Hollywood Heights, Loren Tate; The story of my life
He hates me Chapter 15
Loren watches the nurse rush the Duran's into the room, the machines go off, she's upset, Lucy is standing without a worry twirling her hair with her fingers.
How could they be related? Loren grabs Lucy by the arm and drags her to the side.
"What happened? What did you do?"
Lucy loosens from her grip. "You're hurting me!"
"Tell the truth for once, what did you say to Evan?" Loren's eyes plead for honesty.
"Nothing, I told him I was moving on, I was dating other guys." She continues while chewing gum.
Loren can't believe what she's hearing. "You know how much he loves you?"
"Oh please, there was never love, it was convenient arrangement, he had to know."
"You couldn't wait until he had recovered?"
Lucy rolls her eyes. "I told him the truth, I thought that was good, he's a huge baby."
She can't take it anymore, this isn't a human standing in front to her, she's a monster, Loren slaps her again. Lucy's shocked; she holds her face feeling the sting left by Loren's hand.
"You hit me again!"
"You're a manipulative snake, you're heartless!"
Lucy launches at her, Loren pushes her away, Lucy hits the wall, she loses her balance and falls to the floor, Kevin hears the commotion and runs towards them.
"What's going on here?" He stops Lucy from hitting Loren!
Loren's eyes fill with tears; she leans on Kevin. Lucy gets her things and looks at Loren. "Don't you ever touch me again!"
"Stay away from me, and Evan's family, I don't want to see you anywhere near this hospital, do you hear me?!" Loren tells her.
"I hate you Loren, remember that!" She storms through the doors, Kevin glances to the room where Evan lays, he sees Katy crying and leaning on Max, they leave the room. Loren wipes her tears; she knows something is wrong; no sign of Eddie. Kevin rushes towards them with Loren in tow.
"How's Evan?"
Katy can't speak. Max takes a deep breath. "We lost him, he went into cardiac arrest." Kevin sighs; he knows Eddie isn't well.
Loren sees Eddie lying by the side of his cousin's bed; she knows he's hurting, Evan meant everything to him, this is Lucy's fault. She walks into the room; she makes her way towards him. "Eddie." She touches his shoulder. He's quiet, keeping his face hidden between his arms. "I'm sorry." She tells him.
He's silent, he hasn't moved, or responded to Loren. She doesn't know what else to do, she sits quietly on the chair next to him, she can hear him sobbing, the sound of the door makes her turn. It's Vince walking in with Kevin. He approaches her placing his hand on her shoulder, Loren looks at him, he helps her stand; Kevin sits by Eddie, he'll stay there. Vince sees Loren crying, he guides her to the door, Loren sees Katy crying and walks towards her, they hug.
Two days later, the Duran's closest friends and family attend Evan's memorial, Max says a few words about his nephew Evan. Lorena and Nora sit nearby.
"Are you sure Lucy won't come?" Nana asks Loren.
"I told her to stay away from everyone, this family is going through so much already."
Loren searches the room for Eddie, she sees him standing next to Kevin, she wants to apologize for everything Lucy did. How would he react? She's sure he's angry.
Kevin looks at Eddie. "Hey, how are you? You've been very quiet."
"Grieving for Evan, he isn't suffering anymore, I'm relieved about that."
"What about Loren, you're avoiding her?"
"I have nothing else to say to her, she reminds me of Lucy when I see her, its better this way."
Kevin nudges him. "Tell me you're kidding?"
"About what?"
"You're blaming Loren for what Lucy did?"
"I didn't say that, I'd rather keep my distance, she's with your buddy Vince."
"Let's be honest, you know how she feels about you, how could you push that aside?"
"Easy, I don't think about it."
"You know Vince is genuine with his feelings, I can see him taking this further with Loren, I know she's not in love with him."
Eddie takes a deep breath; he looks at Kevin. "Every time I see her, she'll remind me her sister, she's not for me Kevin."
"I thought you were different, she's nothing like her sister, and you know that."
Neither one realizes that Max is off the stage, Loren, Nana and Nora walk towards them.
"We're very sorry for your loss Eddie and Kevin." Nana knows they're hurting.
Kevin acknowledges Loren, Nana and Nora. "Thank you for coming."
Loren looks at Eddie. "I'm sorry for everything."
"Thanks Loren." He doesn't look at her.
Before he could walk away, Nana holds his arm. "Joven Eduardo, I'm very sorry." (Means Young Eddie)
He looks at her. "Thank you." She hugs him, thanks to Lucy, she feels Eddie must hate her.
He walks away, Loren follows him.
"Please wait Eddie."
He rolls his eyes. "I have things to do."
"Like what? Why are you rolling your eyes?"
He stops. "You're not very good at reading what I'm trying to say."
Loren furrows her eyes. "What are you trying to say?"
He looks at her, his eyes are full of anger and pain.
"I don't want to talk to you, sorry if this hurts, every time I see you, I see your sister, if you haven't noticed, she killed my cousin!"
He's right, he's hurting her with his words. "You can't hold me responsible for what she did."
"It hurts to look at you, do me a huge favor, stay away from me, this time I mean you, I don't want reminded what happened to my cousin."
Her eyes fill with tears, she doesn't say anything to him, she walks away, she runs towards her grandmother, Nana holds her while she sobs, they walk away.
Nora drives home, Lorena sits in the back of the car trying to comfort her granddaughter.
"I hate to see you like this."
"He hates me Nana; he will always hate me for what Lucy did."
"Eddie is hurting, he's not thinking straight, don't let his attitude affect you Lorenita." Nana pleads.
Loren sighs, his words stabbed her in her heart. They're finally home. "What kind of man was my father?" She asks Nora.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't understand why Lucy is like this."
"His family is rich, we thought he loved your mother, he disappeared, never to be seen again."
"Anyone that walks away from his pregnant wife has to be evil."
"Is that why mom died?"
"She had a heart condition, she should have never gotten pregnant, she loved the idea of being a mom, her heart was weak."
Loren sighs. "I miss her, it's sad we never got to see our mother, Lucy would be a better person."
"You've seen her pictures, you and Lucy resemble her so much, she was beautiful, a romantic at heart, when she met Dan, she knew he was the one, she was too young though, he meant everything to her, she used to say he was her soul mate, she wanted what your Grandparents had."
Loren finally broke a smile. "Nothing wrong with that."
"Papa would tell her she lived in a fairytale world."
Loren walks into kitchen to get a glass of water; she sighs; this has to be the saddest day in her life.
Many months flew by, Eddie's been touring in several cities in the East Coast, his shows are always SOLD OUT, his fans love to see him perform with his dancers, he does his own choreography. The Governor of San Francisco requested a show for his inauguration.
Loren is a top when it comes to designing, her cliental love all of her creations, most of Hollywood's elite request her designs or the Oscar's and the Emmy's. She's on her way to New York for a fashion show, she will present her latest creations down the runway. She's a huge hit as expected in New York, she's getting ready to fly back home on her private Jet, her phone rings.
"Hi Kelly, I should be home by 4 this evening, I'll tell Ted to fly to San Francisco."
She hits the end button, she asks the flight attendant to give Ted a message, they're heading to San Francisco, Eddie's dancers are having problems with some of their dancing outfits, they need Loren to help them before tomorrow's concert.
Loren looks a little different, her hair has layers, she's a blonde now, her hair has a touch of red streaks, she wears contacts, she wanted a new look, she doesn't want to resemble Lucy at all. Loren has her own style and looks more beautiful than ever, Lucy's modeling in Europe with a pixie cut, her hair is black.
She arrives in San Francisco Int'l airport. A waiting limo drives her to the Oakland Convention Center, Eddie's booked for several nights in the area. She's nervous, she doesn't want to run into him, she walks to the center of the building and finds Kelly. "Thanks for your help, I told Jake you'd help."
"I'm always available to help." Loren adds.
Kelly guides her to the area. "I hope it's a simple fix."
"No worries Kelly, I have a stack of new dresses in the limo, can you ask someone to get them, I hope the girls like the new styles."
"You're a genius! Let me call Stan to get everything."
Loren walks into the dressing room; the girls are happy to see her. "We knew we could count on you."
She smiles. "I'm here to help, what's the problem?"
"The hem keeps sliding off, when we dance it pulls on our legs, you know Eddie wants perfection."
Loren smiles. "I remember."
One of the girls was going to say something, another one nudges her to stay quiet, Loren notices, she looks at the lead dancer. "What's going on Sara?"
"Nothing, don't worry."
"Come on girls, you're always honest with me!"
"When we told Eddie what happened, he said if you didn't fix them." She looks towards the door. "He said he'd fire you."
Loren sighs, she won't show the girls how that statement makes her feel, he will always hate her, he'll never change. she avoids showing the girls her true feelings, looks like he's still upset. "Let's show him I can fix anything."
Within a few hours, Loren fixed every dress and added sequins to it. The girls smile with approval, they run into the other room to try them on. "These look better."
Loren smiles. "No worries, I made them better."
"You're amazing Loren."
Kelly walks in. "Back to rehearsal ladies, the show starts in two hours."
They look at Loren and smile in appreciation. "Bye Loren, thanks."
She waves, she turns towards Kelly. "I heard I might be fired?"
Kelly sighs. "Who told you?"
"No worries, I was able to finish, the girls seemed worried for me."
"I knew you'd do a great job." Kelly adds.
"I guess he still hates me, he's looking for an excuse to get rid of me, he's not obligated to keep me on, he can look for someone else to design for the girls."
"He knows he has it made, you know what the girls want, he knows that."
Kelly gets close to Loren. "Can I ask you something?"
Loren puts her things away. "Sure what is it?"
Kelly bites her lower lip. "I don't want you to think I'm nosey, I need to know."
Loren's intrigued. She locks eyes with Kelly.
"It's fine Kelly."
"Are you in Love with Eddie?"
Loren's reaction says it all, Kelly understands. "I know you're hurting."
"It really doesn't matter anymore; he could care less about my feelings."
"He asked several times today if you were coming to take care of the girls."
"Last time we spoke he made his feelings pretty clear."
A knock on the door interrupts the women. Vince peeks in with a huge smile. "Hey babe."
Loren smiles, what is he doing here. "You're here?"
"I told you my mom and step Dad live in this area."
Kelly excuses herself, Vince holds Loren's hand; he places a kiss on her cheek and guides her back to the front of the building. They walk towards the huge glass windows, she notices a tall man with grey hair and a beautiful woman by his side, two beautiful girls stand by their side. She turns to Vince. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"I wanted to surprise you, and I want you to meet my parents." He opens the door. "Mom, this is Loren."
"Hi Loren, I'm Gail Roberts, Vince has told us so much about you."
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Roberts." Gail smiles and turns to acknowledge her husband. "This is Dan, my husband." He shakes Loren's hand. "Nice to meet you."
Dan responds. "Nice to meet you Loren, you look very familiar."
End of chapter!