FicWad

Bert reached out and took her hand in his. “Livie, I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t know. I thought you were trying to get him away from Monica…” His words trailed off as Liv spoke.
“It’s okay, I understand. You just did what you thought was the right thing to do for Gee and Monica.”
“But why didn’t you tell me?” The hurt in his voice was clear.
Liv smiled sadly, “Cause I didn’t want this to happen. I didn’t want to end up some pathetic woman looking like shit and dying in front of people.”
“Liv” Bert squeezed her hand, “You are still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
Liv closed her eyes, “There are things about my past that you might want to hear. Monica seems to think that they are the reason I turned into the hateful, vindictive woman I am. But I can’t tell the story again.” She took a deep breath, “When I’m gone she can tell you.”
“Don’t say that.” Bert sat up, “Just don’t fucking say that.”
“But I will be gone soon. It would be stupid to pretend that I’m not dying.”
Bert shook his head, “I don’t want you to go.” His eyes began to tear.
Liv pulled her hand from his and stroked is face, “I wish with all my heart I could have been the woman you wanted me to be.”
“You mean the woman who I wanted to love me?” He whispered.
Liv blinked back tears, “Yeah, I wish I could have loved you like you deserve to be loved.”
“But it was always, Gee.” Bert said, “I knew it but it never kept me from hoping.”
Liv turned away. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I caused you pain.” She took a deep breath, “I’m sorry for so many fucking things.”
Bert stood up, gently he lifted her then sat on the bed, holding her in his arms. “It doesn’t matter now. Liv please let me stay with you.”
“Why?” She asked, tears streaming down her face.
“Cause I still love you Livie. I still love you.”

Kara sat down on her bed and picked up her cell phone. She turned it back on and saw all the missed calls. She could see that Bob had tried to call her up until it was time for the band to take the stage. What was she going to tell him? After his last call she had promised to call him back but when Liv had called out to her she had gone to find her once again trying to get out of bed on her own. Kara had helped her to the bathroom but it had been a struggle. Once she had gotten Liv back into bed she had remembered that she needed to call him back but she had known her voice would have given her away. Seeing Liv’s tears of frustration had made it difficult to deal with her own emotions. So when he had called back she had turned off her phone. Now sitting alone in the dark she knew he would be returning to the hotel soon and he would call. What would she tell him?
“Can I come in?” Monica stood in the doorway her silhouette outlined by the hall light.
“Sure” Kara said softly.
“They’re still talking.” Monica said moving slowly into the room.
“I feel sorry for him.” Kara said jiggling her phone nervously. “I could see how upset he is.”
“He’s always loved her.” Monica took a seat on the bed next to her daughter. “Bob called yet?”
“No” Kara answered, “Not yet.”
“What’s wrong?”
Kara sighed, “He called earlier, before the concert but I had to hang up cause Liv needed me. When he tried to call back I didn’t answer.”
Monica understood, “I’m sorry. I know how difficult this is for you.”
“Understatement.” Kara said, “I just gotta get ready to pretend nothings wrong when he calls.”
“Kara I want to thank you for all you’ve been doing.”
“Stop” Kara held up her hand, “Just stop. I’m just helping you because I think it’s the right thing to do.” She added in a whisper, “And because I really like Liv.”
“I do too.” Monica said softly.
The cell phone in Kara’s hand rang causing both of them to flinch, “Showtime.” Kara said. “I’ll see you in the morning. I’m gonna talk to Bob then go to sleep.”
“It’s just after seven.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’m tired.” Kara said, “Night Mom.”
Monica knew she was being dismissed. She kissed Kara’s cheek. “Night Honey.” She walked out of the room and decided to go downstairs to wait for Gee’s call. If Bob was back at the hotel that meant that she would be getting a call soon.

Monica’s hands shook as she sat the teacup down on the table. She was sitting out on the deck waiting for Gerard to call. The night air was getting slightly chilly and she was about to go inside to grab a jacket when her phone rang. “Hey, Gee.” She answered
“Oh man, what a show.” He said walking over to his bed and sitting down, “I’m exhausted.”
“You sound like it.” She could hear the exhaustion in his voice.
“Yeah, I just got back to the room. I was talking to Ray and Matt. So where are you?”
Monica smiled. She remembered how he said he liked to know where she was so he could picture it in his mind while they talked. “Out on the deck just sitting at the table. You know your grill looks pretty lonely. You need to get home and grill us some steaks.”
“Fuck, that sounds good.” He closed his eyes, “So how’s the gazebo look? Shit, I wish I’d gotten to fix it before I left.”
“Hey, all you have left to do it the shingles.” She reminded him. “And it looks beautiful.”
“You are gonna look beautiful standing there in your wedding dress. I can just picture how it’s gonna be. Our friends there, the sun will shine, it’s gonna be fucking awesome.”
Monica gave a slight laugh. “Gee, it will be wonderful even if everything doesn’t go just as planned.”
He frowned, “No, I want it to be perfect.”
“We’ll already be married.” She reminded him.
“Yeah.” He smiled thinking about Vegas. “Monica, I just can’t imagine how my life would have turned out if I hadn’t met you. I really didn’t think I would ever love anyone again.”
Monica knew at once he was thinking about how Liv had broken his heart. She closed her eyes trying not to think about the woman upstairs. “Gee, I love you but you sound so tired. Get some sleep.”
“Yeah, I am fucking tired.” He agreed. “I’ll call you tomorrow. We’ve gotta catch a fucking ridiculously early flight.”
“Sounds good. Call me when you can.”
“I will Honey. Love you.”
Monica wiped away a stray tear, “Love you too.” She disconnected then looked up to see Bert standing at the door. He walked out and took the chair across from hers. “Gee?”
“Yeah, he just got back to the hotel after the concert.”
Bert nodded, “The time difference is weird isn’t it?”
Monica nodded, “Yeah, I always stop and try to think what time of day it is for him.”
Bert looked down at his hands, “Monica, can I stay here? I want to be near Liv.”
Monica looked closely at him, “Is it what Liv wants?”
“Yeah” He said looking up. “I asked her if I could stay. At first she didn’t want me to because she’s afraid of how she’ll be.” His voice dropped, “at the end. But I told her that I want to do this. I want to be with her.”
Monica reached across the table and took his hand in hers. “I’m sorry Bert. I know how hard this is for you.”
“Yeah, fucking hard. I’ve loved that woman for so long.”
“Bert, I need to ask you a favor.” Monica’s voice made him look into her eyes. “Please convince her to talk to Gee.”
He didn’t say anything for a few moments, “I understand how fucking upset he’d be if he found out I was here and he didn’t get to see her.”
Monica had thought about that. “Her death will be very hard for him too Bert. You have to know that.”
He shook his head sadly, “I still can’t believe she’s dying. She was always so tough. Now, she looks so little, so fragile.” His hair fell into his eyes as he lowered his head.
The only sound was the wind chimes moving slightly. Monica shivered, “Let’s go in. It’s getting cold. I’ll fix Kelly’s room for you. Do you have your stuff with you?”
“Yeah, I was gonna check into a hotel but I stopped by here first. Go ahead on in. I’m gonna smoke a cigarette and just think for a while before I come in.”
Monica walked over to him, leaned down and hugged him tightly. “I’m glad you’re here. She needs you.”
“She needs him.” Bert said in a whisper. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

Several hours later Monica awoke in her bed unexpectedly. At first she was confused but her mind cleared. She slid out of bed and went to check on Liv. Silently she walked down the hall towards the guest room. From the doorway she could see Liv sleeping soundly. On the floor next to the bed covered with only a light blanket Bert lay staring at the ceiling He moved his head to look at Monica.
“Need another blanket?” She whispered.
He shook his head no. Monica gave him a weak smile then returned to her room. She crawled back into bed and broke into tears.