What Becomes of a Tragedy?, chapter 8
"How did you guys get here?" My brother, sister and I stepped outside to talk. "I mean really. How did you guys get out here?"
My sister spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Well, I just kind of got a phone call one day and didn't know what to make of it. It was from Billie Joe asking for me and asking all these questions. He told me what he wanted to do because he knew you and knew you had lost contact with every body in the family. He asked if I could reach Luke and tell him what's going on and . . . . we sort of went along with it."
Then, Luke spoke up. "We met them at her house a couple of months ago. I thought it was all a prank. So we met with the guys and they showed us pictures of you and then Becca confirmed it was you. So, we made plans to be out here for a week or so." I didn't know what to say. The guys had actually found my sister and brother and got them to California.
"Well, if you guys want to go somewhere and talk we can. I have been to quite a few of these things, but we can stick around if you want." They look at each other, and then Becca speaks up.
"Can we see where you live?"
I smile. "Yeah, let me go say bye to the guys and I'll be out in a minute." I turn to the guy at the door, "Justin, can you get my car for me and make sure if they have any luggage to put it in the trunk?"
Justin smiles, "No problem, Holly. Nice speech."
"Thanks." I head back inside and find Mike instantly. "Hey, Mike. I'm leaving."
"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the speech tonight."
"No problem, Mikey. Have a fun night. Where's Billie?"
"Right here, behind you." Billie showed up, making me jump out of my skin. "What you looking for me for?"
"I just wanted to say good night. I'm heading out."
"I figured. I'll remember to have a few drinks for you."
I smile. "You go ahead and do that. Do you know where Tre disappeared to?"
They both point to the bar, where Tre is sitting in silence drinking a beer. "Thanks guys." I walk over to the bar and stand next to him. He looks up at me with tears in his eyes. "What is wrong?"
"You're leaving, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am." I couldn't stand seeing him like this.
"But you promised you would talk to me tonight." He took a long drink of his beer, and then looked at a spot on the bar.
"Tre, I promised you we would talk tonight and we will, but I need you to do something for me first."
He looks up at me. "What? You know I would do anything for you."
I smile. "I know you would. I need you to stop crying and stop drinking tonight. When we talk, I want to know that you'll remember it and not say anything stupid because you've had too much to drink, okay?"
He smiles, wipes his eyes, and pushes the rest of his drink away from him. "You promise we'll talk tonight?"
"Yes, we'll talk. The party will end around one-ish. Call me when you leave, okay?"
"I sort of wanted to talk in person."
"I know, so do I. Just call me when you leave and head to my place. We can talk there, but I am going to go now. I'm going to talk with my brother and sister. Call me."
"I will." We both smile at each other and I turn to leave. "Holly?"
I turn around, "Yes."
"Can I have a hug?" I smile and he stands up and puts his arms out. We give each other a hug. In my mind I get lost. It had been so long since I was this close to him. He smelled so good and it felt so good with his arms around me. Like it was supposed to be this way.
Little did we know how much attention we were getting, people were looking at us without trying to make it too obvious. We slowly break from our hug and look each other in the eyes getting lost. Everything was out of focus. All I could concentrate on was Tre and his eyes. He was all I could see. By now everybody in the room was looking at us, but we weren't paying attention. My brother and sister even came back inside. Tre finally says something. It is more of a whisper, but I still hear it like he yelled it.
"I love you, blue eyes." He smiles weakly, but smiles nonetheless.
I smile back at him, "I love you, too, Tre." And fighting back every urge I had to kiss him, I spoke up instead. "I have to get going, my sister and brother are waiting for me."
A look of disappointment washes over his face. "Call me tonight, okay?"
"Yeah." I start to walk away, but Tre couldn't fight those urges like I did. In an instant, he grabs my arm, spins me around and gives me a kiss that was more perfect than our first. Everybody was watching as Tre and I shared our kiss. Mike and Billie Joe actually started clapping and soon enough everybody joined in.
After a few moments, Tre and I break apart. Tre smiles and looks at me, "I'll call you when I leave."
I smile. "Okay. I love you."
"I love you too." We give each other one more quick peck and then I go and get my brother and sister and leave.
In the car, my sister speaks up. "What happened between you and Tre?"
My brother joins in with a smart ass remark. "A kiss."
"No duh, a kiss. I mean what day do you regret and tonight?" I took a deep breath and told them the cliff note version of my and Tre's "relationship". It took me the whole way to my house to tell my story. When I pulled up, my brother asked in amazement, "Is this really where you live?" I did have ridiculously large house for only one person, but I always had people staying over.
"Yes, this is where I live. Let's grab your bags and go inside." We head inside and I give them the awkward home tour and let them pick their room they would be staying in. We end up staying up until one-ish, because they were both getting tired.
Tre called right after they headed up to their rooms. "Hello?"
In a completely fake British accent, "Helllllloooooo, love!!"
"Hey you. You coming over?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a little bit. I just left."
"Okay, see you in a little bit." We hang up and I go and change in my pajamas. Tre shows up at my house at one-thirty-ish. I open the door to see him standing there with an iris (my favorite flower) in his hand. "Tre, you remembered?"
"Baby, I never forgot." I give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Where are we going to do this talking?"
"Upstairs, I need to wash my make-up off." We head upstairs to my master bath.
"You know, I don't mean any offense, but I never understood why you bought such a big house."
I turn away from the sink and look him in the eyes, "Because I always hoped that one day, I would find somebody who would live here with me and we would fill the extra rooms with our children. But that hasn't happened yet."
"That's what I'm here for, blue eyes . . ."
"Tre, can we start this out slow?"
"Why? Yeah, I know we've been through a lot together, but I love you and I want to be with you, forever."
"Yes, I know. And I love you and want to be with you too, but I'm still scared." Tre walks up to me and puts his arms around me.
"Holly, there is nothing to be scared of. If we promise each other to love and be with each other forever - again - I know nothing can break us apart this time. We have seen each other at our highs and lows and each time we were there for the other one. I want to be there for you forever. I want to live my life knowing that you are there by my side for better and worse."
"Tre, I love you and I will be here for you forever, but are we jumping back in too quick?"
"Holly, I love you with all my heart and soul. You know that's no lie."
"I know, I love you too."
"Would you marry me?"
My sister spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Well, I just kind of got a phone call one day and didn't know what to make of it. It was from Billie Joe asking for me and asking all these questions. He told me what he wanted to do because he knew you and knew you had lost contact with every body in the family. He asked if I could reach Luke and tell him what's going on and . . . . we sort of went along with it."
Then, Luke spoke up. "We met them at her house a couple of months ago. I thought it was all a prank. So we met with the guys and they showed us pictures of you and then Becca confirmed it was you. So, we made plans to be out here for a week or so." I didn't know what to say. The guys had actually found my sister and brother and got them to California.
"Well, if you guys want to go somewhere and talk we can. I have been to quite a few of these things, but we can stick around if you want." They look at each other, and then Becca speaks up.
"Can we see where you live?"
I smile. "Yeah, let me go say bye to the guys and I'll be out in a minute." I turn to the guy at the door, "Justin, can you get my car for me and make sure if they have any luggage to put it in the trunk?"
Justin smiles, "No problem, Holly. Nice speech."
"Thanks." I head back inside and find Mike instantly. "Hey, Mike. I'm leaving."
"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the speech tonight."
"No problem, Mikey. Have a fun night. Where's Billie?"
"Right here, behind you." Billie showed up, making me jump out of my skin. "What you looking for me for?"
"I just wanted to say good night. I'm heading out."
"I figured. I'll remember to have a few drinks for you."
I smile. "You go ahead and do that. Do you know where Tre disappeared to?"
They both point to the bar, where Tre is sitting in silence drinking a beer. "Thanks guys." I walk over to the bar and stand next to him. He looks up at me with tears in his eyes. "What is wrong?"
"You're leaving, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am." I couldn't stand seeing him like this.
"But you promised you would talk to me tonight." He took a long drink of his beer, and then looked at a spot on the bar.
"Tre, I promised you we would talk tonight and we will, but I need you to do something for me first."
He looks up at me. "What? You know I would do anything for you."
I smile. "I know you would. I need you to stop crying and stop drinking tonight. When we talk, I want to know that you'll remember it and not say anything stupid because you've had too much to drink, okay?"
He smiles, wipes his eyes, and pushes the rest of his drink away from him. "You promise we'll talk tonight?"
"Yes, we'll talk. The party will end around one-ish. Call me when you leave, okay?"
"I sort of wanted to talk in person."
"I know, so do I. Just call me when you leave and head to my place. We can talk there, but I am going to go now. I'm going to talk with my brother and sister. Call me."
"I will." We both smile at each other and I turn to leave. "Holly?"
I turn around, "Yes."
"Can I have a hug?" I smile and he stands up and puts his arms out. We give each other a hug. In my mind I get lost. It had been so long since I was this close to him. He smelled so good and it felt so good with his arms around me. Like it was supposed to be this way.
Little did we know how much attention we were getting, people were looking at us without trying to make it too obvious. We slowly break from our hug and look each other in the eyes getting lost. Everything was out of focus. All I could concentrate on was Tre and his eyes. He was all I could see. By now everybody in the room was looking at us, but we weren't paying attention. My brother and sister even came back inside. Tre finally says something. It is more of a whisper, but I still hear it like he yelled it.
"I love you, blue eyes." He smiles weakly, but smiles nonetheless.
I smile back at him, "I love you, too, Tre." And fighting back every urge I had to kiss him, I spoke up instead. "I have to get going, my sister and brother are waiting for me."
A look of disappointment washes over his face. "Call me tonight, okay?"
"Yeah." I start to walk away, but Tre couldn't fight those urges like I did. In an instant, he grabs my arm, spins me around and gives me a kiss that was more perfect than our first. Everybody was watching as Tre and I shared our kiss. Mike and Billie Joe actually started clapping and soon enough everybody joined in.
After a few moments, Tre and I break apart. Tre smiles and looks at me, "I'll call you when I leave."
I smile. "Okay. I love you."
"I love you too." We give each other one more quick peck and then I go and get my brother and sister and leave.
In the car, my sister speaks up. "What happened between you and Tre?"
My brother joins in with a smart ass remark. "A kiss."
"No duh, a kiss. I mean what day do you regret and tonight?" I took a deep breath and told them the cliff note version of my and Tre's "relationship". It took me the whole way to my house to tell my story. When I pulled up, my brother asked in amazement, "Is this really where you live?" I did have ridiculously large house for only one person, but I always had people staying over.
"Yes, this is where I live. Let's grab your bags and go inside." We head inside and I give them the awkward home tour and let them pick their room they would be staying in. We end up staying up until one-ish, because they were both getting tired.
Tre called right after they headed up to their rooms. "Hello?"
In a completely fake British accent, "Helllllloooooo, love!!"
"Hey you. You coming over?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a little bit. I just left."
"Okay, see you in a little bit." We hang up and I go and change in my pajamas. Tre shows up at my house at one-thirty-ish. I open the door to see him standing there with an iris (my favorite flower) in his hand. "Tre, you remembered?"
"Baby, I never forgot." I give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Where are we going to do this talking?"
"Upstairs, I need to wash my make-up off." We head upstairs to my master bath.
"You know, I don't mean any offense, but I never understood why you bought such a big house."
I turn away from the sink and look him in the eyes, "Because I always hoped that one day, I would find somebody who would live here with me and we would fill the extra rooms with our children. But that hasn't happened yet."
"That's what I'm here for, blue eyes . . ."
"Tre, can we start this out slow?"
"Why? Yeah, I know we've been through a lot together, but I love you and I want to be with you, forever."
"Yes, I know. And I love you and want to be with you too, but I'm still scared." Tre walks up to me and puts his arms around me.
"Holly, there is nothing to be scared of. If we promise each other to love and be with each other forever - again - I know nothing can break us apart this time. We have seen each other at our highs and lows and each time we were there for the other one. I want to be there for you forever. I want to live my life knowing that you are there by my side for better and worse."
"Tre, I love you and I will be here for you forever, but are we jumping back in too quick?"
"Holly, I love you with all my heart and soul. You know that's no lie."
"I know, I love you too."
"Would you marry me?"
