She woke alarmed, lifting her head off Christian�s chest. The sun was sinking in the sky; her father would be deathly worried. Christian still lied there asleep, yet his face still tense. Even though her mind told her not too, she couldn�t resist. She squirmed towards him and ever so softly kissed him on the lips. He softly moaned and his face relaxed. She knew she should wake him up, she knew that she should leave, but she so desperately didn�t want to. The cold night air began to settle in, and she snuggled into Christian, his body heat warming her. After a time, Christian woke up to find Bridgette now asleep on top of him. He chuckled and looked out at the night sky.
�Bridgette,� his eager voice said.
�Hmmm?� she said sleepily.
�We sang on the top of this,� he said suddenly starting a conversation, his voice full of hurt.
She looked up into his green watery eyes, and grazed her hand across his cheek, running it slowly over the beauty mark that lied upon it.
�The love medley you wrote,� Bridgette replied remembering it in Memories of Satine.
�How did you know?� he said surprised.
She grabbed the book out of her purse. His face was full of wonder.
�It came, today,� she said softly, realizing she should�ve said it came a week ago.
He awkwardly approached her, and ran his fingers across the binding of the book.
�My book,� he said, his voice breaking.
She went up and hugged him.
�Oh, Christian,� she said in sorrow and confusion.
�She�s gone, but she won�t let me go,�
�Christian,�
�She�s holding onto me and all this pain is brought on by...�
�Yourself,� Bridgette interrupted.
He looked at her mystified but then in agreement.
�By myself,�
�Christian, I have not the slightest clue what you feel, but I care�� she stopped.
He waited.
�I care for you, more than anyone else in the world, I�I love you Christian, and I think, I think that you need to let go, and I know it�s hard, but wouldn�t that be what Satine wanted?�
�How would you know what Satine wanted? You didn�t even know her,� he said now full of bitterness.
Bridgette sighed in disbelief. Another striking blow weakening the plan that she and Christian would ever have anything.
�No, no you�re right,� she said angered. �I don�t know what Satine would�ve wanted. I�m telling you what I want. Christian I love you, but you�re not going to see that. You�ve created this shell, and you won�t let anyone else in. In the boldness of terms, Satine is dead. She isn�t going to come back, and you can�t dream and rot yourself away wanting her too. Christian, I hope you get help from someone, maybe Toulouse or I dunno. I...� she said beginning to sob. �I can�t help you anymore because I love you too much, and to be around someone I love this greatly, and not be able to have them as my own�� She cried, droplets of tears rolling down her face, the cool wind chilling her face. She turned away and left. Left like she had before. She felt hurt and embarrassment fill her like that day. Christian had hurt her and she had disobeyed her father�s rules again. When he could no longer see her, Christian huffed and sat down on the head of the elephant, feeling flabbergasted. What was he to say? It was true.
�Go on��
�Love��
It rang in his mind. All day he had known the meaning, but he didn�t want to make true of it. He couldn�t. It was a sign from his weak soul that now was buried in this shell of a broken man. A person he had once known and loved, a person who was smart and charming, talented, a visionary. Yet, he was no longer talking about Satine. It was himself. He looked up to the moon shining brightly in the sky, and he saw a reflection of Bridgette�s face. Flashbacks of the countless walks he had with her, how she still persisted even when he turned away. She had broken her father�s rules for him; she had opened his heart to passion, even when he had been unimaginably mean. He could see her shining blue eyes, and now he felt his heart ache. An ache he had felt as he had tried to write that night after he met Satine.
He stared out as he felt utter confusion. He numbed himself of the thoughts that had been destroying him, and took one step down, a step into freedom, because in that moment, no longer did he let the grief control him. The shell that he was created was breaking at the seams, as his inner soul pounded to get out.
�You can tell everyone that�� he sang, the first melody that had came out in months.
He stood up.
�Bridgette!!!� he said beginning to race out of the room. No longer was he thinking things thoroughly. He acted on his impulses as he had always done, the way he had liked. Why did he have to wallow in sorrow for the rest of his life? Satine had told him that very day differently.
�Go on��
�Love��
He ran down through the garden. �Bridgette!!!� he screamed more joyously.
�Hey it�s that guy again!!!� a man�s voice screamed.
Christian looked over, feeling a smile creep on his face, a light fill him, and he laughed.
He ran out the door before they could catch up. The wind caught up beneath his shirt sleeves, and he soared down the road, like a bird. He felt free.
�I�m as free as a bird!!� he sang.
Onlookers looked at him with confusion and disgust.
�Does he know what time of night it is?� an old woman said in anger.
Bridgette trudged into the shop. Immediately her father arose.
�Where have you been!!? I�ve been worried sick, you weren�t at the library, I went there myself!�
She walked past him.
�Young lady answer me!! You liar!� he screeched.
She stopped and turned around. She did deserve it. She though deserved punishment and banishment to hell after what she had done. Her father should�ve kicked her out on the street.
�I�m sorry father, I went��
�Where?�
She would not lie again. She would clean herself now.
�I went to the Moulin Rouge!�
�WHAT!?�
She walked up the steps.
�I foreboded you to go there!!�
�Father I�m not a two-year old!!! Why can�t you understand that?! I can�t do this I can�t do that, please father I�ve broken all your morals and standards, it doesn�t matter anymore.�
She headed up the steps as her father stood paralyzed in shock.
Christian walked as he neared the building. His biggest obstacle was her father, and this time he was going to let people know. He had hid his love with Satine, and that had hurt him. He approached the door and firmly knocked.
�What are you doing here at this time?� her father said in anger as he opened the door.
�I�m wrote the book, I heard it came,�
�You can get it in the morning,� he said closing the door.
�And I�m in love with your daughter!�
He paused.
�Stay away from her!� he replied.
Bridgette was alarmed by the sound of arguing and walked to the steps, where she could hear.
�Please just let me speak to her,�
�Go away!!� he said slamming the door.
Christian looked down the road stumped and frustrated.
�I love her, and well, I want to say I�m sorry! I�m sorry for what I did!� he yelled through the door.
�What did you do!!?� her father said swinging open the door and grabbing his shirt collar.
�I�I was mean to her,�
Bridgette�s father tightened his grip a rage swam through him.
�Sir, I know how I look, I�m a washed up nobody who looks like they ran through brambles, but I love your daughter more than anyone else in the Earth, and I, I treated her so meanly before, so cold, when she just tried to help me. I know you don�t believe me, and neither will she, but I just want one word with her, please� he pleaded.
Bridgette stood on the steps as tears of joy ran down her face, she wasn�t sure whether to faint or run or scream. Her Christian.
�Get out of my house!!� her father said pushing him out the door. �It�s strictly business with the Pierre�s Edition family and THAT IS THAT!!�
�NOOOO!!!� she screamed as she ran down the steps.
�Go back upstairs Bridgette, the man is unsafe!!�
�He�s the man I love!� she said, pleading into his eyes.
�You�re kidding?� he said hurt.
�Father,�
Christian had begun down the street, feeling as if he had lost all, all that hope.
Bridgette ran out the door and chased after him.
She patted him on the back, and he turned around to face Bridgette, he face full of joyous tears.
�Hey stranger,� she said her voice weak and nimble from the earlier tears.
He turned his head, and to his surprise it was Bridgette. Christian�s hands slowly rising to her face, softly landing on her warm cheeks, wiping her tears. Her arms slid around his back, her hands locking. He moved closer towards her embrace and opened his mouth, his eyes tilted downward, staring intently and lovingly upon her. He then kissed her passionately.
�I love you,� he said. �I�m sorry for everything,�
Bridgette shed more tears of happiness.
�Hey,� he said softly. �No more tears,�
She let out a relieved chuckle, and couldn�t imagine this was happening, not even in her dreams.
They kissed again, everything else becoming a blur, not a worry, no more awkwardness. This time it felt right. Her father stared down the street and watched them remain lip-locked under the glow of the foggy street lights. He lowered his glasses and wiped his eyes.
�How wonderful life is, now you�re in the world,� he said.
They looked upon one another, smiles from ear to ear. Christian and Bridgette no longer feared the world, and it was no longer the end of it. Christian felt the shell that had concreted itself over his soul, finally weaken and bust. The world was just beginning.
