I'm Just a Puppet and She's Holding the Strings

November 30th 2008
4pm

"Pierre, are you home?" I called out as I walked into the house after spending time at the newly refurbished bar.

"Yeah, I'm in the living room," He replied.

I wandered inside after taking off my coat and a very large smile appeared on my face when I noticed we had a visitor.

"Hey," I grinned.

"Hello there," Sebastien greeted, gesturing for me to come over to him.

I complied and sat down beside him, cuddling into him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Two of my favourite people live here- why wouldn't I be?" He laughed.

Chuckling, I looked up at him, "True,"

"How was work?"

"It was alright, we're interviewing for new staff,"

"Is it going well?"

"Not really, I'm considering offering it to Lucy so she doesn't have to work at the sleazy Golden Eagle anymore,"

"You should, that's a good idea," Pierre added.

"Yeah, I think I will," I nodded, "How were your days?"

"Good thanks, I slept in and had a nice Sunday," Pierre smiled.

"Good," I grinned and cuddled into Sebastien, "What about your day?"

"I um... I went to see Beth," He coughed awkwardly.

"What about?" I asked, straining to keep my smile up.

"I offered her the honeymoon tickets," He replied, looking down at me.

"Did she take them?"

He shook his head, "Nope, I think her exact words were..." He trailed off and pulled a thoughtful face, "'I don't want anything from you, you lying bastard, go shove those tickets up your arse and never speak to me again'," He quoted.

I snorted with laughter, "Sorry," I chuckled, "I can't help it,"

He smiled sadly and nodded.

My laughter immediately died and I took hold of his hand.

"You still feel guilty don't you?" I sighed.

"Yeah," He agreed, "I can't help it,"

I kissed his cheek and got up from the couch, announcing that I was going to get a shower, before I headed upstairs.

After a few minutes, while I was getting clean clothes to change into, my bedroom door opened.

I looked over to see Sebastien standing in the doorway.

I smiled widely, "Hey, what's up?"

He shook his head and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"I'm sorry," He whispered.

My heart plummeted briefly. For a moment I thought he was going to tell me that he'd made a mistake and he didn't want me- He wanted Beth.

I gulped, "What for?" Failing miserably at hiding my nervousness.

"For talking about Beth,"

I frowned, "Shut up, don't apologise. It only happened yesterday, I don't expect you to come to terms with it that quickly,"

"I know but I saw how your smile faltered when I told you I'd gone to see her,"

I shrugged, "I didn't mean for that to happen. I'm scared you're going to realise that you've made a mistake and you don't want me after all," I admitted sheepishly.

He wandered over to me and enveloped me in his arms.

"That's never going to happen; you're the only thing I haven't made a mistake of yet,"

"What do you mean 'yet'? You're not going to mess this up Seb because I understand what you mean all the time and you know exactly what to do and say when it comes to me,"

He smirked and nodded, slowly capturing my lips in his, "I love you," He mumbled as he pulled away.

I bit my lip and grinned, "See?"

He chuckled and swayed with me slightly.

"So..." He began slowly, "I was wondering, if you're not busy from Tuesday to Tuesday, I have a spare plane ticket..."

"Are you kidding?" I gasped.

"Nope," He shook his head, "Beth doesn't want it and I'm not going to go on my own,"

"But what about the guys? Couldn't you take one of them?"

"There'd be murder over who gets to come. Besides, I booked the Honeymoon Suite, the hotel might get the wrong idea,"

I laughed heartily, "Are you sure?"

"I'm perfectly sure; I think the destination is a bit more suited to us than anyone else,"

I pulled a quizzical expression, "Where are we going?"

He grinned at me, "We're going to Greece,"

Beth's P.O.V
December 3rd 2008
10pm

By now, I was very drunk.

I'd been drinking since 8pm and this was the fourth night in a row I'd done this.

Even the inconceivably unbearable hangovers couldn't put me off.

I was drinking to drown my sorrows even though it wasn't working.

Alcohol's a depressant- I knew that. And yet I was still sitting here completely out of my head for the fourth night in a row.

I do believe that this is ridiculous.

But fuck it. What does it matter?

What does anything matter?

I'll just drink myself to death. I might as well.

I'm going to end up alone anyway so I might as well take a few years of loneliness off.

It's completely logical.

(Alcohol also suppresses logical thinking).

I ordered another drink and took a large gulp of it.

Stupid Sebastien and stupid Rachel in their stupid happy relationship, on their stupid holiday that I should be on.

I wiped a tear from my cheek and gulped another mouthful of drink.

"Hey mister! Another please," I called the bartender and held up my bottle to show him what I wanted.

He wandered over to me and shook his head.

"I think you've had enough," He began.

"Hey, the customer is always right, so get me another drink," I growled.

"The customer may always be right but the bar-staff have the right to refuse service to anyone. Especially when the customer is on the verge of alcohol poisoning," He spoke with a sigh.

"Just give me another drink," I huffed.

He shook his head sternly, "No,"

"Fine, if you won't serve me I'll go somewhere that will," I shrugged, carefully lifting myself onto my feet, yet I still managed to stumble slightly.

"How about you just wait here and I'll call you a cab to get you home?" The barman suggested.

"No, I'm fine, I'll find my way," I slurred, before I picked up my bottle and held it up in front of him, "And I'm taking this with me," I snapped.

I slipped my bag on my shoulder and fumbled my way out of the door onto the darkened street.

"Okay," I sighed, looking around the street, "My house... Is... Right," I threw my arm out to point myself in that direction before I wobbled off to the right.

I swigged another mouthful from my bottle and crossed the street. I was still quite cautious on the roads, even when I was drunk.

I stumbled across a few more streets and was around four streets away from my house when I caught my foot on the edge of the pavement and tripped to my hands and knees.

I squealed in pain as I felt the skin on my hands tear.

Pouting, I glanced at my hands which were beginning to bleed.

As I gazed at the cuts I'd obtained, my eyelids drew heavy and my stomach began to groan.

My head then grew light and then everything went black.

3rd Person P.O.V

Beth had passed out and, ten minutes later, she was still lying there even though at least five people had walked past her.

Eventually a man and a woman noticed her.

They figured she was way too well dressed to be homeless and she was bleeding from the hands so she may have fallen.

This gave them enough information to call an ambulance; she may have fallen and hit her head.

"She's really pale and cold, Ant. Do you think she'll be alright?" The woman asked with worry.

"She'll be fine once the paramedics get here," Ant replied as he pulled his coat righter around him, looking around impatiently for the ambulance.

"Do you think we should put her in the recovery position or something?" The woman questioned, looking over Beth's limp figure.

"No, we don't know how she got there, we might make things worse if we move her," Anthony spoke back wisely.

"Give me your jacket," The woman stated sternly, holding out her hand.

"What? Why?"

"Her lips look a bit blue, it's the best way we can warm her up without a blanket,"

Anthony sighed and relented, sliding off his jacket and watching his sister place it over the stranger.

"Where's this freaking ambulance?"

"Don't be in such a rush Ant, you're not leaving when she's in the ambulance, you're going with her,"

"What? We don't even know the girl, Meg! How does that work exactly?"

"Well we can't leave her alone,"

"Why can't you go with her?"

"Because I have another job to do," She replied, carefully taking hold of Beth's handbag.

"What- Rob her?"

Megan shot her brother a glare, "No, I am trying to see if she had ID or a number we can call to let her family know,"

"Oh," Anthony nodded, "Finally, here's the ambulance,"

"Okay I have her number and her name is..." Megan paused as she squinted in the faint light, "Bethany Adams,"

The ambulance pulled up by the side of the road.

"Do I really have to go with her?" Ant complained.

"Yeah, I'll call her family and tell her where she is then as soon as they get there you can leave,"

Anthony sighed and nodded.

So Megan watched as they checked over Beth and then watched her brother get in the ambulance with this girl, hoping she'd be alright as she saw them drive away.

Beth's P.O.V
Two Hours Later...

When I finally regained some control of my body, only vaguely realising that I never got home and wondering why I was in a bed, I feared opening my eyes.

Mainly because I didn't want to and also because I was scared of where I might be.

Eventually, I slowly opened my eyes. I swear I felt my eyelids creak slightly.

My mouth felt extremely dry and my stomach felt like someone had attacked it with a pneumatic drill.

With a slightly spinning head, I looked around the room. It wasn't actually a room; it was part of a room that was sectioned off with a curtain.

I was slightly confused until I looked down and saw I wasn't in my bed, dressed in my pyjamas. I was in a hospital bed with one of those horrible gown things on.

I grimaced and took a deep breath. I hate hospitals.

Then I noticed something wasn't right.

There was someone who I didn't know sitting in the chair beside the bed, flicking through the channels on the muted TV.

I sat up a little and I saw him jump.

"Oh! You're awake," He began.

"Yes..." I squinted, "And who are you?"

"Oh right, I'm Anthony," He stuck out his hand and I cautiously shook it.

"What are you doing here, Anthony?" I paused, "Actually... More to the point, what am I doing here?"

"Well... You are here because, according to the doctors, you got VERY drunk and passed out then came here to have your stomach pumped so you didn't die and I'm here because I found you on the pavement and called the ambulance then I came with you while my sister found your family," He explained.

"Right... So that's why my stomach's hurting,"

"Probably,"

"How long have I been here?"

He cast a glance to his watch, "Almost two hours and fifteen minutes,"

"Christ, I think you should go home, nobody wants to spend their night in a hospital with a random person,"

"It's alright; I can wait until your family gets here,"

At that moment, a nurse pulled back the curtain and walked into my little section of the ward with my mum and sister.

"Beth! We've been worried sick about you!" My mum announced.

"Speak of the devil," I heard Anthony say.

I chuckled slightly and returned the hug my mum was giving me.

"Well, I'm going to get going," Anthony announced.

"You must be that girl's brother!" My mum squealed.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Um... Yeah, I guess so,"

"Thank you very much for helping my daughter," She shook his hand so hard it looked like his whole body was rippling from the fingertips to his waist.

He steadied himself once she let go and inconspicuously rubbed his hand as if it were sore.

"You're welcome, it was no bother," He smiled, "I hope you feel better Beth,"

Suddenly, I noticed he had a very handsome smile.

"Thank you," I grinned back, "And thanks for bringing me in, thank your sister too,"

He nodded and waved before he disappeared behind the curtain.

I thought that'd be the last time I'd see him..

But this time fate had dealt me a nice hand.

It dealt me Sebastien and then it dealt me Ant and he was enough to make up for previous misfortunes.

This time fate had given me my soul-mate and played him right into my hands.

Rachel's P.O.V

It was the second night of mine and Sebastien's holiday together.

Strangely, we were pretty close to the hotel we'd stayed at a couple of years ago.

I sighed as I looked over at Seb who was lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

"Sebastien," I spoke cautiously.

"Mhm?" He replied feebly.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah,"

He wasn't looking at me at all.

"Do you want to go out to eat tonight or do you want to eat at the hotel?" I was hanging onto the bare threads of conversation.

"Whatever you want," He shrugged.

I didn't say anything back. I couldn't think of anything to say.

I knew for a fact that he was thinking about Beth- He had that vacant yet slightly worried look on his face that he got when he thought about her.

However annoying it was, I couldn't tell him to stop. That would be very selfish of me- He needed time to come to terms with it.

"She'll be okay you know," I sighed, running my fingers over the rim of my glass.

"How do you know that?"

"Because she just will be- She'll get over you and she'll meet someone and she'll have that dream wedding she's always wanted,"

"But what if she doesn't?"

"Don't you believe that there's someone for everyone out there?"

"Yeah but what if I was hers?"

"That would mean she'd be yours and you would have just left her someone who wasn't worth as much," I stated, a slight warning tone in my voice as I played with the beaded bracelet on my wrist.

Now, he looked over at me but I didn't respond.

"Sorry," He mumbled.

"Don't be," I shrugged.

"I should be, I keep talking about Beth and that's probably not making you feel very confident in me,"

"I understand," I whispered.

"I just feel so guilty Rach,"

"I know, I can feel it too,"

"I just wish I could stop thinking about it; I can't get the image of her face out of my head when I said 'I don't',"

I got up from my chair and walked over to him, straddling him and sitting on his legs.

He placed his hands on my hips to steady me.

"You won't start to get over it unless you stop thinking about it,"

"I can't help it,"

"Well I can think of one distraction," I smirked, leaning over to him and hovering my lips over his.

"Oh," He grinned.

"Let's go to the beach!" I beamed, leaning back up again.

He laughed and sat up, holding himself up on one hand and locking his other around my waist.

"You want to go to the beach?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah," I nodded profusely, "It's almost sunset, we can watch it together and it'll be all romantic,"

He chuckled and kissed my lips, "Okay, let's go to the beach and watch the sunset and be all romantic and stuff," He imitated.

I clapped excitedly and jumped off him, grabbing his hand and pulling him up.

I slid on my flip-flops and he put on his shoes before he locked our fingers, grabbed our room key and a towel before we headed outside.

It was only about a three minute walk to the beach from the hotel so soon we were sitting on the beach on the towel.

He'd split his legs and I was sitting in between them, my back resting against his chest.

It was sunset so we were sitting in silence, just enjoying being with each other.

"Oh, before I forget, I bought you something," He spoke, pushing me forward slightly so he could reach into his pocket.

He got whatever it was and then laid me back against him before he held out two more beaded bracelets on his finger in front of me.

I grinned, "Are they for me?"

"Of course they are," He chuckled, "Your old one counts for romance, the green one represents love," He explained, placing the green one on my wrist, "And the blue one represents eternity," He placed the blue one onto my wrist.

"Kind of like the past, present and future," I pointed at the old one, then the green and then the blue.

"Yeah, because the old one was the romance we had, the green one is love which we have now and the blue one is us spending the rest of our lives together," He whispered as we watched the sun fall lower behind the horizon.

"So you think that the blue one will come true?" I questioned, sighing happily as I stared at the distant sea.

And as the sun disappeared behind the faint line and turned the sky to a darker blue, he kissed my head and whispered in my ear-

"If I'm lucky enough,"

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If we were a movie
You'd be the right guy
And I'd be the best friend
That you fall in love with
In the end we'd be laughing
Watching the sunset fade to black
Show the names
Play that happy song

Miley Cyrus- If We Were A Movie

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