Opening lyrics come from Keane's Crystal Ball while the end lyrics belong to Simon and Garfunkel's Kathy's song; in-text lyrics come from Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars, and Coldplay's Till Kingdom Come (which has sort of become the theme song here)
Chapter 16: Loose Ends
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Oh, crystal ball, crystal ball
Save us all, tell me life is beautiful
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Oh, crystal ball, hear my song
I'm fading out, everything I know is wrong
So put me where I belong
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Lucy's POV
"Diamond…wake up! Diamond!" a voice shouted above me. I wearily opened my eyes and shook off the crust that came with unconsciousness. Above my head, two figures came into view, blurry at first, but became more and more distinguishable as I regained my wits.
"Max? Scud?" I tried to lift my head and immediately regretted it as the pain shot through it with an astounding intensity. Scud said something, but truthfully, I wasn't listening. The memories were all too vivid of last night—Chastity slamming my head into the stone, a bullet ripping through her head, Amy's head smashing into the hard stone of the floor…Amy.
"Where's Amy? How is she?" I frantically asked. Scud smiled and motioned over across the roof of the cathedral where Amy sat, leaning against one of the tall spires, her head wrapped all around with bandages.
"She hit her head hard, and needed our medics to stitch up the gash in the back of her head, and she'll have a pretty bad concussion for about a month or so, but she's going to be alright, Diamond," Max said. I fully expected her to add on a little quip like 'no thanks to you,' but it never came. Instead she smiled.
"I'm glad you're okay. Listen, I know you and I don't get along great, but as long as Amy loves you and you love her, I really don't have that much of a problem with you. I'm not suggesting that you and I should become great friends or anything, but for the vested interest in the shared link we have, I won't mind laying down the hostility."
"Neither would I," I replied. I never would have expected this from big, tough Max…perhaps she had a soft side after all.
"Just remember, you hurt her, I'm going to hunt you down."
"Deal."
I attempted to stand up from my seated position, anchoring myself with a hand and promptly fell back down with the first attempt. In resignation, I rested my head in my hands and was alarmed when I felt a foreign object in the back of my head. "What the hell?" I asked, rubbing the area with my hand and finding a few more objects with a similar feel.
"Staples. The medics had to staple the back of your head shut. You had a pretty nasty cut," Scud explained.
"Lucy! You're awake!" exclaimed a joyous Janet, who ran over and flung her arms around me. "I'm so glad you two are okay." Suddenly, she let go and pinched her nose tightly shut. "Geez, you reek! Take a bath!" I smiled…same old Janet.
More voices sounded around me, but I was still physically exhausted and I toned them out. My mind set at ease, knowing everything was right, at least for the time being, I let my mind drift off into sleep.
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If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
The sun sent playful streaks of red, orange, and blue across the sky as it slowly sank below the horizon. Sunsets in Barcelona never ceased to amaze me, and sharing them with Amy never grew old. Leaning against the car, I wrapped my arms around the lithe body resting against me. Together we took in the beautiful landscape the beach and sunset provided and reflected on the events of the past week.
About a week after the events concerning Chastity, Amy and I were back to strength, at least partially. For most of the week, we had been hurting immensely and were so drained that we could barely get out of bed. Scud and Janet had brought one of our spare beds into Amy and my room—a tight fit—and had placed Amy and me in separate beds. The entire week, we shared in each other's company and, for the first time in a long time, we were happy.
Janet and Scud had apparently taken a short sabbatical from the DEBS organization and were considering moving up to Barcelona for good, perhaps transferring to Spain's US Embassy or to Spain's branch of the International DEBS program. For the week, though, they had not been spies. Instead, they'd been waiting on us hand and foot. Generally, Amy and I were kind and helpful to them, but the urge to annoy Scud was just so tempting, and we succumbed a couple times.
Eventually, Amy and I felt well enough to move around inside the house. We started off small, doing menial things like getting up from bed to fetch a glass of water, or dinner, or something, and we worked our strength up from there.
Finally, Amy and I had reached the point where, although not perfect, we were physically capable of living our lives normally again. The pain of the concussions remained, but those buggers always seemed to stick around for a long time.
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life
Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads
I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life
I leaned into Amy, my lips against her ear. "You're so beautiful," I whispered. Tacitly, she turned her head around, gazed into my eyes, her eyes full of passion and love, and our lips met. The kiss conveyed fire, passion, and the promise of a brighter tomorrow. As long as I could share the future with Amy, I knew that it would be a better future. It had to be.
Slowly, shooting a seductive look at me, Amy broke the kiss and walked towards the beach and ocean. "Last one to the ocean pays for dinner!" Amy playfully yelled as she suddenly bolted towards the waves, giggling along the way.
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"So, you have anything in mind?" Scud asked as we sat in the pizza shop in the local mall. Later that night Janet and Scud had an official engagement dinner planned, and all our closest friends would be there. Janet's parents had not been invited, something that interested me, but, figuring that was a private matter, I kept inquisitions to myself. Still, something told me that there was a reason there, which perhaps explained her inclination towards petty theft, but that would have to be a story for another day.
Janet had decided to go shopping for a dress for the evening and, for insurance that nothing would magically vanish from the store, Amy had joined her in the shopping spree. That was alright by me, I had my own shopping agenda for the day.
"Yeah," I answered Scud, "I was thinking something elegant, but nothing that'll stand out too much."
"Any idea what style?"
"Not yet, but I guess we'll have to find the best one there. Worked out fine the last time we were there." It seemed like ages ago since Scud and I had been to the store in question, it seemed like so much time had passed since then, and yet it hadn't actually been that long. I was sure the owner of the shop would remember us, though.
"Scud, are you sure about this? I mean, this dinner is your time with Janet, I wouldn't want to…"
Scud cut me off with a wave of his hand. "The dinner is the PERFECT time. Janet and I are so happy for you, we want you to do this here."
"Thanks Scud," I responded before changing the subject, "Are you getting a suit here? You didn't pack one, I mean, right?"
"No, and yes…or yes, and no. Yes, I need to get a suit here, and no, I didn't pack one. I'm thinking a purple tux…" he kept going, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.
"A purple tux? Scud, where do you think you're going? You're not a pimp, I don't think they'd welcome you down at the brothel." I scoffed at his idea, stifling a laugh. "Gino will fix you up with something. He's got everything, but you should probably go classic, yet sophisticated. If you want to go tux, I'd suggest the black, Bond-esque tux." I grinned sadistically at him. I knew I could play on his Bond obsession, and sure enough, he nodded his approval.
"What would I do without you?"
"Fail," I stated bluntly, letting out a laugh to indicate that I was half-joking. He glared at me, which I expected, so I flashed him my million-dollar smile and a smirk broke out on his face.
"Not funny," he said, his smirk betraying the fact that he had found humor in it. "Anyway, we're officially staying in Barcelona. Ms. Petrie officially transferred Janet to the DEBS office in Spain's US Embassy."
"That's great!" I smiled, standing up, picking up the tray the food had come on and making my way over to the trashcan. "Now let's go see Gino and then we'll see Miguel."
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Amy's POV
The room was an utter mess. Sure, Lucy and I had had to spend about a week in this room, but did Lucy really need to leave this in such a wreck? Empty glasses were everywhere, some on wood without coasters, which would surely leave rings. Clothes were scattered everywhere, and a stream of ants was slowly marching over to a plate full of crumbs on her nightstand. Quite simply, the place was a pigsty.
The door opened downstairs, signaling Lucy and Scud's return to the house. They sure had been out longer than I could have expected. Janet was always pretty picky when it came to clothes, and in the sweater section of the store, the urge had hit her several times, if you know what I mean. All in all, I had really expected Lucy to have been home before us.
"Hey, hon!" Lucy called from downstairs. I practically ran to the staircase, eager to greet her, but making a mental note to remember to chastise her for her messiness afterwards.
Lucy gently placed down the bags she was holding to the left of the door and slowly sauntered up the staircase.
"I missed you," she said, wrapping her arms around me when she reached me and drawing me in for a quick kiss. I was drawn into her, lost in her intoxicating aura, and I almost forgot that note in the back of my brain.
Shaking back to reality, I clasped Lucy's hand. "Follow me," I said, playfully, yet reprimanding enough to let her know I was at least half serious.
Lucy and I walked into the bedroom, where Lucy immediately lay down on the bed. "You know, I was thinking the same thing," she said in her best seductive voice, flashing me the smile that always failed to keep my heart solid.
As much as I was tempted to join her and enjoy nothing but her, bask in the actions and forget the world, I surprisingly found myself able to resist. "Lucy…as much as I'd like to, that's not it."
"Then what?" Lucy asked, quite annoyed. Her eyebrows furrowed and her smile twisted and contorted into a frown. "It's been more than a week, Amy! I know that it was almost physically impossible for a while, but now what's the reason? You know, there were times when I was lying in that bed, looking at you that I couldn't think of anything else but taking you in my arms."
God! How does she hold this much power over me? "Lucy, stop it!" I ordered harshly, although part of the statement was an order to me to stop getting sidetracked by Lucy. "I'd really appreciate it if you could clean the room up." I motioned around to the room's disarray.
"I will. Jesus Christ! What's wrong with you? You're holding sex and now you're being anal with me?!" Oh no, I didn't like where this was headed, emotions escalating on both sides. If only I could prevent myself from saying something I might…
"What's wrong with me? Are you serious?!" I nearly shouted, bringing the conversation into an area I had been attempting to avoid since we had rekindled the relationship. "Look at this! It's filthy! How the heck can you live like this?"
"Fine. I'm cleaning it up," Lucy said curtly, letting me know that it wasn't fine. "And to think," she mumbled under her breath, followed by another line that I couldn't quite make out. Without looking at me, she crossly grabbed the items in the room, snatching them up a little too hard and fast, before she stormed out of the room.
Nice going…great way of refraining from saying something you might forget! I scolded myself. Passion did have its disadvantages.
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Lucy's POV
What's with her? I repeated the rhetorical question silently as I threw out the items Amy had brought into question. On a glance, she was right, they were filthy, especially the plate with the ants (I had nearly jumped out of my pants when I felt the little buggers crawling up my arms). I absolutely loathe insects.
I slammed the garbage can shut and proceeded to walk out of the kitchen and right into Scud. "Umph!"
"Geez, what's got you all shitty?" Scud asked.
"Amy—she hates me," I said, truthfully not believing a word of it.
"No, she doesn't. What happened in those short minutes from you two groping each other like mad to now?"
"I don't know, Scud. Nothing, really—it was really just all bullshit."
"You know, Lucy, it's always darkest before the light," Scud sagely stated. I shot him a mock glare—he's the henchman, I'm supposed to be the smart one here. Scud laughed, seeing through the charade. "Just keep trying. Remember—killing your psycho of an ex-girlfriend is easy, but love…love is hard."
"Not to you and Janet. You two are so into each other."
"A lot goes on that you don't know, Lucy. Love's not easy for anyone. Well, maybe Casanova and Bill Clinton, but not for most people."
I gave him my heartfelt gratitude, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Thanks Scud. What would I do without you?"
"Fail," he said, face lifting into an evil smile as he mirrored my earlier statement.
I took my hand off his shoulder, bunched it up into a fist and playfully reconnected the fist with the shoulder.
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"Ready yet?" I called upstairs to Amy. If she made me wait any longer for her we would be late to the engagement dinner, which, by Amy and my recommendations based on the food and…other things, was being held at Can Majó. We had barely over a half hour before the dinner started, and it took a half hour to get there. Scud and Janet had left about an hour ago, making last minute arrangements and on a mission to give to John, Can Majó's manager.
"Alright, I'm ready. Close your eyes." I followed commands, waiting for Amy to tell me to open my eyes and preparing to be amazed once more by her beauty. After a few agonizing seconds of anticipation that seemed more like hours, she gave the signal, "You can open your eyes."
I was struck speechless. "What do you think?" Amy asked.
"I think…I think you look…I mean…wow." I couldn't form a sentence right now, I was simply awestruck. She laughed, and I admired the way the dress followed her curves flawlessly as her body moved.
She was wearing the brilliant blue gown she had worn our last time at Can Majó. Perfect.
Standing still, continuing to admire, I suddenly felt underdressed. I was in a black ballroom gown, one that came down at a V across my neck, showing ample cleavage, but not too much as to appear slutty. It was a flattering dress, but not perfect…not like hers.
"Lucy. We have to go. We're going to be late," Amy reminded me, taking my ha nd and leading me out the door. "You look great too, by the way."
We quickly got in the car and sped off, maintaining a speed about fifteen miles per hour above the speed limit.
"Amy, about earlier today…I'm sorry. I overreacted. I don't know what got into me."
"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," Amy returned the apology. My father had once given me a piece of advice about relationships that I found was the utter truth. He had said, "Lucy, the perfect couple isn't the one that never argues. The perfect couple is the one that, after any argument, no matter how bad, can end the day with an apology." A sage man, he was.
"I love you, Amy Bradshaw," I said, placing my hand over the gear shift.
"I love you too, Miss Reynolds," she returned, placing her hand on top of mine and turning quickly to flash a smile. The world was perfect.
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The dinner had gone great so far, even if Amy and I had only made it with a minute left to spare. Even with everyone at the table—Max, Janet, Dominique, Scud, Amy and me—there was absolutely no hostility. In fact, after our little talk back at the cathedral, Max and I had been getting along classically. Amy had turned to me, surprised at that fact quite a few times, and looked pleased that Max and I had seemingly put away our problems with each other.
Of course, everyone had enjoyed the food. As was Can Majó's style, the food was impeccable. We had pretty much all finished our entrees, Amy being the exception as she finished the last couple bites of her salad. The server opened the door to the private room we had rented and collected our used plates and utensils. As she came to Scud, he protested the collection of his spoon. The server exited the room and quickly entered with a tray of champagne-filled glasses. I knew what was coming next.
A repetitive shrilling banging noise echoed across the room as the server exited and Scud hit his champagne glass with his spoon. He began to deliver his preplanned speech as he rose out of his chair. "Thanks for coming, you guys. It means a lot to Janet and me that you all could make it. The only thing that could make this night better would be if Janet's parents could come, or if mine were still alive…and could be here tonight." At the reference to his parents, Scud choked up. Scud's father had been my father's henchman and had been caught in cross-fire…it was a long story. "Anyway, you are all the best friends a guy could have. Thank you all." As Scud sat down, we all lifted our glasses and gave each other the usual 'cheer,' clanging the glasses with each individual before drinking a bit of the sparkling alcoholic liquid.
I stood up next, and hesitated for a second. I ground each of my palms in my hands and I glanced at Scud, who winked back, attempting to give me some confidence. Why the hell is this scaring me so much?
"Okay, so first things first, my congratulations to the happy couple." I moved the glass out in front of me, and another round of glass-clanking took place. "You two really are the perfect couple. I must admit, though, when we all first met each other—Scud, Amy, Janet, and me—at the bar, I really didn't think that you two would make that great of a couple." As I continued my speech, Max turned to Janet and gave her a confused and semi-annoyed glare. "But now, I realize that you two were made for each other. Scud, you are Janet's perfect complement and I only wish that Amy and I can have what you two share."
Glasses threatened to move again, before Scud's face broke into a wide grin, and he interrupted the process. "On that note!"
I couldn't help but laugh…good ole' Scud. Here goes nothing. "Yes, on that note," I turned my attention from Scud and Janet to the beautiful blonde beside me. "I have one of the world's most beautiful women as my girlfriend. I love her to death, and I know she loves me." Amy looked up, meeting my eyes, a smile lighting up her face brighter than the sky. "The week or so that I lived without her were some of the most telling times of my life. During that time, I realized that there was absolutely no way that I could live without her. Doing so would make me incomplete. I care more about this woman than I care about myself.
"So…what I'm trying to say Amy," I continued, segueing into a more personal, intimate conversation. For some reason, nerves were killing me. I already kind of knew the answer to the question, but it still sent butterflies fluttering down in my stomach. "What I'm trying to say is this…" I took a breath in an attempt to assuage the nerves. I knelt down on one knee and reached under my seat, picking up a black box as the speakers began to play a familiar tune.
Steal my heart and hold my tongue
I feel my time,
My time has come
Let me in
Unlock the door
I never felt this way before
Amy's face melted into pure, shocked ecstasy, her mouth open wide in the shape of a smile.
"YES!" she shouted prematurely.
"I haven't asked the question yet," I smiled, fears relieved. "Will you marry me?"
"YES!" Amy shouted for the second time. I stood up and embraced her in a quick, tight hug before placing the ring on her finger, a brilliant solitaire diamond ring, encircled by a band of pure gold. "I love it, Lucy."
Our lips met almost instantly as a round of applause broke out from the table, as well as a distinctly audible "AWWWW" from Janet.
Now everything was perfect.
For you I'd wait till kingdom come
Until my day, my day is done
And say you'll come and set me free
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me
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Back at the house, later that night, Amy and I lay side by side on the bed, just gazing into each other's eyes. I extended a hand and cupped Amy's cheek. "I love you so much," I whispered softly but sincerely.
"Oh, Lucy, I love you just as much. I'm honored to be your fiancée."
"You're honored? I'm just glad you said yes. Believe it or not, even though I thought you'd say yes, there were a couple times when I just wasn't sure."
"There was only one answer I could ever give to you," Amy said, inching closer to me and wrapping her arms around me. With my hand on her cheek, I stroked her face affectionately before bringing my mouth to hers. The passion that followed was indescribable, like nothing before. Every intimate moment with Amy reinforced the fact that she was, in fact, the only one there had ever been for me.
My hand slid under her shirt and moved up, cupping a handful of cleavage. She followed suit, hands roaming over my stomach as well. We were definitely at least close to being ready. I began moving my hands lower.
Then the phone rang.
"FUCK! Every damn time!" I exclaimed, infuriated at the bad timing. "If this is Petrie, I'm just going to hang up."
I reached over to the phone, picked it up and brought it to my ear. "Lucy Reynolds—this had better be good!"
The voice that responded back wasn't Petrie's. No, it was a voice that made the blood run terrified from my face as I positively paled.
"Yesss, thisss isss good, Reynolds. You ssstill owe me that thirrrd favorrr."
It was the voice of a dead man.
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And so you see, I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you
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So, there's only one more chapter after this. Hope everyone has enjoyed this little story I've given you.
Dan