Tragic Magic

Chapter Forty Six

"Ronnie?" I look up at this beautiful man in a dark suit, with gorgeous hair framing his face.

His tattoos seemed to look more vibrant and his smile reflected his beauty.

"So it is you," he approaches me.

"Wow," I gasp. "You've changed a lot."

"I'm aware," he looks me up and down, "you have as well."

"Yeah, well, it's been a rough couple of years-" I start.

"No, Juliet, you're beautiful," he stops me.

I feel lost for words. I haven't seen Ronnie since Warped Tour. His red hair has become black once again and has grown to an even length. He was stunning.

"Where's your boy?" He asks.

"Oh, TJ," I remind myself. "He's dancing with the bride."

"Still?" Ronnie gives me a look.

"Yeah, I think they're having a good conversation," I try to avoid the topic.

"They are ex's you know," Ronnie reminds me.

"Yeah, well, so are we," I hiss back.

"Good point," Ronnie drops the subject. "Care to dance?"

"I was just leaving," I explain.

"Oh come on, Julie. It's just one dance," he persuades me.

"Fine," I set my bag back down on the table and join him on the dance floor.

"So, that was one crazy wedding," Ronnie sparks up conversation as we dance.

"Yeah, I don't know why Craig did that," I lie.

"Yes you do," he gives me a look.

"What do you mean?" I pull him closer and quiet my voice.

"I was there, Juliet. I saw the way he looked at you as you crossed the isle." He whispers, "we all did."

"Well there was a time when we were close," I try to explain.

"This isn't just close," Ronnie tucks a strand of loose hair behind my ear. "He looked at you the way I looked at you."

"Yeah, but-"

"He loves you, Juliet. Just like I did." He explains.

His words slid through my head. I could remember every word he's said to me since the day we met. His charm was unbearable.

"But on the other hand," Ronnie continues, "I saw TJ look at you with the same spark in his eye. He's ready to marry you, Juliet. Craig and I, we love you, but it's no match. TJ is your fiancé, his love is unbeatable."

"Do you think I'm making the right decision?" I ask.

"Are you happy?"

"Of course I'm happy."

"Then you are making the right decision. TJ's treated you well, and you deserve that," he tells me.

"You're right," I ran my finger tips across the seam of his jacket.

"Do you remember the day I got out of prison?" He asks me.

"Yeah, I went and picked you up."

"You did," he explains. "You did it because you loved me."

Okay, so what's your point? That was almost five years ago.

"Okay," I say. "Go on."

"Now, do you remember before I went to jail? Remember when I overdosed and you took me to the hospital even though you were tired from working all day?"

"Yeah, I do." I lock eyes with him.

"Now do you remember when you starred in my music video for Falling In Reverse?" He fixates his eyes on me.

"Yeah, it sucked ass but I looked cute so it's okay," I force a laugh.

"Yes, you did look cute," he grins and shakes his head. "But you did all of those things because you loved me."

"I guess that's true, I did love you."

"That's the kind of thing you do for the person you love. Those things I could not do for you anymore because I became stupid and self centered. Your boy TJ over there, he can do those things for you. He loves you," Ronnie explains with a pale face.

I take my eyes off Ronnie and watch TJ laughing and having a good time.

"You're right," I look back at him.

"I love you, Juliet, I always will. Now it's your time to make the decision on who you want to be with for the rest of your life. Craig and I didn't know, we were too young and dumb to understand. TJ knows what up though, he knows what a great woman he's got. Stay with him."

"You're an ass for doing this," I can feel my face turning pale. "I miss you and I don't want to miss you."

"I know," he touches my face, "I'll always miss you, but you got some big decisions to make. I better be getting an invite to that wedding."

"Of course," I laugh. "Please don't be a stranger, I know we've had problems in the past but time has gone by now. We've both grown up a lot since Vegas."

"I can agree, but there's something else-"

"Ronnie?" A gentle female voice interrupts us.

"Hey, Crissy, this is Juliet," Ronnie introduces us as I slowly step back from him.

"Holy shit," she turns bright red, "you're Juliet."

"Yeah, yeah, 'sitting in this room playing Russian roulette,' I've heard it a million times," I explain.

"No," she stares into my soul. "You're his ex girlfriend."

"I'm aware," I step further away.

"Ronnie," she flips her hair to the side, "we gotta go home soon, the babysitter called and said Willow is sick."

Willow? Babysitter? Is there something else I don't know? Who even is this chick talking to us?

"Right," he tells her, "just let me finish my conversation."

She gave me one last look and beamed off into the crowd of people.

"Who is she?" I ask in a shaky voice.

"Look, Juliet, I gotta go," he starts.

That's when it hit me like a pile of bricks. I knew exactly who she was and her relationship to Ronnie.

"No," I gasp and cover my mouth with my hands.

"I know what you're thinking but this is a different circumstance, you don't understand-"

"It's her." I can feel my eyes well up with tears, "she is the girl who I found in my bed years ago."

"Juliet," he grabs my arm.

"What the fuck, Ronnie?" I pull my arm away.

"Juliet," he continues to explain, "I have a daughter."

The tears began to fall quickly and I didn't even know why. She's the reason we broke up and now he has a child with her? It was too much for me to comprehend.

"Ronnie," I can barely speak his name, I was melting in my heels.

"Radke?" TJ approaches us and wraps his arms around me from behind.

"Bell." Ronnie gives him a bitter look.

"Long time, no see, friend. It's been-" He stops speaking and turns his attention towards me. "Juliet, you're shaking, are you okay?"

"Yeah," I wipe my tears and turn to face him.

"Shit," he focuses on Ronnie. "What happened?"

"I need to leave," Ronnie states again. "It was nice seeing you TJ. Juliet, I hope you can forgive me."

"Babe, what happened?" TJ asks me as Ronnie disappears into the crowd.

"I don't know," I pull away from him and rush out the back door of the venue to find some peace and quite.