Chapter
22: Amongst The Ruins
Daniel and Shiri decided that Darren shouldn’t be alone for the rest of
the week. Daniel was sent to retrieve him from the condo. Just as he pulled into
the drive, he called Darren to make sure he was awake.
“Now what?” Darren answered angrily.
“Daz, have you been drinking?” Dan immediately asked.
“No,” Darren quickly replied. “Why makes you think that?”
“Because you’re very angry when you’re drunk. And don’t try to
fool me. I know you have some kind of hard liquor in you possession as we speak.
It’s a good thing I’m on my way up the stairs right now, or you’d drink
yourself to death if you had the opportunity,” Daniel reasoned, then knocked
on the door.
“Shit,” Darren answered as he went to get it.
“I was right. Give me that.” Daniel took the bottle of Vodka out of
Darren’s grasp and recapped it. “No more. You’re coming with me. Shiri
doesn’t want you staying here alone, so she’d made an extra bed out of the
couch for you to sleep on.”
“But I have to get my stuff,” Darren protested as he walked into his
bedroom and retrieved a backpack full of necessities. He walked back into the
living room. “Leonie called. She’s doing damage control.”
“Good, at least someone is impartial about all this. Makes it easier on
both of us. Did you make sure to tell her not to tell anyone about Shiri and
me?”
“Yeah, I made sure to. Don’t worry. Nobody knows, and nobody will
know.”
Daniel and Darren walked out of the condo and made their way back to
Daniel’s car. Soon they were on their way to Shiri’s. After arriving, Shiri
showed him to the couch and left him alone to adjust to his new surroundings.
“What happened out there? What took you so long?” Shiri asked Daniel
as he walked towards her.
“He was getting drunk, so I stopped him, that’s what happened,” he
answered holding out the Vodka bottle. “We’ve gotta lock this stuff up
before he tries again. I remember the last time this happened. He nearly killed
himself. That’s the last thing we want.”
Shiri took the bottle from Daniel’s grasp and headed towards the
bedroom. She had the perfect hiding place for the liquor. It was a small safe
beneath the bed that only she had access to. Daniel didn’t even know about it.
After locking up the bottle, she returned to the living room and sat down beside
Darren as he flipped through the channels.
“So, how are you?” she quietly asked.
“How do you think I am?” Darren retorted.
“Look, Daz, I’m sorry all this happened. I’d do anything to take it
back. Please, don’t try to take your anger out on everyone around you. I’m
just as shaken up as you are. I wish I could do something to make you see that
I’m in so much pain, but I know I can’t, so I’ll just keep saying I’m
sorry,” Shiri said as she stood up and began walking out of the room.
Darren looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes. He could see by the way she
walked that she was in more than just mental pain. It appeared to him that she
was having stomach pains. He stood up and walked over to her.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t be taking my anger out on everyone.
I’m sorry for blowing up at you like I did,” he told her.
“Thank you,” Shiri whispered as she winced in pain.
“Are you okay?” Darren asked.
“Yeah, just a little pain, that’s all,” she replied.
“Here, let me help you,” he said as he took her left arm and led her
back to the couch. Shiri removed her right hand from her stomach to reveal a
large bloodstain on her white tank top. “Shiri, you’re bleeding! Let me take
a look at that.”
Darren gently lifted her shirt to see she had torn open a few of the
stitches from her recent surgery. He stood up and ran to the kitchen.
Daniel sensed the distress in the air and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Shiri tore open some of her stitches. She’s bleeding badly. I think
you should take her to a doctor,” Darren answered as he took several
washcloths from the rack and headed back into the living room.
“I really need to start taking it easier. I’ve been doing so much
strenuous work on the show and at home, I knew this was going to happen. The
doctor even warned me about it. Why didn’t I just listen to him when he said I
should stay in bed?” Shiri said as Darren and Daniel walked into the room.
“Don’t worry about it,” Daniel replied as he sat down beside her
and stroked her forehead with the back of his hand while Darren worked to clean
up her torn stitches. “You have both Darren and me to help you.”
Shiri smiled. “It’s nice to have two hot guys taking care of my,”
she laughed.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Darren, wake up, you’ve got a phone call,” Shiri gently nudged him
awake as she handed him the phone. She limped back down the hall towards her
bedroom. Darren looked at the quartz clock beside the TV to find it was nearly
one in the morning.
“Hello?” he whispered in a hoarse voice.
“Daz, it’s Leonie. I got news from the record company that I thought
I should tell you now. I know it might be a little early out there, but this
can’t wait,” she urgently replied.
“What’s going on?” Darren asked, sensing the tension in her voice.
“You see, Columbia just found out the news about Chance. They know
you’re not doing so well, but they still think that you should hit the road as
soon as you can. They’re giving you until Monday to get over it, then
they’re sending you out. I know, you’re probably thinking this is not fair,
but I tried my best to get them to reconsider. They wanted you to leave for the
tour tomorrow, but I told them they’d lose their best performer if they even
dared to get you out there tomorrow. Reporters would slaughter you. I don’t
want to see you in anymore pain than you’re already in,” Leonie explained.
“Thank you,” he sleepily replied.
“Wait, there’s more,” she said. “No matter what I did, I
couldn’t get you out of doing interviews. The record company wanted as much
publicity as possible for the album, and they thought you doing more interviews
would help it sell better. I’m so sorry, Daz. I wanted to keep you away from
going through more than enough hell, but I failed, and I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay, Leonie. I understand. I just hope you’re around when
things get out of hand.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be around throughout the entire tour. Don’t
worry. ‘If you need to crash then crash and burn, you’re not alone,’”
she quoted. A slight smile appeared on Darren’s face. “Be good.”
“I will,” he replied. “Bye.”
“Sweet dreams,” Leonie hung up. Darren let his head drop to the
pillow and fell asleep again.
~~~~~~~~~~
Monday morning rolled around quickly as Darren shuttled between Shiri’s
apartment and the condo. He had most of his stuff packed and was ready for the
trip. Leonie and the bus would arrive in two hours, and he needed a way to fill
the time in between. He slipped out of the house and headed for the beach for
one last look at the ocean before he left.
“Where are you?” he whispered in hopes of his question reaching
Chance wherever she was. From behind him, another person plodded down the sand
towards him.
“Hey, Daz,” Shiri’s soft, soothing voice said as she walked up
beside him. He gave her a little wave then turned his attention back to the
ocean. “You’ll find her,” she added. “Someday. Who knows, she might even
come back on her own will. You just have to wait.”
Darren stared at her for a moment as he though. ‘Maybe she’s
right,’ he thought to himself.
“Daniel left,” Shiri continued. “He’s gonna be gone for a little
while recording his new group’s album. I’m gonna be stuck at home for a long
time without anything to do, and on top of everything, I won’t be able to film
on ‘Roswell’ until I get better. My life is so going down the toilet.”
“Why don’t you come with me?” Darren unthinkingly suggested.
“Nah, I don’t wanna impose anything on you. Besides, you probably
don’t have enough room on the bus for another person,” she said.
“We’ve got plenty of room on the bus. I mean, there are only five
people, and that thing fits almost ten. Come with us. Maybe you can help Leonie
keep me sane after all those interviews I’ll be doing,” he replied.
“Okay! That’ll be wonderful! I’d love to come,” Shiri answered in
an excited tone of voice. “At least I won’t be sitting on my ass for the
next few weeks. Thank you so much.” She ran back to the condo and hopped into
Daniel’s car only to speed off back to her place to pack what she could in the
next hour and a half.
Darren walked back to the condo and waited for her and Leonie to arrive
before he even dared to bring his bags downstairs. Shiri returned an hour later
with only one large suitcase and a small backpack. She threw her stuff onto the
curb and waited with Darren until the bus arrived. As soon as it pulled up to
the curb, Leonie stepped out and greeted them.
“Hey, Daz!” she exclaimed, giving him a tight hug. “So, who’s
this?”
“Leonie, this is Shiri, Dan’s wife. Shiri, this is Leonie, my
manager,” Darren introduced.
“Oh, my God! It’s so nice to finally meet you!” Leonie exclaimed as
she gave Shiri a hug. Shiri looked over at Darren as he gestured to her that
Leonie was a bit on the nutty side.
“I have to get my stuff,” Darren said as he walked up the stairs to
the condo. “I’ll be right back!” He returned a few minutes later carrying
to large, heavy suitcases and a duffel bag.
“Jeez, enough stuff?” Leonie asked.
“No, that’s just the half of it,” he replied. “The rest of it is
up my ass!”
Shiri began laughing. “Are you guys always this hostile towards each
other?” she questioned.
“Uh-oh, I think she just found out our secret to success,” Leonie
said to Darren.
“Think it’s time to kill her?” he replied.
“No, she’s too sweet, she’ll never tell.”
“You guys!” Shiri yelled.
“Seriously, we need to keep some level of silliness so that we don’t
crack by the time the tour is over,” Darren said as he climbed into the tour
bus.
“Yeah, otherwise we couldn’t stand each other,” Leonie whispered.
“Come on already!” Darren yelled from inside the bus. Shiri and
Leonie hopped in and they were off to their first gig, a spot on the Tonight
Show.
~~~~~~~~~~
New York six weeks later turned out to be one of the lowest points of the
tour. Darren had just finished taping the Late Show and was coming out of the
studio only to be led into a horde of reporters wanting to squeeze him for all
the information he could get. Making his way through the crowd, he finally
stumbled into the tour bus and headed for his bunk. Shiri saw him vacantly lie
down in his bunk and pull the curtain closed. Her mind began to process
everything she had seen in the last few days. Darren had been acting strange all
week. He just wasn’t his usual happy self. The jokes had diminished and so had
his good mood. He’d lie around most of the day sleeping or reading a book,
never conversing with anyone, mainly keeping to himself.
Shiri headed for Leonie’s bunk and pulled the curtain back. “I think
something’s wrong with Darren,” she said.
Leonie put down her fashion magazine and frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, he’s been acting strange all week. He doesn’t seem to be
himself. All of these interviews are getting to him. He needs to get away from
this. It might be killing him,” Shiri answered, her voice slowly rising, as
did her concern.
“I’ll go talk to him,” Leonie replied. She slipped out of her bunk
and walked towards Darren’s. It was then that she heard his muffled sobs.
Leonie pulled back the curtain and saw him holding a knife to his wrist.
“Darren,” she softly said trying to be as calm and in control as
possible. “Put the knife down.”
Darren shook his head as he shivered. “I can’t take it anymore. This
is driving me crazy. I can’t take answering all these questions anymore.
Can’t you see what it’s doing to me?” he finally answered in a shaky
voice.
Leonie cautiously got closer to him and took the hand he was holding the
knife with. “You don’t have to do anymore interviews. I’ll call the record
company and tell them they’re slowly killing you. The promo tour is over. You
can go home. I don’t want to see you end up dead any time soon,” she said.
She wiggled the knife out of his grasp and walked away with it only to return a
few minutes later. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?” Darren asked. He sounded like a frightened
child going to school for the first time. Leonie led him to the back of the bus
where there was a single couch.
“You can sleep here tonight,” she told him. “You need some more
space than that little bunk.” She grabbed a blanket from her bunk and wrapped
him in it. “Sleep tight,” she said, kissing his forehead.
“Night,” Darren managed to mumble as she walked away. When she was
gone, he sifted through his pocked to find the diamond engagement ring that
Chance had thrown at him. It sparkled in the twilight as he slowly rotated it
with his hand. “Please come back,” he whispered into the darkness.
Shiri quietly tiptoed into the room. “Daz,” she whispered, sitting
beside the couch.
“Yeah?” he replied.
“Are you okay? Do you wanna talk?” she asked.
For a moment, they sat in silence until he finally said, “Yeah.”
“Are you still thinking about Chance?”
Darren nodded slowly. Shiri’s hand gently lifted to his forehead and
began to stroke the hair away from his face. “I miss her so much,” he
whispered. “I want her back so badly. I want to know where she went. I want to
know if she still loves me.”
“Oh, Darren,” Shiri sighed. She bent over and kissed his forehead.
“She probably still loves you. She’s just scared of facing her future. Maybe
someday she’ll come back. I don’t know if and when, but she might. Don’t
worry about her. Just move on. You can’t remain in the past.”
“But I want to be with her. What if she’s stuck somewhere and can’t
move? What if she’s been kidnapped? What if she’s dead?” he asked.
“You would have felt it like Dan did when I was in that accident.
She’s fine as long as you haven’t felt any pain, unless it was the pain of a
broken heart. At least that tells you she’s still alive and thinking about
you,” Shiri explained.
“I haven’t felt it as much in the last few days as I’ve felt it
when she first left. What does that mean?”
“Well, maybe she’s moved on. Maybe she might be able to forgive you.
Maybe she might even be able to forgive me. Maybe she’s found someone else. I
don’t really know.”
Darren looked so hopeful, but as soon as Shiri mentioned that Chance
might have found someone else, his heart sank and he began to feel it break into
a thousand more pieces.
“Oh, Daz, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” Shiri
quickly apologized when she realized what she had done. “It just came out of
my mouth. I’m really sorry.”
Darren shook his head. “It’s okay. I have to think of all the
possibilities, no matter how painful they are,” he replied, tightening the
blanket around him.
“Now I feel so bad for even saying what I said. I’ll make it up to
you. How about breakfast tomorrow?” she asked.
“Breakfast would be nice,” Darren answered. “Even though I probably
won’t forgive you entirely for what you said,” he added with a smile.
“Daz!” Shiri blurted as she lightly punched him in the arm. “I’ll
see you at breakfast tomorrow, then. Sweet dreams.” She stood up and kissed
his forehead again, then went back to her own bunk for some well deserved sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks of therapy and antidepressants passed since Darren’s suicide
attempt. He was back home at the condo when Shiri got an unexpected call.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hey, sis,” Chance replied from the other end.
Shiri’s heart almost stopped. This had to be a cruel joke either Darren
or Daniel was playing on her. “Is it really you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Chance answered.
“Where have you been? Where are you right now? Are you coming home?”
Shiri’s questions came quickly.
“I’ve been traveling all over the world. I’m at LAX right now
waiting for a ride home. Is Darren at the condo?”
“Um… Yeah. Do you have any idea how much pain you’ve caused him?
He’s been completely strung out these last few weeks. He tried to kill himself
on the last day of the promo tour,” Shiri’s words became filled with spite
as she talked with her sister.
“Look, I’m calling to apologize for what I’ve done. I’m sorry for
not telling anyone where I went, but I’m not a little girl. I know full well
what I’m doing and I’m fully capable of being alone. I’ve done it for a
year and a half. I needed some time to think and clear my mind. Excuse me if I
caused so much shit to happen! How do you think I felt when I found out I was
adopted and my parents didn’t even tell me? I should have killed myself to
spare myself anymore pain in my life, but I chose not to because I knew I still
had the rest of my life ahead of me,” Chance exploded from the other end.
“I’m still expecting an apology from you for screwing up my life and causing
me to go through something worse than losing both my parents and late fiancé.”
Shiri stood by the kitchen table for what seemed like hours wondering how
she would respond. She had no idea what to say. Everything had just been turned
upside down. “I’m…sorry…Chance,” Shiri finally said. “I have to go.
Goodbye.” She hung up the phone before Chance could reply. Running out of the
house, she jumped into Daniel’s car and slammed it into gear. Her destination:
Darren’s place.
~~~~~~~~~~
‘I’m taking a walk on the beach. I’ll be back soon. Daz,’ read
the note on the table. Shiri put it down and ran outside to find him and tell
him Chance was back. She didn’t know whether to be excited or angry. All she
knew was that he had every right to know.
Shiri’s toes dug into the sand as she ran along the beach looking for
Darren. She knew he had to be around there somewhere. Her eyes scanned the
surrounding landscape looking for any signs of intelligent life. She could see
two sets of footprints that led down the beach towards the rocks and followed
them. Seconds later, she spotted Darren and Chance on one of the rocky crags
talking. Shiri stopped and listened.
“Darren!” Chance cried out. He sharply turned towards her with an
angry glare in his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Darren angrily asked. “I thought you had
left for good.”
“So did I,” Chance shyly replied as she made her way towards him.
“I realized I made a mistake by leaving. I guess I figured that out a little
too late in my trip. I can see you’re over me.”
Darren tossed the ring in his hand and said, “Maybe, maybe not.”
“It’s a simple, straight forward question. Are you or are you not
over me?” she asked.
There was a long pause. “I’m not over you,” he answered quietly,
his eyes falling away from her and to the ocean.
“Then let me come back to you, Darren. I love you. There’s nothing on
earth that can change that,” Chance said, her hand gently reaching over to his
cheek and moving his face so that she could look into his moist eyes. “I never
stopped loving you. I never stopped thinking about you during my trip. There
were times that I wanted to call, or even write to tell you about so many
things, but I kept myself closed off because I was afraid I’d end up doing
something I’d regret later on. And I did. I regret not talking to you and
telling you I missed you and that I wanted to be there with you, cheering you
on, telling you I loved you.”
As the sun began to set above their heads, Darren moved closer to the
clearly upset Chance and put his arm around her waist. “Don’t regret it.
I’m glad you didn’t call or write, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to make
such a moving speech,” he told her. Darren took her hand and placed the ring
back on her finger. “Will you still marry me even though I plotted against you
with Dan and Shiri?”
“Of course,” Chance whispered, placing a tender kiss on his waiting
lips.
Shiri stared in amazement. ‘Okay, what just happened?’ she kept
questioning herself. ‘Isn’t there supposed to be a really big fight?
Aren’t they supposed to stop talking to each other? Aren’t they supposed to
get back together after a few weeks?’ She paused to think of the answers.
‘Wait a minute, that already happened.’ She smiled and walked over to them.
“It’s so nice to see you two together again,” Shiri said.
“It’s so nice to see you again,” Chance replied, hopping out of
Darren’s arms and hugging her. “Sorry about the little explosion over the
phone. I got carried away.”
“So did I. I’m sorry too,” Shiri answered. They hugged again and
began to walk back to the condo. “Dan’s gonna be really surprised when he
find out that you’re back.”
“What’s he been up to, anyway?”
“Nothing much…”