Pieces of Dreams (sequel to TWST)

Chapter 9

Katia leaned against the door as tears fell down her face. Last night had been a blur. John had helped her get through it by keeping her mind off of Paul. The drugs and the drinking had helped her a lot, but today, she had to face the truth. The truth was that Jane was here at the Bahamas and she would be here for the rest of their vacation. Katia would have to see them holding hands, kiss...and just thinking about it caused her stomach to churn.

As Katia was walking to her bed, Eleanor came out of the bathroom. Katia tried hard to not let her see her crying, but the simple act of wiping the tears from her face, was enough for Eleanor to take notice.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Eleanor asked walking up to Katia.

"Oh, it's nothing...I'm just a bit emotional." she sniffed as another tear fell down her cheek.

"Anything I can help with? Sometimes even just talking about it can help."

"I...just got to thinking about my dad...and how I miss him." Katia replied trying to give Eleanor a believable answer.

Eleanor directed her to the bed and began rubbing her back as Katia took in deep breaths.

"Andrew told me you lost your dad while you lived in Liverpool."

Katia nodded.

"I guess seeing the boys brought back those memories?"

Katia nodded again, but didn't say anything.

"We don't need to talk about it." Eleanor said sweetly after about 20 seconds.

Katia smiled at her, grateful Eleanor wasn't pushing the issue, and after a few minutes, Katia was able to regroup and place the attention on George's party.

"Did you and Andrew have a good time last night?" Katia asked.

"It was a great party...and Andrew is very nice." she smiled. "How about you?"

"I had a lot of fun. I don't think I've had that much alcohol in a long time. I fell asleep in John and Ringo's room after a short jam session."

There was some small talk between Eleanor and Katia for a few minutes. Eleanor was scheduled to do some scenes in about a half hour. She was a bit hesitant to leave, but Katia reassured her she'd be fine.

After Eleanor had left, Katia took a quick shower and got dressed. She needed to get out of the hotel. She needed time to think. She needed to be alone. She walked along the beach looking out to the open ocean. The soft waves calmed her a bit and it wasn't until she realized she could no longer see the hotel that she became aware of just how far she had walked. She sat down on the sand and pulled her knees up to her chest. Her mind wandered to Paul and she immediately felt her heart aching. She still had feelings for him and even though she had denied it, the kiss she had shared with him at the pool had allowed her to create a romance between them that didn't exist. She had to convince herself that things had changed. A lot. She was no longer Paul's neighbor back in Liverpool. She was no longer the person he went to confide his secrets. She was no longer his best friend and accomplice. She had been replaced by a girl named Jane and the sooner Katia learned to accept that, the easier it would be for her heart to begin healing.

Katia thought about a lot of things that afternoon. She thought about Liverpool...about her time living there...about her dad. She cried a lot too. It was as if she had pushed all these memories to the back of her mind for years and had finally allowed herself to feel them again. She walked into a small restaurant a little further down the beach and had lunch there. She listened to the little Calypso band that was playing at the restaurant and completely lost track of time. By the time she looked down at her watch, she saw it was almost 5 in the afternoon. She had left the hotel nearly 7 hours ago. Walking back to the hotel, Katia felt at peace with her thoughts. She couldn't just yank out the feelings she had for Paul out of her heart, but she could try to be graceful in falling back into her role of just being friends with him.