DISCLAIMER: The following story is completely FICTIONAL it does not imply anything concerning the private life of Paul walker or Josh Hartnett. I don't know them and I don't know anything about their lives. This story is only meant as fiction and does in no way describe real occurrences, situations or facts. All other persons mentioned in this story are fictional. Any resemblance to an existing person, company or business is totally coincidental.
Author's note: Just want to stress again that this story is complete fiction. In this chapter there's some talk about their families and childhood. That's all made up ok. I have no idea what their real lives look like so please keep that in mind. For the rest: Enjoy chapter 10 and please let me know what you think ok?
Chapter 10:
The room was dark, dirty and covered with a thin film of dust. The green carpets that covered the floor were stained and it seemed as if they had been there since the beginning of time. The air was thick and reminded her of rotten food and air-freshener. She took a few seconds to overlook the mess in front of her. Then she turned to face the guy behind her and said:
"This will do fine...I'll take it."
She paid the landlord two weeks in advance after which she kindly but firmly showed him the door.
It was the first time she had ever visited New York but it hardly impressed her. She thought the city was too dirty, crowded and depressing. Even though she had disliked the place from the first moment she set foot in it she didn't mind staying there. She knew she had a job to do, and time was against her.
...
"We're here!"
Josh was awoken by Paul's sudden outing. He had fallen asleep during the long drive to Paul's parents. It was the first time in days he had been able to sleep for a few hours without being plagued by bad dreams. He stretched his arms a bit before looking outside. They were driving through a pretty typical suburban street: White-painted houses on both sides, with a small yard around them, a row of oak trees between the sidewalk and the road, ...It looked quite nice.
"How long have I been asleep?" Josh asked with a sleepy voice.
"A couple of hours I guess" Paul answered.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Josh questioned, "now I've slept through most of the ride."
"you just looked too cute, sleeping" Paul smiled.
"So this is the neighbourhood you grew up in, huh?" Josh asked as he continued to look outside.
"Yup, this is it" Paul replied. There was a smile on his face as he drove through the familiar streets where he'd spent most of his childhood.
Josh continued to study the houses and streets they passed. The evening sky had turned a darkish colour of red. Outside there were people watering the lawn, children running around or riding their bikes. It was a typical suburban neighbourhood. Josh nevertheless was fascinated by it. His mind imagined what it must have been like growing up here: Sunday-afternoon barbeques after church, sitting on the front porch drinking ice- tea, watching the clouds go by... The recognisable character of the neighbourhood was somewhat comforting. There was a feeling of safety in the predictability of the area.
"It must have been fun growing up here" Josh thought out loud.
"It was...for a while" Paul replied.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked, a bit confused by Paul's words.
"Well...When you're a kid I guess everything is good enough." Paul answered, "But when I grew older the only thing I could dream of was leave this place behind."
"Why?" Josh inquisited. He couldn't see how someone could want to leave a place as peaceful as this.
"Because there's nothing going on here." Paul continued, "Every corner you turn there's more of the same...white houses, picket fences,..."
"What's wrong with picket fences?" Josh teasingly asked.
"Nothing,...nothing" Paul explained, "what I mean is that places like this don't offer any chances at growth. Nothing changes, nothing new ever appears. It's like a desert sometimes. If you're a bit curious like I was this place has nothing to offer you. I guess that's why I became an actor...because of that deep rooted desire do discover new horizons. Acting, art, literature, music...they were all methods of escaping the total blankness of this place. But don't get me wrong I had some fantastic times here as a child. I just outgrew it I guess. They say the circumstances in which you spend your childhood determine your life as an adult,...there's some truth in that I think."
Josh had listened to Paul explaining a bit of what it was like growing up here and he could understand what Paul was trying to say. Still he felt like he had missed out on quite a bit growing up moving every couple of years. The predictability and uneventful character of these blocks, the thing Paul disliked so obviously, appealed to him. He had always been quite traditional when it came to setting out goals and dreams. He was just a picket-fences kinda guy.
"Just one more turn and we're there." Paul said. There was obvious excitement in his voice. It might seem strange that someone who leads such an exciting life could get so enthusiastic about coming home...but for Paul his family was far more important than his career. He knew he wouldn't be where he was in his life right now, without the support of his loved ones.
Josh suddenly became fully aware of the fact he was going to meet Paul's parents in a few minutes. When they had talked about it during the past couple of days it seemed like a cool idea, but right now he was getting a bit nervous. This had nothing to do with Paul's parents per se...He'd always been a bit uncomfortable meeting new people. Especially if their opinion of him mattered. He felt like he was about to audition for a role...another thing he wasn't especially fond of. He shook the nervous feelings from his mind. He took a look at Paul who's excitement was obvious. He smiled a bit then turned back to looking out of the front window.
...
The glow of the fire reflected in the red sand. He stared at the inferno below him. The smoke rising from the wreckage began to cut of his breath. The flames piercing the darkness of the night, consuming whatever came into their grabs, suddenly frightened him. There was no way back now...this was it.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden gust of wind. It took him a few moments to remember where he was. As he overlooked the city he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't...It was supposed to be a new beginning...But had it been?
He wondered what had brought on these sudden flashbacks. They had been plaguing him all day. He saw flashes of cups of tea, smelt the odour of strange smelling herbs, drying against the ceiling. The orange glow of the streetlights reminded him of the playful flickering of red candles standing on the tables and cabinets. And then there was her face, those inquisitive eyes,...He hadn't thought about her in ages, but today her face had invaded his mind...Her face...and his.
Why was he remembering these things? This was the past! It was dead! It was buried! He had left it all behind...everything...everything...except...there was one thing he had never been able to forget. One memory still haunted him...the one thing he had tried to run from all these years.
He suddenly turned around..."I need to know for sure"...he thought. "I need to know my eyes didn't deceive me...and if she's here too...I'm not going to let her stop me!"
With that he disappeared into the New York evening.
...
As the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon, Paul's car pulled up the driveway of the house that had been his home for most of his life.
"She still puts out the rose-bushes" Paul smiled.
"What?" Josh asked
"See those two potted rose-bushes by the door?" Paul asked as he pointed to the front door of his parents house. "Every year my mother puts them there. She has been putting them there for as long as I can remember. Every year when Palm-Sunday comes along she drives to the florist to get two potted rose-bushes. They stay there till Easter. I'll bet there are two wooden Easter-bunnies besides them."
As they both stepped out of the car the front door of the house opened. As soon as Paul saw his parents he hasted to the front door where they waited to greet their son. While Paul was hugging his parents, josh, who wasn't really sure what to do, opened the trunk of the car to get their luggage. With a suitcase in each hand he made his way to Paul, who was busy answering the typical questions people ask right after you've arrived: "How was the trip?" "How was traffic?", "How long did it take to get here?",...
When he noticed Josh had caught up with them he put his hand on Josh shoulder and said: "Mom, dad,...this is Josh, my boyfriend, as you know."
"Hey Josh, nice to meet you." Paul's mother said as she extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you to, Mrs Walker." Josh said as he shook her hand.
"Please,...call me Mary-Ann" She said to Josh.
"Ok" Josh replied as he turned to Paul's dad who also extended his hand.
"Hey Josh, I'm Tom," He said as he shook Josh's hand, "welcome to our home."
"Well, let's get inside...I'm sure you guys are hungry after such a long drive." Paul's mother said as she gestured at the door to invite them in.
As they walked in Josh noticed there were indeed two wooden Easter bunnies besides the rose bushes. Just as Paul had predicted. It brought a subtle smile to his face.
"Josh,...you can leave the suitcases in the hallway." Paul said to josh while they we're making their way in. "We'll unpack later".
"Ok..." Josh replied, "and thank you so much for helping me carrying these" he joked.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Paul said, not knowing if Josh was serious or not.
"Don't worry about it..." Josh said laughing, "I'm perfectly capable of carrying two suitcases up a driveway."
As Josh made his way through the living room to the kitchen where everyone was settling down around the dinner table, he quickly scanned the interior of the house. The living room was pretty homy. It was obvious Paul's mother was behind most of the interior. The were several bundles of dried flowers on the cabinets, as well as several other ornaments, including a beautiful crucifix carved out of wood. His attention was drawn to several youth pictures of Paul that were standing on a shelf against the wall. There was one picture he thought was really cute. He guessed Paul must have been about 10 or 11 in the picture. He was wearing a baseball outfit, complete with a matching cap, and was holding a bat above his shoulder as if he was waiting to take a swing. Josh smiled as he put the frame back in it's place.
As he went to the kitchen he noticed there was a pretty big record collection in the corner of the living room. he made a mental note to check it out later, as he entered the kitchen. Everybody was already sitting down, so he sat down next to Paul.
"I tell ya mom...I've sure missed your cooking." Paul said, referring to the food standing on the table.
"Well then...you should visit more often." She replied, "now let's not let this get cold...dig in."
During dinner most of the conversation focussed on Paul and what he had been up to, but Josh also received quite a lot of attention. They basically had to tell everything that had happened since they had met some two months ago. Paul's mother was a bit shocked to learn they were already living together most of the time, but she concluded her son was old and wise enough to make his own calls. Besides, she could see he was happy with the way his live was going. This naturally pleased her very much.
"So tell us a bit about yourself, Josh" Paul's father, Tom, asked. "Where are you from"
"Well that's a tough one" Josh replied, "I'm basically from everywhere and nowhere...My father used to be in the military, so we moved around quite a bit when I was a kid. I lived in Australia for three years with my aunt."
"Australia...really? What was it like living there?" Paul's mother asked.
"uhm...It was alright I guess...It's a beautiful country. That's for sure." Josh answered.
Paul's mother was intrigued by Josh's reaction to her seemingly innocent question. She had noticed he seemed a bit uneasy answering the question. As a mother she had immediately picked up on that, but decided it was best not to push the subject. She didn't even get the chance, if she had wanted to, cause her husband wanted to know more about the movie-business and had already shifted the conversation to the movie they were working on.
After they had all finished their meals Paul's mother started clearing the table. Paul's father got up to help but was immediately cut of by his wife.
"No Tom, you know you need to rest." Mary-Ann said, "You go watch some TV...I'll do the dishes...and don't forget your pills."
"What's wrong dad?" Paul asked concerned. "Oh It's nothing..." Tom replied, "I had some trouble breathing lately, but it's nothing to worry about. Just a flu that affected my lungs. The doctor says I'll be up and about in no time."
"As long as you rest enough" Mary-Ann corrected him.
"Alright...alright" Tom said, faking a bit of irritation," How much can you rest...By the time this is over I'll never have to sleep again."
"I'll go take our luggage upstairs" Paul said, "Be right back."
As Paul left Josh noticed Mary-Ann had started washing the dishes.
"Do you have a towel somewhere?" Josh asked, "I'll help you with those."
"Oh that's not necessary" she replied, "this won't take long"
"It'll go faster if you let me help" Josh answered.
"Ok" she said smiling, as she handed him a towel.
Five minutes later the last dish was put in the cupboard. Mary-Ann thanked Josh for his help. After the sink was cleaned they both walked into the living room where Tom was watching a recap of a football game. Before Josh had a chance to sit down Paul came back downstairs.
"hey Josh,...feel like going for a walk?" he asked.
"Where are you going?" His mother asked.
"Just want to see the old neighbourhood again" Paul replied, "You mind...?"
"No, not at all, go ahead" His mother answered.
Paul and josh grabbed their coats and headed outside. The night sky was totally clear with every star shining as if it was Christmas. Little did they know that at the same time Lightning and thunder tore through the New York Night.
...
She had opened the window of her hotel room to observe the furious weather. Flashes of lightning made the New York skyline look like the jaw of some giant monster.
"There's a lot of anger in the air tonight..." She said to herself. I have to find him before he does!"
...
... Well That's it for chapter 10. I hope you enjoyed it. Since I'm about to have two weeks off I hope the next chapter will be up soon. The good news is I have figured out how to take this story through the next chapters. So keep an eye out for Chapter 11 and please let me know what you think
Also: don't forget to check out my story blue eyes crying in the rain' in the encounters' section of this site. New chapter to be added there soon as well.
beer4myhorses@hotmail.com
thanx 4 waiting.