Trapped

Chapter Eighteen: Proposals

She checks her makeup in the mirror one last time before getting out of her car and walking inside of the extravagant restaurant. Her black heels click against the pavement as her hips sway in the tight black dress she wears.
It has been three months since Nestor and she had the fight in her trailer. His words still echo in her head. I'll fix things. It's been three months and nothing has been fixed. He has barely even talked to her.
Not that she cares. She has moved on. Renn smiles as he sees her walk in and he rises from the table. When she reaches him, he places a kiss on her lips and they both sit down.
"Hey kitten." he says, making her cringe in the inside.
"Hey Renn." she greets him.
"Hope you don't mind. I ordered for you." he says with a smile. She forces a smile.
"Oh. Oh no I don't..no it's alright. Thank you." she says, not knowing what else to say.
"So how is work?" he asks. Her smile falters. The one subject she didn't want to talk about.
"Oh it's good. You know." she says, hoping he will leave it alone.
"Yeah? How's Nestor? Haven't heard from him in a while." Renn says before taking a sip of wine. Renn has no idea what went on between Nestor and Vera. Renn thinks they're still best friends, inseparable.
"He's good. Busy with his wife."
"Are they working on having kids?" Renn asks.
"You know what? Why don't we not talk about Nestor or work. Alright?" she asks, the words coming out a little harsher than she had intended.
"Right. Yeah, i'm sorry." he says.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm just tired." she says. There is an awkward pause but thankfully, the waiter comes with their food.
"Steak and shrimp for you sir." the waiter says, placing the plate down in front of Renn.
"And for the lady, half of a salad." he says, placing a small plate in front of Vera. The waiter walks away and Vera looks up at Renn.
"I know you were working on keeping your figure. So I thought I would help you out." he says with a wide smile. The poor man has no idea he has done something wrong. And Vera won't be the one to tell him.
"Oh, thank you. Yes. This is what I would've ordered actually." she lies, eating her salad.
Once they finish, the waiter comes back.
"Can I offer you some desert?" he asks. Vera opens her mouth to voice her request for chocolate cake but Renn beats her to it.
"No. Just the check please." he says. She looks at Renn who is smiling at her. He reaches across the table and takes her hand in his.
"Vera, there's...something I want to say. I've loved you for a long time now and you make me so happy. And I think it's time to take our relationship to the next level. So Vera...Farmiga." he says, getting down on one knee. Is he proposing to her? And did he just forget her middle name?
"Will you marry me?" he asks. She looks around the restaurant at the people who are staring and smiling and then she looks down at Renn.
"Uh.."
She thinks about Nestor. How much she loved him and how she felt when she was with him. She has never felt that way with Renn. Because she never loved Renn as much as Nestor. But Nestor is married and isn't willing to give that up for her. He doesn't love her the way she loves him.
"Yes." she whispers. Renn smiles and slides the ring on her finger before grabbing her face and kissing her. The people around them clap and holler. Renn pays for the check and walks Vera to her car, pressing her against it with his body. He kisses her cheek and then her neck before going back to her lips.
"Come home with me." he whispers, his breath smelling of fish.
"I'm tired Renn." she says, leaning her head back.
"But we just got engaged." he says, as if that means they absolutely have to sleep together right now.
"You know my wishes about my virginity and-"
"Whatever. It's fine. I'll see you later." he says, getting into his car and driving off. She sighs and gets into her car. Her stomach grumbles loudly and she can't stand it anymore. She pulls into the nearest food place which happens to be a diner.
She does everything she can to keep herself from running in and stuffing the first thing she sees into her mouth. Instead, she waits patiently to be seated and handed a menu.
"What can I start you with to drink?" the waitress asks with a pencil and a pad of paper.
"A water. And I'm ready to order. I'll have the bacon double cheeseburger with extra fries and a large vanilla shake." she says quickly. The lady rushes to keep up, her pencil blurring while she writes.
"Alright. I'll put that in right now and be back with your water." the old lady says, turning to walk off.
"Thank you."
Vera stares at the ring on her finger. The small single diamond sparkles in the light of the diner as it sits on a band. The door opens, ringing the bell above it, notifying the workers that another customer has entered. She glances up at the person and does a double take. She can't believe her luck.
His eyes meet hers and he immediately walks toward her table, sitting down. She moves to get up but he grabs her hand, closing his eyes in pain.
"Please, Vera." he whispers, his voice cracking. She slowly sits back down, staring at his beautiful dark lashes.
"What do you want with me Nestor? Why do you insist on following me and harassing me? Please just leave me alone." she says quietly. His eyes remained closed as his hand stays on her right hand. She keeps her left hand under the table, not wanting Nestor to find out she is engaged yet. His eyes finally open, revealing the pain he feels. She gasps at the sight. She has never seen him like this.
"Do you hate me?" he asks, his voice filled with a pain she had never heard from him before. She opens her mouth to answer but he beats her to it.
"Don't give me the bullshit answer if you don't mean it. If you hate me, I need to know now." he tells her.
"I don't hate you, Nes. I never could. I hate that you made me fall for you with no intentions on catching me. I hate that you made me break my own heart while I was busy trying to hold onto you." she tells him, trying to keep her tears at bay.
"I'm sorry for what I did. I hate myself for doing that to you. For putting you in the position you were in."
"It wasn't all shitty. Nestor, you taught me that love is an amazing and beautiful thing. But you also taught me that love will keep you up till midnight crying softly to yourself, wondering how much more pain a person can endure."
His eyes quickly look away from hers, for if they had stayed, they would have seen the pain he inflicted upon her. A part of him knew at the time that she was hurt, that he was hurting her. He was just too afraid to confront her about it.
"Vera, I think we were meant to be. But we did it wrong." he says, looking up to read her expression to his confession.
"I agree. If you have chemistry, which we very obviously do, the only other thing you need is timing. And lets face it, timing is a bitch."
He takes a moment, his dad eyes turning happy and his lips turn up into a smile.
"I did it." he says. She looks at him with confusion.
"Did what?"
"I divorced her. For you. For us. It's official today. I started on it months back but I didn't want to tell you until it was real. Well it's real today." he says, his lips stretching into a smile.
"I told you I would fix things and I did. I fixed it V." he whispers, kissing her hand. Tears form in her eyes as she takes a deep breath.
"What is it?" he asks.
"Ness.." she trails off, not knowing how to tell him. So instead, she decides to show him. She places her left hand on top of his, the sparkle of the diamond catching his eyes. He takes his hands away from hers and leans back, shaking his head.
"No. No that's not real." he says.
"I'm so sorry. I just got so tired of waiting and-"
"No this isn't happening. This is a dream." he says, standing up.
"Carbs-"
"I'll see you tomorrow. Alright? I'm just gonna-"
He shakes his head again and begins to leave.
"Wait!" she shouts, making him stop.
"Please. Have dinner with me. Can we just pretend everything is normal again? Just for an hour." she begs. He sighs and shakes his head.
"Too much has changed." he tells her.
"Please." she whispers. He sighs, looking into her blue eyes.
"You're lucky I'm hungry." he says, sitting down across from her. She smiles and for a few hours, things seem almost normal. Almost.