Broken

Thirty Four.

"Miss Rose? I'm going to escort you back to your seat." A young man in a tuxedo said to me over the commotion backstage. I only managed to nod my head. I gathered as much of my dress in my hand with my other hand wrapped around the man's arm. "Congratulations on the award." He spoke calmly. I smiled again.
"Thank you. I'm sorry. I'm..um.." I glanced at the mock award in my hand then back to his kind eyes. "..still in shock." He gave me a stern nod. The sounds of yells startled me to see Chris and the Tom's running up to me. We have already made it back to the seats. I thanked the young man for escorting me back. I stopped the boys from their stampeding approach with my hand between us. Their expressions shifted to concern swiftly. I sluggishly dropped my hand, lift up the award and allowed my smile to grow wider. "Yeaaahh!!!" I exclaimed. They completed their lengthy and quickened strides to me. Chris embraced me first.

"I love you so much, baby." He whispered into my ear. His arms squeezed me tighter.
"I love you more." I whispered back. I moved my head and puckered my lips. I giggled at the little chuckle escaping his lips as he kissed me. The aggressive pulling at our arms broke apart our lips.
"I'm not gonna snog ya but I do need a hug, darling." Tommy said, laughing. Chris and I laughed as he hugged me. Charlotte and Tom took turns congratulating and hugging me. An announcement echoing around the theatre informed us of the show coming back from commercial. We all returned to our seats. I set the 'award' on the floor by my feet.

The stage was alive again with lights and music. After more award winners announced and more commercial breaks, a cameraman appeared in front of Tom. We hyped Tom with squeals and pushing his arms. In the blink of an eye and a smile at Chris, they announced Tom as the winner for Best Supporting Actor. His acceptance speech was endearing, heartfelt and compassionate. Exactly how someone would describe him as a person. Chris and I wiped tears from our eyes during his walk off stage.
The speech I gave for winning Original Screenplay felt repetitive. I thanked everything in front and behind the camera this time. Making sure I named every person I could think of. I ended with expressing my love for Chris again and blowing a kiss to him.

Tommy won Best Actor. We all cried with him during his acceptance speech. He kept it simple; thanking the Academy, Chris, the cast and crew, Charlotte and their kids. We hugged and celebrated with Tommy when he returned to his seat.
A camera appeared in front of Chris. Our eyes gazed up at Jane Fonda during her introductions to the directors nominated for Best Director. I entangled my fingers with Chris'. His stammered breathing caused me to raise my eyes to him.

"Deep breathes." I silently reminded him. He nodded his head. A small smirk curled the corner of his lips.
"You know me so well, baby." He murmured back.
"That's why I'm your wi—" I froze. Our eyes connected right away. "—ize girlfriend!" I improvised. Chris covered his mouth to quiet his laughter. The cameraman pointed to us. We quickly composed ourselves.
"Chris Evans, The Boss." Jane Fonda announced. The theatre erupted with applause. The cameras returned to Jane.
"Baby.." I kept my eyes on Jane and only tilted my head closer to Chris. "..you have to wait until I propose." He whispered into my ear. My jaw dropped slightly. The cameraman pointed to us again.
"And the Oscar goes to.." I tightened my grip on his hand. My eyes filling with tears already. "..Chris Evans, The Boss!" I sprung to my feet. I cupped his face with my hands and kissed his lips firmly. Chris kissed my forehead then quickly hugged the Tom's. I wiped the tears from my eyes watching him walk up to the stage.

"Wow, this is uh..this is amazing." He said into the microphone. He stared down at the award for a few seconds as the applauding crowd silenced. "This award isn't only for me. I wouldn't have done this without the astounding efforts from the crew beside me and the cast in front of me." The big screens lit up with me and the Tom's wiping more tears. Chris sniffled. "Thank you to the Academy, to my family and to my publicist and agent and my dog." Everyone laughed at his rambling. Chris grasped at the award with both hands. "My father once told me: 'happiness comes from the heart'. He is right. I have never experienced as much happiness from my heart, as much as I have now, holding this award and being loved by such an inspiring, strong, courageous and beautiful woman. Sarah, I stand here because of you. I love you." I blew kisses to him. "Thank you!" He held the award in the air. Everyone cheered and applaud during his walk off stage. Charlotte handed me a tissue. I laughed embarrassingly at my blubbering.

"Best Picture is up next!" Tommy violently whispered to me. I gasped whipping my head to both sides of the stage.
"I hope Chris makes it back to his seat." I whispered back. Morgan Freeman was announced to present the nominees. The Tom's and I applaud him while trying to cautiously look for Chris. The cameraman appeared in front of us as the theatre dimmed for the nominees to play on the big screens. Someone approached the seats hastily in my peripheral vision. I turned my head to see Chris holding his pointer finger to his shushing lips. The Tom's and I quietly celebrated his win. Chris cupped the side of my face to bring me close to him.
"I told them I had to be with you if we win." His lips kissed mine gently. I nodded my head and smiled. The lights turned on. Chris and I sat back into our seats. We all held each other's hands.

"And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to.." The entire theatre went silent. My heart pounding echoed in my ears. I filled my lungs with air and turned my head to Chris. We stared into each other's eyes without blinking. Chris tightened his fingers entangled with mine. I could hear the sounds of Morgan Freeman opening the envelope and clearing his throat. He inhaled slowly to announce the winner. "The Boss."