by Bowman, Dara
Chapter Twenty-Four
Annie
8 Weeks Later...
I take one last look in the mirror and then make my way out of the dressing room. My makeup has been perfectly applied and my hair has been styled beautifully. I’m dressed in my requisite lacy black dress and heels, and I look the part of Diesel’s featured backup singer.
But I’m just a shell; empty inside.
I’m relieved that tonight is the last show. While I’ve loved being on tour with an amazing rock group, my personal life has been downright awful. I’ve felt broken since my dad died. It’s been eight weeks, and I still can’t believe he’s gone. I still can’t understand that I’m going to return home to LA and he won’t be there. Actually, I’ve been seriously debating leaving LA and moving to New York to be closer to my mom.
Going on tour with Diesel has opened countless doors for me, and I would have no problem finding another tour, so it really doesn’t matter where I live. I just can’t imagine going back to LA without Daddy being there. I promised Roxie that I would keep in touch, but I don’t know if I really will. I think it will be too painful now with Daddy gone, and the fact that I had been in love with Roxie’s son.
Yes, I realized after the fact that I was in love with Dom. And while my head understood why Dom couldn’t be at Daddy’s funeral, my heart just couldn’t accept it. After Dom flew back to Florida, I felt the change in me. Dom and I could never go back to what we had been. I felt like he had abandoned me when I needed him most.
Dom knew the damage when I returned, and to his credit, he tried his hardest to fix it. He filled my dressing room with flowers, begged and cried outside my door, hired cars that were going to whisk me away to fancy restaurants for private dinners, and sent lavish gifts onto the bus. But I didn’t want any of it. He called me again and again, leaving long rambling messages about how sorry he was, and how he knew he should have stuck around for me and his mom. But it was too little too late. The damage had been done.
I wanted to forgive Dom, honestly I did, because being with Dom made me feel beautiful and alive in a way I had never known. I know there is a good person inside of Dom, but somehow he just keeps screwing up and I can’t continue to be collateral damage.
After four or five weeks of begging for my forgiveness, Dom finally gave up. He still looks longingly across the stage at me, especially when we sing our song, but I barely notice now. I expected Dom to return to his old ways, but I haven’t seen him bring a girl around, or even look at another girl for that matter.
The guys in the band tried to talk to me too, but they quickly learned that it was hopeless. Nothing anyone could say could make me feel better. And even though I felt irrational, I couldn’t go back to Dom. I was too stubborn and too proud. I was still under contract to film the stupid video, which Dom had slipped into my contract months ago, but after that I never wanted to see him again. Everything was just too painful.
I enter the stage for our final show, and I see Dom in the lowered floor that will rise up to reveal him to the audience. He’s staring intently at me, but I focus my gaze on the curtain ahead.
The show flies by in record speed and I try to savor my last moments on stage, try to instill in my memory the way it feels to sing before a crowd and to remember the cheers washing over me. With a final bow, I exit the stage and make my way towards the dressing room. I sit at the mirror and stare at my reflection as I hear Diesel play their final encore.
“Annie! I need you!” Liz cries, rushing into the room, her voice excited and her cheeks flushed.
“Hmm?”
“Just come with me.’’ Her eyes are sparkling mischievously and I really am not in the mood for whatever she has planned.
“Liz,” I protest, but I follow her anyway as she drags me back towards the stage.
I see the band coming off the stage, and I glower at Liz because I really don’t want to run into Dom. I just want to pack up my things, and get back on the bus. I suddenly hear Dom’s voice booming out over the crowd and I wonder if this is something special that he does on the last show once the rest of the band has already left the stage.
“There’s someone very special to me on this tour, and you might have noticed her tonight. She was the knockout backup singer who sang with me on You Can’t Have It All.”
Oh. My. God.
The crowd goes wild.
I try to bolt, but Liz holds me firmly in place.
“Her name is Annie, and I love her. But I screwed up and I’ve tried again and again to win her back.”
“What the hell is he doing?” I hiss, balling my fists.
“She went through a really rough time on this tour, and I left her when she needed me most. It was shitty, and I know that now. I’m begging for her to forgive me because I can’t imagine my life without her.”
Liz starts dragging me out on stage.
“I am not going out there!”
“Yes, you are,” Liz argues. “He’s in love with you Annie. Go give the man a chance.”
Before I can argue further, I’m far enough out on the stage where the crowd can see me. They go wild, cheering for me and chanting my name. It’s surreal.
Dom’s face lights up when he sees me, and I let myself really see him for the first time in weeks. His face is just as gorgeously chiseled as I remember, framed by his thick, dark hair. He looks more tired than I’ve seen him, and I notice the dark purple circles under his eyes. How long had they been there? How had I not noticed how ragged he looked?
His brilliant green eyes are overflowing with love, and I’m frozen in place as I look at him. He moves slowly towards me, as if he’s afraid I might bolt at any second, which I’m still debating.
Dom gently takes my hands and pulls me out to the center of the stage.
“Annie Winter,” he says, and the crowd roars their approval. “I love you so much that it fucking hurts. I’m so, so sorry, baby. I promise you that I will spend every single day of my miserable existence trying to make it up to you, if you just give me one more chance.”
He goes on to say more, but he stops because the screaming crowd drowns him out. I look out at the audience, and I can see them smiling and laughing, calling out for me to forgive Dom.
And I do want to forgive Dom. Because my life has been empty without him. It’s worse than the hole Sid left on my heart. Life without Dom is like having no heart at all. I don’t feel anything. I’m not whole.
And even though I swore I wouldn’t do it, swore I would never give him another chance, I find myself nodding.
I need him back in my life, I need to feel love again.
“Yes, Dom. Let’s try again,” I whisper, my voice thick with emotion.
Dom lets out an enormous whoop, jumping high into the air, looking more joyful than I’ve ever seen him.
“You hear that San Francisco!” he yells, “She’s giving me another chance!”
And then I’m in his arms, our bodies press together, and our lips are moving in a frantic tangle. It’s been so long, too long, and we both need each other so desperately.
The crowd cheers, whistles and catcalls, but I don’t care because right now it’s only me and Dom, and I don’t think I’m ever going to let him go.
Dom finally pulls himself away, chuckling.
“Slow down, baby,” he whispers, “I don’t want to give the crowd that type of show.”
I laugh, embarrassed.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I love you so much, Annie. I’m sorry.”
“I know, Dom. I love you, too.”
And with that, Dom grasps my hand and turns back to the crowd.
“Thank you San Francisco!” he roars. “Now I’m going to take this beautiful lady out of here and show her just how much I love her!”
The crowd goes wild, and we both start laughing as we walk hand and hand offstage.
This is the first glimmer of happiness that I have allowed myself to feel in months.
Just
before we reach the mayhem waiting for us in the wings, Dom turns and whispers to me.
“What are you doing for the next three weeks?”
I give him a quizzical look.
“Nothing,” I admit. Until a few moments ago, the rest of my life was laying bleakly before me, wide open.
Dom winks. “You have plans now. You better pack yourself a suitcase full of tiny bikinis because we have a flight tomorrow afternoon.”
“What?” I squeal.
Dom shrugs. “I planned it months ago. I didn’t cancel because I kept hoping you’d find it in your heart to forgive me.”
I stop and cup Dom’s face in my hands, and lean up on my tiptoes.
“Dominic Dresden, I love you. I never stopped loving you.”
I realize that now. I never stopped loving Dom. It just took me a while to get my heart back in the right place. I have to mourn the loss of my father but I have to live the rest of my life eventually.
Dom squeezes my hand tighter, and we succumb to the hugs and cheers from our friends on tour.
Epilogue
Dom
I bury my toes in the powder white sand, and shade my eyes with my hand as I look towards the gently lapping blue waters.
“What are you doing?” Annie calls, laughing at me from the surf. “Get your butt in here!” She splashes in my direction.
“I’m enjoying the view!” I yell back, and she smirks before diving head first into the water. I look out at the lush mountains of a nearby island and then Annie resurfaces a few yards away.
How did I get so damn lucky?
She’s gorgeous as she emerges from the water, her long brown hair is slicked back with wetness and hangs down her back. She’s wearing a pink and teal bikini that leaves little to the imagination, and my mind wanders as I think of all the ways I’m going to get that suit off her later.
“Come on, pervert!” she teases, catching me watching her. “Come on in here instead of leering at me from the beach like a creeper!”
I laugh and jump up as I make my way towards the shore. I splash into the water, and Annie shrieks as I dive in towards her. The water is cool and refreshing, and I realize this trip is one of the best damn ideas I’ve ever had.
Annie tries to swim away from me, but I’m faster, and soon I’m pulling her wet body towards mine. She doesn’t resist, and she tastes like a mixture of salt and sand as I kiss her.
I can’t remember a time in my life when I have ever been happier. Annie has turned me into a total lovesick sap, a dude who is head over heels for his girl. I would do anything for this woman.
And as the sun beats down on our tanned bodies, I realize that I don’t give a shit. I don’t care what kind of sap I’ve turned into, because I’m a better person because of Annie, and I don’t want to spend another day of my life without her.
I vow to myself right then and there, that I will never lose Annie again. I will never spend another day without her. I’ve got all the time in the world, and I plan on spending my days showing Annie just how much I fucking love her.
The next question is, what kind of girl is she, circle-cut halo or solitaire?
THE END
