__________________________________________________________________________
'Damian, what time is it?' I asked.
He looked at his watch on his right hand, and gave an exasperated sigh.
'We overslept! It's 1:30 in the afternoon, and we have soundcheck at 2!'
'Oops, my fault, sorry.'
'Its fine, we'll se what Jessica thinks of day old clothes, now wont we?' He gave me a little smirk.
'I guess we will!'
I looked over at the hated wheelchair, and pulled a face.
'Do you want to try and walk again?' he asked gently, looking into my eyes.
'Yes, I do.'
'Ok, on my count of three, I'll help you stand up, and help you try and walk.'
'Alright.'
We counted to three, and he helped me get to my feet. He stood behind me, ready to catch me if I should fall, his arms wrapped protectively around my waist. I took a small step, then another, and two more, then tripped over the tele remote and almost faceplanted. He made sure I didn't fall and hurt myself like I had almost done before.
'That's a start. Getting better every day.'
'Thanks, that means alot.' I said.
His mobile rang suddenly, piercing the stillness.
'Hello? Yep, we're on our way over now. Bye.'
'Who was that?'
'Both of our mums calling me at the same time. They said to get ourselves over there, or they'll come and find us themselves.' he laughed.
'We'd better get a move on, then.'
'Are you going to use the chair?'
'Yup, at my pace, walking there would take us the rest of the day!' I joked.
It was a bit cold outside, and my jacket happened to be in the wash. Damian had his coat, but he gave it to me to wear instead. It was black, and had military style buttons and stripes on it. He pretty much ran all the way there, trying not to make me fall onto the pavement. We got there, and there was our mums, Jessica, and Mr.McCarthy all waiting a bit impatiently.
He explained why we hadn't been there earlier, and our mums gave each other a knowing smile as he explained. Jessica's eyes narrowed a bit, and her nostrils flared, which made her look not unlike a witch. I stifled a laugh. First order of business was costumes. Damian changed into an all black suit, with a black tie.
'What do you think?' he asked me.
I couldn't think of words that described how good I thought he looked. My mouth opened, then shut, I was speechless.
'Ah, you're at a loss for words! I hope that means you like it?'
I nodded, smiling, knowing that this amazing, handsome young man was mine.
Then came another hard to sit through rehearsal, the very last, the dress rehearsal. I didn't pay much attention, and drifted off a bit. Before I knew it, it was over. Jessica was not talking to me, and she looked like she had something up her sleeves. Damian and I went backstage to look at all the mics, costumes to make sure everything was in its place, and ready to be used. A bunch of sparkly jewellwey caught my eye. Diamonds, and sapphire necklaces, bracelets, and rings. No doubt they were Jessica's own. I checked to make sure she wasn't coming, slipped off my claddagh, and tried on a diamond and sapphire heart shaped ring. It sparkled in the light, it was very pretty, and no doubt also very expensive. There was a sharp rap on the door, and I pulled the ring off and set it back where I had found it. It was my mum, asking if we wanted to eat. We both politely declined, me because I wasn't hungry, and Damian because he said he didn't like performing on a full stomach. We went back into the theatre to sit awhile. I didn't notice that had left my claddagh on the counter in the dressing room.
An hour passed by quickly, and soon it was almost showtime. Jessica walked by, and I noticed something was different about her. Her hand.... She was wearing my ring! I kicked myself inside for not remembering to put it back on. Worse, it was on her right hand, in the exact same position that mine had been when Damian had given it to me. She asked to talk to me, and the show was only 15 minutes from starting. Damian had been dragged away to fix and make sure his mic was working properly. I followed Jessica to the dressing room. She closed the door.
'Um, Jessica, sorry if I am wrong, but are you wearing my claddagh ring that Damian gave to me?'
'Yes, I am.'
I was stunned! Of everything she had said and done to me, this was by far the worst.
'But, why? I don't understand!' I asked, hurt and confused.
'You should really be more careful with your things, Kathy. Don't leave them lying around. You see, Damian has finally come to his senses. During rehearsal, which you were clearly not paying any attention to, he told me that he dosen't love you. He said that he dosen't want to talk to you ever again. I found the ring lying on the counter, and he said he was giving it back to who it should have belonged to in the first place.' She said this all smugly.
I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest! Her words cut like knives, cutting the most important part of my life out and taking it away.
'No! You are lying to me! Damian would never say such things, he's not cold and a hurtful, jealous person like you!' I yelled back at her.
'Well, looks like you are in denial. I would tell you to go talk to him and hear it yourself, but its showtime. Enjoy the show!'
And with that, she left me there, crying. I heard the crowd cheer, but I hadn't the heart to go and watch. I stared at my hand, where my ring had once been, a symblo of love, loyalty, and strength that meant nothing to me now.
__________________________________________________________________________
Thats all for now, because I have to go update my new story, One Moment Can Change Everything. If you could, feedback on that one is greatly appreciated! Thanks!