BBB Chapter 13
To anyone who didn't know her she looked just like another beautiful, stupid, placid Stepford wife-to-be. Her hair and makeup were perfect. Her designer dress gorgeous, simply perfect for the event. Her fake polite smile perfectly in place. Yes, everything about Rory was perfect.
Too bad it was quickly eating her alive, sucking all the life out of her until she wanted to scream and run far, far away.
She nodded at the ladies talking to her about joining the Hartford Women's Auxiliary, not truly listening. She figured she would receive a call before long informing her of what she agreed to and what she was expected to do. What did it matter if she listened or not?
"Ah, there you are Ror, there's someone I want to introduce you to. You don't mind if I steal my lovely bride-to-be away from you, do you ladies?" Tristan asked, sweeping in to rescue her before she either committed suicide or homicide –he wasn't sure which but wasn't willing to take chances either way- with a cocktail fork from the shrimp tray.
It was the night of their engagement party. It was supposed to be one of the happiest nights of their lives. And it may have been. Had anything about it been real. Instead, they were both stuck looking into a stark reality of being married to someone they hadn't seen or heard from in years, and certainly didn't love.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She sighed in relief, sagging against Tristan as they walked through the crowded, eloquently decorated ball room of the Hartford Garden Pavilion (where both Edward and Richard were very large donators) and towards the patio, where they would hide in the shadows for as long as they possibly could without seeming rude.
"I needed out of there just as badly as you did. God, will this night ever end?" Tristan asked, shaking his head in frustration.
"Yep, and then we'll get to go pick out things for our wonderful, fairytale wedding and plan the honeymoon, then have the rehearsal dinner and the wed-"
He groaned in response, cutting her off before she could continue rattling off the different types of hell they would endure in the coming months. They approached a beautiful lit up water fountain in the center of the gardens, and Tristan took a seat on the edge. "Twenty questions," He said.
"What?"
"Twenty questions. You ask me ten, I ask you ten. And we get honest answers. You can go first."
Rory scrunched her forehead in slight confusion but complied, "Ok, what do you think about us being married?"
Tristan angled an 'are you kidding me?' look at her, but answered anyway, "We've already talked about this. I'm not looking forward to a loveless arranged marriage done entirely for business reasons. But-"
"There's a but?" She asked in confusion and bewilderment.
"Hey! Let me finish."
She nodded, "Sorry, continue."
He took a deep breath, "But, it could be worse. I could be getting married to Paris. Or to a Barbie wanna be who I wouldn't be able to speak to without my IQ dropping twenty points. At least you and I can forge a friendship of sorts. It may not ever be a great love of the ages, but at least we won't be hiring hit men to off the other one or pouring arsenic in each other's coffee."
Rory laughed lightly at that, thinking about what he just said. "True, true."
"Ok, now for you… do you think you and Logan would have gotten married eventually?" He really did want to know the answer. He was curious. He needed to know just how much pain she was in and what her mindset was going into this.
Rory sighed, looking away from the brilliant blue eyes that stared back at her. Would she and Logan have eventually been married? She loved Logan, she really, truly did. He gave her freedom and helped her stake her independence. Logan opened up her world to things she never would have experienced without his influence. He was loving towards her an affectionate, and even stood up to his family when it came to her. But would they have ever gotten married?
"I don't know." She answered honestly. "I like to think we would have. I think if it were up to him then someday, perhaps after college, we would have been. But it wouldn't have been up to him, even if my family weren't taking such drastic steps. I think at some point his father would have put his foot down about our relationship, made an ultimatum or two…" Rory's voice trailed off as the question ate at her from inside. "I guess it's just one of those things I'll always wonder about but never really know the answer to. What might have been."
"Fair enough." Tristan responded, nodding. It was an honest answer, and he appreciated that. If they were going to make this sham of a marriage work in anyway they needed total honesty.
"Have you ever been in love?" She posed the question, watching his face as he struggled with an answer.
They certainly weren't pulling any punches tonight. But he supposed that was the only way they were going to really get to know one another. Again. He drifted away in his memories for a moment, hesitating only slightly before answering. "Yes. Once. She was… perfect."
"What happened?" Rory asked quietly, watching as his face tightened.
He smirked, shaking his head lightly, fighting back the wave of memories. "She was sweet, to sweet for her own good actually. She wanted to help everyone and save the world. I met her the summer after I went away to military school. Her name was Sarah and she was from North Carolina. Lived in the area all her life. I met her that summer and things just developed. She changed me. And then one day, about eight months into our relationship she was volunteering at the community center- the one in the bad part of town- and was outside, playing soccer with the kids. And there was a drive by shooting… and she didn't make it out alive."
Tristan could still remember the way he heard about the drive by on tv, but didn't think anything of it. Sarah wasn't supposed to be at the center that day, but someone else couldn't come in so she volunteered. He didn't find that out until her father stopped by the school that night to tell him. He could still remember the raw pain in Robert's eyes as he told him that Sarah, sweet Sarah, was gone. He remembered watching as the former Marine fought so hard not to break down and bawl over losing his baby girl. He could still remember the sting of the antiseptic his platoon sergeant used when he cleaned and bandaged his bloody knuckles- knuckles that he bloodied by putting his fist through the first wall he saw.
"I… I don't know what to say. I'm sorry seems so… useless and stale. But I am." Rory softly told him, putting her hand on his shoulder and bringing him back to the present.
"It was a long time ago." He answered gruffly, clearing his throat and putting the memories back where they belonged- in the past.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the water cascade down the fountain and the crickets chirp. The tiny lights that were stung through the gardens illuminated the quiet couple who sat in the shadows away from the party.
"So, it's my turn, right?" He finally asked, breaking the silence.
She nodded, "Yep, ask away."
"Do you think you'll ever forgive your mom?"
Rory held her breath and she swore her heart stopped beating for just a second as she felt the sadness, pain and anger wash over. She opened her mouth to answer.
"Rory! Tristan! There you are! We're about to make a toast, we need you to get in here." Emily called to them, effectively ending their conversation.
Tristan stood up as Rory did and placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her back to their engagement party. As they walked towards Emily he couldn't help but wonder what her answer would have been.
