The Beauty & The Tragedy

Meanwhile Back At Mama's

I had went to sleep with Demi before, but not like this. I woke up the next morning to find her watching me with a smile on her face. I immediately blushed and hid my face under the blankets. I wasn't used to this side of her. It was all very new to me. In the past, I'd wake up to find her gone or I would leave before she woke up. We'd also never had sex either. Her scent still lingered on my skin.

"Morning." She rasped.

"Hey." I grinned as I peeked out from behind the blankets.

"I could get used to this." She said as she stretched.

"Oh?"

"Yeah." She chuckled.

We laid in silence as we slowly left the last remnants of sleepiness behind. I felt at peace with her laying next to me. It was a perfect moment.

There were a lot of things that we had yet to figure out. Rehab was simply the first step in a lifelong process of recovery. The hardest work was still ahead. She lived an extraordinary lifestyle, full of temptation and excess. It wouldn't take much to derail her.

"What now?" I asked gently.

"I don't know. I'm just gonna love you and see where that takes me." She smiled.

"Are you thinking about giving it up?" I asked in reference to the band.

"Maybe. It would make sense." She said pensively.

"Is that what you want?"

"I haven't really thought about it." She said dismissively.

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe. But for now I'm gonna lay here in bed with the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and forget about all the extra bullshit."

"I like that plan." I smiled.

We spent the rest of the morning in bed. The only reason we actually got up was because my stomach demanded to be fed. I was surprised when she suggested going out for lunch. I knew the second that people figured out she was back from rehab, they'd be all over her. I reluctantly agreed. As we got ready to leave the house, I could feel my anxiety rising.

"Selena." She said as she looked at me with an amused expression. "I need you to stop."

"Stop what?"

"Treating me like I'm fragile and easily broken." She answered gently.

"I'm not." I said defensively.

"You are."

"But aren't you?" I sighed.

"No." She smiled.

"I'm sorry. I just don't know how this works. I want you to be ok."

"I will be ok. I've got you to look after me. Relax. I've got this. We've got this." Se reassured me. "It's breakfast."

I silently nodded and we headed out into the big scary world. Surprisingly, we were able to enjoy the meal with minimal interruptions, it was the leaving the restaurant part that concerned me. Paps were all over the restaurant. Each vying to get the first candid pictures of her since she checked into rehab six months ago.

"It was bound to happen at some point." She said as she glanced toward the window.

The restaurant staff had pulled the blinds to minimize the disruption to guests, but you could still see the paparazzi milling about through the small space at the base of the window where the blinds didn't quite reach.

"You want to go out the back?" I asked.

"Nah. I'd rather just get it over with." She said indifferently. "You ready?" She asked as she offered me her hand.