DISCLAIMER:I do not own, or have anything to do with Orlando Bloom or anyone/anything associated with him. Somara, Raina, Sarina, Kaila, Debbie, and Charlie belong to me.
Learning to Live Again
Disclaimer: I do not own Orlando or anything associated with him, but I do own Kaila, Debbie, and Charlie. Enjoy! ;) I do not own Ra or their AWESOME song "On My Side"; I also do not own Garth Brooks or his songs "Learning to Live Again" or ìEvery Now and Then.î NOR do I own SEETHER ((Don't I wish!)) or their BEAUTIFUL SONG ìThe Gift.î GO GET THE NEW ALBUM, it ROCKS! Also: This is my dreamland version of LAÖIíve never been there, nor do I know a thing about it. This story is just for fun. ;)
Summary: He's lost himself in a sea of fame. She's lost everything she's ever had. Can a woman from his past and down on her luck make him remember who he really is and get back on her feet at the same time?
Rating: PG-13.
Part Four:
Trying to Get By
Kaila opened her eyes and sloshed her fingers about the cooling water before deciding to get out of the tub. She pushed herself up and shivered as the cool apartment air turned the warm water running down her naked body to a freezing substance. She dashed to the towel rack hanging on the wall and wrapped the oversized grey bath towel around her. She quickly dried herself off and donned fresh undergarments, a pair of denim shorts and a black tank top. Despite it being the middle of summer in Los Angeles, Kaila liked to wear black. She refused to let the heat of LA get between her and her favorite color.
She opened the bathroom door and found the apartment to be the perfect temperature. A note lay on the bar as she passed to put her clothes in the laundry room. Pausing momentarily to pick it up, Kaila continued on her route and dumped her laundry into her overflowing hamper. She grumbled something under her breath about the laundry not doing itself before holding the note up to be read.
ëKaila ñ Hey, girl. Just wanted to let you know that I will be out doing a little last-minute shopping when you get ready. Call me when you get out of the bathtub and are all prettied up. Do your makeup nice and pretty and maybe Iíll have you a nice little outfit to wear tonight.
Think red. (wink).
See you soon, Kai!
--Debbieí
The letter was signed with a big smiley face at the bottom, and Kaila flipped the note over. On the back was a bit more writing, this time from Charlie.
ëPS ñ Kaila: Meet us at the CafÈ on 18th street at nine p.m. We will all probably be out most of the day, but Iím sure Deb will pop her head in and out. We have reservations, so try not to be late.
-Charlesí
Kaila looked at the clock and frowned. It was only two p.m. What to do with only, oh, seven hours remaining? Out of the corner of her eye Kaila spied her old laptop that hadnít been pulled out of the closet since sheíd been fired by Harcourt. It was plugged into the wall to charge, and Kaila popped the top open. On the LCD screen on the inside of the Dell Latitude was a sticky note.
ëNowís the time, Kaila. Get back to work. ñDí
Kaila smiled as she pulled the Post-it from the screen and pushed the power button. As the machine booted up, Kaila felt the hole inside herself begin to mend. This was what she was born to do, and today would be the day that she would finally finish that unfinished novel, the one that the publishers hadnít seen anything of when theyíd fired her.
ëWhat a fabulous idea,í Kaila thought. ëIíll get my job back if itís the last thing I do. Just watch.í
Ö
ìSoÖKaila is a waitress?î Orlando asked as he sipped a cooling mug of coffee. He had learned a lot about what heíd missed in the last few years, cringing and shaking his head at some points in the womanís story, and laughing at others. Heíd found out that this womanís name was Debbie Childress, that she and Kaila had been best friends since fourth grade, and that she had lived with Kaila for three years now, nearly as long as she had been waitressing at Tacomaís, the little hole-in-the-wall steak restaurant on 45th. Heíd cringed at that news too.
ìYes,î Debbie replied, shaking her head. ìAnd she hates that job. I hope she finds her laptop I left out for her, because that girl needs to get back to writing. She has so many stories she hasnít finished. I think she just needs the rightÖinspiration.î
With that, Debbie looked at Orlando. ìOrlando, I have a plan to get her started again, and leaving her all alone today was a big part of it. Since Iíve run into you, though, I thinkÖyou might just be the jolt she needs. Can we possibly arrange something?î
ìWhat kind of ësomethingí?î Orlando asked, raising his eyebrow, as he watched Debbie drum her fingers on the tabletop in the corner coffee shop to a rhythm that seemed awfully familiar.
ìAre you free tonight?î Debbie ceased all motion as she looked at him suddenly, hope filling her eyes.
Orlando almost laughed at the look on her face, but he knew she was serious. With everything that Debbie had told him that Kaila had gone through, he knew that she deserved this day. He thought about her question for a moment. He looked at her and frowned. ìI have to do an interview tonight,î he muttered.
Debbie slouched backward into her chair. ìWhat time?î
ìUm,î Orlando racked his brain searching for the time of the engagement. ìBloody hell, seven-thirty, I think. It shouldnít be much longer than a couple of hoursÖî
ìDo you think you can be out by nine?î Debbie, once again, sat straight up in her chair and sipped her cup of French Vanilla coffee, eyeing him eagerly for his answer.
Orlando seriously pondered the thought, and then nodded. ìIíll make it happen. My agent, Fiona, is driving me up there, so I wonít be able to go anywhere, thoughÖî
ìNo worries, Orlando. Just give me directions, and Charlie and I will come and get you,î Debbie interrupted as she grabbed an extra napkin and pulled a pen from her purse. She poised the pen to write, and Orlando gave her directions to the Timesí office. He swore up and down that he would be out no later than nine p.m., and that seemed to excite Debbie beyond words.
Orlando thought about Kaila. ëHope that story is going all rightÖí
Ö
Kaila smiled and closed the document. ëFinally,í she thought. She never thought that she would be able to finish that one without Orlando being around. It seemed to Kaila that he was her muse, and had always been her muse. She had fished around in her bedroom before producing an old picture of the two of them dancing together, at the after party the night of the premiere of The Fellowship of the Ring. Kaila thought that she looked so in love in the picture. How could he not have seen that?
She shook her head, and something clicked in her head. Something that she had written about Orlando after The Return of the King had come out in theatres. She had seen that one nine times, and had come home to write something ñ what was it? Kaila reopened Microsoft Word and clicked on the ìOpenî shortcut. In the dialog box that popped up, she quickly scanned all of the familiar entries, naming them aloud.
ìAgainÖFallenÖFind MeÖ,î she took in a sharp breath as she found what she was looking for. ìTheGift.î
Kaila double-clicked the filename, and the document opened in an instant. She read over it quickly, and rememberedÖit was a song! She hadnít written another song since this, and truth be told, she hadnít even finished this one. Kaila read the only bit of the song she had written to herself.
ëHold me now I need to feel complete
Like I matter to the one I need
ëIím so afraid of the gift you gave me
I donít belong here and Iím not well
Iím so ashamed of the lie Iím living
Iím right on the wrong side of it allí
ìHmm. How incredibly proper for the situation.î Kaila thought to herself as she took in a deep breath, let it out, and set to finishing the lyricsÖ
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