| Chapter Forty-Five: |
| "...Lemme get this straight. You're going to Maryland. For a year. I'm not gonna see you for a YEAR?" Brian asked, still not believeing what he was hearing. Hallie looked up from her packing. "That's the jist of it, yeah." She walked over to Brian, who was sitting on the other end of the bed staring into space. "I know that this is a surprise. A shock, even. But this is something that the girls and I have to do... We haven't gotten along that well lately, and we're starting to take sides and that's not good. Don't take this personally, but we just need some time alone." She threw her arms around his neck. "I still love you," she said, giving Brian a puppy-dog face. He rolled his eyes. "That isn't always gonna work on me, ya know," he muttered, giving Hallie a quick kiss. "But it still works now?" she asked, putting more emotion into it. "Yes, it does." ~*~*~ "It's for a year. I'm going to be gone for a year. Justin, are you even listening to me or are you listening to what the voices in your head are telling you?" Justin looked at Ali. "I'm listening, I'm just not believeing. You're gonna be gone for an entire year, three hundred and sixty five days?" "Actually it's three hundred and sixty six, the year two thousand is a leap year," Ali said, sitting on the couch next to Justin. "You're not making this any easier," Justin said, standing up and starting to pace in front of Ali. "What am I supposed to do?" Ali asked. "Stay home and cater to your schedule? Justin, I can't do that." "I thought you wanted to be with ME," he said, stopping his pacing and looking Ali in the eye. She stood up. "I DO wanna be with you. But I haven't been with my friends in... a long time. We need this, my friends are more important to me than anything in the world." "More important than me?" Justin asked, almost accusingly. Ali paused for a second after she had opened her mouth to answer. "Do you want the truth?" "Yeah." Ali took a deep breath before answering. "You were more important to me than anything for a long time. I wouldn't see my friends for weeks at a time. That doesn't make me love you any less, but it makes me feel bad because I'm ignoring my friends. And I can't do that anymore. If I spend any more time away from my friends, they're all gonna disown me, and I don't want that to happen. So, at this point, yes, my friends are more important than you." Justin blinked. "That's all I needed to know," he said, grabbing his jacket and walking toward the door. "Where are you going?" Ali asked, grabbing Justin's arm. He pulled it back. "To see someone who means more to me than anything." ~*~*~ "Nicky, help me," Lily whined, taking a seat on Nick's lap. "But I'm in the middle of a game," he said, trying to see around her. "But I need help packing, I have too much stuff." "Honey, I'll help you later, can I finish this?" Nick asked, pausing the game and looking up at Lily. Lily smiled. "Of course you can," she said, standing up and heading toward her bedroom. "Thank you," Nick yelled, unpausing the game and continuing beating the Utah Jazz. "...But I'm packing my bras now, so if you wanna..." Nick's eyes widened. "I'm HELPING!!!!!!!" Back to Close Chapter 46 |