As usual, your reviews made me extremely happy. Thanks to my dear friend, Vodka Martini for beta-ing this one for me again.
Things to Come
SCUBA DIVING
30 minutes.
I sighed and trapped a small volume of salty afternoon air in my mouth, pushed it in into my upper gums (forming a bulge of air in my upper lip) and then played with it. I felt my lips dry off as I sigh again, much more forcibly this time.
I took a woman's watch out of my pant's pocket and looked at the time.
48 minutes.
I brought my left index finger to my left ear, irritated. I have very little time for tolerance. I have a very short string for waiting, and whoever will tell me right now that "Patience is a virtue" I am very much ready to smack that person in the face, violently.
1 hour, 12 minutes.
C'mon, c'mon.
I looked at the horizon. I rested my face to my cane's handle while I toss and turn in my wooden chair. I tapped my good foot in the wooden beach dock for Jet Ski motors.
Another five minutes of making me wait and you're dead.
I am fighting so much the urge to throw my Game Boy SP to the sea. It had ran out of battery an hour and twenty-eight minutes ago, and that was when I felt the desire to kill myself for putting myself in a situation wherein I would have to wait.
1 hour, 15 minutes.
I rubbed my face, stroked my hair then licked my lips in annoyance. I bit my lower lip, so hard that it almost bled.
I am going to kill you, Lisa.
"Hey!"
Finally.
"You made me wait." I said, not even bothering to mask the anger in my voice.
"Sorry," she said, obviously don't mean it.
"Lisa, you told me you'll only be down there in less than an hour! You're always like this, since you got me to agree to go with you when you have to dive."
She smiled broadly and climbed up to my floor, sat herself with her feet dangling to the sea. "You got to see what I saw!"
I did not answer. I drowned myself at the sight of her. She looked psyched. I watched her remove her oxygen tank and the rest of her scuba gears, leaving only a piece of swim wear tightly hugging her skin. Then she went to me and sat on my lap. "You're wet." I protested.
She smiled naughtily at me and said: "How did you know?" in a suggestive tone.
I smirked. "Oh, don't start with me. I'm in a vengeful mood."
She laughed softly in my ears. "You really got to see what I saw. It was heaven."
"Uh, how do you suggest I do that? In case you haven't noticed, I have a bum leg." I tapped her with my cane.
"I videotaped it!" She said, shaking with excitement in my arms. Then, pointed one of her fingers to the direction of where she left her scuba stuffs. I did not notice that there rest a digital video camera inside a transparent plastic case when she took it off. I turned my gaze back at her and she said proudly: "I took everything I saw. You'd love it!"
She said it like she was so sure I'd love what she took for me. Truth is that, the sea doesn't really interest me. She does.
I felt her as she nibbles my ear, I love everything she does.
"You love me?" She asked teasingly.
"Get off my lap." That's all that I said.
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SUNFLOWER FIELD
"Greg?"
"Yeah?"
"When I call, will you always answer me?"
I did not reply because in fact the answer I have in mind is another question that I know will just annoy her: What kind a stupid question was that?
"Greg?"
You should know by now what my answer would be. "Hmm?"
"Greg."
"Yeah?"
And they all turned their heads to the direction of the setting sun. Lisa rested her face on my back while I was trying to draw my full attention to driving my motorcycle bike despite of the sensation brought about by her body pressed against mine.
"Greg," her voice in its faintest whisper.
"Yeah?"
"Oh, Greg…"
You know you can trust me. "Mmmm?"
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CHATROOM
An instant messaging window popped up on my screen. It almost startled me to death when I learned who it was.
House'sLisa: Nice. You're downloading some porn again? You know its office hours. I don't want an issue to deal with. I'm also your boss, you know.
I allowed myself a good laugh. I know the ducklings on the other room must've gone gaga again because of my outburst.
MegatronWithACane: Nice user name, Cuddles!
Pop.
House'sLisa: You CHANGED my IM name again? How were you able to get my passwords? I never told you.
Pop.
House'sLisa: But, hey, I like it. I think I'll keep it. And yours is just---evil.
MegatronWithACane: I knew you'd say that. XD.
Limewire window popped up my screen saying that downloading is complete. I closed it and played the video only to confirm if it was a working file and not some virus data I accidentally fed my files with. I went back to talking to her after hearing her "buzz" at me.
MegatronWithACane: You can't be here because you have to stalk me for the clinic. I already got Cameron finish my clinic hours in advance, even before you knew it…Whoops!
Pop.
House'sLisa: Cameron once again took your clinic hours? She should be canonized.
MegatronWithACane: So, what made you come here?
Pop.
House'sLisa: Something just popped in my head. I thought maybe I should tell you. I have a meeting in ten minutes.
MegatronWithACane: What is it?
I waited then Pop.
House'sLisa: They say everyone has their own destiny.
MegatronWithACane: So?
Pop.
House'sLisa: I wish that you could be my destiny.
I froze. It felt like a thousand sensation envelopes every inch of my body.
MegatronWithACane: Me too.
Later after she sighed off and went to her meeting, I logged out then logged back in again only to change my user name permanently to Cuddy'sGreg.
I think I'll keep it as well.
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JEALOUSY
"Hey! House! What are you upset about?"
She managed to corner me as I limp my way out of the hospital. At the sight of her, I automatically reached out for my bottle of Vicodin.
I ignored her, opened the bottle and dry swallowed three pills. I know her eyes widen in contempt of the amount of narcotics I just took in.
I limped my way past her.
"Is it because he asked my help about a problem?"
I saw her with the new university male-professor who obviously have the hots for her having lunch in the cafeteria. I wouldn't have been mad only if she hadn't turned me down earlier when I asked her to have a lunch out with me, not telling me she has other plans.
So, I just sat there, watching them occasionally smile at each other while having some civil conversation. Then, he touched her hand. She tapped it lightly with her other hand and smiled sweetly at him.
Men can see things on other men only we know and understand.
Cuddy could sometimes be just so dense.
I made my painful way to the parking space of my motor bike. She followed me and looked at me disbelievingly. Of course, I wouldn't expect her to ride with me at the back of it. It's obvious that she wouldn't even dare because she is wearing her prettiest brown skirt, slightly above the knee.
By the way, that's exactly my point for bringing the bike today. I offered her my reserve helmet, and she took it, picking up the message with it.
"If that's what it is, I'm disappointed." She continued. "You can't stand me talking to anyone else, so if I married someone else you wouldn't last 5 minutes. Let alone 50 years."
I snapped. "What? You think you will live more than a hundred years, Cuddy?"
Slap!
My face was thrown hard to the side. It was the first time she slapped me. It was the first time she lost her control over her anger.
I watched her chest rise and fall along with forceful inhalation and exhalation. I was quiet, still in shock when she spoke.
"I am going to live for a long time, as long as I can, with you." Her voice was cracking. It was as if her knees are shaking too. Then, she turned her back at me but after remembering that she's still holding my helmet she spun around to face me and threw my helmet hard to the cemented floor.
I saw it break into pieces. I saw her leave.
"I'll just ask Wilson to drive me home," she did not even turned around to look at me. She just left.
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UNSTOPPABLE
I saw Cuddy preparing to leave. She took a load of paper works and placed it in her bag. It has been three days already since our big fight. Even at home, she doesn't speak to me. She is still upset.
She, of all people, should know that when I snap, I just snap. I don't really mean it.
Even at work, she dodged me quite well. Occasionally asking Wilson, some nurses even up to maintenance men to sending me messages to get my ass to the Clinic. I know it was a great opportunity for me to skip the clinic, but then the image of her when she slapped me haunted me. I actually hoped that when she saw me being a "good boy" she would come back to her senses and talk to me already.
I saw her going to the door. I picked up my cane as I stand up from my seat when I heard a familiar voice that stopped me.
"Let her live. Let my Angelica live."
I shook my head exasperatedly. Not now.
"Please. I'm rich. Try everything, I'll pay."
I turned around and recognized that it was the young guy who inquired about my patient that I transferred to Telemetry for cardiac monitoring.
"What about a transplant?"
I already considered that. "It's too late."
Cuddy walked past me, looked at me in the eye. I looked at her too. I thought she would approach me, but then she withdrew her gaze and went on with her stride. "That's life. Life is a bitch. Live with it. I have to go."
"Come on, Angel is… "
I saw Cuddy already out the door. I could only imagine that she's making her way to her car to go home alone. I have to hurry; I will ask her to give me a ride and pretend to be in unbearable pain. Unbearable enough that it wouldn't be safe for me to drive the bike. Perhaps her guilt will work well in my favor once again. "Let's just pick this conversation up tomorrow where we will leave it now---"
"She's only 19. I haven't even told her that I like her." He said, pleadingly.
"She can't afford to be upset or surprised. Love can kill her. If she gets too happy or excited, her heart could stop." I spoke as if I was talking to a slow learner.
"No!"
Greg.
I think I heard something in the wind call my name. I turned around and search for anyone. This can't happen; I don't want to re-assure another patient about his physical condition. Another one and I will go mental. I really have to go now.
Greg.
Who the hell is calling my name?
"No way! That's bullshit!"
Then an overwhelming sound was heard all over the place. It was the deafening sound of glass breaking and metal crashing on metal. It was so great that everyone in the lobby remained quiet for a slow four seconds.
Greg.
Everyone except for me moved towards the direction of the sound. I just stood there, frozen, digesting the moment. Trying to sink myself in a reality that seemed unreal, then I heard it again.
In the wind, it said: Greg…
No.
A realization unfolds itself to me. Lisa!
"WE NEED A STRETCHER OVER HERE!"
"OH GOD! CAR CRASH!"
"ALERT THE E.R. FOR ADMISSION OF A TRAUMA PATIENT COMING IN!"
I let go of my cane, allowed it to drop to the floor.
I took a step, towards Lisa's direction.
I let go of my pain. I never knew that there will be anything in this world that could free me from it. I seem to have ceased to exist.
Step, step, step: slowly.
"SOMEONE IS DEAD!"
I felt a high perfusion of blood making its way up my head. I have felt the release of hormones all over my body, each tissue answering the question of fight or flight.
I felt darkness covering me over the head like a piece of satin cloth. My body is fleeing: my temperature is lowering down, my pupils dilating, my respiration increasing.
I ran, fighting off all the reality there is in Physics and Biology, pushing off the obvious unfolding of physiological events that will prevail to occur if I wouldn't dare to fight it off.
I promised to come to her when she calls me.
I asked her to trust me.
I have to see her.
By the time I got there, I froze.
That's chapter 2. Tell me what you think, please review.
Btw, HouseAddiction and I will try to work on the next chapter of Beauty and the Snark, we are both hoping that it'll be out before her vacation.
---ang catalonan