The Curse

Two days... Forty-eight hoursTwenty-six days after Independence Day; seventy-one days after they said 'I do'; and a lifetime of emerging admiration, passion, and affection for each other and in just two days and forty-eight hours, all time is lost and everything they have built falls apart...

But that is the curse of Pacey and Joey… Insecurities, lack of communication, and a desire to be the only one in the other's heart, has always diseased this couple… No matter how close Pacey and Joey have become, time has always been an enemy. But now the stakes are much higher than they were before, and other souls have to be taken into consideration.

Pacey and Joey are no longer just the 'Senior Class Couple' that can take a break whenever the curse makes life rough. They made a commitment to each other and there are harsh consequences now for overlooking that…

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Friday

It was 3:30 in the morning when Pacey finally decided to leave his small, cluttered office in Capeside and go home. Most of Pacey's nights had become like this: staying up late in his office, trying to figure out how one person could make his life a living hell.

He rubbed his bloodshot eyes before getting into his black jeep and driving home. He was exhausted. As he headed east towards the highway, he noticed the lightening light up the dark-night sky, as a summer storm was quickly approaching. His thoughts turned back to the stress he was dealing with at the restaurant.

Not only had Wendy Jacobson brought up the cost of her medical bills from $100,000 to $250,000 and have medical specialists to prove it, but now she also had Jesse Martinez- the chef that Doug fired, months ago, when he wouldn't comply with preparing the food that was on Pacey's menu. Jesse was prepared to go to court and claim that Pacey didn't use fresh food when cooking for his customers. He was going to tell the judge and jury that Pacey made sure the staff cleaned as little as possible in the restaurant, so he wouldn't have to pay the staff extra money. In other words, Pacey was in trouble…

On Monday of that week, the health department popped into his restaurant, unexpectedly, and did a full inspection of the property. The restaurant was in decent shape, but he knew it could have been cleaner…

As if that weren't enough, he found out on Wednesday that Wendy had hired 3 high-profile lawyers from New York to see this case through. Pacey hadn't even considered hiring a lawyer until that point, but now he was left no choice.

And to make matters even more complicated, he still hadn't said a word to Joey about the lawsuit. In fact, Joey had been getting worse since the Fourth of July. She wasn't able to keep food down for very long and was more lethargic than he had ever seen her before…

He would stress all day, at the restaurant, about the upcoming lawsuit and then go home to an ill Joey. The stress and strain was overpowering and he was becoming frustrated with all the anxiety. It was only a matter of time before he snapped…

When Pacey pulled into the small gravel road that curved down the hill where his house was located behind it, he noticed a couple of lights on in the house. This was unusual, because Joey was usually in bed at this time…

After Pacey shut off the engine, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to take a moment for himself, to calm down, before he saw Joey. After several rare, but peaceful seconds passed, he decided it was time to go in and check on his wife.

Inside the house, Joey sat on the dark red sofa, by the fire, and waited for Pacey to return home. She heard the thunder rumble through the house and remembered the hard day she had experienced; she felt her body changing and was scared. All day, she tried to call Pacey, but he refused to answer her calls… She had no idea why Pacey was acting so cold and it was terrifying her. Pacey could not have picked a worse time to become distant…

He had done this to her once before, only that time she got lucky; Joey wasn't so sure she was that lucky this time, because it felt different… She felt different…

When he entered the house, he saw Joey sitting by the fire with her arms crossed and an irritated look on her face. He smiled slightly, but she did not return the expression.

"Pacey," she started in a taunting, sarcastic tone, "I thought we would be married at least a year before I would start wondering where my husband was in the middle of the night."

"I told you Joey, I was at the restaurant-"

"I KNOW PACEY!" boomed Joey as she stood up and pointed at him with tears in her eyes, "You're ALWAYS at the restaurant! But you've NEVER been there until 4:00 in the morning and you've ALWAYS picked up your phone when I've called you!" Pacey began to interrupt but she continued with her rant. "I needed you today Pacey! I REALLY need you…"

When Pacey heard Joey explain how much she needed him, something snapped inside of him. He felt the rage course through his veins as he thought about how selfish she was being. Here he was, working alone, carrying their future on his shoulders and she had the nerve to tell him how he wasn't there for her?

"WHAT ABOUT ME JOEY?!" he yelled, releasing all the tension that had built up since their honeymoon. He took a few steps closer to her, "WHAT ABOUT WHEN I NEED YOU JOEY?!! I SACRIFICE FOR US!"

She looked at him as the tears fell freely from her eyes. The only word she heard him shout was 'sacrifice' and that opened a sore wound in her heart. She quickly retorted in a cynical tone, "Oh that's right Pacey… You would sacrifice anything for 'us'! It doesn't matter how significant the sacrifice is though… AND you don't even tell ME about it until it's already been DONE!"

"What is that supposed to mean?!" he bellowed, feeling the rage surface in his body.

"That means, that if Pacey Witter needs to eliminate his best friend or even his own flesh and blood it's merely a casualty to get Joey Potter!!" she shouted between sobs. "I never asked you to sacrifice your child for 'us'… You made that decision on your own and Audrey was a fool to listen!"

Joey paused, not sure if she went too far with her last statement. Pacey's face was full of hate and she had never seen that side of him before. He had never looked at her like that before… She just stood there and studied his expression, while hot tears ran down her rosy cheeks.

Without a word, he finally turned around and stormed out the front door.

Joey started crying even harder and laid down on the sofa. She heard his jeep start and the gravel crunch as he drove away…

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Pacey wasn't sure where he was going, as he pulled onto the interstate, early Friday morning. He really couldn't feel, much-less think about anything. He was just so numb and tired of fighting for something that he couldn't even remember why he cared so much in the first place ... So, he just drove west, as the rain beat hard against his jeep. The only thing he knew was that he couldn't stay in Capeside a minute longer…

XOXOXOXOXOXO

A/N: I'm so sorry for leaving this chapter with such a gloomy cliffhanger! Whenever I read PJ fanfics I always get frustrated when authors leave their story on a sad note – so here I am doing just that- lol! But I PROMISE to have the next chapter out within 24 hours, so check it out then… I am in the middle of writing the next chapter right now, so bare with me… Oh and by the way… I will definitely take your suggestion, PaceyW'sgirl, and include more Jack, Doug, and Aimee interaction. I just love that family… Anyways, thanks for reading and all comments are welcome!! I really enjoy reading them… ;)