This thought came to me when a friend of mine said I couldn't work Thursday night because the place I work at holds 'that meeting'. So here is what followed after I heard that. And p.s., I don't own Degrassi, etc. etc. Please review - I enjoy constructive criticism! And for those of you who are reading my other story, this one had to be written first. Seriously, I hit such a road block with that one that writing this one is helping immensely. enjoy!
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"I can't, I have a meeting. How about next Wednesday?" the green-eyed girl said breezily, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thursdays are bad for me," she continued into the phone, her grimace unseen by the man on the line. The two then said goodbye after confirming a new date (next Wednesday at 11:00 a.m., the Hamilton Cafe) and the woman began to pace around her office. Her inability to make her appointment this warm Thursday evening was partially true, she did have a meeting, but she hadn't been honest where she was going. Because today was a Thursday, she had that meeting. The one you see in movies that you can't help but laugh at. The one where, upon sitting in a circle amongst friends or colleagues, you jokingly say the over-used line, 'Hi, I'm and I've been sober for months/weeks/days. Yeah. Tonight was that meeting.
She had been practicing the line in her head over and over for a few weeks now, but her rather cynical sense of humor interrupted the seriousness those ten words had. 'Hi, I'm Ellie Nash, famous journalist. You probably know me as the former music critic and current deputy managing editor of the Toronto Star. Isn't it funny that I'm a fucking alcoholic?'. She had a feeling those words would never make it out in public, just roll around her brain like tumbleweeds.
The red head sat at her desk and tapped her pencil on a pad of paper so hard she tore a hole in the yellow paper. When had everything gotten so complicated? Ellie Nash had been on top of her game upon college graduation. A year after she had became the resident music critic, then features editor four years after that, and now the deputy managing editor (and on the list for editor-in-chief in a few years). She was a month away from her thirtieth birthday, gorgeous as ever, and single. She lived comfortably in Toronto and close to her office at the Star. A seemingly perfect life.
But it was the loneliness that had gotten to her. After leaving Marco, Paige, and Griffin so long ago, she had stayed aloof, never having a roomie for more than a year. And even then, she chose not to get too close to them. So instead of taking a break from her long hours and calling a good friend at two in the morning for some company or a shoulder to cry on, she settled for a drink. Or two. Or six. And before she knew it, she had three DUI's (all of which were very hushed up) and a one-way ticket to an alcoholic rehabilitation center. It was that or attend AA twice a week until she recovered or was sent away for good. Obviously, she had chosen the latter.
It was hard, though. She was frequently lying about her whereabouts, rescheduling work meetings around those dreaded AA meetings. It was like being back in Group again only there was no Craig to look at or laugh with. Ah, Craig. Ellie hadn't seen him in years. Perhaps that was for the best, as she would hate for him to see the hypocrite she had become. Even Marco and her had lost touch, the former best friends were both so busy with their own lives there was hardly time for them to be a 'them', again.
Ellie looked at her watch, annoyed that the time had gotten away from her so fast. At this rate she barely had time for dinner, let alone a shower and time to get ready. Not that it mattered what she looked like, as everyone would expect her to cry off all the makeup she would put on. But she never did. Cry, that is. These stupid meetings only annoyed her, never made her feel anything. Hopefully they would end soon. She hadn't had a drink in several months, so perhaps it was working. Or perhaps she was terrified of her colleagues finding out where she went to on Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Thursday nights.
Sighing, she grabbed her purse from the floor and made her way out of the building, grudgingly realizing she'd have to come in early tomorrow to finish what she couldn't tonight. She entered her car and drove the short distance home, changing into less formal clothes and grabbing a water bottle before running out the door. She hated these meetings, and practiced the line over again in her head. 'Hi, I'm Ellie Nash, and I've been sober for six months.' 'Hello, I'm Ellie Nash and I've been sober for half a year.' 'I'm Ellie Nash and I fucking want a drink right now because I hate everyone here.' Perhaps she would use the last one tonight... it was just one of those days.
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On the other side of town, a man with disheveled brown hair and a peeved expression glanced at the clock in his car, forgetting if it was five minutes fast or five minutes slow. Today's fun-filled entertainment would involve sitting in the basement of a church with a bunch of crying persons saying how long it had been since they last had some fun. He couldn't wait 'til these AA meetings ended, even though he hadn't been to that many yet. The man sighed and turned the key in the ignition, waving good-bye to his boss before speeding out of the garage parking lot. He had only been forced to attend these meetings for a month and was already running out of excuses. Yesterday his cat had apparently died twice in the same month. If his boss had noticed the slip-up, he hadn't said anything.
He was thirty-tears-old and Jay Hogart hadn't done anything woth-while with his life. He lived with two other guys in the house near the garage, where they usually drank and brought home girls to sleep with. But on one of these fun-filled nights, he had sped through two red lights and hit a teenager on his bike. He had never found out who the kid was, and he didn't really want to know. But he had been given a choice - leave for a year of rehab, or attend AA until he was sober. He chose the latter.
Jay had sped so fast to the church that he ended up being ten minutes early. How awful was that? It gave him time to change at least, so he shed his one-piece garage uniform to reveal faded jeans and a grey t-shirt. The hat he had had since his days at Degrassi, albeit faded and misshaped, was still turned backwards on his mop of hair. Time had been kind to Jay, and he had retained his good looks from his teen years. Why else would girls want to sleep with him, anyway? His snarky personality and dick-ish ways were definitely not inviting, even for those who liked the 'bad boys'. Too bad that title wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Bad boys weren't cooped up in the basement of churches two or three times a week, listening to people cry and shit.
'I'm Jay Hogart, I've been sober for once month.' 'I'm Jay, fuck you.' 'I'm Jay, this fucking sucks. Bite me.' The last option sounded pleasant to his ears. Jay rubbed his right left eye, irritated that dust had somehow gotten into it, and walked into the church as he wouldn't want to be late. If he was late, the leader of the hell hole would be all on his case and make him come in again tomorrow. Horror of horrors.
The basement of the church was dimly lit, with a stage on one end and a kitchen at the other. There were plastic green and yellow chairs set up in a circle and he took a seat where people weren't. He leaned back in his yellow chair and ended up dozing off for a few minutes until he heard John, their leader, begin to drone on. This was his first actual "I've been sober' meeting, but he had no desire to listen to how it was run. Hopefully they wouldn't start with him.
They didn't. With his eyes shut he heard the first person speak, a woman. "My day was fine," she muttered in response to John asking how her day was. Her voice sounded oddly familiar and he cocked an eye open, letting it glance around the room. Before he could find the speaker though, she spoke again.
"Hi, I'm Ellie Nash, and I've been sober for six months," she said, picking at a thread on her jacket.
The round of applause covered Jay's comment of, "Holy fuck, Ellie?". He was definitely awake now, and wondered if she had spotted him. If she didn't now (her eyes were now beginning to close), she probably would when he spoke. And she did. When it was his turn he repeated what she had said, using his own name. Her eyes had snapped open and she tiltered her head at him, unsure of how to react.
The meeting ended an hour later. The two Degrassi alumni had pretty much fallen asleep, waking up only when it was time for them to leave. Their eyes met and they found their way to each other, migrating to the parking lot in silence. Jesus, they had even parked next to each other.
"So..." they began at the same time, looking at everything except each other.
"Never would've pegged you for an alcoholic, Red," he said, taking off his hat and running his hand through his hair.
"Never would've pegged you for being here - I always thought you'd be in jail by now," she retorted. She had always been fiery.
"Well, aren't we two lost souls," he mused, kicking the gravel beneath his feet.
"Two lost souls? I kind of like that," Ellie said with a small smile, finally looking up. Funny how fate had a way of bringing people together.
"Wanna get a coffee or something?" Jay asked, his turn to look up. She nodded and he gestured to his car, implying she got in. The red-head nodded and cautiously entered. If she had any idea he would have been here, she wouldn't have come. For some reason, he scared her. And not in the 'he's a badass' way, but for fear of falling in love with him.
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To be continued! I know it's jumpy, I'm waiting to find my stride in this. So, should I continue? Review to tell me :D