We Will Always Have Paris

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Hello?" I asked, picking up my phone and hearing the heavy breathing on the other end. It wasn't a number I recognized.

"Marilyn?" I heard the panicked voice of Hoodie on the other line, "Marilyn you've got to get down here quick! G's..." he trailed off

"Get where? What happened?"

"He overdosed! We're in Orleans at the Orleans General Hospital. You have to come, he might die."

I wanted to say, Well let him, he does not care anyways and as true as that was he also the man that I loved. The man that I had given myself to, and as terrible as that reasoning was it was the main reason why I wanted to be with him in his possibly dying hours. This time I told Emilie before running off after some boy. As I boarded the plane and made my why to New Orleans her words rang in my head.

"Vous etes un imbecile!" you are a fool...

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"Gerald?" my voice sounded small, the clean sterile air sucking the noise away leaving my voice empty.

"He'll be fine." Hoodie wrapped his arms around me, "The doctor says he threw up most of it before he could actually absorb it. Yay for high drug tolerances, right?"

"Then why did I have to come down here?"

"Because you two can't end like that. Over the phone? Really Marilyn? That's so childish."

"Oh please Hoodie, you did not try to stop him before he did all of those...things."

He smiled smugly, "Yes I did."

"You did what?"

"I stopped him."

"Stop being cryptic. "

He laughed and patted my head, "He didn't do anything, he thinks he does because that's what he would have done if someone had broken his heart."

"His heart's not broken?" I asked confused

"Oh its broken, but its broken by you. When he came back from Paris after you gave him the slip he was devastated. He didn't leave the bed for weeks." An odd note entered Hoodie's voice. "I've never seen him so broken until he decided to kill himself."

"Can I see him?" I asked after a moment of silence

"Of course, right through there." I walked out of the waiting room of the ICU and a nurse led me to his room, three doors down the hall and on the left.

"Here's G-Eazy's room. Isn't it neat to be dating a famous person?" the nurse had wide amazed eyes and a much to white smile.

"Yeah, neat." I walked in the room and shut the door. Gerald looked like he was sleeping, an IV trailed out of his left arm so I sat on his right. His room was decorated with flowers and cards all wishing him to feel better soon. I was beginning to wish I hadn't had come. I slipped my hand in to his right one.

His lips twitched in a smile, "Cold hands, warm heart." He opened his eyes slowly, "I knew you'd come sometime Marilyn." He brought my fingertips to his lips. "I know you didn't hookup with Sammy."

I looked at him, surprised. "I did not know that I had either."

"Fucking bastard." Gerald mumbled, "Are you mad at me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why?! You cheated on me and did not even bother to check and see if any of it was true!" I pulled my hand away and sat glaring at him

"I know."

"You know? And that is going to make it all better?"

"No."

I stood up and walked towards the door. "Are you leaving me?" I turned over my shoulder.

"No, I want coffee."

"That's what they make these for." He held up a call-light and pressed a button. The wide eyed nurse popped in suddenly, startling me.

"What do you need sir?"

"My girlfriend wants coffee. Starbucks coffee would be best."

The nurse's bright smile fell. "Oh of course..." she left, slamming the door behind her.

"Isn't it nice to be in charge like that? Whatever the patient wants, the patient gets." He shifted in the bed, "Dying is not fun Marilyn. Will you come sit next to me?"

Merde, how I loved him.

Michael's POV:

"I've decide that love is for the birds and that no one ever truly understands what love truly is."

"You've decided?" Cole asked

"Yes, I've decided."

"This is coming from the guy who dated the same girl for how many years?"

"Don't bring it up."

"What I don't understand is how after so many years you could just stop loving her all of a sudden."

"You're beginning to sound like her."

"Answer the statement."

"I haven't loved her for a long time I don't think. I was just so used to being in love with her that I didn't notice the change until-"

"Until what?"

"Until Marilyn." I chewed my lip guiltily, knowing that that was the truth and knowing how terrible that sounded.

"You're a grade A asshole."

"Thank you Cole."

We were sitting in the C4C dining hall, picking at Mongolian flavored omelets. I let several minutes pass before I asked, "Who are you texting like that? I know it's not Raya."

"It's Lyn."

"Lyn?" I wracked my brain, "The girl from the Halloween party?"

"Yeah, her."

"Oh nice. Like really nice. Way to go."

Cole smiled secretively, "I know."

Lyn was a girl from Vail that we went to high school with but she had decided to go to Wyoming for college. She was from good hunting stock, and she rocked camo like a queen. Interestingly, she and Cole had always been flirts with each other but for some reason they had never dated. Instead Cole preferred Raya, again for whatever reason.

"Are you going to date?"

"I have Raya." He scoffed and got up to put his tray away. Yeah I thought sarcastically that's why she left you at the party and doesn't care one bit about your poor broken heart.

I got up to put my try away a couple minutes later and I saw a familiar blonde head walking towards the dessert section.

"Marilyn?" I called

She turned and so did the hulking dark haired guy with her. It was Gerald.

It was always Gerald.