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Justin had a date.
Dru had vomited several hours ago because of this fact, but hadn't told him a thing about
it. She couldn't tell him. She had already told him that he had her blessing, that they weren't together so he could do what
he pleased. Hell, it would have been wrong to tell him no. They had broken up over a month ago. But still she wondered...
Why couldn't she be the girl that he wanted?
Because she was just Dru. No, she may not have been the homeless,
hungry, tired girl she had once been. But she was still she a weak, uneducated one. She knew, that Justin didn't need a weak
girlfriend. He didn't need the stress that came with it. Their former relationship had proven that.
She often wondered
why he had bothered being with her in the first place. He could never love her like the fabulous girl he was about to court
tonight. This girl wasn't weak...this girl wasn't a moron. This girl...wasn't locked at the knees. No, Dru knew she wasn't.
Because
he was going out with Marissa tonight.
"The blue or the black?" He asked her, holding two shirts in the air for Dru
to observe.
She liked the black. "The blue." She nodded.
Justin scrunched up his nose. "You think so?"
"Yeah,"
she said.
He studied her. "You like the black." He informed her.
Her eyes widened. How could he have possibly
known that?
He laughed. "You're funny girl." He hung the blue shirt back up and draped the black one over his shoulder.
"Tryin to make me look like a fool on my date."
"I-I wasn't..." She stuttered. "I really did like the blue."
"You
don't want me to go." He whispered, sitting down next to her on the bed. "I can tell."
She shifted away from him. "That's
not true Justin. You deserve to go out with a girl you like."
He pulled out his cell phone, sighing as he did so. "I'm
gonna cancel. I can't do this to you D. It's not fair."
She wanted to tell him to make the call. She wanted to tell
him how she hated the thought of his lips touching another girl. But she couldn't. Justin needed to have his space. "Don't
Justin," she said, in a slightly commanding tone. "I won't let you."
He let out a sigh, that sounded half relieved.
"You sure?"
She forced a smile. "I'm sure."
He kissed her on the cheek. "You're better than any girl I'll ever
date Dru." He smiled.
He wasn't making any sense. But nevertheless, she acted as if she understood. "Have fun tonight."
"You
too," he told her, beginning to change into his carefully chosen outfit. "Christina's a wild one. I hope you're prepared."
He chuckled.
She watched him change, trying not to drool all over herself. She was going out with Christina tonight.
Justin had set it up, probably thinking that she would become distracted and forget where he was and who he was with...
But
nothing could make her forget that.
The doorbell rang. Dru jumped a little.
"That's probably for me," Justin
half smiled, glancing at the digital clock on his dresser. "Christina should have been here by now..." He shook his head.
"That girl...I swear, she's never on time."
"It's fine Justin." Dru smiled. "Just go...I'll wait for Christina to get
here."
"I'm not gonna leave you alone." He refused.
"You're date is waiting." She told him. "Go."
"Dru..."
She
pretended not to hear him.
The doorbell rang again.
"You sure you're gonna be all right D?" He said, stepping
outside of the bedroom.
"Goodbye Justin."
"I love you D."
Her heart skipped a beat. She turned her head
toward the doorway, but he was already gone. Already gone before she could tell him that she loved him too...but she wasn't
surprised. Justin didn't want to hear her say that. He didn't want to be reminded that he used to have feelings for her. No,
because if he remembered...then he couldn't focus on Marissa. He needed to do that. He needed to focus on a girl who could
give him what he needed. "I love you too," she whispered.
**************************
"Where's Trace tonight?" Marissa
inquired, gazing at her reflection in the small mirror she held.
Justin cleared his throat. "I-uh-I dunno." Yes, it
was a date. He had told Dru that. He just wished he had done the same with Marissa. He had attempted to...but he hadn't been
able to get the words out. Getting Dru's situation sorted out, had distracted him from looking at women for a few weeks. And
when he finally started to realize that he had gone a month without any sort of female contact, he had practically fainted.
That was when he started to remember, that Marissa was still unattached. He couldn't help but wonder... Was she was waiting
for him?
He had gone to tremendous lengths to make tonight special. Dinner...dancing...and a room at the Beverly Hills
Hotel. He hoped it would be enough to get what he wanted. He didn't want to call Nadia again. She was getting boring. There
was something about Marissa...that he was still curious about. Maybe it was because she was such a genuine person...not a
snob like all the other beautiful girls he normally dated. Or maybe...it was because he had known her for five years and hadn't
kissed her once. No matter, he was sure that wouldn't be the case after tonight.
She looked over at him, a playful
smile spreading across her face. "You're up to something aren't you?"
The light turned green, and he accelerated. "Why
would you think that?"
"Because it's Friday night, you're alone with me...and you have no idea where your best friend
is." She laughed. "You can't put on your innocent act with me Justin. I know you too well."
"You wanna go on a date
with me?" He laughed.
Marissa laughed out loud. "That's a good one Justin."
"I'm serious."
Her mouth gaped.
"You are?"
He nodded.
"But I thought you and Dru...you were trying to work things out."
"Mar, you know
as well as I do that it'll never work with me and D." He admitted. "We're too different. She needs me to be...her role model.
Not her boyfriend."
Marissa shot him a skeptical look. "And does she know that you feel this way?"
He shrugged.
"Sure."
"You're a bastard." Marissa muttered.
"'Ris!"
"You are!" She exclaimed. "You're gonna run that
poor girl into the ground before she has the chance to set foot on that tour bus."
"Dru's gonna be just fine." He told
her. "She's happy with the way things are."
"I'm sure she is." Marissa said, with a roll of her eyes.
"Don't
be like that." Justin grumbled. "You're not there. You don't see what goes on. Dru has everything she's ever wanted...she
has no reason to complain."
"So I guess the fact that she can't do anything for herself is perfectly fine then." She
smiled.
"She does things for herself," Justin supplied.
"Name one."
"She picks out her clothes." Justin
nodded.
"Oh please!"
"Hey...a few weeks ago, I was the one pickin em out." He told her.
"Justin, the
girl never goes out. Yeah, you broke up...but she's always with you. How can you expect her not to have feelings for you?
You know what she's probably doing right now Justin?"
He glanced at the clock. "Hopefully eating dinner with Christina."
She
shook her head. "She's probably wishing she were with you."
"Christ Mar...I don't know why you're pushing this." He
snapped. "You wanted to be with me...and now you have your chance. You should be happy...not worrying about what Dru's doing."
"You're
treating Dru like your little pet....you train her to do new tricks, and sometimes you give her a little treat for being a
good girl." She informed him. "That's wrong."
"I knew this was a mistake...I knew it." He chuckled. "I should have
called Nadia."
"Take me home, Justin." She sighed. "This date is over."
"It never started." He shook his head
sadly, and turned the volume up on the radio. Who the hell did she think she was? Telling him what went on in his own house!
She didn't know. She wasn't there. Dru was...special, and he treated her accordingly. That was the truth. Besides, Dru had
no complaints...anything was better than living on the streets and starving. No...he wasn't being selfish. What was he supposed
to do? Not date other women so Dru wouldn't feel bad? Have an erection twenty four hours a day? No way. That's not how it
worked, even though he knew Dru would never run to somebody else for love...no matter how badly her hormones might be raging.
No...he was still her world...the love of her life.
He smiled.
***************************
Christina's place
was smaller than Justin's...but that didn't mean it wasn't huge. Dru sucked in a breath and took in the magnificent looking
home. It wasn't your classic, well to do mansion. It was very futuristic looking...cool. She noted that there were dozens
of cars littering the large front yard. Music was booming. It was a party.
Justin hadn't said anything about a party.
She was unsure of the situation. People...she didn't trust people. He might be here...
"There's not much furniture
yet. I had to rent couches and junk for tonight." Christina confessed, turning off her engine. "I just bought the house a
month ago. With all the tour prep I've been doing, I haven't had the chance to go shopping...you don't mind do you Dru?"
She
shook her head. Of course she didn't mind. It was only furniture.
"So," Christina smiled. "Where's Justin tonight?"
"He
had a date." She said softly.
Christina gawked at her. "A date? I thought you guys were together."
"Not now."
Dru whispered.
"Damn, and here I was thinking J had finally found a nice girl for himself," she sighed. "If you don't
mind me asking...what happened?"
Jane said it was good to tell people what had happened to her, that the more people
she talked to about it...the easy it would be to overcome. Justin...well, he had told her the opposite. That what had happened
to her was nobody's business but her own. That the only people she needed to confide in were himself and Jane. Her head swam.
Who was right? Who should she listen to? She already knew the answer...
Justin.
"I...we..." she looked down
at her hands. "It wasn't working, that's all."
"It wasn't working?" Christina threw her a skeptical glance.
"No."
"But
you still live with him?"
"Yeah..." She mumbled. "We're still close...just not...that close."
"Oh." She paused
a moment, but then perked up again. "Well...maybe the breakup was for the best. There's lot of opportunity out there for you
Dru. I think it would be good for you to date around before you decide to stick with one person."
Dru removed her seatbelt.
"I guess."
"Don't say you guess." Christina chuckled. "Say, "I'm gonna go up into that party and dance with the finest
guy in there"."
"Okay." She couldn't help but smile. Christina was great at making people feel good about themselves.
Suddenly, the party didn't seem so scary to her anymore. She wanted to go. She wanted to live..to discover the kind of person
that she was, without Justin there to distract her.
She wanted to dance again.
"You ready!" Christina exclaimed.
"Yes."
She got out of the car, and followed Christina up the path that lead to the house. She felt good about what she was about
to do. Like, nobody could touch her, and nobody could bring her down.
She was ready for this.
*****************
Chuck
was a nice guy. But he talked entirely too much, and it was starting to get on her nerves. Dru was amazed she that she felt
this way, because Justin could often ramble on about a subject for hours. Maybe it was because when Justin talked, she was
actually interested in the conversation. This guy...he liked to go fishing. That's what he talked about..that's all he talked
about. She wondered...is that all he did?
"I got this new pole...the Troutmaster...."
She tuned him out. How
could a guy talk about fishing and be at a party? After several more minutes of fish talk, she finally mustered up the courage
to excuse herself, providing the lame excuse that she had to use the bathroom. Once confident that she had escaped the fisherman's
clutches, she headed over to the bar for some water. All the "mmhmms" and "cool's" she had delt out had left her parched.
She slid onto a barstool, and ordered her water. It was a nice bar...and the bartender wasn't too bad looking either.
But she was sure that he wasn't interested in her. She could tell by the looks he was giving her...like she had a nerve ordering
a water at his bar. No matter, she was high on life tonight. If he thought she seemed strange...well...that was his problem.
"Umm...you're
Dru right?"
She glanced to her left, while taking a sip of her water. A young looking black man had taken a seat next
to her. So familiar..."Yes," she squeaked.
He blushed. "Christina says...you're going on tour with us."
She
cocked her head to the side. "Who are you?"
"Taylor," he stuck his hand out. "I dance with Christina."
She shook
his hand. It took her breath away. Why? She didn't know him. "Hi," she forced a smile and yanked her hand away.
"I
heard that we're gonna be study buddies." He smiled.
Study buddies? Right...Christina had said one of her dancers would
be earning their GED's this summer. "I guess so." She mumbled.
"Listen...umm...do you want to dance or somethin?"
She
noticed the similarites between herself and Taylor almost immediately. He was shy. Unsure of himself...nervous. She would
feel bad turning him down. "Alright." she whispered.
His eyes widened. "Really?"
She blushed. The fact that
Taylor seemed honored to be her dance partner flattered her. Justin didn't act that way. But then again...Justin was an entirely
different person. "Yes." She took him by the hand and led him out to the dance floor. It didn't take long for Taylor to start
showing her why Christina had hired him. He was an incredibly gifted performer. He had been given a gift...
A gift
like she had. Only, he had been given the chance to develop it, and now he was doing it...everyday. She was angry...but not
at Taylor...she was angry at herself. She was angry because she couldn't bring herself to tell Justin how badly she wanted
to learn to dance professionally. She figured he would either laugh in her face...or simply tell her he would take care of
it, and put it off. Justin may have been big on her getting a proper education, and being able to do normal things. But he
wasn't big on her becoming her own person and thinking for herself. She had realized this many weeks ago. But she wouldn't
complain. She loved him.
"Come on girl." Taylor laughed. "What you got for me?" Taylor seemed completely different
now that he had gotten into his dancing. He wasn't shy anymore. He was confident in himself.
Confident like she wanted
to be.
She couldn't dance with him anymore. He was too good...and people would laugh at her. "My stomach hurts." She
confessed, rushing away. It wasn't a lie. It really did hurt. She thought she knew where the bathroom was. Yes...it was straight
ahead. In her confused state, she didn't even see him coming toward her...until it was too late. She gasped. She was going
to vomit. Him...She wanted to scream. She opened her mouth to do so, but no sound would come out.
"Well...never thought
I would see you again." His smile was as perfect as ever. "Gotta talk to you," he slurred.
"Wade..."
He pulled
her away. "You left me..." he paused an belched. "High and dry girl."
"Let go..." she whined, struggling against his
grip.
"But Timberlake's not here to mess things up again...oh no. It's just us now." Wade smelled of heavy liquor.
He had probably been drinking for hours now...and he was going to finish what he had started a month ago.
He dragged
her into a room and slammed the door shut. Dru back up against the wall, her eyes wide with fear. This was it...
"Good
girl," he smiled. "You stay just like that." He began to fumble with his belt buckle.
Dru squeezed her eyes shut, waiting
for the inevitable.
"What the hell is going on in here!"
She opened her eyes. The door had been opened. An angry
looking man was standing in the doorway. Taylor? Yes...wait...no....it was Taylor, but now she was seeing him in a different
light...
You don't remember me
But I remember you
I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you...
Wade
groaned. "Nothing."
Dru trembled.
"Get the hell away from her." Taylor seethed.
I believe in you
I'll
give up everything just to find you
I have to be with you to live to breathe
You're taking over me...
Wade
laughed. "Get lost nigger."
Taylor balled up his fist and clocked Wade in the face, sending him sprawling. "Bastard."
Wade
groaned, and closed his eyes. Dru knew he wouldn't be bothering her again. She began to cry, knowing how close she had come
to losing everything she had worked so hard to acheive. She wanted Justin. Where was Justin...
"You alright?"
She
looked up. He was standing over her, the worry apparent in his eyes. He looked like he was going to be sick...Dru knew why.
He knew her pain. He felt it inside him. He had been there...experienced it as she had. No, it wasn't Taylor. It was him...the
one who had cared. The one she had lost so many years ago.
You don't remember me
But I remember you...
I'll
give up everything just to find you...
"Danny."
A small gasp escaped him. His eyes went wide.
(Lyrics
taken from "Taking Over Me", Evanescence)
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