Why Romeo Hates Juliet (28 page)

Romeo tenderly held Juliet’s hand as she slept cradled in the hospital bed. She’d been given a sedative in the emergency room after the doctors had examined her to make sure that she was fine and she’d been comfortably sleeping since.

Sara was reclining in a chair on the other side of Juliet’s bed and she’d been studying Romeo intently for the past hour. He hadn’t left her sister’s bedside for one second since she’d been brought into the room, and he’d insisted on staying with her until she awoke. Sara had caught him a few times wincing in pain as he massaged his injured shoulder and she’d admonished him to go get checked out downstairs in the emergency room. It was obvious to her that he’d hurt himself when he’d been performing CPR on her sister, and he needed to see a doctor too. But he’d stubbornly refused, saying he wasn’t leaving Juliet’s side until she woke up.

That had impressed Sara a lot. Anyone could see that Romeo Boyd, used car salesman truly loved his wife and was devastated by what had happened today. When Juliet had been in the emergency room, Romeo had comforted Sara outside, wrapping his arms around her and telling her to be strong, that Juliet would be all right and that he was sorry for what had happened. He’d told her he blamed himself, but Sara had told him to stop thinking like that. He wasn’t to blame at all. The amnesia hadn’t been his fault, and since he didn’t really know who Carrie Ann was or what the dynamics of all of the relationships in his life were, he was completely innocent. He’d said nothing after that and had grown very quiet, but she’d noticed his eyes becoming watery as he’d turned away from her. Sara had been impressed by that too. In fact, Romeo Boyd had grown leaps and bounds in stature in her eyes and she was beginning to see why Juliet had developed feelings for him. He seemed to love her sister very much, even if it was all based on illusion and confused memories.

Sara had learned from Tommy that it had been Carrie Ann who’d pushed her sister into the pool, but she hadn’t meant to hurt Juliet. It had been done out of spite and after she’d pushed her in, Carrie Ann had walked away thinking that Juliet could swim and get out on her own. Tommy had also told her that the Holl ywood blonde had gone into hysterics after the ambulance had left and she’d realized the extent of what she’d done. Nick had volunteered to take her back to their hotel and that’s where she was now. In the meantime, Romeo and Tommy had rushed to the hospital as soon as they were able to after Sara and Juliet had left by ambulance.

When the emergency vehicle had left Romeo’s property, the paparazzi, who had been stationed at the main exit to the highway, had followed in droves all the way to the hospital. This was big news… an ambulance leaving Romeo Boyd’s property yet again, and speculation had run rampant that a lover’s tiff had brewed and Juliet had shot the movie star one more time.

By the time Romeo and Tommy had arrived at the hospital, the paparazzi had already discovered that it was Juliet who’d been admitted and not Romeo, and they had crowded around the Escalade trying to get as many pictures of the grief-stricken A-list actor as they could. There had been such a feeding frenzy, that neither Romeo nor Tommy could get out of their truck and the hospital staff had had to call in the police for help with the mob scene outside.

When the police had finally been able to escort them in, Romeo had immediately rushed to Sara’s side and had stayed with her the entire time, lending support and comfort. And now he was here by her sister’s side, stroking her hand and intently waiting for her to wake up. He looked exhausted, Sara thought, as she looked him over, and the way he was awkwardly holding his injured shoulder told her that he was in pain too. But he wasn’t budging until her sister woke up and he’d made certain for himself that she’d be fine.

All of a sudden, Sara saw Juliet’s eyelids flutter open. She leapt out of her chair at the same time as Romeo bent over her sister’s prone body.

“Hey you,” Romeo whispered, as he gently brushed Juliet’s hair off of her forehead, “You gave us quite a scare.” Juliet gave a hint of a smile. “I - I scared - myself too,” she croaked out.

Sara grabbed her sister’s hand. “Sweetie - darling, how are you feeling?”

“Stop mothering me, Sara; I’m the big sister, remember?” she teased.

Sara gave a quick laugh. Juliet’s feistiness was a good sign that her sister was going to be all right and she was relieved to hear it.

Juliet’s eyes swiveled back to Romeo, whose own eyes were boring into hers with an intensity she’d never seen in them before. “You - you brought me back…” she whispered to him.

Relieved that Juliet’s beautiful eyes were full of life and shining back at him again, he nodded. “You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye to me, were you?” he gently teased her.

Juliet slowly shook her head from side to side. “Never,” she whispered emphatically.

“Glad to hear it.”

“You saved me, didn’t you?”

Romeo’s eyes lowered as guilt overcame him. He may have saved her, but then again, none of this would have happened if he hadn’t been lying to her about his amnesia. “We all had a hand in saving you,” he mumbled, half to himself.

At that point, Sara came closer. “Yes, Romeo saved you. He jumped into the pool and dragged you out and gave you CPR. He didn’t stop until you started reviving and the paramedics came. I think he hurt his shoulder doing all that, but he’s been too stubborn up until now to see a doctor about it.” She turned accusatory eyes at him.

“Sara, I don’t think Juliet needs to hear this now,” he frowned.

“I don’t care! It’s the truth and I think my sister needs to know it.”

Juliet turned to him. “Is this true? Did you really hurt your shoulder?”

“It’s nothing…”

“Romeo, I want you to go downstairs right now and get it checked out,” she commanded, as best she could in her still delicate state.

“I’m not leaving you until they tell me I can take you home.”

Juliet grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. “You don’t want me to upset myself by worrying about you, do you?”

“No, but…”

“Then go get it looked at, please, and then come back to me.” She smiled lovingly up at him and his eyes glistened back at her.

“Okay,” he nodded, knowing that she was right. He certainly didn’t want her to worry about him. He bent down then and kissed her on the forehead before turning to Sara. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Romeo let Juliet’s fingers slip through his and he moved to the door.

As Juliet watched him leave, she thought back to the day’s events. She remembered everything that had happened; how Carrie Ann had confronted her; how she herself had taunted the other girl; how she’d been pushed into the pool; how she had valiantly tried to keep her head above water; how she had failed; and how she’d finally admitted to herself that she, Juliet Soma, was in love with Romeo Boyd, just before she’d lost consciousness.

A part of her heart was encouraging her with hope - that maybe he did care for her a little - but her brain was screaming that she was crazy!

Romeo Boyd, the movie star wasn’t in love with her and once he regained his complete memory, he’d never want anything to do with her again. No, she would never admit her love to him! It was insane. She couldn’t even tell Sara. It was just too humiliating to be in love with someone who would never love you back, so she would just keep the secret to herself.

As the sisters watched Romeo close the door behind him as he left, Sara turned to her. “How are you really doing, sis?” she asked, her words laced with worry.

“I’m okay, Sara, honest.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

“Everything.”

“The police were here when you were sleeping. They’re investigating and they want to talk to you about what happened.”

“I slipped and fell in. It was an accident; that’s what happened.”

Sara frowned disapprovingly. “Juliet, come on. Why are you protecting that witch?”

“I’m not protecting her; I’m protecting Romeo.” Juliet watched as her sister’s eyebrows drew together with consternation. She continued. “Sara, if I tell the police the truth, they’ll press assault charges against Carrie Ann and the media will have a field day again. Romeo doesn’t need any more bad press, especially since he’s still dealing with his amnesia. It’s just better for everyone if we let this drop, okay?”

“Juliet, I don’t think…”

“Sara, please?”

Defeated, Sara sighed as she took in her sister’s pleading eyes. “Okay, fine! I’ll support you in this. As always, I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

“Thank you.”

Suddenly, Sara broke out in tears as she looked at Juliet lying in the hospital bed. “When I saw you like that by the pool… and it was all just like before…” she shook her head as if she was trying to knock the painful images out of there. She bent down, still crying, and hugged her sister. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you. I love you so much!”

Juliet’s eyes began to water too. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

Sara let go of her sister and moved away slightly to look into her eyes. “He loves you, Juliet; I saw it today.” But Juliet shook her head no. “The salesman loves his wife. The movie star doesn’t love me. We have to keep reminding ourselves of that, otherwise we can’t help him get better.”

“You’re wrong. What I saw him go through today - the pain, the worry, the gut-wrenching despair when he was trying to will you to live by the pool…” Sara shook her head from side to side, again trying to delete the awful images from her mind. “He may not know who he is, but he knows what he feels - and he’s in love with you.”

Juliet wasn’t buying it. Sara was just too emotional right now because of what had happened and she wasn’t thinking clearly. Once the day was over and they could all go home again, she’d see things in a different light. The real Romeo Boyd was NOT in love with the real Juliet Soma. It was all just a pipedream.

~ ~ ~

Romeo and Tommy were inside one of the emergency room cubicles waiting for Dr. Clayton to come and examine Romeo’s injured shoulder.

Tommy turned to his friend, “I just spoke to Nick. He’s finally got Carrie Ann calmed down. She’s talking about wanting to fly out of here as soon as possible to get back to ll.A.”

“She can fly to hell for all I care,” Romeo mumbled, getting upset all over again at the mere mention of his former girlfriend.

“Awww come on, Romeo, don’t be like that.”

“After what she did today, why should I give a damn? Juliet nearly died because of her. It was only a stroke of luck that we came back minutes after she’d just been pushed into the pool. If we’d stopped to take so much as a piss on the way back from my doctor’s appointment, Juliet would be dead right now… dead! And you expect me to feel sorry for Carrie Ann? It ain’t gonna happen, dude. In fact, I don’t ever want to see her again for as long as I live.”

Tommy backed off, surprised at the vehemence he heard in his friend’s voice. “Okay, bro, I understand. Carrie Ann will be on the next flight outta here; I’ll see to it.”

“Thanks, man.” Romeo massaged his injured shoulder again. Damn it, his injury was really bothering him now. He hoped it hadn’t gotten worse because he wanted to get well as soon as possible for his new plans with Juliet. He turned again to his friend. “Tommy, about my amnesia…” Tommy nodded. “No problem. We’ll just say you regained your memory in an instant - maybe say it was due to the stress of what happened today or something like that. Everybody’ll believe it.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant…” He stared hard at his friend, with a pleading look in his eyes as if he was asking for help.

Tommy, realizing what Romeo was inferring to, shook his head. “Oh no, Romeo - tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking?”

“Come on, Tommy. I just need a week with her, please.”

“No way! People are getting hurt because of your asinine, fake amnesia story and you’re telling me you want to keep it going for another week?

Are you nuts?”

“I love her,” Romeo stated simply and watched as his best friend’s eyes bugged out of his head.

“What?!” Tommy was incredulous. He knew Romeo had developed strong feelings for Juliet, but he’d never expected this. He was stunned.

Romeo nodded. “I’m in love with her, but the minute I tell her that I’m cured, she’ll go back to being the romance writer who hates me. She’ll move out of my house and who knows - she may even go back to Vancouver. She despises me, for chrissakes. But if I can just keep the amnesia story going for another week or a few more days even, maybe she can get to know me a little better and - and I can show her that I’m not the shit she thinks I am. I’ll prove it to her, I swear.”

Tommy looked his friend over. In all the time they’d known each other, he’d never seen Romeo desperate for a woman like he seemed to be over this one. And with all the girlfriends his friend had had in his Holl ywood life over the years, he’d never heard Romeo use the word ‘love’ with any of them. ‘Like’, yes; ‘lust, want, need, fun’ - yes, yes, yes. But ‘love’? No - he’d never heard Romeo Boyd use that word before. This was big.

He nodded his consent. “Okay, I’ll keep helping you - for one week only.” Romeo breathed a visible sigh of relief and Tommy continued, “But after the week’s up, you have to tell her that your memory is back and if you don’t, I will. I mean it, Romeo.” Relieved, Romeo patted his friend on the back. “Thanks, man. I knew I could count on you.”

~ ~ ~

In the end, the doctors insisted that Juliet stay overnight at the hospital so that they could monitor her in case there was any more water left in her lungs, which could prove dangerous. Romeo had immediately returned to her room with his shoulder in a sling after Dr Clayton had examined him. Yes - he had re-injured himself by performing the CPR on her, but the damage wasn’t too serious, only some strained muscles. His arm, though, would be immobile for the next few days and the doctor had demanded that he start taking the painkil ers again. Wanting to get better for her as quickly as possible, Romeo had readily taken the offered pills. He wanted to do whatever he had to do to get well so that he could take care of her instead of her having to take care of him.

Once back in Juliet’s hospital room, Romeo had been adamant about staying by her bedside as long as possible, and he and Sara had only left that night when Juliet had finally demanded that they leave, using the excuse that she needed to get some rest. He’d kissed her then, a caring, gentle good-night kiss, resting his lips on hers for a mill isecond too long, allowing his breath and soul to mingle with hers - the breath that had saved her life earlier in the day.

He pulled back a fraction from her and whispered, “Sleep dwel upon thine eyes; peace in thy breast! Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest!” As Juliet lay there transfixed by him, his eyes lingered on hers, as if telling her that he meant every word, and then he suddenly broke out into a wide smile. “See? I may not remember who I am, but I sure know my Shakespeare,” he quipped, before bending down to her ear and whispering, “And I also know that Romeo loves Juliet.” Pulling back, he gave her a quick peck on her cheek. “We’ll be back to pick you up tomorrow, but if you need anything, promise me you’ll call me no matter what time of the night it is? I mean it, Juliet.”

“I - I promise,” Juliet mumbled, finding it hard to even get those two words out as she lay there enthralled by his magnetic presence. She loved him so much that words weren’t even being formed in her brain to respond properly to him. She loved the way he looked, they way he spoke, the way he smelled, what he said, what he didn’t say, the way he touched her, the way he kissed her, the way he cared for her - she loved it all. She even loved all of that wild hair and scruffy beard of his, which only added to his hobo, down-in-the-skids style that she was finding irresistible. She didn’t even think of him as Romeo Boyd, big-time, Holl ywood movie star anymore. To Juliet, he was simply ‘her’ Romeo, car salesman and husband - and she was gaga over him.

~ ~ ~