Chapter 35

Katie climbed out of bed on Monday morning feeling worse than hung over. After a quick run and shower she went to the studio to work on a few sessions and get ready for her afternoon shoot. She felt like she was walking through quicksand.

Becca came by the studio after Katie's session and asked, "Hey, Kat. What do you say we grab some dinner?" She figured it might do Katie some good to be out among people instead of home alone. Despite the fact that Katie kept telling her she was dealing with it fine, Becca wasn't so sure. Her friend looked like death warmed over.

"OK. I would like that." Katie said, thinking it might be a good idea to distract herself for a while.

At the restaurant Katie still seemed very quiet and withdrawn. "Ok, Kat. Talk to me. Tell me what is going through your mind. You are a mess. I haven't seen you like this since your divorce. I know you say you're fine and that you two weren't together very long for this to be such a big deal. But clearly your actions speak louder than your words."

Katie shook her head, "There really isn't anything to tell. I mean, I told you what happened. What else is there to say?"

"I know you better than almost anyone, Kat. I can tell when there is more under the surface than you are letting on." Becca decided she would try and talk to Kat tonight, and would call Jon as well. Somehow she had to piece all of this together if she was going to help her friend. After a few failed attempts at getting more out of her, Becca decided to let it go. Maybe talking to Jon would piece the puzzle together a bit more.

After dinner as they walked to their cars, Becca gave Katie a hug and said, "Sweetie, call me if you need to talk, ok? I won't be in tomorrow since I have to do a shoot in Boston. But I'm worried about you. I'll give you a call tomorrow night if I don't hear from you, ok?"

"Thanks. I know you are. I'll be fine. I don't know, it has just thrown me into a funk. I can't even honestly explain why. I am booked solid all week, so I will keep busy. I will talk to you tomorrow." Katie said giving her friend a warm squeeze.

Back at home Katie flipped through the channels trying to find something to occupy her brain. She didn't understand why she was so miserable. She was still so angry at him that she couldn't imagine even trying to talk to him. The rational part of her brain kept telling her to get over it, they had not been seeing each other for that long. And why should she be so surprised that he expected her to do what he wanted? He was a freakin' rock star. Weren't they all conceited anyway? But her heart was heavy. The overwhelming sadness she felt was almost crippling as she tried to get through her day. It just didn't make sense to her that after such a short time she should be so broken up about this. She went into the kitchen to find some ice cream. Maybe stereotypical, but it was what she wanted right now. As she went back into the living room and sat down on the sofa, a familiar song come on the TV. Damn it, she thought, as she realized VH1 was on, and there before her eyes was the video for Bed of Roses. Mental note, she thought, as the tears started again, next time break up with someone who's face isn't plastered all over the place. She wanted to change the channel, but couldn't. The familiar butterflies fluttered around as she watched him belt out the words he had sung to her only a few short weeks ago. What an act he had put on, she thought. He was a better actor than she had given him credit for in all of his movies. He had made her feel important, like she was someone special. Then he had shown his true colors. That is probably what they all do, she thought, put on an act. She had thought he was different. Not affected like all the others seemed to be. Oh well, the joke was on her.

When Becca arrived back at her condo, she rummaged through her purse for Jon's number. She didn't pay any attention to the time, figuring he must be up anyway. Didn't they all stay up late? She punched the number into her phone and listened to the ring.

Jon, hearing his phone ring, jumped to grab it. He didn't recognize the number nor the name, Rebecca Wilson. Rebecca he thought. Oh, Becca!! Wondering if it was her, he answered. "Hello?"

Sure enough, it was her. Though not as cheery as usual. "Jon? This is Becca. Do you have a few minutes?"

Sitting up on the bed where he had been watching a football game, he replied, "Yeah, sure. Of course. What's up?" He had to admit he felt a bit nervous, pretty sure he was going to get chewed out by her, too.

"I just wanted to talk to you a little bit about what happened. I hope you don't mind?" She asked, but he could hear in her voice he didn't have much of a choice.

"No, not at all. Can you tell me though, is she ok?" He asked quietly.

"No, Jon. She isn't. I won't sugar coat this, she's miserable. That's why I'm calling you. I haven't seen her like this in years. Not since her divorce. I am very concerned about her and I can't really get to the bottom of it. So I figured maybe you could enlighten me a bit." Becca inquired.

Jon ran his hand through his hair. He hated hearing how she was hurting, knowing it was all his fault. "Yes, of course. I will tell you whatever I can. I have tried calling her, I want you to know. She won't take my calls." He said sadly.

A bit surprised to hear how down he sounded, she continued. "OK, well, thank you. I just want to know what happened. She says she is fine. But she is far from it. So I figured if I could hear your side of it, maybe something would make sense. What she is telling me does not jive with how she is acting."

Jon took a deep breath and started, thinking she might as well hear it all. "I will tell what I know and what I feel. Over the last couple of months life has taken a complete turn for me since meeting Katie. At first I was attracted and intrigued by her. She was beautiful and her spirit just drew me to her. I just couldn't get enough of her. It seemed like she felt the same way. As the weeks went on I realized more and more that I wanted her in my life long term. I wanted to see her more often. I thought about her all of the time, Becca. I mean all of the time." He paused for a moment. "This past weekend I decided we needed to figure out how to work this out, both being so busy and living in different cities, not to mention states. I will fully admit, I was a total and complete jerk. This is all my fault. We talked about getting together this month and she told me she couldn't get away at all. I lost all rational thought and didn't take her life into account. I was thinking only of myself and the fact that I was so busy. I was asking her to rearrange her life and business without thinking. And you know her, she didn't take kindly to that, we ended up arguing and she walked out. I tried to catch her and call to apologize, but it was too late. And now she won't talk to me. I know I was in the wrong and wish more than anything I could take it all back." He said as his voice got quiet.

Becca didn't know what to say at first. It was clear from his voice that he was hurting as much as Katie. At least some of it made sense now, she thought. He had done a jerky thing, but he wasn't a jerk. He was just a man. They sometimes had a way of sticking their foot in their mouth. It was also very clear that he cared a great deal about Katie, she thought.

"Well, she has a temper. I can tell you that." Becca informed him.

Jon had laughed quietly, "Yeah, I know."

"It sounds like you really care about her." she said.

"Since she walked out that door, Becca, I have come to realize something." Jon said, his voice quivering.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I love her." He stated, simply, not saying anything else.

Becca couldn't find the words at first. Loved her? Did she hear him right? That might really explain a lot about why Katie was so miserable. It was making a lot more sense now. Katie was most likely in denial about how much her feelings for him had grown.

"Wow, Jon. I had no idea." Becca said quietly.

"Neither did I until she walked out that door. I knew I cared about her deeply. But the minute she walked out that door, my heart was ripped out. I am not going to be some macho guy. Plain and simple, I love her. And I need to get her back. I need her." He whispered.

She could hear it in his voice, the pain he was feeling. Right then she decided that she would do whatever she could to help him get Katie back. Realizing how far things had gone with the two of them, in her heart, she believed Katie may be feeling the same thing and just not realize it.

"Ok, I first of all want to apologize for not giving you enough credit. I don't know how we will go about this, but if you are really serious about her, then I want to help you. Because that girl is miserable without you. I have frankly never seen her happier than she has been these last two months. Ever. Maybe after the birth of her kids. But even Kevin never made her face light up like you have." She stopped for a minute before going on. "But you have to realize something. She is stubborn. She is very proud. Talking to her like you did will not get you very far at all. So I might suggest you try a different approach next time." Becca warned. "That is if we can even convince her to talk to you. Because right now she may shoot you if you showed up at her front door. She is very angry and very hurt."

Jon nodded, "I realize that now. I knew that, but I now realize what is important to her. And I realize, more than anything, it is important to me as well. Thank you. I really thought you were going to rip me a new one." He laughed.

"I was ready to if I felt the need." Becca admitted.

"Fair enough." Jon chuckled. "Now what do I do? I assume you must know what makes her tick almost as well as anyone."

"Yeah, I would say I do. Even more than she does sometimes." Becca admitted. "First off all, I would leave her alone for a few days. Maybe leave her one more message, but I guarantee she won't talk to you yet. I will keep my eye on her and talk to her. I am not going to tell her I talked to you, because that will just make her more angry right now. I would say lay low for a few days and let me think on it. A lot is going to depend on how she is over the next few days. Her birthday is coming up in a few weeks. Maybe we can do something around that." Becca said thoughtfully.

"That sounds about as good as anything." Jon said, "I am going to need all the help I can get."

"Yep, you are. She is a tough nut to crack at times." Becca laughed. "I will be in touch."

"Thank you, Becca. I really mean that." Jon said. "I will be waiting. Night." He closed his phone, feeling a bit more positive than he had in a while.

Chapter 36