Orchid Friends

Chapter 5

A knock on the door woke me up
“ Dalia!  It’s me Nicolette,  are you ready?”
I got out of bed and opened the door, “ I’m sorry, but I fell asleep,  I can't come with you tonight" I said
“ che succede? You look horrible! “ said Nicolette
“ I just broke up with Theo " I cried
“ OH, I’m sorry” she said hugging me
“ he cheated on me" I said crying
“ Bastardo! He doesn’t deserve you, you will be fine, we all will help you overcome this, now go get dressed and come with me" said Nicolette  pushing me away
“ I can't come, I feel terrible “ I cried
“ music helps heal the soul, tonight you can listen to music and it will make you feel better, believe me, now get ready, I won't leave without you,” she shouted at me
I got dressed and washed my face and put some make up on and then left with Nicolette . When we arrived in her music class  everyone was already seated. Leo had saved us two seats so we sat next to him. Every student got up and performed,  one person played “Candle in the wind” by Elton John and another sang “Perfect” by Ed  Sheeran and Nicolette sang “The power of love” by Celin Dion , she was amazing. Then it was Leo’s turn and he played “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and he was extraordinary. There were other performances and I enjoyed all of them.
“ you both were great! I didn't know you both were so talented!” I exclaimed
“ you are to kind" smiled Nicolette
“ thank you! You are too sweet" said Leo as we all walked out of the class
“ Dalia  I told you, music heals the soul, you look better already" said Nicolette hugging me
“ stai male?” asked Leo worried
“ Yes, but it's in my heart, it was broken tonight, and I'm happy I came, it took my mind off of it for awhile “ I said sadly
“what happened? “ asked Leo
“ I broke up with my boyfriend “ I said with tears in my eyes
“ oh, mi dispiace" he said hugging me “ but don't cry, please, you look better when you are smiling “
“ so you're saying I look like shit" I said crying
“ well, I agree with Leo, smiling is much better than crying, I told you before, he doesn't deserve you, he is a cheating bastard" said Nicolette angrily
“ he cheated on you? “ asked Leo looking into my eyes
“ yes, he did” I said with a sigh
“ Dalia any man that cheats on their woman is a heartless man, I could never do that to the woman I love" exclaimed Leo
“ then you are one in a million,  all men cheat! ” said Nicolette throwing her hands in the air
“ listen , I think I will be going to my room now, I need some rest" I said
“ I will walk you to your room" said Leo
“ I’m going for a drink, the music class is meeting at the bar" said Nicolette
“ have fun I said" and walked away with Leo by my side. He then took my hand and we walked in silence to my door.
“ thank you, for walking me to my room and for a fun night, you play so well" I said looking into Leo's eyes
“ it's always a pleasure having you near me Dalia,  I’m really sorry for what happened to you, and I hope I can help you overcome this, I am here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on, even if I prefer you smiling “ he said kissing my cheek softly and then hugging me.
He smelled so good and being in his arms felt so good and I didn’t want him to leave, but I knew it wasn't  right for him to stay.
“ goodnight, Leo " I said opening the door
“ goodnight Dalia” he smiled
I closed the door and stop behind the door thinking about Leo and how sweet he was.
The next few days I stuck to my studies and tried not to think about Theo. I spoke to my parents every evening and tried calling Terry several times but she never answered. It made me sad that Terry was acting so selfish with me after all these years of being there for her. She didn’t have a good relationship with her family but I always made her feel like she was part of my family, and when some guy treated her badly I was always there defending her and when she drank too much I was there to take her home. Now I needed her and she wasn't there for me.
One day as I was studying Leo came to visit me bringing me a hot coffee.
“ thanks that's exactly what I needed, come in and have a seat" I said letting him in and closing the door
“ I knew you would like a coffee, so how’s it going?” he asked
“ I’m ok, I guess, I've been studying a lot so it keeps me occupied “ I said sipping my coffee
“ that's good, I’m happy to hear”
“ what about you, everything ok?” I asked
“ well, I actually came here tonight to ask you a favour, you see tonight my music class organised an event at the Royal Albert Hall and I was hoping you would accompany me"
“ isn't Nicolette going?” I asked
“ yes, but she's going with Shawn  one of our classmates “ he said
“ well then, I will accompany you!” I smiled
“ it’s a formal event, so we need to be elegant  and I will meet you at the entrance at 7 p.m.” he said getting up and walking to the door
“ ok, I’ll see you later then" I said as he walked out the door and closing it behind him
I continued to study and then went into the shower. I looked through my clothes and decided on a long black dress with silver glitter on the bottom. It had silver straps on top and I decided to wear a back velvet Cape on top because it was cold outside. I put my hair up with some strings of hair hanging down. I wore silver shoes and I had a small silver bag. I looked at myself and was happy with what I saw. I had bought this gown before I left New York but I had never wore it and tonight it was perfect.
I found Leo at the entrance wearing a black tuxedo and a white shirt. When he saw me he stood there speechless starring at me.
“ is it too much ?“ I said worriedly
“ no, not at all, you look amazing! I will have the best looking woman as my date tonight!” he smiled taking my arm
“ you are exaggerating “ I laughed
We walked to the Royal Albert Hall since it was only a few blocks distance. The air was chilly but I didn’t feel cold and Leo's arm was linked with mine which kept me warm.
“ I love this place “ I said as we walked in
“ yes, me too, we will be watching a private music performance tonight, there will be classical artists and after the show we will attend a party “ he said taking my hand as we went up the stairs.
“ I am so excited” I said happily
“ you sound like a girl receiving a gift" he laughed
“ this is a gift, I always wanted to see a show here, and you are making it happen “ I exclaimed
“ I’m happy to do something special for you" he said squeezing my hand.
We took our seats and I saw Nicolette who was sitting a few rows in front of us, she turned and waved to us. The lights went out and the performance began.  Various artists performed and it was spectacular . Leo held my hand through the whole performance and it felt good. At the end of the show we followed the crowd to an area where there was the piano playing and waiters coming around serving finger foods and champagne. Nicolette came to join us with her date. He was tall with short wavy brown hair and brown eyes and very handsome.
“ Dalia,  this is Shawn” she said introducing her date
“ nice to meet you" I smiled
“ nice to meet you too Dalia" he said shaking my hand.
“Hi Shawn” said Leo
“ it was an amazing show" exclaimed Nicolette “ did you like it Dalia? “ she asked
“ yes! I enjoyed every minute of it” I said happily
“ I’m happy you liked it or I would have felt bad if you would have fallen asleep “ laughed Leo
“ not at all! “ I laughed
The rest of the evening we talked and laughed. Leo introduced me to his other classmates and they were all very nice. The party ended and we walked back with linked arms. The air had got colder so Leo put his arm around me to keep me warm walking back to our dorms. He walked me to my door and looked me into my eyes
“ Dalia I had a wonderful evening with you, I’m so happy you came with me" he said
“ I’m happy you invited me, it was wonderful" I smiled
He then bent over and kissed me. His lips were soft and he kissed me delicately .I didn’t want him to stop and he felt it and continued to kiss me. He then left my lips and hugged me tightly caressing my back.
“ Dalia I have wanted to kiss you from the first moment I met you” he whispered in my ear
I was speechless and I didn’t know what to say so I just stood in his arms enjoyed it. After a few minutes I broke away
“ it’s late, I need to get some rest" I said opening my door “ thank you for tonight" I smiled
“ I hope to give you other nights like this" he bent and kissed me softly on the cheek and walked away as I closed the door
I undressed and layed in bed thinking about Leo and fell sound asleep.
The next day my phone ringing woke me up.
“ hello" I said sleepily
“Dalia, are you sleeping?” it was Terry's mom
“ yes, but that's ok, what's going on?”I asked
“ Terry had an accident, she's in the hospital" she cried
“ Terry? Is she ok?” I asked
“ I don't know yet but she might lose the baby" she cried
“ the baby? What baby?” I asked in shock
“ Dalia Terry didn’t want you to know, but she's pregnant “
“ I will take the first flight out” I said hanging up
I ran around my room grabbing clothes and throwing them in my luggage.  I called the airlines and booked a flight for that evening. Then I took a shower and got dressed. I went to speak to my professors telling them I had to leave two weeks before Christmas break  they all assured me it was no problem after I explained to them my situation. I then went to tell Anita that I was leaving and told her to tell everyone else and then I called a cab and left for the airport. My heart was beating hard and my palms were sweating and all I could think about was Terry laying in a hospital bed. She avoided my calls and never told me what she was going through and I thought she was being selfish instead she was protecting me. She didn’t want me to worry about her and she didn’t want me to help her like I always did in the past.