine was sitting in the waiting room, going over her script. In the same room were at least ten other girls, also reading their scripts. Some were using it as a fan. Understandable, Catherine thought. It was the middle of summer in Florida and there was no air conditioning in that room. How had she ended up in Florida? Quite simply; she had finished high school the year before. Until shortly before, she had thought about pursuing a career, but during her senior year she discovered that her love for acting was growing stronger every day and she couldn't just leave it behind. It wasn't the only love that was getting stronger every day; she and Kevin had been together for a year then, and they were just as much in love as they were on the first day. So when Kevin told her he was thinking of moving to Florida, because that was a place where anyone in the acting and/or music business could get their shot, she didn't think twice. On the one hand, because then she could pursue her dream, and on the other, because she refused to let Kevin go so far away from her.  

But it wasn't that easy; let's just say her father wasn't too happy that his daughter wouldn't go college to move God-knows-how-many-kilometers away from home with her boyfriend. But after several conversations with him, and with Greta and Emily's support, Catherine got her father's approval. Because James really wanted his daughter to be happy, and he was aware that nothing made her happier than acting. And as for moving in with Kevin...well, let's just say he wasn't crazy happy that his daughter was moving in with her boyfriend she'd only been with for a year. But they seemed really in love, plus Kevin had always seemed like a pretty level-headed guy to him.

Her thoughts were dispelled when a woman opened the living room door and called her name. She grabbed her things and headed for the door. This was the fourth casting she had been to in the almost year she had been living in Florida. Seeing that she didn't get picked up the first three times made her a little desperate, but anyway....

This casting was for a sitcom in which, apparently, there could be the perfect role for her. It was a girl from NYC, who decides not to go to college and moves to Paris to pursue her dream of being a fashion designer. But when she doesn't make it, she returns to NYC and moves with her three high school friends, who have experienced similar disappointments.

When he entered the room, there was only one woman, a brunette in her forties, sitting at a table with many papers on top of her. When the woman saw Catherine enter the room, she looked her up and down a couple of times and motioned her to stand in front of her. When she did, the woman began to ask her questions.

"Catherine McNamara, 18 years old" read the woman on one of the sheets of paper in front of her. Then she looked up at Catherine "Where are you from?"

"I'm from New York. But I've lived here for almost a year now." replied Catherine as confidently as she could.

The woman looked at her again in silence. It took a few seconds before she spoke, "Okay, please stand a little further back. That's it. Start whenever you want."

Catherine closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths and began to recite the monologue she had memorized.

It was already seven o'clock in the evening. Kevin had been working since 10:00 a.m., and he was really tired. But he felt much better after seeing Catherine waiting for him on the street. When she saw him approaching, she advanced towards him and gave him a kiss "How was work?"

He sighed with a smile "Exhausting. Your casting?"

She sighed too "Hopefully good..."

They both started walking down the sidewalk, holding hands "Well, what do you wanna do?" asked Kevin.

"I don't know...How about going to see a movie?" she proposed.

So that's what they did. First they went to the movies to see "Silence of the Lambs". It wasn't the most romantic movie in the world, but they were both big fans of the thriller genre. After the movie, at about 21:00, they headed to the boardwalk and strolled around while chatting about everything in general. At one point, Kevin looked at his girlfriend and was fascinated; she was gorgeous, but the moonlight reflecting off her skin, her eyes of the color of the ocean and her hair of the color of fire made her look like a Venus.

"What's wrong, why are you looking at me like that?" asked Catherine stopping walking.

Kevin laughed softly "Nothing...it's just that..." he looked at her with his deep emerald eyes "...you're amazing."

Catherine blushed and kissed her boyfriend hard and passionately, and he followed her kiss. Her fingers tangled in his hair while his hands slipped down her shirt.

Seeing that no one was around, they decided to go down to the shore of the beach, which was in semi-darkness. Catherine lay down on the sand and pulled Kevin down to her body. They made love with passion and affection, feeling the sand, the salt water and the moonlight on their naked skins.

A while later, they were at home. Catherine was in the shower, trying to wash all the sand and sea salt out of her hair. As she was showering she thought she heard the phone ringing, but didn't pay much attention to it. About twenty minutes later, she came out of the shower and saw Kevin sitting on the edge of the bed, holding the phone in one hand. From his expression, Catherine knew something was wrong.

"Kevin, are you okay?" She asked slowly approaching him.

Kevin turned to look at her. He was pale. After a few seconds of silence, Kevin said with an anguished tone and tears in his eyes; "M-my dad..."