A thousand people could fit into the gap between Arthur and I during that car ride. I fiddled with my engagement ring as I stared into space. Was I actually making the right choice? The Arthur I saw today, scares me. It's like I don't even know him.
"Toria..." I turned to him and waited for him to continue. "Can we just try, for Louise? It's her day and I know how much you would hate to ruin it for her."
"You ruined it the moment you beat one of her best friends up."
"Victoria..."
"But, I won't add to that. I'll be fine. Let's just get through this." He reached out for my hand but I pulled it away. When we got to the venue for our brunch with Louise and other close friends, we put our smile on. When I stepped out of the car, Arthur emerged from his side and took my hand in his. When we got to the red carpet for the brunch, we stopped to take some pictures. He had his arm around my waist, and I had my hand on his chest. I was an actual princess. Faking a smile is in my handbook.
As we moved away from the photographers, we ran into Louise and Carter, her fiancé.
"If it isn't the future king and queen of the United Kingdom." Louise said as we approached her.
"No. Please." I said with a smile. "Today is all about both of you. Congratulations guys."
"Thank you." She gave me a tight hug before turning to Arthur. "And thank you too."
"For what?"
"For making the best decision you've ever made."
"I don't follow."
"Victoria. I never understood what you guys had until I found Carter. It's almost as if I was incomplete, and I didn't even know that. And I'm so happy to know that I will never lose this." Arthur pulled me closer and gave a light smile.
"Well, I should be the one thanking Victoria. She makes me a better person everyday."
"Well, I'm just happy that Louise had such good friends to take care of her before we met. She may never tell you both, but she holds each of you in very high esteem." Carter added. I felt like a scam.
"Please, excuse me." I left them standing there and I headed to the bathroom. After ensuring that I was alone, I broke down. I never understood why my father stayed with my mom despite some of her nasty attributes, and whenever I asked, he would tell me it's love. But love isn't meant to hurt this much. Being at loggerheads with Arthur killed me. I felt like I was dying on the inside.
While I was drowning in my pain, Camille walked in. I would normally pretend that everything was perfect, but not with her.
"Hey. I saw you run off. What's going on?" She walked up to me and placed a hand on my back. I raised my head and she saw my tears. She immediately pulled me into a hug. "Oh Tori. What happened?"
"Arthur. What if we shouldn't be doing this? What if he's not the person I thought he was? What should I do?"
"Arthur is not perfect. But don't you see, you're making him better. He was a mess until you came along. I've never been more sure about anything Tori. Arthur is your forever. You can try to delay that, but it's true. Whatever happened between you guys today, shouldn't change what you know."
"And what's that?"
"That he's a good man. And that he loves you."
I cleaned myself up and stepped out with Cam. I met up with Simon and Timothy while I was looking for Arthur.
"Vicky!" Simon said as he pulled me into a hug. "Congratulations! I never got to tell you that. And where's that lucky bastard?"
"I'm not sure. But thank you Simon. I trust I'll be seeing you at the wedding?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Welcome to the family Victoria. My cousin did good. Really good." Timothy said as he hugged me.
"Thank you. I really appreciate all the support."
"Of course. Wait, where's George?"
"He had something to attend to. But he'll meet us for the yacht party."
"Cool."
Like I said, it was a day filled with events. And luckily George made it to the party. But, by the time we got back to my place, I was too tired to fight with Arthur. I dropped my purse on the kitchen counter, and then headed for the door.
"Where are you going to?" Arthur asked as he took his jacket off.
"I'm going to check up on George."
"Victoria..."
"Don't Arthur."
"Victoria, you told me that something was up with him, and you were right. Please, just stay here. Let him figure this out."
"Figure what out?" He turned away and headed into the room. I followed him, but he didn't want to say anything about George again. Somehow, we just fell asleep. I woke up to pee in the middle of the night, and I felt thirsty, so I went to the kitchen. I felt uneasy. I really wanted to make sure that George was ok. He gave me an extra key, so I used it to let myself in. It was dark, but I could hear him moving around in his room. When I walked, he had torn almost everything down. He didn't even notice me. And that was when I noticed the empty bottle of pills on his drawer. I walked to him and as soon as I placed my hand on him, he pushed me and I hit my back against the wall. I reached for the pill bottle, and it was oxycodone.
I ignored the pain I was feeling and got up. I wrapped my arms around him and ignored all his fighting.
"Let me go!!! Victoria, let me go! I'll kill you!!" I wasn't angry at him, cause all I could do was cry. He broke free and pulled out a bat. "Get out Victoria! I don't want to hurt you. Just leave! Why won't you just leave?!"
"Because you're my friend. And I love you. And I don't care if you hurt me, but I would rather be bruised and here with you, than safe and unsure about you."
He threw the bat at me, and before I could duck, someone grabbed it mid-air.
"That's enough!" I turned to see Arthur behind me. "You crossed the line this time George." Arthur made his way towards George and I stopped him. "Victoria, step aside. He's had enough fun for one night."
"Arthur please..." He pushed through my hand, but I held unto his shirt. "Arthur please! Just let me talk to him!"
"You tried! It's time for me to step in."
"No! Just let me try this." I turned to George who went back to tearing his room apart. "When my sister died, you called me everyday for six months. And there were days when I wouldn't want to talk about how I felt, but you would send me a text so I could know that you were there." I watched him slowly sit down, and I made a move to go to him, but Arthur held me back.
"He's not the George you know right now babe."
"Trust me." He let me go, and I sat down next to George. "A week after Freja died, I took a trip to Seychelles, and I went for a swim. And I was floating around, but I got lost in thought, and I started drowning. And for a quick second, I just wanted to let go. I didn't want to fight it. I wanted to go. But in that moment, I realised that I left the best man in the world, and he didn't deserve that. I realised that I had been given a friend for life, who wouldn't let me go, no matter how many times I begged him to. Many nights, I would wake up, soaked in sweat from the nightmares. I was suffering, and nobody knew. But in those moments, I would play one of the many voice notes that you always left me, and I would be fine. I'm still healing George, but that doesn't mean that I don't have the time to help you heal too. I'll get you the help you need George. And I'll be there every step of the way."
He leaned into me and I gave him a hug. We got some of Arthur's security to take him straight to a private rehab centre in Wales. It was for the best. When we got back to the apartment, Arthur sat me down. I was drained.
"Victoria..."
"You were right."
"No. I wasn't."
"I ran away then, and I almost did it again. I needed you to help me heal, and that scared me. I would've hurt you. And it took George flying halfway across the world for me to realise that I had hurt you. I love you so much, it actually hurts. And you... you don't need me to weigh you down with my problems."
"Don't ever say that. I wish that I could take all your pain away, but I can't. I would bring her back if I could Victoria, in a heartbeat. I just need you to see that I'm here."
"And I need you to realise that I'm sorry. I should've never left."
"It's fine."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"To the moon and back."
"To the moon and back."