THE BROKEN HEARTS

Chapter 14: "Finally!

By Bridget25

Wow, this chapter was a torture for me to write, I had a lot of trouble doing it... Oh well... lol!

Annie leaning on her sewing machine finishing the last touches of Eleonor's dress she has ordered. She had a sigh sitting up and looked at her desk. She was able to find that beautiful piece of furniture in an antique store a month ago. It had been two months now, since Terry was barely talking to her and living under the same roof was getting heavy. She thought about the young actor's face when he saw men carrying the big piece of furniture in her workshop and how he followed the scene silently from afar, his arms crossed on his chest, leaning on the door frame.
In those moments, Annie was hoping to speak to him, but he ended up tirelessly turning his back on her without saying a word. On that same desk there was a dark binder in which there was tens of orders and counting. She didn't think that the publicity Patty made would work so well, she was submerged with orders. She was probably going to rent her own place and hire people to help her out; otherwise, she won't be able to make it. She concentrated in her sewing looking at the clock from time to time which showed her that it was almost midnight. The tick tock were showing the minutes were passing. Terry was still not there. He was going to come back late again tonight. How long as it been since they've been playing their little game? Two months? Ever since the famous night she almost made the biggest mistake of her life by sleeping with the dandy. Why did she feel like doing something so miserable? She was desperate knowing Terry busy with a different girl every night? There was no other reason than that. Annie now knew she was in love with Terry. Oh how much Candy was right to love such a man...! But it was also a poison... The time when they spent happy moment together seemed so far, the lunches, the dinners, the Sundays and the evening in front of the fireplace. She was busy sewing, he was reading to her sitting on the sofa, for her biggest pleasure. Now if she wanted to read, she had to stop sewing and sit on the sofa, waiting for the master to come back. Most of the time he would pass the door, drunk, with a girl, which Annie had the pleasure of sending away. She was living in that house, she was not going to let the young man soiled their house while she lived there. But as time went by, Terry's indifference was getting bigger and she was thinking about living the house altogether. He had held her with passion, back on premiere night; his eyes seemed to beg her not to leave him alone. But given the changes happening in front of her, it seemed that if she left, it wouldn't be a problem for the young man. Maybe the liberty of not having to find her at his house when he comes back would be a relief and he would come back sober. Maybe she was suffocating him instead of helping him. Those thoughts were painful, but what other explanations could there be?

The noise of the front door opening and slamming was heard a little while later startling her. She didn't move from her chair and by the door frame of her workshop, which had stayed opened see him staggering to the stairs, without a look for her, climbing the stairs to go lock himself in his bedroom. Why was her so upset with her? The evident irritation he's been showing dated from the time she accidentally called Archibald "Terry"... She had bitten her lip that day and didn't tell her friend who was asking her questions about her "crazy" night. He was convinced that she had lost her virtue with the dandy, who, as a matter of fact, had gone back to Chicago after the accident. He who pretended he loved her, he dropped her like a hot potato once again. Too bad! Good riddance! The young woman was more relieved by this departure, than saddened to realize that he was, once again, mocking her.

"I love you Annie this, come back to me here... bla bla bla..." It was all lies and sincerity threw to the wolves.

She was tired of playing that game. None of the boys for whom her heart would beat will love her someday. Archie only had eyes for Candy, putting her aside for a long time and Terry... Well the man had the love of her best friend and he had loved her with passion... his love for her still exists.
Annie was condemned to end up alone, without a husband, a home, children???!!! That thought made her cry. The hands on her face, her shoulders shaking, she let go of herself for a while in silence, afraid Terry might catch her and ask her why she was crying. Whining again, he would think, and she didn't want him to resent her more. After a while, her eyes stopped crying after a while, she stood up from her seat to turn the light off in the room before getting out. She looked at the calendar and had a sigh, saying to herself that starting tomorrow, she was going to do everything to move out and give Terry back his freedom. She slowly climbed the stairs and passed in front of the young man's bedroom. He must be sound asleep now. In her room, she undid her up do before getting ready for bed. That's when she was brought out of her thoughts by a loud coughing coming fit from the room next door.

She approached the wall and put her ear on it to listen to the noise that was making Terry. Panicked, to hear him cough like that, she ran to his room and got in without knocking and opened her big eyes when she found the young man all dressed up lying on his bed. His breathing was uneven and his forehead was in sweat. She approached him and she put her hand on his face. He was burning with a fever. She turned on the light and she took his clothes off to change them. Then she put cold water in a basin and she put a cloth in it, then she put it on his forehead. She changed the cloth every half an hour and she spent the whole night looking after him. At the crack of dawn, Terry's state had improved. She called a doctor who examined him and he said:

- It's a good case of the flu. Don't worry, Miss, everything is going to get back to normal if you follow the following instructions.

The doctor gave her a long list of medicine and he's ready to leave, when Terry had another coughing fit. She walked the doctor who told her:

- Continue making him sweat, with cold cloths on the forehead and see that he takes the treatment correctly.

- Very well, I'm going to go to the pharmacy right away.

Annie got out at the same time as the man and almost ran to the pharmacist's, who had just opened his store. She gave him the list, out of breath, the old man took it slowly. He went to the back of the story looking and growling and Annie was wondering what was taking him so long. He finally came back with boxes of different sizes and different colours. Annie only listened with one ear, what he said, she paid and she left running out of there.

She climbed the stairs four by four and she got to Terry's room who was tossing and turning in his bed. He was sweating, he seemed to be suffering and the poor Annie had to change his bedding and his clothes again. The help were worried about the health of their boss, they came regularly to see how he was doing, seeing Annie in tears all the time. Her friend... no, her love, for whom she's having deep feeling him and he was getting weaker and weaker and it was a struggle to make him take his medicine. She spent four days and three nights looking after him non-stop.

When a new day started, Annie who was asleep near Terry's bed would rub her eyes and stretch her back. She leaned on the young man to take his temperature. A radiant smile was on her face when the thermometer showed that he didn't have a fever anymore. She touched his neck and his cheeks, he was healed and he was sound asleep. The bags under his blue eyes were stretching his tired face. She looked at herself for a moment in the mirror and then she put fresh water on her face. Ah! The living room doll is beautiful at that moment. She got ready slowly for her day, she was dreaming of one thing, to go to sleep for long hours. What about the orders of her customers in her workshop. Now that Terry was feeling better she had to go back to work.

While drinking her tea, Annie was looking at the paper, when an advertising message about a space for rent caught her eyes the rent was not too expensive and he was close by. She circled the add and stood up from the table. After she put her coat on, she left the house and went to see the owner to visit the space, the address was not simple to find, but she finally did and rang the door and a man opened the door, smiling at her. The stiffed young girl who smiled at him, made him melt immediately and she showed her the space.

It was a big two rooms. A big room where she will be able to put her sewing machines and her creations and a smaller one where she will be able to sleep until she finds an apartment. The lease was signed and she paid the first month to the owner, who was happy to have a new tenant. She seemed to be from a rich family, so she should be able to pay the rent with no problem every month.

Keys in her hands, happy, Annie went back home singing.
In the hallway, Annie took off her coat, hung it and walked to the living room. She smiled when she saw the young actor sitting at the table, with a cup of hot coffee in front of him and fruit juice he was drinking slowly.

- It's good to see you up Terry.

- Where were you? He asked coldly.

- Oh, still the same bad mood I see...

Terry lift his shoulders and looked at her, he was waiting for an answer. She lost her smile and shook her head and she said:

- I was downtown. I just rented a space for my creations

- The room I gave you is not convenient for you anymore? He asked ironically.

- It's not that, but I have lots of orders, I will soon be able to pay employees to work for me. I'm not going to make them come here!

- I see. That's good then!

He remained silent and took his medicine. Annie went to sit in front of him and she put her hands on the table. She wanted to wait to tell him that she was leaving him, but giving the circumstances, it seemed better to let him know now. She took a deep breath before she talked. She felt like an actor having the jitters before going on stage...Why in the world was she afraid of telling him what she wanted to do? After all, Terry was neither her father nor her boyfriend. She was free to do whatever she wanted and go where ever she wanted, even if she wanted to continue living with him being more than a friend... Then again, she didn't even know if she should continue consider herself as his friend, he was hard, so indifferent, so detached from her that she thought leaving was the best solution.

She was taken out of her thought by Terry standing up to leave the table, so she said bluntly, as he passed by her:

- The space also has a little room where I could stay until I find an apartment.

Terry stopped and opened his eyes, he turned around to look at the young girl who was looking at him with tired eyes, he faced her. She said she wanted to go live in her space? But why? Why did she want to abandon him again? He felt his heart ripping, the anger of finding himself abandoned again made his throat tight and his eyes became cold. He had stopped protesting on the fact that she was Candy's best friend. His sweet freckles was gone and she will never come back. Annie had become a support on which he counted a lot, a warmth came from her that made him feel warm and fuzzy deep down inside. It was not Candy, it was Annie and he had fallen in love with her, even if the situation was a little weird. He never thought that the shy young girl of the high society, who was in love with Archibald Cornwell, would take such place in his live. During the college time, he only saw and only swore by Candy, Annie was only looking at her one sided love lurking at her best friend, neglecting her altogether. Today, without asking anybody, she was now as courageous as her friend, and she won the heart of the one who was once scaring her. Because now that she's strong, he knows she used to be afraid of him back in the days. Today she was standing up to him, without looking down. She was independent and she was able to defend herself without hesitation. Now she wants to leave... He knows it's his fault, it's because of his indifference of these last days, but for god sake, he didn't want to see her leave. Contrary to Candy who would've discussed with him, Annie was avoiding him and rather leave.
He leaned on her and asked harshly:

- So that's it? You're tired of me?

- No, it's not that, but you're making me go away.

- Me?

- You haven't talked to me in two months... ever since that famous evening when....

- Are you going back to him?

- Not on your live... I'd rather die than to go back to Archibald.

- So?

- I've had enough of your behaviour, I can see you hate me, why would I stay here and impose my presence to you when I know I'm bothering you? I arrived in your life, imposing my laws, you complied and you finally couldn't take it anymore. Look at you... you come back drunk after getting along with God knows who, sometimes, you even came back with them here and I send them away. I'm suffocating you. You don't need that. Maybe by me leaving, you'll find a certain stability of mind and you'll become the Terry who was making me feel so good when I first arrived in New York. And... I'm really starting to feel bad. Your cold eyes are only showing me contempt and your constant ignorance is making me uneasy. Forgive-me, but you want me to continue to cite everything that's pushing me to leave? It will be better for you and I if we have a break. Don't you think so?

Terry observed Annie. It seemed to her that she was on the verge of crying... but no tear was coming down her cheek, not a salted pearl come out of her eyes on her cheeks and her shaking lips close, awaiting a response from him. Why would he hold her back? She was not his girlfriend and he had no apparent reason to do it. If he told her he loved her, who would she react? He knew about his feelings but he didn't know about Annie's feelings for him. He thought she liked him like a brother, a friend, so telling her how he feels would only make the situation worst. She wanted to leave? So he had better leave before he loose his cool. He was angry; he could kiss her and make her his right then there. Only... Something was really stopping him... she had slept with Archibald. She has lost her virtue with that damn dandy who left her the next day without any explanation, for Chicago. He had once again taken advantage of her naivety, had obtained what he wanted and he then had dumped her. Terry was only guided by jealousy ever since that happened; he wanted to be the one to show Annie everything. Unfortunately, the dandy had won, this time and the idea of knowing they were intimate only showed him how weak his friend had been. He stands up straight and lifted his shoulders and simply said:

- Do as you please.

Then he left the room to go to his office. Discouraged, alone Annie burst into tears putting her hands in front of her face. She knew, he didn't care at all of what could happen to her, he didn't give a damp of her little life. What's a big actor like him had to do with a meaningless girl like her?

Annie stood up from her chair quickly, her cheek still wet and walked to the phone. She asked for the moving agency "Voyage" quickly. The operator made the connection and a few moments later, Annie was making arrangements with the movers. The sooner she would leave this house, the better. So everything was done fast, Annie was able to move into her new space two days later. She had taken advantage of Terry's absence when he went to the theatre to leave.
She knew she will se him soon because auditions are going to start again and she was still the theatre's seamstress. That dear Susanna Marlowe will be happy to learn that she wasn't sharing Terry's roof anymore, the object of her craziness and she might stop bothering her now. Yes, really, she was hoping to have peace now.