“Remi, what are you doing?” Balthazar asked.
“I am getting your girl educated in movies. It’s the quickest way for her to learn what she is missing. Besides, who doesn’t love a good movie?”
“Depends on the movie.”
“We are starting withHarry Potter.”
“Hey, I thought you saidToy Storywas first?” Ink complained, stopping what he was doing.
“Fine,” Remi sighed, sitting in the chair next to my bed. Placing her feet up on the mattress. “We will start with Toy Story.”
Ink smiled and finished hooking up the box thing. Leaning over to Remi, I whispered, pointing at the thing Ink was messing with. “What is that?”
“That’s a television. Just wait and see. Your gonna love it.”
Balthazar sighed getting up from the bed. I reached out and grabbed his hand. Squeezing softly, I looked at him and asked, “Please stay.”
Nodding, he motioned for me to scoot over. Doing so, I said nothing as he sat down next to me, making himself comfortable. Within minutes, my eyes widened in wonder as I watched my very first movie.
Nine
Ghost
“Why won’t she stop crying!” I shouted at everyone in the common room. I was about to lose my shit. Ari had been crying for over an hour now, and nobody knew why. Everything was fine. She seemed happy while watching that stupid cartoon Ink loved so much. Hell, Ink, and a few of the other brothers were singing and laughing along with it as if they were watching it for the first time ever. Yet, when the movie ended, Ari was crying.
I didn’t know what was wrong. Nobody knew. I couldn’t get her to stop. I tried talking to her, but she was inconsolable. I couldn’t take it anymore and left her alone with Remi, praying she could figure it out. When Remi came upstairs a few minutes ago and informed me she had no clue why Ari was crying, I lost it.
“This is your fault!” I shouted and pointed my finger at Ink. “You had to watch that stupid cartoon!”
“Hey,” Ink yelled back. “Toy Story is not stupid. It’s about friendship, forgiveness, and love. Every kid loves it.”
“Then why won’t she stop crying?” I asked sternly. When Ink didn’t respond, I grabbed him by his cut and said, “She either stops crying, or I’m going to make you cry.”
“Ghost, calm down,” Reaper said, tugging on my shoulder, making me release Ink. Turning to Reaper, I shouted. “He wanted to watch it, and now my woman is downstairs crying, and she won’t stop!”
The room stilled, no one moved.
I heard a few brother’s gasps while others took a step back.
Reaper grinned, and then Remi started to cry.
What the fuck!
I couldn’t deal with this shit.
If no one was going to fix her, I would.
Fucking bastards, the lot of them.
Marching downstairs, I ignored Healer, who was at his desk, reading another medical journal, and headed straight for Ari. She was curled up on her side, silently crying. I couldn’t take it anymore. Walking over to her, I kicked off my boots and climbed in behind her. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her closer to me, holding her tightly. Kissing the top of her head, I pleaded, “Please, baby, you gotta stop. You’re killing me.”
“I’m trying,” she sobbed more into my chest. God, whatever was wrong, I desperately needed to take this from her. She’d been through too much already, and whatever was upsetting her wasn’t helping her heal.
Cautiously, I asked. “Can you tell me why you’re so upset?”
“It was so beautiful,” she hiccupped, sniffing back the snot running from her nose. Ari was a beautiful woman, that was for sure, but God almighty, she cried horribly. Her whole body cried, and it wasn’t pretty. Her eyes were swollen, her nose was red, her body shook with tremors, she felt deeply, and it showed. Reaching between us, I grabbed my shirt and tenderly wiped her nose. “What was beautiful?”
“The movie,” she said, looking up at me. “I’d never seen such a magnificent thing. It was perfect. Happy. Funny. Sad. Intense and when Andy found his toys at the end, I prayed he would, and he did. He was so happy. I was happy for him. I have never been so happy before.”