What Did I Tell You? - Chapter 4
Tarja woke up late the next morning. Floor was already up, singing while she made breakfast. She greeted Tarja with a big smile and a,
“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” as Tarja entered the kitchen, still wearing her pajamas.
“Hey,” Tarja said sleepily, hugging her friend. “You're certainly cheerful this morning.” Floor grinned.
“Oh, you know, a good night's sleep always helps.”
“I think you're just happy about your date last night. How was it?” Tarja asked, taking the plate of eggs and toast that Floor held out. Floor grinned.
“Fantastic, thank you for asking! Sharon is just so nice and sweet. And she has the best taste in music!”
“You guys went to a concert?” Tarja asked, as she poured herself a mug of coffee.
“Yeah, some local band. Pretty good,” Floor answered, sitting down at the table. Tarja joined her. “How about you and Alissa?”
“Just dinner and the movie,” Tarja said. She decided not to mention the park, the shooting star, or the kiss. Definitely not the kiss. Floor would tease and tease and tease if she heard about that.
“Is that it?” Floor asked, arching an eyebrow.
“It wasn't a romantic date,” Tarja said, taking a bite of her breakfast. “Dang, these are good, Floor.”
“Thank you, glad you like them. But tell me, if it wasn't a romantic date, then how come you didn't come home until almost 1:00? You said you were going to the 21:00 showing.”
“Geez, Floor, we just lost track of time!” Tarja exclaimed, then realized that was definitely not the right thing to say. Floor smirked.
“What were you doing that got you so distracted that you stayed out till almost one?” Tarja blushed furiously.
“Nothing,” she mumbled. “What is your deal? Are you jealous or something?”
“What is there for me to be jealous of?” Floor asked teasingly. “If you really weren't doing anything.”
“Your imagination!” Tarja snapped. “That's what I meant.” She scowled and ate a huge bite of egg, purposely looking away from Floor.
“Hey, I'm sorry, Tarja,” Floor said, gently touching her hand. “I'm not being mean, really. I'm just screwing around. I don't care what you and Alissa were doing, or not doing.” Tarja was still scowling, but she wasn't as angry now.
“It's okay,” she said. “I know you didn't.” And for some reason, she all of a sudden wanted to tell Floor everything, about the park and the shooting star and even the kiss.
“Although, I'm curious. What were you doing?” Floor asked. “Was there traffic or something?”
“Actually, we went to a park,” Tarja answered.
“Why?” Floor asked.
“Cause Alissa wanted to show it to me. It was really cool, with a lake and a little hill and stuff. We actually sat down and watched the stars for a little bit. We even saw a shooting star.”
“Did you make a wish?” Floor asked.
“Yes, I did, and since it already came true, I'll tell you what it was. I wished that Alissa would love me the way I love her, and that we could stay together forever. And you know what?” She couldn't finish, because Floor was squealing.
“I told you she liked you!” she exclaimed, hugging Tarja. Tarja rolled her eyes, grinned, and hugged back.
“Yeah, you were totally right. I'll admit it, you were actually right about something for once.”
“Hey!” Floor cried in mock annoyance, swatting her. “Give me more credit than that!”
“Okay, okay,” Tarja laughed. “You were right...again. She does like me. She...she actually kissed me. It was...magical. That's the only word I can use to describe it. Just magical.” Floor squealed again.
“Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you guys!” she cried. “Are you like, a couple now?”
“Thank you, and yes, we are,” Tarja said, nodding. “And you and Sharon are too?” Floor nodded.
“Yeah. We've got plans to go out again a couple weeks from now.”
The next several weeks passed in a happy blur for Tarja. She and Alissa went out a couple more times, once on a double date with Floor and Sharon. All four of them were blissfully content and very much in love. Things could not have been more perfect. In addition to girlfriends, they were all busy with their bands, especially Floor and Tarja, and so there wasn't much downtime. Before either of them knew it, three whole months had passed since Tarja and Alissa became a couple. They decided to go someplace really special to celebrate their anniversary. Tarja suggested a fancy restaurant a few blocks from her apartment, and Alissa happily agreed. The date was wonderful, and they stayed out until after 1:00. Finally, Tarja went home and stumbled into her apartment, ready to crash on her bed. She set down her purse and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash off her makeup. But when she came into the bedroom, she heard a muffled, hiccuping sound coming from the direction of Floor's bed. Tarja frowned. Surely Floor wasn't crying. She stepped over to the bed. In the bit of moonlight that came in through that window, she could make out a long, blanket-covered lump with a bit of a dark head visible up by the pillow.
“Floor?” she whispered, almost unable to believe it. Floor was crying. And not just weeping. This was horrible, heart-wrenching sobbing, like her heart was breaking, or maybe it was already broken.
“Go away,” Floor mumbled. Tarja gently stroked her dark hair, trying to soothe her, calm her down.
“What's wrong?” she asked. “Please, Floor, tell me.”
“It's nothing, just leave me alone,” Floor said, hiding under the covers. Tarja pulled them back.
“No, I'm not going to leave you alone. What's going on? What happened?” She placed her hand on Floor's back and started to rub it, something that usually calmed Floor down immediately. Floor's sobs soon changed to sniffles, and she sat up and let Tarja hug her. Tarja held Floor in her arms, cradling her like a small child. Floor hid her face in Tarja's shoulder and cried some more. Tarja just sat there, holding her, stroking her tangled brunette locks. Finally, Floor stopped crying enough to say,
“Sharon cheated on me,” before she burst into tears again.
“What?” Tarja gasped. Floor nodded.
“She-She was kissing another girl. I don't know why, but...oh, Tarja, I feel like she stabbed me in the chest with a knife and is twisting it. It hurts so bad. I just wanna die. Just please let me die.”
“Floor, don't say things like that,” Tarja said, shaking her head. She frowned. “Your death would only cause more pain. You have friends who love you, and a family, and bandmates, and fans. And a bright future ahead of you. Don't throw all that away for just one woman.”
“She wasn't just one woman,” Floor sniffled. “She was the love of my life. The woman I thought I was going to marry. Until she went and cheated on me!”
“Oh, Floor...” Tarja sighed, kissing her friend's forehead. “I'm so, so, so sorry. I know how much this hurts.”
“How can you possibly know...everyone likes you! No one would ever be stupid enough to cheat on you...but me...nobody likes me...and-”
“Floor! Stop it this instant!” Tarja cried. “That is not true. I have had someone cheat on me. Marcelo, remember? That's the whole reason we split up. And yes, people do like you. I like you. Good grief, Floor, I love you like a sister!”
“But not like a girlfriend. We tried that, remember? And even you wouldn't stay with me,” Floor reminded her.
“Floor, you know perfectly well that was a mutual decision. Kissing you felt like kissing my sister, because that's what you are to me. And you told me you didn't like it and it made you uncomfortable.” Tarja was getting a bit annoyed. She felt sorry for Floor, and wanted her to feel better, but she didn't like the way Floor was acting.
“But still. Can't you understand that I feel like no one wants me? Like I'm worthless? Like...Like I'm-” She started to cry again, and Tarja instantly felt guilty. She put her arms around Floor again.
“You're not worthless. Sharon is a fool for cheating on you. Floor, you're a lovely person, but people take advantage of you sometimes. But you are not worthless. And someday, you will find someone who really loves you, someone who would never hurt you like Sharon did.” Floor sniffled.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
