Somewhere Else
Chapter 6 - Half Empty Boxes
Pacey sat on his bed, absently watching T.V. while downing a beer. This wasn’t the way he imagined spending tonight. Although Lisette didn’t actually say she was mad, he knew she was. He was about to suggest a walk along the dock when she suddenly blurted out that she was tired and would rather go home.
The only reason he had turned the T.V. on in the first place was because of the moaning sounds coming from next door. Apparently, some girls get very desperate on Valentine’s Day and guys like Frank Strickler pounce on such opportunities to get laid.
He flipped through the channels until he concluded there was nothing worth watching. He felt like bugging someone and that someone turned out to be Joey. As usual. He figured by now there was a chance she would be home.
Fortunately, she was the one who picked up. “Hello?”
Pacey smiled, then kidded, “I should have figured you’d be home.”
“Pacey? Hold on. I thought it was someone else.” He could hear the creaking sound of the rickety chair as she sat down. Joey said in a low voice, “I thought you’d be with Lisette.”
“Let’s just say that didn’t work as planned.”
“How’d you celebrate? That way I’ll be able to tell where you screwed up.”
“Borrowed a boat and had dinner there.”
“A boat? That sounds wonderful.”
Too bad the date wasn’t with you, Pacey desperately wanted to say. Instead, he continued, “Lisette didn’t think so. There’s some connection to Abby Morgan, I think.” Joey gasped, having not heard that name in a long time. Pacey continued, “I’m not sure how or why. I have to think she’s found a life by now. The gist is Lisette’s annoyed and I’m here alone. Happy fucking Valentine’s Day.”
“I think the day is cursed. Nobody’s having any luck romantically. Drue’s out of town and Jen became my date for the evening.”
“What? I thought Jack was supposed to head to the theatre.”
“Michael bought two tickets. Need I say more?”
“Fucking asshole.”
“Agreed. So now Jack is here, waiting for Charlie to return.”
“You let him in? After that?”
“It was either I let him in or he sits outside the apartment to wait. There’s only one person who can tell him to get lost and it’s not me.”
“Did he say anything about what happened?”
“Nothing specific. But I want to get back to this Abby Morgan thing. Where is that coming from?”
Pacey explained to her what Lisette told him. As he mentioned the details of Joey’s journal, he could hear some uncertainty in her voice. He was hoping that Joey would believe his theory but she wasn’t biting.
“I don’t understand why, even if what you’re saying is true, would Lisette be so bothered. She must realize that your life didn’t begin the day she showed up. You two are sickeningly happy.”
“Well, I’m not so sure about that. I’m not even sure she trusted me before this, especially regarding you.”
“Are you certain Abby’s involved?”
“No. It just seemed like something she would have the resources to do.”
“Good point.”
“I refuse to have that lowlife interfere in our lives. Again.”
Joey considered Pacey’s situation. Not so much about Abby returning but why Pacey was convinced it was true. Moreover, why Lisette was letting some nutcase dictate their situation. Finally, she asked the question she didn’t really want to hear the answer. “Do you love Lisette?”
The question took Pacey by surprise. “Do I what?”
“Must I repeat myself? It’s bad enough I asked that question once.”
“Do I love Lisette,” Pacey wondered aloud. Tonight was supposed to be about convincing himself he could move on from Joey. Yet he was spending the tail end of the day relaying his troubles to Joey. Pacey felt more at ease talking now than he had at any other point. He had to remind himself that the question was did he love Lisette, not Joey. Finally, he answered, “I honestly don’t know.”
“You either do or you don’t. It’s not like you two just met and there would be doubts.”
“I think I love her,” Pacey replied tentatively.
“You think? You don’t know?”
“Truthfully, no. I don’t know. I keep hoping a sign will come. So far, all I’ve got is a stupid note that I thought meant something but was probably from Abby.” He paused before asking, “You didn’t write me a mysterious note and tell someone to drop it off as a secret admirer thing, right?”
“What?” Joey said in a puzzled tone. “I have no idea what you’re talking about but I’m suddenly intrigued.”
“That’s what I thought. Abby still knows your handwriting and is still being a pain in the ass.”
“Hmmm. She did forge papers in my name in the past,” Joey recalled. For a moment, Pacey thought someone would finally agree with him. Then she replied, “It could be anything. Even if you’re right and Abby’s involved, that doesn’t mean it should have any effect on you.”
“Maybe,” Pacey replied, not at all convinced.
* * * * *
Charlie returned to the apartment, absolutely exhausted from the night. He’d opted to hang around the crew at the nearby bar rather than immediately return home. He didn’t want to deal with anybody regarding what happened earlier, so he settled on bitching about Valentine’s Day with the other single people. As far as he was concerned, he was one of them for the night.
By now, Charlie was used to walking quietly around the apartment at this hour. When Joey wasn’t giving him grief, the apartment was actually rather peaceful. Then again, that was the story of his life. It’s amazing how nice life could be without people interfering in it, he mused.
He entered his bedroom, draping his sweater on the chair. A bright light intruded his tranquil mood. Charlie twirled around to see Jack sitting on his bed, his hand moving from the lamp switch.
Jack was greeted with what seemed to be the same stare he saw when Charlie left earlier. He frowned slightly, then realized that was exactly what he deserved. Jack started, “I didn’t mean to startle you…”
“I remember inviting you to stay over. That offer didn’t include your boyfriend,” Charlie snapped.
Jack winced, knowing full well it was warranted. “I know that was bad. It was cruel and disrespectful and I shouldn’t have expected any other reaction.”
“You must have pegged me for an idiot. If you have to date him, go ahead. That doesn’t mean I want you to parade around with him, showing off in front of my face.”
“That wasn’t the intention.”
“Why are you even here? Did you seriously think you could jump from one fool to another?”
“I told him to leave.”
“Of course. You wouldn’t want his nibbling on your ear to interfere with your fucking apology.” Charlie turned around and opened the bedroom door. “Get the hell out of here.” He left the room and headed for the main exit, ready to lead him out.
Jack jumped off the bed and chased him down, exclaiming, “I meant I broke up with him!” Charlie stopped short, back facing Jack. “I didn’t realize how messy this had gotten until you two met. I had to make a decision. We say we’re fine dating others but that’s not the case. I don’t want to do that anymore!” Jack walked slowly toward him, waiting for a reaction. When he didn’t say or do anything, Jack added, “Can we just call it off?”
Charlie stared at the door, still somewhat angry about the events of the night. Yet he knew what, ultimately, needed to be done. He replied softly, “It would be easier without other people.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, Jack walked over and gave him a hug from behind. Jack whispered in his ear, “I know I’ve been a rather lousy partner. I’m so sorry I ruined your first night on the main stage.”
Charlie loosened Jack’s grip and turned around. “I’ll consider your apology but I hope you don’t mind if I don’t accept it right now.”
Jack pointed out correctly, “You’re not telling me to leave, either.”
“That’s true,” Charlie conceded. “It’s just…it seemed okay when it was about one-night stands or getting free drinks or other mindless shit. What happened with Michael was not what I pictured. It was getting rather serious.”
“I know, I just didn’t want to question it at the time,” Jack explained. “I was taken in by his power. Not the money so much as what privileges that meant. The problem is the luster wears off. I guess money can’t buy happiness.” He punctuated that by quickly brushing his lips against Charlie’s.
“That may be so,” Charlie tilted his head away from Jack, not wanting to give in just yet. “but it’s still essential to have a little money. That way, you’re not leeching off other people and angering them in the process when they realize you haven’t paid off any of their generous loan.”
Jack gave Charlie a playful shove, knowing exactly where that remark came from. “I don’t want to hear about your Joey issues. It’s bad enough Pacey has them.”
“You know how to kill a mood,” Charlie joked, then placed the palm of his hand on Jack’s neck and leaned in to kiss him. Jack was taken aback by the gesture but nonetheless willing to reciprocate.
After a few seconds, the moment was over and they broke away. Jack replied, “I missed you as well. I’ve missed this.”
“You’ve missed me saying something to the effect of ‘I’m too tired to continue this conversation’?” Charlie said jokingly. “I just want to go to sleep, if you don’t mind.” He trudged back toward his room.
Jack stood there, not sure where he was welcome. He walked toward the couch and was about to sit down when Charlie popped back in, “You can sleep in here if you do me one favor.”
“More begging?”
“Nope. Take a shower. That new cologne you’re wearing, which I’m guessing came from Michael because your taste isn’t that expensive or obnoxious, is making me sick.” Charlie returned to his room, muttering, “It’s bad enough I’ll have to fumigate this room.”
* * * * *
Joey woke up early the next morning, a habit she wished she could break on the weekend, and walked around. At least if she stayed in the t-shirt and cut-off sweatpants she slept in, she could convince herself she was still acting as if it was the weekend.
She lay down on the couch in the living room, thinking about Pacey. Was it so wrong that she desperately wished she really was the wedge that could break them up? Sure, there were these strange musings Pacey had regarding Abby Morgan. None of which she truly believed.
Lisette never liked Joey and she was perfectly okay with that since none of the gang was willing to accept Lisette. Now Joey really wanted to give the girl a legitimate reason to hate her. She imagined storming the dorms wearing a long trench coat with a sexy negligee underneath. Pacey would take one look at her and be able to forget he had a girlfriend.
He would forget Lisette; she was almost certain of that. Yet if she was truly serious about it, she would have jumped off this couch and actually start acting it out.
“Next weekend,” she muttered, “I’ll do it next weekend.” Joey jumped up and headed for the kitchen. “Love is an illusion, anyway. By then, I’ll remember that and call the whole thing off.”
She spotted the opened box of chocolate on the counter and helped herself to one. She bit half of the chocolate and said excitedly, “Yay, raspberry.” Joey had eaten most of the contents of the box even though Charlie was the one who bought it. Most of the box contained nut-filled candies but she finally found the one she desired.
Serious relationships were too complicated. Why couldn’t life be full of raspberry nougat rather than having to go through the lousy bits first? She shook her head, thinking about the stupidity of the comparison.
As she was about to return to bed, she saw Jack’s coat still on the hook by the door. Joey insisted, “No, that’s not possible. There is no way he could still be here.” She walked over to the door, making sure she wasn’t seeing things. “There must be a logical explanation. Let’s see, um, Charlie threw him out and the coat was just left behind. Okay, I feel better now.” She thought about that, “No, I don’t feel better. I’m not awake. I can’t be awake. That makes more sense.”
Only a little more sense, Joey quickly realized. “I know. I peek in Charlie’s room, find everything in place and I can then go back to sleep peacefully.” She nodded furiously, rambling as she headed for the bedroom door. “Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. Irrational Joey is on the loose today so she might as well go all the way and give a damn about her roommate’s personal life.”
Joey cautiously opened the door and was amazed to see Jack was still here. He had one arm on top of the blanket and could clearly see Charlie was underneath that arm. Quickly, she shut the door and headed back to her bedroom.
“I’m the only rational one in this fucking city,” she rambled furiously as she jumped back into bed and snuggled under her blanket. “If being in love makes you forgive someone for being so fucking selfish, leave me out of it. Why should I wonder about every goddamn move a guy makes?”
She tried to fall back asleep but it wasn’t happening. Soberly, she added, “Now if I could just get Pacey’s moves out of my head.”
Chapter 7 - Well-Intended
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