Crossing Boundaries [COMPLETE]

Pre-Finale

I really went crazy writing the finale. 4000 plus words? That's crazy. And I haven't finished so I cut the chapters again to give you a pre-finale and finale. My apologies. When I get carried away with details. I get carried away. My last promise... Absolute absolute last chapter next

-SS

It had been a little over a year after Tiffany arrived in Bled for work. She sipped her usual hot morning coffee while breathing in the serene view of the lake from outside her large window. It was mid-April so this beautiful wonder in the quaint town was bordered by greenery and a few touches of pinks, reds, violets and yellows in all four directions.

Penny was, as usual, resting beside her outstretched legs on the window nook bench. Tiffany clearly remembered when she was talking about her move to Nina that she wanted to bring her dog with her. She was glad she did because, in a place that's foreign, she could have easily lost herself to anxiety. Penny's company made treading through the day a whole lot easier.

Tiffany left the US with a bang. The idea was to be seen, said Chris. Although the plan worked, she still sometimes questioned if the idea was necessary. He said back then that when he released his official statement and revealed that she was not in the country, everyone would believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that she left. Why wouldn't they? They had snapped a picture of her in the airport.

But, it also had to be said that Chris kept questioning his own suggestion up to the day she was to take the flight to Slovenia. His words were still vivid in her mind "I don't think you should march into the den of the wolves." Then on different days or time of the day he'd say "Yeah, it's something that should be done." He was so Jekyll and, slightly, Hyde that it was Tiffany, who ultimately made the decision.

She sipped from her humongous mug again. The lump on her throat was long gone now. But for the longest time, from the time she and Chris talked about her leaving for Bled until a month after she arrived in her temporary new home, it was there. Like a chronic illness that won't go away. Often, at the end of everyday, she would be in bouts of sobbing just to ease the pain caused by that one persisting lump.

On the other side of her leg rested her laptop. On its screen was a paused video of Chris's acceptance speech at the Academy Awards.

Tiffany lifted her knees up and sandwiched her Macbook between her thighs and upper tummy. Scott had sent her the clip right after his brother accepted the Best Actor award for his role as Henry Rathbone. Based on the news fed to her by the youngest Evans, critics raved about Chris's performance. All the news and updates about his boyfriend's career, she got from Scott. After all that's been said in the internet, she didn't want to ever search for Chris's name on there, ever again.

She had yet to watch the film, though. She didn't want to watch it alone since based from the trailer and what people had to say, it was truly a haunting and disturbing movie, made even more so by his portrayal. Plots like that always scared her.

When she first settled in Bled, Tiffany would play Chris's official statement every single day to start her day. She found peace in it. He slammed the previous assertions of Brandon to the press. With certainty, he admitted that he is in a loving relationship with her. That he was the one who pursued her and not the other way around.

These days, it was his acceptance speech that was always paired with a mug of coffee every morning. She was overwhelmed with happiness for him. He was never really someone who acted for the sole purpose of being awarded those shiny trophies that's why it made it a million times more special that he was accorded not just one, but three. However, it was his speech at the Oscars that was most special and personal.