by T. J. Sin
Seeing the large black numbers on the mailbox, 2332, Justin knew he had the right place. Pulling into the driveway, he parked the car. Justin cut off the ignition and stared up at the house. Opening the drivers' side door, he took a deep cleansing breath and stepped out of the car. He wasn't too sure what type of welcome he would receive and honestly, at this point, he really didn't care.
Chloe had seemed genuinely sorry for her actions, so this conversation may be nothing more than a formality of sorts. Confirmation of where the lines were drawn, preventing any more mishaps in the future.
She could walk her way, Justin would walk his and both of them should be able to easily survive until the end of the year.
Standing on the front stoop, Justin pressed the small button that lit up and took a step back when he heard the bell ringing. The sound of a motorcycle whizzing by pulled his attention to the road. He hadn't realized that someone had opened the door until he heard her speak, or more like bark.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Startling, Justin spun around, his eyes settling on the girl standing in front of him. Her piercing gaze stung him, causing him to flinch back in response. He didn't know this girl from Adam so he was perplexed with her sudden animosity towards him.
The girl seemed familiar to him, even passably pretty, but she was no one that he knew on a personal level. They all went to the same school and he had seen her around with Chloe but other than that, he didn't know this chick. "Um," Justin stuttered feeling a little self conscious. This was not a reaction he was used to. Feeling out of sorts, Justin shoved his hands in his pockets and just asked her, "Is Chloe here?"
Erica continued to stare down her nose at Justin, the corner of her lips curled up into something that mimicked a snarl. Man, he thought Chloe was bad with her highfalutin’ attitude, but this girl took the cake. Her stony silence started to get to him. "Well is she?" he asked again, letting his impatience show.
"No!" She snapped. And before he could say anything else, she stepped back inside the house, slamming the door hard in his face.
Justin stood there on the stoop, his mouth gaped open, staring at the closed door. All he could do was ask himself, What in the hell just happened here? No one has ever had the balls to slam a door in his face. Didn't she know who he was? Shaking his head in disbelief, Justin clenched his back teeth. This was not going to go down like this, not after the week that he just had.
Lifting his fist, he was poised to knock on the door, refusing to be denied when it suddenly swung open, catching him by surprise yet again. Justin had been two seconds from telling the girl that slammed the door in his face exactly what he thought about her high handedness, when he stopped himself short.
Dropping his hand back down to his side, Justin realized that it wasn't the same snooty girl standing there. Instead, in her place stood the very girl that he came to see to begin with and she didn't look the least bit happy. No, actually, if the expression on her face said anything, Chloe looked down right pissed and damn, didn't that just add to the heightening drama.
Chapter 17
Chloe came to a stop on the bottom stair after hearing the front door slam with a bang. Curious, she peered around the corner and noticed Erica standing there, looking at the floor and mumbling to herself. She was waving her hand in the air, totally unaware that Chloe was watching her.
Chloe couldn’t help but to wonder what in the world her cousin was doing. Her interests were now piqued and she hopped off the bottom stair before walking around the corner to confront her. “Who was at the door?”
Erica's head snapped up and Chloe didn’t miss the slight curl of her lip. “A nobody,” she snorted and lifted her chin. Before Chloe could say anything else, Erica started to push by her, mistakenly thinking that was the end of the conversation.
Not in this life time, Chloe thought darkly. She was going to get some answers.
Before Erica could escape, Chloe lunged and grabbed her by the arm, bringing her to another stop. “That doesn’t answer my question Erica. Let’s try this again. Who was at the door?”
Erica let out an indignant huff and rolled her eyes. “It was stupid and I’m not in the mood to deal with stupid today, okay.” She jerked her arm out of Chloe's hold hand and stalked back up the stairs. Chloe watched her until she disappeared, seriously contemplating throwing something at her. Her continually changing bitchy attitude was about to get on her ever lasting nerve.
Chloe didn’t have a clue as to who ’stupid’ might be so she took it upon herself to see who it really was. Going over to the door, she pulled it open and when she realized who it was, she couldn’t stop the deepening scowl that formed on her face. The person standing on the stoop wasn’t ‘stupid’ as Erica had called him, but it was someone that Chloe didn’t want to deal with right now. “What do you want?” she finally asked, not bothering to hide the curtness in her voice.
Justin stood at the bottom of the steps, and turned around when he heard Chloe speak. His hands were shoved deep into his Letterman jacket and he offered her a shy smile.
“Chloe,” he started, sounding a little surprised to see her. “I didn’t think you were here.”
She just stared back at him, feeling a little bit dumbfounded and a whole lot of confused. First of all, she wanted to know why Justin Pennix was standing on her door step and secondly, she wanted to know why was he looking for her in the first place. It's not like the two of them could stand each other.
Holding on to the edge of the door, more to keep up her own balance than anything, Chloe continued to stare at him. She wasn’t really sure where to start or even what she should say. The whole situation was just plain awkward. She started by clearing her throat, and then placed her hand on her chest, settling on the simplest response. “As you can see, I’m here, so what’s it to you?”
Okay, it wasn’t a classic answer but it was better than just staring at him.
For a flicker of a second, she could have sworn that she saw a shadow pass through his eyes, but before she could make anything of it, he quickly averted his gaze. He casually lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. There was a subtle up and down movement in his chest where his lungs took in a large gulp of air and then he loudly exhaled. “Is there…” he started and stopped, turning back around to face Chloe. “Is there somewhere that we can talk? Alone?”
Her thoughts immediately went to Erica and as much as she didn’t like her mega bitch attitude right now, she had to keep in mind what this guy did to her to make her that way. He was a player and a master at his game. He seduces, he uses and he moves on. Justin was not someone that she wanted to consort with and if it hadn’t been for John’s accident, she wouldn’t be standing here now, conversing with him.
She rested her hands on her hips and asked him straight out. “Why?” Was he trying to play some type of game with me? Now that John was okay, would he resort to going back to his old tricks? Was she supposed to be his next notch on his bed post? If that was what he was thinking, then this guy was in for one hell of a rude awakening. John’s accident didn’t change her opinion of him in the slightest, it just made Chloe more aware of her own actions.
His brow furrowed and he frowned. “What do you mean why? I just wanted to talk to you for a second, is that okay with you?”
Was that okay with me? Not really, she thought to herself but he did seem sincere in his request. When she didn’t immediately answer him, he took a seat on the bottom step; his watchful eyes going back to the street.
“Look,” Justin said, rubbing the palms of his hands across his jean clad legs. “I know we got off to a bad start.” He softly chuckled and shook his head, all the while still staring out at the road. “And do you want to know the oddity of it all? I can’t even remember why we started this war between us in the first place.”
Chloe didn’t say anything. Technically, her tongue was tied up in a series of knots and she couldn’t speak. Was Justin so thick headed that he really didn’t k
now why she couldn’t stand him? It’s not like he doesn’t see her with Erica every day. He had to know that it had to do with what he did to her cousin and she was pretty sure he did the same thing with countless other virgins at the school.
Simply put, he thought he was the shit- and Chloe thought he was a piece of shit. Plain and simple, it didn't get anymore elementary than that.
Justin glanced back over his shoulder at Chloe and patted the step beside of him. She blinked, realizing that he actually wanted her to sit beside him and she quickly shook her head no. She wasn’t about to take that seat and fall into his little web of seduction. But seeing as how he so easily made himself at home on her front porch and looked like he was in no hurry to go anywhere else any time soon, Chloe stepped outside and closed the front door behind her.
Walking over to the top step, Chloe sat down, making sure that there was a good ten feet between the two of them and indicated for him to go on. The quicker that he got on with this conversation, the quicker he would leave and the better off she figured she would be.
“John woke up this afternoon,“ he said, linking his hands together. “But I guess you probably already knew that, right? You went to see him this afternoon, didn’t you?”
That question took her off guard. Getting a little defensive, Chloe replied. “I told you I was going to and actually, I wanted to talk to his parents, but they weren’t there. I walked by his room, saw him and he woke up.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“Hey,” she quickly retaliated, not caring for his ho-hum attitude. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just that I see. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t have to believe me,” he shot back. “But didn’t I ask you to not go up there? If John had not woken up and you did speak with his parents, how would that have made the situation any better Chloe? Don't you think that it would have been harder on his parents... his sister?”
Chloe stared hard at him for a minute, hating the accusation in his voice before she abruptly stood up. “I don’t have to listen to this.”
“I think you do.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her back down to the step he was sitting on. The shock of their hands touching sent a little jolt through Chloe. She did not want to be feeling anything when this guy touched her. He was gigolo personified.
“Let me go,” she gritted out, clenching her teeth so tight that her jaw ached. He had a point, even if she didn‘t want to hear it. Chloe had been thinking of herself, again. It seemed that no matter what she did, she just couldn‘t get it right. She was a royal screw-up and there wasn‘t much that she could do about it except save face.
Justin didn't let go of her hand. He held on to it tight enough so that she couldn‘t escape his grip but not tight enough to hurt her and that just pissed her off some more. “He woke up,” she stated, “So nothing else should matter.”
“That’s not the point Chloe. The point is, that more people would have been hurt. I understand that you were sorry and that you thought you were doing what was best, but sometimes what’s best for you, isn’t what’s best for everyone else.“
Justin lifted his head and searched Chloe's face. She was careful to school her features. “It’s over with now. Everyone can go on with their perfect little lives. You got your scholarship, John will be back at school in no time, charming the ladies. Que Sera, Sera.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he admitted. “But the main reason I came over Chloe, was because I wanted to call a truce.” He gestured with his hand between the two of them. “This thing that we have going on needs to stop.”
Chloe laughed, not feeling the least bit humorous. Thing. Was that all he thought it was. He was missing the point entirely. “You just don’t get it, do you?” she asked him, feeling her ugly temper start to rear up and claw it's way out.
“What?" He asked. "What is it that you think I don’t get?”
“You and sex- love them and leave them. All those girls that you sleep with, steal their innocence and walk away. That’s what this was all about. I wanted to teach you a lesson. I wanted you to hurt like Erica hurt.” I wanted you to hurt like me.
He jumped up off the step and rounded on her. “What the hell are you talking about? I don‘t sleep around, or-” he mimicked Chloe using finger quotes, “’Love them and leave them’ as you said. Hell, not that it's any of your business but I’ve only been with one person in my life. And while we’re at it, who in the heck is Erica?”
Alright, that did it. Now Chloe felt like he was taking her for a complete and utter fool. What high school jock with the looks and charisma that Justin had would only sleep with one person? Girls practically throw themselves at his feet. Did he honestly believe that she was that stupid?
“Don’t play your games with me, mister. Erica is my cousin. The one that you drunkenly deflowered at a party and then proceeded to ignore.”
“I don’t know what lies you’ve been fed or stories you’ve been told, but I haven’t deflowered as you so eloquently put it, anyone. I have a little more respect for myself than that.”
Chloe angrily pointed her finger in his face. Lies, they were all lies. “You’re a liar,” she screamed at him. “You’re kind are always the same.” Tears pricked her lids as she forced the unwanted memories back. “You never change.”
Justin just looked at her strangely and lowered his voice. “I don’t know what happened to you in the past but you must be harboring something pretty bad to be carrying around all that anger inside. It's eating at you Chloe and that's not good.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” she cut in. “So don’t even go there.”
He held up his hands. “I’m not claiming that I do Chloe, but something is bothering you, I can see the pain in your eyes. Right now, you're wearing your heart on your sleeve. I’m not who you think I am and I most definitely didn’t sleep with this Erica that you are accusing me of.”
“You know what, lie all you want. Go ahead and keep telling yourself that you are the good guy. Read my lips, I don’t care what you do Justin. Just stay the hell away from me, stay the hell away from Erica and we’ll all get along just fine.”
“Chloe, wait…”
She was done with this conversation. Chloe didn’t want to talk to Justin Pinnix ever again. Standing up, she hurried to the door and ran inside the house, slamming it closed behind her. She covered her face with her hands and sank to the floor. He could deny, deny, deny, all he wanted but she knew the truth. They were all the same- one player was just as bad as the next. She knew that all too well, as the painful unwanted images started to play back in her head. God, how could I have been so stupid to let him do that to me. As the images continued to come, she couldn’t stand up against the pressure. Letting her head fall to her knees, she let it go. She broke down and let the tears fall. Life was so unfair and the greatest injustice of it all- she couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
Chapter 18
All Justin could do was stand there and stare dumbly at the door. What in the hell just happened? One minute they were talking, on the verge of calling a truce between each other and then the next, Chloe stood up, jumped down his throat and slammed the door in his face. Talk about split personalities.
No one had ever slammed the door on Justin before so he wasn't sure exactly what to do. No one other than Chloe had ever dared to jump down his throat like that either. What was it about this girl that got to him so much? It wasn’t necessarily her looks that got to him anymore, it’s not that fine body of hers or those bedroom sexy eyes, it was the girl herself he realized. It was Chloe, the individual, and somehow she has found a way to burrow her way deep under his skin. Now, the problem that he was having was that he couldn't seem to get her out.
Heading back up the steps, Justin was ready and more than willing to do battle with her. He was anxious to start round two and if nothing else, just to scratch this itch that she had give
n him. Lifting his hand, he was seconds from banging his fists against the door when an unexpected sound hit him.
She was crying. And it wasn’t small muffled cries, it was torrential sobs. The type of crying that a woman does when she’s been deeply hurt.
Damn. Dropping his hand back down to his side, Justin stared at the wooden door. What was going on? Why did we always end up like this? You would think that after everything that has happened, they would be able to handle one simple-minded conversation.
But maybe that was the problem. There was nothing about Chloe or him that was simple. They were both as convoluted as convolution could get.
Spinning around, he started back for the car. It was getting late. He still had homework, he still needed to put the proposal together for his senior project and after the day Justin had, he really could use a late night run to clear his head.
Chloe was just an issue that he would have to get back to later, and it was an issue that he definitely planned to re-visit. She was in his head now and there was no getting her out any time soon. Besides, there was something in her eyes that had caught his attention; something sad, a plea maybe. But what was it that made her so sad? That’s what he wanted to know.
