Why Romeo Hates Juliet (9 page)

Romeo had heard it all. So, the big bitch had played him! It had all been an act, the crying, the little-girl-lost look, the tears on her cheeks. It was all fake and he’d fall en for it. He, an A-list actor who’d been in the business for over ten years and had acted opposite Oscar winning superstars, had been fooled by an amateur’s performance. When he’d seen her crying, his knees had buckled with compassion for her and he’d had to grab onto the cell bars for support. What a complete and total idiot he’d been!

Suddenly, as the anger mixed in with the bile rising in his throat, Romeo went on pure instinct and like an animal, he let out a primal scream and lunged towards her. But one of the officers grabbed him and in one second flat, he was down on the ground with another three cops on top of him, restraining him.

When Romeo screamed, Sara had pulled her sister out of the way. Juliet, regaining her balance, turned to stare at Romeo who was now prone on the ground. His face was twisted in a mask of pain, he was being held down and the sight hit her with full force. Her heart squeezed in anguish for him and his pain suddenly became hers. Her brain began screaming out the words ‘his back - please - don’t hurt him - please’, but her vocal cords were paralyzed and all she could do was whisper out his name, “Romeo.” Her body moved towards him of its own volition but Sara held her back.

“Come on, Juliet, come on. Let’s go home,” Sara instructed, as she pulled her big sister towards the exit and to safety.

still shocked by what had just happened, Juliet let herself be led out but she kept turning back to Romeo’s sprawled form on the floor as waves of worry for him assailed her.

“You’re the biggest bitch I’ve ever met in my life, Juliet,” Romeo suddenly screamed out at her, as the officers kept holding him down. “You hear me, Juliet? The biggest bitch ever!”

On hearing his nasty words, the feelings of concern that Juliet had been feeling for him vanished. If he was calling her names again, then he wasn’t hurt! In fact, he was probably playing up the sore back thing for sympathy anyway and she, like a fool, had fall en for it. She had actually felt sick to her stomach at seeing him like that on the ground and her heart had gone out to him. What a fool she’d been!

“You’re a big bitch!” Romeo kept screaming out and his words reverberated off the walls.

Juliet covered her ears with her hands, trying to block out his continued ranting as Faith and her sister ushered her outside.

No, he wasn’t hurt, Juliet fumed to herself. And besides - she wasn’t a big bitch, she just wasn’t!

~ ~ ~

“I’m not a big bitch. I’m nice; I’m really very nice,” Juliet pouted.

Sara threw her hands up in the air in frustration. “Alright, already! That’s the fifteenth time tonight that you’ve said that! Why do you care what this guy called you?” she shouted, as she studied her sister who was curled up in their living room armchair, sipping her mint tea.

They had arrived home from the police station about a half hour ago and Juliet had just finished regaling her with all the details of how she had landed in jail.

Juliet was defensive. “I don’t care what he thinks. I’m just making conversation. Can’t I make conversation?”

“So, he called you a big bitch, so what? How many names did you call him tonight?” Her big sister let out a sudden giggle. “I didn’t call him any names. I simply used a few choice words to describe his flawed character and poor hygiene habits, that’s all.”

Sara let out a chortle. “That’s a new one!”

“And why are you taking his side, anyway? I was the one who was wrongly accused here. He lied about me.”

“But he did drop the charges.”

“So?”

“So… maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all. Maybe we should give him another chance?” Juliet was aghast. “What? Are you crazy? Didn’t you see the way he nearly attacked me - and then called me a big bitch, when I’d done nothing wrong?”

Exasperated, Sara stood up from the couch. “Okay, that’s now the sixteenth time you’ve said that tonight! Why are you letting this guy get to you?”

“He’s not ‘getting to me’, Sara, really! In fact, I can forget all about him, like that.” She snapped her fingers to make her point. “See, I can’t even remember his name anymore.”

Sara studied her sister with curiosity. She’d never seen a man make Juliet this crazy before and she wondered what this was all about. “Well, I’m glad you’ve forgotten who he is, because now we can stop talking about him and I can get some sleep.” She walked to the stairs and started climbing.

Juliet mindlessly dropped her gaze to the teacup in her hand. “I’m not a big bitch,” she mumbled.

“That’s number seventeen,” Sara shouted from the top stair.

Juliet rolled her eyes. Sara just didn’t understand. There was just something about Romeo - oops, she had meant to say, ‘the jerk’ - that just got on her last, raw nerve. Well, at least for tonight he was behind bars where he belonged and she would sleep like a newborn baby.

But she didn’t sleep like a baby. All night long, she kept tossing and turning, dreaming about him. She kept seeing his piercing blue eyes when they’d been staring deep into her soul as she’d helped him to the couch; and when they had been crinkling at the corners when he’d smiled at her; and when he’d given her that frozen glare when he’d been arrested and he’d kept saying, “I’m not like him, I’m not like him”; and then, she found herself back behind bars and he was pleading with her, “Don’t cry, Juliet,” over and over again.

One dream followed another and then they all blended together, and he was in all of them and so was she. And then suddenly, she saw the both of them dressed in mediaeval garb standing before an altar inside an old English Church. A minister was before them and Romeo turned to the man, boldly announcing,

“By holy marriage: when, and where, and how,

We met, we woo’d and made exchange of vow,

I’ll tell thee as we pass but this I pray,

That thou consent to marry us to-day.”

With a loud gasp, Juliet woke up and jolted upright out of bed. She placed her hand over her chest. She could feel her heart racing a mile a minute and she was breathing rapidly as if she’d just run a marathon. Turning towards the windows, she could see the sun streaming through the curtains and thanked God that the morning had finally come so that she didn’t have to go back to sleep again.

After getting up and showering, Juliet went downstairs and decided to have her coffee in the backyard. Sara whizzed by her on her way to the ocean for a swim, and Juliet, with mug in hand, walked along the sand and watched her sister slicing through the calm, blue waters. She still was deathly afraid of the water, no matter how beautiful and inviting it looked, and kept a fair distance from the shoreline.

As she let her feet sink into the warm sand, her eyes, of their own volition, kept darting towards Romeo’s house. All was quiet over there and all their blinds were shut, with not a sign of movement anywhere. The two black SUVs were parked out front, so obviously someone was home, but where were they, she wondered? By this time of morning, the music was usually blaring and they would be lounging and drinking by the pool.

Her thoughts suddenly turned to him. Had he really spent the night in jail and was he still there or had they released him last night? And what would he say to her when they’d finally meet up again? Her thoughts rewound back to the scene at the police station when, after realizing how she’d tricked him, he’d let out that primal scream and then lunged at her before he’d been stopped by the officers. Juliet’s heart suddenly skipped a beat and a shiver went up her spine. Would he finish what he’d started when he saw her again?

Returning to the beach house, Juliet approached her writing desk and turned on her computer. Positioning her fingers over the keys, she waited for the music next door to start blaring again but nothing happened. There was only an ominous silence. Breathing a sigh of relief, she mumbled a “finally” to herself before she started typing away.

For the rest of the day, Juliet was able to work on her book. Around mid-day, she got up from her desk for a break and went outside for a breath of fresh air. She noticed that both black SUVs next door had gone and a taxi was there waiting with its motor running. She then saw the red-haired creep, who’d insulted Sara the day before and one of the girls walk out of the house and both were carrying suitcases. They got in the cab and left. Now that was interesting, she thought.

The rest of the day passed without incident and later on that night, Juliet noticed that the two SUVs were back in the driveway and the lights were on in the house. But no one came outside and she didn’t see any of them anywhere. Had the big jerk finally gotten out of jail or was he still there behind bars with that cheap bathrobe on? And had his back pain subsided and his eye re-opened yet? The little voice inside her head kept hammering away with all these questions about him and she just couldn’t make it stop. But why?

~ ~ ~

The next day, Sara announced that today she was going to force Juliet to take time off from writing and together, they’d explore the wonders of beautiful Prince Edward Island. After all, the only sightseeing they’d done so far was the inside of the Cavendish Police Station. Juliet had put up a token resistance at first but had finally caved in the end. She really did want to see more of the island. So they drove off early in the morning, with a guide book in hand and a thermos full of mint tea.

As Juliet had gotten into their car, her eyes had quickly scanned their neighbor’s property for any signs of activity but there were none. Was he home yet, she wondered? A flicker of apprehension at seeing him again coursed through her and her heart skipped a beat.

The first stop on their agenda was the Anne of Green Gables House in Cavendish, a well-preserved gabled house which was the inspiration for the series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908. They then drove to North Rustico, a genuine fishing village where they stopped for a delicious lobster and seafood lunch before heading to the island’s capital city of Charlottetown. Here, they spent an afternoon of retail therapy, wandering the arts and crafts shops that abounded along its avenues. Sara bought some handmade soaps as gifts for some of her fell ow teachers back in Vancouver and Juliet purchased a handcrafted wooden bowl as a thank you to Sara’s in-laws for allowing them to enjoy their beach house for the summer.

Around 6 p.m., the girls were on their way back home when they decided to stop off at The Cavendish General Store to say hello to Faith and pick up a few groceries. The shop was a small ‘mom & pop’ type-of-establishment housed in an old, A-frame, clapboard house that had once been the local post office in the early 1900’s. The store portion of the home was at the very front of the building, and the back section and the upstairs were Faith’s personal residence where she lived with her family. Faith, along with her husband Brad and their two small children, had owned it for five years.

On entering the store, Juliet and Sara were shocked to see a frazzled Faith suddenly come running up to them.

“Where have you two been?” she cried. “I’ve been calling your house all day leaving messages and I don’t have your cell numbers, so I couldn’t call you there. Where were you?”

The sisters were taken aback by Faith’s stressed-out, anxious appearance. “My God, Faith, has something happened to Brad or the kids?” a worried Juliet asked.

Speechless, Faith shook her head ‘no’, then quickly went behind her main counter and pulled out a newspaper. She held the front page up for the girls to see. “Look!” she shouted. The newspaper was The Cavendish Gazette, a daily paper which was distributed throughout the area.

Juliet and Sara both gasped in unison because there on the front page was a huge, blown up photo of Romeo’s mug shot. His unmanageable hair looked wilder than ever, his white bathrobe was disheveled and barely covering his upper chest, his black eye looked the color of charcoal and was completely shut, and his other eye was defiantly staring back at the police camera.

Juliet felt her heart leap out of her chest at the sight of him and she took the newspaper from Faith’s hands and began reading the large headline caption above the picture. “Action Star Romeo Boyd Busted,” she read aloud. Her mouth suddenly dropped open and she looked up to find Faith and Sara both intensely staring back at her waiting for her reaction. She shook her head from side to side, “No, it can’t be; this isn’t true,” she whispered. “How can that caveman be Romeo Boyd, the movie star? Romeo Boyd always wears his hair in a buzz cut and he’s always clean shaven in all of his films. There must be some mistake.” She kept shaking her head refusing to believe what was blatantly staring back at her on that newspaper page.

Faith put a comforting arm around Juliet’s shoulders, concern for her friend etched on her face. “It’s true, Juliet; it’s really him. Apparently, he’s here on vacation and I spoke to Tim Hobbs, remember our lawyer from last night? He had it confirmed from his police friends down at the station.

It’s him; it’s Romeo Boyd.”

Sara grabbed the newspaper out of her sister’s shaking hands and began reading the article that went with the photo. “Holl ywood star, Romeo Boyd was arrested Tuesday night for drug possession. It’s been confirmed that he’s been vacationing privately at his home on the island for the past few days and the arrest for marijuana possession happened at his home after 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday. He was also initially charged with resisting arrest but those charges were later dropped. Reports speculate that a mysterious woman was also arrested with him but charges were never pressed and she was later released.” Sara looked up at her sister’s shocked face. “That’s you! You’re the mystery woman!” Juliet refused to believe it. “No, it’s not true. Besides that’s just a small town newspaper. You can’t believe everything they print.”

“It’s hit the national papers and news of his arrest is all over the internet too. Believe it, it’s him,” Faith revealed.

A wave of shock ran through Juliet and she stared at the other two women blankly. “No, the Romeo living next door doesn’t look anything like Boyd. And he’s a big liar anyway. Look how he lied about me assaulting him. He probably gave them a false name down at the station and made up the whole story to get his picture in the paper.”

Faith nodded. “Ladies, come with me. I’ve got one of his movies cued up on the DVD player.” She turned to Sara and gave her a wink. “I’ve been watching it all afternoon.”

Together, Faith and Sara dragged a reluctant Juliet through the store and into the back portion of the house where the homey, country-style living room was situated. Plopping a dazed Juliet onto the couch, the other girls took seats on either side of her before Faith pressed the play button on the remote.

The first thing Juliet saw on the TV screen were blue eyes - intense, hypnotizing, beautiful blue eyes - and they were in the face of handsome, Romeo Boyd, star of the spy drama called One for the Road. He was clean shaven and his hair was cropped very close to his head. In the scene they were watching, he was in bed naked and making love to the heroine of the piece, a sultry red-haired actress known for her erotic films.

Juliet turned to her friend and frowned. “This is the scene you pick to show me?” Faith giggled, “I’m married to a nice but boring guy, what else am I going to watch?” Suddenly, Romeo Boyd began to speak in the film and Juliet gasped, her stunned eyes swiveling back to the screen. “Oh my God, that’s his voice,” she choked out. “And those blue eyes - it’s him, it’s really him! It’s Romeo Boyd!” Shaken, she lapsed into an almost catatonic state.

Faith and Sara turned to each other and then launched themselves off the couch, jumping up and down, squealing in delight.

“It’s Romeo Boyd! It’s Romeo Boyd! It’s Romeo Boyd”, they were chanting, as they leapt around the coffee table together. They were both thrilled to have a hunky, big-time, Holl ywood superstar living in their neck of the woods, and next door to the girls too? How lucky was that?

Meanwhile, Juliet was still speechless. How could the Neanderthal next door be Romeo Boyd? Sure, she’d seen some of his films over the years but never having been a fan of action films, she hadn’t watched that many of them and hadn’t really paid attention to the forgettable ones she had watched. Yes - she’d also seen his paparazzi photos in some of the celebrity gossip magazines she’d bought in the past but to her he had been another spoiled actor to read about for a few seconds before turning the page and after that it was out of sight out of mind. She’d never fantasized about him or drooled over him, as many women around the world did but simply had taken him for what he was - another Holl ywood handsome brat actor with a fantastically ripped body making millions for the studios in all of the forgettable action movies he starred in. And now, he was living next door and hated her guts. Did this change anything for her? No, it didn’t. Movie star? She didn’t care if he was next in line for the throne of England. He was still scum.

Sara and Faith were still dancing around the living room with giddiness. Juliet studied their excited faces before reaching for the remote control and clicking the screen image of Romeo Boyd’s perfect, naked body off. “I’m going home to Vancouver,” she pronounced loudly, throwing both girls a sour look.

Sara and Faith suddenly stopped their happy dance and stood stock still as they gawked at her. “What? You can’t do that!” her little sister whined.

“Watch me! I’ve got a deadline to meet for my book and I’m sick of him and his baby blue eyes and his ripped abs and his broad shoulders and

- and his stupid, lopsided smile. I’m going home tomorrow!” she said with the face of a little girl who was refusing to wear her best dress to church.

Sara wagged a stern finger at her. “No, we’re not! We’re staying and we’re getting Romeo Boyd’s autograph and we’re going to get to know him and we’re going to kiss his chiseled, rock-hard, movie star ass because this is the closest I’ll ever get to Holl ywood, got it?” This was Sara’s chance to have a little bit of excitement in her boring life and she wasn’t going to let her sister’s temper tantrum ruin it for her.

Besides, from what Juliet had told her, she could see that her sister was partly at fault for what had happened between her and the movie star. And she knew the way her sibling was when challenged. She was strong, but stubborn; and instead of diffusing the flames, she’d be apt to throw more gasoline on the fire, causing a little incident to turn into a catastrophe. No - Juliet wasn’t going to ruin it for her this time. Sara always let her big sis take the lead in all things - usually - but not this time. She was putting her foot down.

Juliet huffed at her sister’s remarks before petulantly decreeing again, “No, I’m leaving and you can’t stop me. You can stay if you want to, Sara, but I’m gone.”

“Juliet, you know I’m not going to stay here by myself if you leave. No, you’re staying and we’re going to go over to Romeo Boyd’s house together and try to patch things up between us.”

“What? You’re joking!”

“No, I’m not! We’ll go talk to them and see if we can come to some agreement about them keeping their partying down to a decent level so that you can write. Maybe we can work out some sort of schedule.”

“No way!”

“Yes, way! Now, if they aren’t nice about it and Romeo Boyd gives us a hard time, then fine, we’ll do what you want and fly home. But if they agree to be neighborly, then we stay. And you don’t have to deal with them if you don’t want to. I can be friends with them, but you don’t have to. You just work on your book and they won’t bother you. How does that sound?”

Juliet turned from her sister’s expectant face to Faith’s, who had been hanging on every word. Not having the heart to say no to either one, she admitted defeat. “All right, fine - for now.” Both girls squealed with joy and Juliet sternly continued, “But, if I don’t get to have some quiet during the day to write, then the deal is off and we’re going home immediately, got it Sara?”

“Got it,” her sister quickly agreed, bending down to give Juliet a hug. “You’re the best, sis.” Juliet was not thrilled, but she had a feeling that Mr. Holl ywood would continue to play his music all day long and she and Sara would be on that plane going home by this time tomorrow night anyway.

An excited Sara turned to Faith. “Okay, how do we break the ice with them?” she asked her friend.

“I know. How about taking them one of my famous Wild Huckleberry Pies that I sell in the store? Just pop on over there with one of those babies and tell them you all got off on the wrong footing and you now want to start over. The pie will be a kind of peace offering,” Faith explained.

“Great idea,” Sara nodded, before turning to her sister. “Juliet, what do you think?” Juliet rolled her eyes at their stupid suggestion. A homemade pie indeed! Those degenerates weren’t going to appreciate that. “Maybe if you make it 40 proof,” she retorted.

~ ~ ~