The Bachelor (Jerika)

Chapter Fifty Five

Jake POV: "I just want him to be happy." Those words ring over and over in my head as I recite my proposal speech for Jenna; a generic statement full of generic sentiments. "Jenna Sherwood you are perfect and everything I could ask for in a girl. Will you be my girlfriend?" Jenna beams, and gets up to kiss me. "Of course." I smile, then pick up the necklace from the table and place it around her neck; the audience claps half-heartedly. They seemed to still be shocked by Erika's exit. Jenna looks down at the necklace and smiles. "It's beautiful. Thank you." Chad grins. "Jake, it seems you've found your dream girl!" "Yup," I lie. Regret was quickly seeping into my mind. What had I done? No, I couldn't think like that. I had to stay firm. Chad looks to Jenna. "How are you feeling right now, Jenna?" Jenna squeezes my hand. "I feel like the luckiest girl in the world." She turns to me. "Jake, I love you. I love you so much." She looks at me expectantly, I shift my eyes to the floor. We would never work. She was too quiet, too bland for my taste. We were so different, and in all honesty we barely knew each other. I looked into her eyes and saw what I always saw. A dulled version of Erika's eyes. I gulp. "I love you too." She grins, and places her lips to mine.

Erika POV: I hastily make my way through backstage; ignoring the sympathetic looks
and whispers around me, only focusing on getting out. I just wanted to be alone. I finally exit and begin running toward the girls mansion, letting myself cry as I open the door and hurry up to my room. I collapse on my bed; sobbing into the sheets as I let all the emotions I had bottled up burst out. It wasn't supposed to end like this. It wasn't supposed to end with me crying alone and him walking away with another girl. But the world was cruel like that. Why did I not tell him the truth? Why did he have to catch me with Anthony that night? Why did he not listen to anything I had to say? And most importantly, why did we ever have to fall for each other in the first place? I close my eyes; trying to imagine how I'd go on without him. But I just couldn't. Without him, nothing made sense.

One Hour Later-
I sniff; pulling a pillow over my head. By now Jake must have given Jenna the necklace and they must be heading off for their "happily ever after". Images of them laughing and hugging and kissing begin to fill my head and I couldn't stand it. What was I going to do now? Everything that had built up for the past few months was dead. I would have to return to Bedford and go back to waitressing. There was no way I could stay in Los Angeles, it pained me too much to do that. All I could do now was relive the past. The past. I sigh and get up, pulling out the shoebox under my bed. The photographers had taken pictures of all my dates with Jake throughout the show, and I had collected them so I could look back on them with him. So much for that. I pull off the lid and pick out a picture from the bottom, a black and white still of us leaning against a lambo; pulling away from our first kiss. I look at another pic of us at the beach; my face lit up as he seemed to be pushing me into the water. There was one of us walking through the gardens hand in hand, and one of us on a picnic blanket; his head resting in my lap. I feel tears prick in my eyes as I pick up what has to be my favorite picture. It's a dazzling shot of us at the ball, holding each other impossibly close on the ballroom floor; lost in each other's eyes. As I set the picture down I suddenly begin to feel dizzy, and feel a sharp pain in my chest. I blink slowly, steadying myself. Ignoring my discomfort I continue to flip through the photographs but as the minutes pass the dizziness and pain rapidly grow in intensity. It becomes harder and harder to breath. Worried, I get up knowing something was wrong; my vision starts to blur as I shakily walk toward the bathroom. I lean against the cool tile wall, taking slow, pained breaths. I feel utterly suffocated and my head begins to throb. I stay like that for a long time, unable to move or breath until my knees suddenly buckle. I feel myself collapse on the floor; the world quickly turns pitch black.

Backstage of Studio-
Jake POV: "I'm so happy for you," my mom says as she kisses my cheek. I slightly smile. "Thanks." She turns to Jenna. "You guys are just so cute." I zone out as they begin to chat; my eyes wandering around as everyone mingles backstage. Filming ended about ten minutes ago and everyone seems so giddy and excited. Everyone but me. I just feel empty. My thoughts are interrupted by a loud clap in the center of of the room; I turn to see that it's Sylvia. "Can I please have everyone's attention?" She pauses. "We need you all to exit the building in orderly manner. We'll explain why shortly." Everyone begins to mumble in confusion as assistants direct us out of the studio. "What's going on?" Jenna whispers to me, squeezing my hand. "I'm not sure babe. Nothing bad I hope." We walk out and gather in the garden; Sylvia begins to speak once everyone's outside. "We've just found out that there's been a break in a gas pipe, which is causing toxic levels of carbon monoxide to form in the two mansions. We're afraid it might spread to the studio, so we're going to stay outside until help arrives to fix things." She finishes speaking and everyone begins to wait quietly, making small talk to pass the time. After a few minutes, a commotion breaks out. "What do you mean you're not sure where my daughter is?!" I turn to see Angel yell at Sylvia. "Miss, she may be in the girl's mansion but no one is authorized to enter besides professionals. They'll do a sweep once they arrive." Angel looks livid. "Are you serious?! What if something happens to her before they get here!" At those words my heart starts pounding. Why would Erika be in the mansion? Wasn't it filling with toxic gasses? Was she in danger? I let go of Jenna's hand, I could hear her calling my name as I break away from the group. But my mind could not think of anything but Erika. I start jogging toward the mansion until I feel myself being pulled backwards. "Mr. Paul, where do you think you're going." I turn to see a tall security guard holding my arms back. "I'm going to the girl's mansion. I heard Erika might be in there." He frowns. "Why would you do that? That has nothing to do with you."