Unpredictable Surprise ⭐

13 - Somehow, Someway

***CHRIS POV***           

Ronnie was done, Ronnie told me she was done. I fucked it up, yet here I was finishing off another email to her a week after the coffee shop meet up when everything went wrong. I knew she was still reading them, which gave me a little comfort, but here we were a week after she ended our friendship for good and I was having a hard time moving on. I just wanted to go to her house and beg for forgiveness...but she was right, she had forgiven me too many times in our lifetime. Ronnie was the purest and truest friend in my life, and I went and ruined it.

I had been in my house for a week not leaving. The delivery was an amazing thing. I was able to get food and alcohol delivered to my house and not have to worry about anything except wallowing I wanted to do. I knew I didn't have a reason to wallow, and I knew I needed to be a man and grow up, but I ruined everything and figured it was a better this way if I just stayed out of everyone's way. I decided to take this time to clean out some old boxes Ma had given me months ago and I just needed to go through them and decide what I wanted to keep.

There were a lot of home movies that were converted to DVD's. I thought it would be fun to watch them, maybe they could pull me out of the funk I was in. The first home movie that played was of a family vacation at a small cabin and we were all there together since it was right before school started. The video approached Ronnie as she was sitting relaxed on the couch reading a book. Glasses, Pride & Prejudice in hand, t-shirt and jeans with the high ponytail.

"Ronnie, why don't you go outside?" Her dad's voice said behind the camera.

"Because I like being inside and reading. It's more relaxing." Teenage Ronnie said and I smiled. I then saw myself walking in from the side room with my sketchpad and some pencils. I lifted her legs setting them in my lap once I sat down. I used her legs as a stand and set my sketch pad on them and she smiled at me over the brim of her book.

"Two peas in a pod." I heard Ma say off camera.

The camera angle then turned, and I think Mister Malcolm meant to turn it off, but he didn't.

"When will they learn they just need to be together?" Mister Malcolm asked.

"I hope it's soon." Ma said and then the camera turned off.

I hung my head and then the next video that propped up and sat up on the edge of the couch and watched. It was Christmas time 2003. There was a lot of footage from before I got there. Ronnie and Carly were talking on the couch, and it looked serious, I didn't know what it was about but when camera was brought around them, they stopped talking and just smiled.

"What are you girls being so secretive about?" Mister Malcolm asked.

"Ronnie's new boyfriend she plans to have by the New Year." Carly teased and Ronnie smacked her arm and both girls giggled.

"Who is this boyfriend?" Mister Malcolm asked and Ronnie shrugged. I wondered who she was talking about although it wasn't hard to guess.

The video cut out but then skipped to after I had arrived with Jessica. There we were sitting, doing presents. Ronnie looked upset, she tried putting on a smile, but her demeanor had changed from before arrived too now.

What happened in that time? She came outside, excited to see me when I arrived but then started to cry when she saw I had Jessica with me. She said it was from the cold, but I didn't believe that lie for a damn minute...why did she cry when I brought someone, I thought she had known Jessica and I were back together.

I watched Ronnie give me her gift and how it seemed to kill her now that she got me in the gift exchange. I always loved her gifts, I looked up on my mantel and saw the gift still sitting there after all this time. I looked at the picture closer as the video played. Ronnie was cuddled into my side, our arms wrapped around each other, and she was looking up at me with all the love and admiration I had ever seen in my life.

"Does she...did she...?" I said out loud, thinking out loud.

The DVD stopped and the player opened up. I put it back in the holder and pulled out another disc. It had Carly and Ryans wedding date on it and I smiled. That was a fun night...a lot of fun. I played the DVD, and I watched it go through the speeches from everyone to the camera wishing them the best. I sighed fast forwarding through a lot of it. As I was fast forwarding the front door opened. Dodger ran to the door and barked excited to see someone new since we hadn't gone out in the week. He had only seen the backyard.

"Hey buddy, where's dad?" Carly asked and walked into the living room stopping to look at all the beer bottles, whiskey glasses and take out containers all over the living room. "What the fuck happened here Chris?!" Carly asked.

"I don't have a point to go do anything anymore. I got food and beer delivered. I don't deserve anything else." I said watching the screen and hit play when I saw footage of me dancing with Ronnie at the wedding. She was looking at me with the same look she had in the photo on my mantel. I paused the video so I could see her face.

"What happened Chris?" Carly asked sitting next to me as I put my head in my hands.

"How long has Ronnie loved me?" I asked.

"What?" Carly asked quietly like she almost didn't want me to hear her so she could pretend she didn't hear me.

"How long has Ronnie loved me?" I asked again and looked at Carly. She sighed and looked at me.

"Since she graduated high school, even before I believe, before the makeover. She had the makeover done thinking you would look at her like you look at the girls from LA that you dated but you never made a move. Then when Christmas 2003 happened she was going to tell you how she felt and hope you felt the same way but -..."

"But I brought Jessica..." I trailed off and Carly nodded.

"Right, so she was heartbroken..." Carly said.

"Then what about this look when we were dancing at the wedding?" I asked and Carly looked.

"Chris, come on. That girl didn't stop loving you in 2003, she has always held a torch for you but since you didn't open your mouth on how you felt she never did either." Carly explained.

"And why not?!" Chris asked.

"BECAUSE YOUR CHRIS EVANS!" Carly yelled making me jump slightly. "She didn't think she would have a chance with you! You dated models, actresses, everything else...she was just plain old Ronnie!" Carly said annoyed.

"So, you have known she liked me all this time and you have known I liked her but yet no one would tell me?!" I asked pissed offed.

"We thought you both would have figured it out but -..."

"We?! Who is we?!"

"Well, me, Ma, Scott...we all knew how she felt. Scott knew how you felt but I don't think Ma knew and if she did, she kept it hidden." Carly explained and I groaned.

"I really screwed it up a week ago Carly. I ran into her at the store, I got her to meet up with me for coffee and I really ruined it. She is done for good." I explained.

"What happened?" Carly asked.

"I accused of her of not knowing who she is..." I explained the short version.

"Chris..."

"Do you think I can come back from it?" I hopefully asked.

Carly was silent for a minute and seemed to think.

"Let me ask you this...do you love her?"

I was silent, I knew the answer and I knew how to answer but was Carly really the right person to tell first?

"Chris?" Carly asked.

"Yes, I love her." I answered.

"Then I would say if you did major groveling...you may win her back." Carly said.

"I don't know how to grovel when she has me blocked..."

"Aren't you still sending emails?" Carly asked and I nodded.

"Then keep sending them...do what you can...you owe her that much." Carly said and I sighed and looked back at the screen.

I will make this right Ronnie. Somehow, someway....