costnerism

The Tree of Life
Chapter 2

That night Bobby came home very late. He bumped into a chair on his way up to his room. Whitney woke with a start and sat up sensing the obvious. "Gosh, not again", she thought to herself and got up to see what was going on outside her room. Bobby was groping in the dark barely able to walk a crooked line.

"Do you have to bump into every damn thing in the house?" Whitney switched on the lights and yelled out loud. She was annoyed and sick of him waking her up every time he decided to hang out with his "dogs" and get drunk.

"Watch ya mjhjdfghjf." Talking was also not working for him at that moment.

"Don't you dare tell me to watch my mouth, Bobby! Thank God, BK is not home. Why can't you just grow up!" She turned around and slammed the door behind her. Bobby simply winced and continued his journey to his room. There was some rustling coming from his room and a few minutes later silence was almost tangible in the whole house. He must have finally fallen asleep.

Whitney couldn't sleep at all and her thoughts wandered to the one man she loved with all her heart. Since she started seeing Kevin on a regular basis, her self-confidence improved immensely. She wasn't afraid of Bobby any more. He gave her strength and made her feel safe. When Kevin once found out about Bobby slapping Whitney during an argument, he didn't hesitate for one moment, got in the car and drove to Bobby's studio. He ran inside passing all Bobby's friends without saying a word, walked up to him and hit him right in the face. He broke his nose and slammed him against the wall causing him to fall to the floor. Bobby managed to get up while his face was all covered in blood. While he was cursing, Kevin pressed him against the wall and told him that if he'd ever hurt Whitney again he would personally castrate him in front of his "dogs". None of Bobby's friends made one move. After that night Bobby never touched Whitney again and they never talked about it neither.

Whitney sat up and grabbed her cell phone from her nightstand. She quickly typed a message to the man who was constantly invading her thoughts. I wish you were here, was all she typed assuming he was already asleep. To her own surprise she received an answer from Kevin about five minutes later. The message said I want you here, now and forever. I'll even make you coffee in the morning. Whitney smiled at his adorable answer and cuddled herself into his sweater and her blanket. Now she'll be able to finally fall asleep herself.

Around noon Kevin walked out of the Touchstone Studio feeling relieved about the producers' enthusiasm for his new movie idea. The Open Range script was something he wanted to do for a while now but never had the time to engage in that project. His mood changed quickly after noticing the weather outside. It looked like the rain that held back all day cascaded down from the heavens upon the earth. He walked out from his protection the rain rolling off of him sending a shiver through his body. Kevin finally reached his car and called Whitney to tell her he might be a little late for their lunch.

"I'm really sorry honey, it me took longer than I planed." He felt guilty about being late for their lunch.

"Don't worry babes, I'm still at home and was just about to head out. Dione is saying hi, by the way." Whitney wasn't mad at him at all. She just wanted to see him, no matter what time. "Listen Kev, how about you give me a call when you're like 10 minutes away from the restaurant? My precious husband is at the studio doing who knows what and will be back late night anyway. So, I have all the time of the world."

"Alright, that sounds like a plan. Geez, what's with the weather today. It's pouring down like crazy." Kevin was about to pull out of his parking lot.

"Baby, please drive carefully. Did you hear me, Kev? Promise me you'll drive carefully. I really don't mind waiting a few minutes longer." Suddenly, she got a bad feeling about the whole situation and wanted nothing more than to have him in her arms right that moment.

"Whit, no worries. I'll drive carefully, I promise. I always do, you know that. Listen, I'll see you in a few. Love you, beautiful." With that he hang up after hearing her say Love you more to him.

About an hour later Whitney started to panic. Kevin didn't call her back and the weather was getting even worse. Dione was trying to calm her down but she didn't succeed. Whitney was fainting and felt like passing out any minute. She called his cell phone about 20 times but he never answered.

The sudden ringing of her phone shook her to the bone and she quickly grabbed the receiver. "Kevin? It was about time, baby. You really got me worried." She didn't even realize that it could have been her husband or someone else calling her.

"Hey Whitney, it's not Kevin. It's… it's Jim. Listen, there was a car accident near the city hall about 20 minutes ago. The only thing I know is that they brought Kevin to the hospital."

Everything faded away for Whitney. She dropped the receiver and sank to the floor. The tears started streaming down her face…