Misprinted Lies (Alice in Chains/Bruno Mars)

Tried and True

About a week after my last therapy session, Bruno's phone rang in the middle of the night. Everything was great. The Seattle Police Department was under investigation and Courtney was put in jail. They didn't force me to go on the stand or anything. We recorded all of the interview sessions for when she would go on trial so I wouldn't have to be in the room with her. I waited years for all of that to happen, the majority of my life. I was finally relieved and I knew deep down it was all over, similar to the way I felt when I'd imagined I'd go through remission with Crohn's.

A few major magazines called my assistant, asking for interviews about the whole investigation. Instead of interviews, I felt more comfortable writing statements and sending them out. That way, I wouldn't have to actually speak about what had happened to me.

"Hello?" Bruno asked, very groggy with a raspy voice.

I turned on the light. His face dropped. "I'll be right there."

He hung up and sprung out of bed.

"Bru what's a matter?"

He sighed. "My dad's in the hospital. He was in L.A tonight doing a show and something happened. I don't...I don't know."

I jumped out of bed.

"Wh-what are you doing?" He muttered.

"Going to the hospital with you?"

"Lil, you don't have to come with me right now. You can come by in the morning."

I continued to get dressed, ignoring him. I unlocked my truck. He gave me a look.

"I'm driving," I said, opening the driver's side door.

He was way too distraught to drive. He burst into tears on the way to the hospital.

"Hang in there, Bruno, okay?"

He looked out the window, still crying. "I'm trying..."

I reached over to take his hand. He smiled slightly.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too."

When we got to the hospital, the doctors broke the news.

"Peter had a heart attack."

Bruno stormed out. Jaime gave me the nod. I followed him as quickly as my body would allow. He left the front door of the hospital and headed toward the parking garage to my truck. He leaned against the hood of my car with his head down.

I stood in front of him for a while. He was so choked up. I put my hands on both sides of him, forcing him to look at me. His tears broke my heart.

"Bruno..."

He bit his lip. His eyes sparkled. "This is so scary, Lily. I'm so fuckin' worried."

I took his hands and brought him off the car and into me. He cried into my shoulder.

"I know, Bruno," I said, kissing his cheek.

"I just... I just...," he said, with a broken smile. "I want him to meet our little girl. I really want her to know him, and for him to teach her things."

"He will, Bruno, he will."

"What if something happens, though?"

"Bru you can't think that way right now. There's no point in worrying about things that you don't know for sure."

I hugged him very, very tight, rocking him back and forth.

He cracked a smile. "Thank you."

"Bruno. I love you. I'm always going to be there for you, no matter what."

I moved my head closer to him, leaning my forehead against his face as he lowered his down.

"I know. I love you too. You're the best, ya know that?"

I opened the back of my truck bed, got up, and moved over. Bruno just stared in pure confusion.

"Come on," I said, patting the space beside me.

Bruno hopped on. I laid down and Bruno laid his head down on my chest. My chin rested in his curly hair.

"I love that you always know how to make me feel better, even when you do just a little like right now," he said. "I'm so lucky to have you."

"You do the same thing for me, Bruno. Us being a team? This, right here, is what it's all about...no matter what game we're playing...no matter what the outcome is. We've always been unstoppable...no matter how many times life tries us over and over."

Bruno lifted his head and kissed my cheek. I hoped he was almost ready to go back into the hospital.

"Alright, let's go back in there," he sighed.

We stayed in the hospital for the rest of the night and then headed home at daybreak. I drove us back and I couldn't even look at him. When we got home, I gave Geronimo breakfast as Bruno went straight to the bedroom. He was already changed and sitting up in bed by the time I got there. He smiled weakly.

I grabbed some lotion from the bathroom and sat behind him on the bed. He lifted up his shirt, taking it off. I began to rub and massage his back with the lotion. Bruno turned his head around and smiled at me.

"How does that feel?"

"Good," he smiled and kissed me.

I continued to brush my fingers against his bare back for a long time. He grabbed my hands and wrapped them around his waist. I held him tight; he was about to cry. I then felt a tear drip onto my hand. I kissed his cheek and rocked side to side a little bit.

Bruno twisted his waist around to look at me. He leaned down a little to meet his forehead with mine. Then, he burst into tears.

"C'mere," I whispered as I pulled him into me and rested my hand on his head. He just cried and cried.

A few days later, Bruno's dad was still in the hospital. I woke up early, knowing Bruno wouldn't be up for a little bit. Even in his sleep, he appeared poorly rested and sad. He had been tossing and turning all night. I kissed his eyelids and smiled a little. I went downstairs to cook breakfast.

When he didn't come down, I was happy. The scent of food woke him up as I entered the bedroom. His smile was brighter than the sun peeking through the windows.

"Good morning, handsome."

"What's this?" he asked, excitedly, rubbing his eyes.

I got on the bed carrying one tray with two plates of pancakes and bacon.

"Just a little somethin'," I said, putting the tray between us and crossing my legs.

Bruno leaned over the tray and kissed me. "Thank you. I love you."

"You're welcome," I said smiling. "I love you too."

We ate and talked. Bruno and I finished and he just stared at me at first. "Is there any more bacon?"

I laughed and teasingly mocked him. "Is there any more bacon? I'm pregnant, of course there's more bacon. We could probably eat more now and then have BLTs for lunch."

"Oohh yeah."

"I think you have a problem," I laughed.

"Yeah," he said, putting the tray on the night stand. "I'm kinda crazy. Crazy 'bout chuuuu."

Bruno grabbed my hips and kissed me slowly until my head hit the mattress. He watched me as I held my growing stomach with both hands. Moving his head closer to her, Bruno began to sing to her. I would often imagine him singing to her once she was born, and it made me smile, remembering how my dad never lost an opportunity to sing to me.