Sorry this has taken so long and thank you Ashley for another review

Chapter eight

"You want topping up, Jess?" James asked Liz, his speech slightly slurred. Liz sighed in frustration. They'd been sat there for over an hour. Not only had she had to sit there watching him drink most of the wine, he'd gone and fetched another bottle out of the cupboard. She wasn't sure how much longer she could pretend to be polite.
"No, I'm ok," she replied for what felt like the tenth thousand time. Couldn't he tell how fed up she was?
"Just some for me then." He didn't sound disheartened and he was already topping up his own glass. He was clumsy with the bottle and some of the wine spilt over the top of the glass onto the table.
"Actually to be honest I really ought to go," Liz informed him as she stood up, finally losing her patience. As soon as she got home she was going to ring Jessica and tell her that this job wasn't worth the hassle. James grabbed her arm and pulled her back down on the sofa, not ready to let her leave.
"You're dead pretty, you know that?" He told her, ignoring her statement, pushing his hands through her hair. His eyes were blurry "That's nice of you to say," she answered as politely as she could, hoping to placate him, pulling away from him nervously. "But I really need-." The rest of her sentence was lost as he smothered her mouth with his. She put her hands firmly on his chest to push him away but he put his arms around her forcing her against him. Before she knew what was happening he'd grabbed her legs, pulling her underneath him.
"James, what do you think you're doing?" She demanded, still trying to push him off her.
"Quit playing games, Jess! You've been coming onto me since you started here." His voice was becoming even more slurred. She tried to move but he was heavy on top of her and she didn't have the strength.
"I'm not Jess! I'm Liz, you idiot," she screamed, praying she could shock some sense into him. He laughed.
"That's a good one. You want this as much as I do," he replied determinedly. His hand reached under her skirt, trying to pull down her underwear.
"I'm serious. Stop it!" She cried, starting to feel really scared. Her brain felt paralysed. Instinctively she knew she should fight back but her body couldn't seem to move.

"Jess" Liz felt a hand grab her from behind. Isabella was out of breath having just caught up with her. "I've been calling you for ages and you just kept on walking. What are you doing wondering around campus at this time of night?" Liz stared at her blankly, too numb to reply. "Never mind, you can tell me later," Isabella continued excitedly, too happy to question the lack of response. "I want you to come back to the apartment and catch me up on all the gossip. I'm thinking of redecorating and I've got the perfect colours, I need your opinion." Liz tried to get her mouth to function. Tell her you're not Jess, say something, her brain was telling her but nothing would come out and she let herself be dragged to the apartment by Isabella. As they walked Isabella told her in detail about her colour scheme, not pausing for breath. "Do you want a coffee?" She asked once they were inside. Liz nodded, dazed. "Do you take milk, Jess? I can't remember," Isabella wondered honestly as she walked over to the percolator.
"I'm not Jessica," Liz finally managed to choke out, her face still completely blank. Isabella suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked as if what Elizabeth had just said didn't quite register. She looked Liz up and down, finally noticing the disturbed and rumpled appearance of her clothes, her smudged makeup, the bruises that were on her legs and the blood on her arm. Isabella stared down at her own hands, which were smudged with blood from where she'd grabbed her. How could she not have noticed? "I'll get you that coffee, hey Liz," she offered gently, struggling not to sound panicky. "Why don't you go sit down?" Isabella led her carefully to the couch. "Are you feeling ok?" Isabella queried, sitting back down next to her and handing her the coffee. Liz just sat staring at the wall and didn't respond. "That cut looks pretty bad, Liz. I'd better go and get some antiseptic, to make sure it doesn't get infected, ok?" She returned a few seconds later with some cotton wool and a bottle of antiseptic. She dabbed it into the cut, causing Liz to cringe slightly as it stung. "What's happened, Liz"
"I-I told him to stop," Liz blurted out in a weak voice, her hands shaking and her legs shuddering, the coffee splashing around in the cup. "I said I didn't want to." Isabella took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.
"You didn't want him to do what?" She questioned softly, not wanting to force an answer.
"I kept telling myself to scream louder, to do something, to do anything but I just couldn't breathe, he felt so heavy and I was so scared," Liz admitted, her voice quivering, not answering Isabella's question, a bewildered look on her face as she still stared at the wall. She reminded Isabella of a rabbit trapped in headlights. Isabella didn't say anything, she couldn't really speak, she just gently rubbed her back. "When it was happening I could see the blood running down my arm and-." She paused a second, her voice failing. "And the whole time I just kept thinking that's a real shame because it's probably going to stain that nice new sofa," Liz told her, her voice thick and cracking, trembling even more, spilling the coffee on her hands. "It sounds strange but it was all I could think about. I just had to look away. I couldn't believe what was happening to me." Isabella carefully took the cup out of Liz's hands, and went into the kitchenette. "Where are you going?" Liz cried in fear. "You can't leave me"
"I'm just going to get something for your hands, it'll burn otherwise," Isabella assured her, returning with a damp cloth and placing it on Liz's hands. "Where did this happen?" Isabella wondered quietly, sitting back down.
"The bookstore." "Who was it, Liz?" Isabella asked hesitantly, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. What if she knew him?
"You know the weirdest thing? Afterwards he just acted like nothing had happened, like everything was normal," she choked out with shock, her face crumpling, looking Isabella in the eyes for the first time.
"Liz, you need to tell me who did this. We need to go to the police," Isabella said slowly, feeling tears start in her own eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Liz wondered, looking horrified, finally seeming to snap out of her daze slightly. "I'm not going to the police. You can't tell anyone"
"Liz, we have -," Isabella began, keeping her voice as calm as possible. It was the only option.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone," Liz interrupted, practically screaming.
"Ok ok, Liz. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do," Isabella agreed reluctantly, hoping to placate her. "But you have to go to the police. You have to do something before he hurts anyone else." Liz didn't answer. "But you need to go as soon as possible. They can run forensic tests for evidence. The longer you leave it the less there will be." Liz shook her head.
"Why? So someone else can prod and poke at me"
"It won't be like that. They have special people trained to deal with this kind of thing. They know what information they need for the trial," Isabella reassured her.
"Just so I can be told how it's all my fault?" Liz was shaking her head again. "And they're right I shouldn't have stayed, I shouldn't have let him drink so much, I should have struggled more"
"Whatever happened he had no right to force you to do something you didn't want to do," Isabella argued sternly, feeling her anger at the person threatening to boil over.
"I just want to forget it," Liz answered honestly, wiping away the tears which were running down her cheeks. "I just want everything to be normal again." Isabella looked at her, desperately trying to find the right words.
"At least tell Todd and Jess, they love you. You can't keep this a secret from them." Isabella had despair in her voice. Liz shook her head again.
"No, it's not fair on them," Liz replied disinterestedly.
"Liz, you need to think about yourself," Isabella contested anxiously. "It's not fair to deal with it on your own." Liz jumped up from the couch, ready to walk to the door and leave.
"It's my relationship. I know what's best for it," Liz told her bitterly, her voice thick with unshed tears.
"Liz, please don't leave," Isabella begged gently, her own tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I need to go. I shouldn't have even told you," Liz berated herself, looking determined.
"At least let me get you a coat. You can't walk back dressed like that," Isabella told her despondently, sensing she wouldn't be able to change her mind.

"Enid, is Liz there?" Jessica asked into the phone. She was perched on the edge of the kitchen counter with a tub of chocolate chip ice cream next to her. Since they didn't have any strawberry ice cream she'd settled for the next best thing. It had seemed like too much effort to go to the store.
"It's Alex, Jessica!" The voice on the other end reminded her sharply.
"Alex, Enerd! Whatever!" Jessica answered back in irritation. Who on earth did Enid think she was talking to her like that? Alex sighed.
"No, your sister is not here," Alex told her shortly, clearly just wanting to get off the phone and not waste her time arguing.
"Well, has she been back there at all?" Jessica snapped. What did it take to get a simple answer?
"No, I haven't seen her. I think she said she was going to work on a story or something," Alex explained briefly, not sounding overly concerned. Jessica felt slightly relieved. Liz had probably just gone to WSVU after she'd finished at the bookstore, that would explain why she hadn't called her yet and now that it was so late she probably wouldn't ring until the morning.
"Ask her to call me, bye," Jessica said briskly, not bothering to be polite. She quickly put down the phone.
"Are you going to stop stressing now?" Mike asked her hopefully, his face looking half amused and half irritated. He was stood in front of her, her knees either side of his hips.
"I haven't been that bad." Jessica had suddenly had an inexplicable feeling of worry about Liz that she hadn't been able to shake. Even sex hadn't been enough to distract her completely.
"Yes you have," he argued with a snort, raising his eyebrows pointedly.
"Then I guess I'll just have to think of a way to make it up to you," she told him casually, leaning forward and giving him a quick kiss. She did feel kind of guilty that she'd been nagging him about it all night, she wouldn't appreciate him doing that to her, and guilt was her least favourite emotion.
"You could wash the dishes for the next month," he offered with a shrug, ready to take advantage of the opportunity. Jessica gave him a look, she felt guilty but not that guilty!
"I was thinking more along the lines of another helping of dessert," she told him with a laugh, putting her arms loosely around his neck. Mike looked at her surprised.
"When did you start being so insatiable?" He wondered, raising his eyebrows. Jessica shrugged.
"I think it's hormones. I'm sure I heard that they can have that effect," she explained simply. Personally she thought he should just be grateful and not question it.
"Nah!" He argued, leaning into kiss her neck and pulling her close. "It's just because I'm great in bed." Jessica rolled her eyes. Her husband couldn't half be arrogant sometimes.
"If it's a choice between hormones and that, I definitely go with hormones!" She teased him, not resisting a grin.
"Ok, in that case I'll leave you and your hormones alone." Mike laughed and pulled back slightly.
"You're the one who called me insatiable," she reminded him, playfully sticking her tongue out. "It's just because you're not man enough to handle my needs"
"Your needs?" Mike raised his eyebrows again. "You wanna bet on that, Mrs McAllery?" He questioned, lifting her off the counter.
"Put me down or at least let me finish my ice cream!" Jessica cried, laughing as he carried her back to the bedroom, her worries about her sister forgotten once more.

"Liz," Alex mumbled as Elizabeth entered the dorm room, disturbing her peaceful sleep. Light shined in from the corridor. "What time is it? Why are you so late"
"I was working on a story," Liz told her flatly, shutting the door quietly. After she'd left Isabella's she'd walked around campus for awhile before finally heading back to the dorm. She'd only wanted to be by herself.
"This late?" Alex wondered with surprise, glancing over at the alarm clock.
"I got a bit carried away, I couldn't leave it." Alex didn't say anything. She felt certain Liz had been with working with Tom and that bothered her more than she cared to admit.
"Todd called twice. He sounded kind of annoyed that he couldn't get hold of you," Alex informed her, moving the conversation on. "And your sister called as well, she sounded pretty annoyed too but then when doesn't she?" Liz sighed. She didn't want to have to face them right now.
"Where are you going?" Alex asked, her eyes following Liz's vague figure in the darkness, seeing her walk back to the door.
"I'm off for a shower," Liz answered truthfully. She didn't care about how odd it seemed. She just needed to wash the filth of her.
"At 3:30? Will there even be hot water at this time of night?" Alex cried in disbelief.
"I don't know and to be honest I don't care," Liz responded in a quiet voice, already heading out of the door. Alex rolled back over too tired to wonder about Liz's strange behaviour.

"So, I was thinking I don't really have time to be doing my music anymore," Billie was saying, laying in bed, looking up at the ceiling.
"Yeah," Steven agreed absentmindedly, his back to her and his eyes closed.
"It's not really that important anyway. It was only a hobby after all," she said more to herself than anything. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince.
"Ok," Steven responded, just wishing he could drown her out. She'd shaken him awake and started blabbering on. He wouldn't of minded if it had been about something important, but to tell him she didn't want to do her hobby anymore? Couldn't that have waited till the morning? He groaned out loud. Billie didn't seem to notice.
"I mean everyone is better than me anyway, Chas and-," she continued loudly. Steven's eyes snapped opened.
"You seem to be spending a lot of time with Chas," he announced sharply.
really! I just see him around sometimes," Billie lied, struggling to keep her voice normal. She hadn't thought Steven had really noticed.
"Oh right!" Steven replied, not totally convinced. "He hasn't tried it on with you or something, has he?" He knew he was being slightly irrational but he was half asleep and Billie was acting very strangely.
"No of course not. Why would you think that?" She wasn't all that surprised he'd asked, all three of the Wakefield siblings had a jealous streak in them.
"Well, you were suddenly going on about quitting music, and then you mentioned him so I just thought-," he explained with a shrug, finally rolling over to face her.
"I just meant he's a better musician than me"
"Oh right," Steven said rolling back over, not arguing with her about her talent as a musician. How many lawyers were good at music for crying out loud? It was nothing more than a pipe dream.
"I should really just concentrate on my major." "Yep," Steven replied, closing his eyes and trying to concentrate on falling back to sleep.

"Liz, what are you doing still in bed at this hour?" Jessica cried in shock, bursting into her sister's dorm room.
"She's probably exhausted from all those showers she keeps getting up to have," Alex grumbled unhappily. Liz had got up at least three more times during the night, successfully managing to wake up Alex each time. It was completely weird.
"I just wanted a lay in," Liz told Jessica disinterestedly, ignoring Alex's remark. "Have you got a problem with that?" Elizabeth gave Jessica a glare. Jessica raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"No!" She conceded quickly. "I was just surprised, that's all"
"Well I'm out of here. See you later," Alex informed them, picking up her bag and heading out of the door.
"Oh good she's gone," Jessica commented irritably as she sat down on the bed at her sister's feet. "So, how did it go"
"How did what go?" Liz asked, feigning ignorance. She got out of bed, moving away so she wouldn't have to meet Jessica's eye contact.
"The thing with James, of course," Jessica answered pointedly, feeling slightly annoyed that Liz could be so forgetful about the biggest drama going on in her life at that moment. How was that for a sensitive twin?
"Oh that! Fine," Liz lied quickly, walking over to the chest of drawers. "What do you-." Jessica started eyeing her sister suspiciously and her voice broke off suddenly. "Wait! You have bruises all over your legs." Liz looked down at her legs. They looked worse than they had last night.
"Oh them! I just tripped coming out of the bookstore. I cut my arm as well. It's not as bad as it looks," she assured her twin quickly so that Jessica would drop the subject.
"Wow! I never realised you were so clumsy, Liz. I can see why I was the cheerleader in the family now," Jessica teased, relieved it wasn't anything serious.
"You think I'd be caught dead waving bits of paper in the air?" Liz challenged, giving her sister that glare again. Jessica pulled back in surprise once more.
"Chill out Liz! It was just a joke," Jessica told her defensively. Liz started rummaging through the drawers and didn't answer. "I take it that it's all right for me to still work there then?" "No!" Liz cried sharply, turning back around and looking at her twin for the first time. Again Jessica pulled back in surprise.
"But I thought you said it went fine," Jessica reminded her, feeling very confused.
"It did. I just don't think it's a good idea for you to work there"
"Why not?" Jessica demanded. She'd had enough of people trying to control her.
"I just don't!" Liz was struggling to keep her voice on a normal level.
"But you must have a reason, what is it?" "Look Jess, you're not working there anymore and that's final!" Liz screamed, finally losing her temper. Jessica jumped up to meet Elizabeth's angry glare. She was feeling riled too.
"What do you mean it's final? You can't tell-." Jessica stopped as knock on the door broke off her concentration. "Ignore that!" She ordered Liz, wanting to have this out here and now.
"Come in," Liz called, ignoring her sister's instruction. She was just grateful to avoid anymore of this conversation. Isabella entered the room nervously. She looked from one twin to the other, quickly picking on the tension.
"Did I come at a bad time? I can-," she began cautiously.
"No," Liz assured her, not wanting to be left alone with her sister.
"What are you doing here?" Jessica demanded with surprise. She didn't even know that Elizabeth and Isabella had ever really spoken to each other.
"Liz left something at mine last night," she explained hesitantly, unsure what she should say.
"What was Liz doing at yours?" Jessica wondered, even more confused.
"I had to interview Isabella about a story," Liz supplied quickly. "What story?" "I can't tell you it's a secret at the moment." "That's not-," Jessica started to moan. She felt like she was being pushed out.
"So, what did I leave?" Liz interrupted, nervously turning back to Isabella.
"Just these keys," she replied, handing them out to Liz.
"What are they for?" Jessica asked curiously, only getting a glimpse before Liz grabbed them.
"Nothing important," Liz mumbled, hoping she wasn't acting too suspicious. It would be hard to fool Jessica that nothing had happened. She knew her too well. Jessica snatched the keys off Liz and looked at them a second.
"Liz these are the jeep keys," she stated in disbelief. "How can you say that they're not important?" Jessica was totally shocked. It wasn't like Liz to be so careless.
"Why do you care? It not as if it's even your car anymore," Liz responded angrily. Why was Jessica questioning everything?
"It's still technically half mine," Jessica reminded her. Liz grabbed a towel from the drawer.
"Not according to Dad," Liz informed her, already storming out the door towards the bathroom.
"Where are you going? What do you mean?" Jessica demanded. She started to follow her but Isabella held her back.
"I think you should just let her go," Isabella said gently.
"No way! You heard the way she spoke to me!" "I'm sure she didn't mean to," Isabella assured her weakly. Jessica turned her annoyance on Isabella.
"What do you know about it?" "I just think she might be going through a bit of a tough time at the moment," Isabella mumbled, realising she'd had got herself in too deep.
"What makes you think that?" Jessica questioned, for some reason she believed her.
"She just seemed a bit off last night," Isabella continued mumbling. Jessica started to feel even more annoyed that Isabella seemed to think she knew something that she didn't.
"Look Iz, if you know something just tell me!" Jessica cried bitterly.
"I don't know anything," Isabella lied, not very convincingly. She hated keeping this secret but she knew she couldn't break Liz's confidence. After what had happened the last thing Liz needed was to feel that she couldn't trust anyone.
"Fine, ten guesses it's something to do with Todd. I'll just go ask him," Jessica replied defiantly, turning on her heals.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Todd moaned, watching Jessica as she barged into his dorm room.
"I only knock for people deserving of it," Jessica snapped back bitterly. She was convinced he'd done something to upset her sister. Todd sighed. She couldn't still be annoyed about last night, could she? Todd groaned.
"Talk about melodramatic! So I mixed you and your sister up for a second. It's not the first time that it's happened!" "Ok, Todd, I always knew you were a bit of a fruit cake but now you really have lost it! What are you talking about?" She wondered, giving him a strange look.
"At the bookstore," Todd prompted, raising his eyebrows pointedly. Jessica took the meaning of flighty to another level! Jessica continued to look at him strangely for a moment but then realisation appeared across her face.
"Oh right that!" Jessica cried, faking knowledge. "So that's why Liz is mad," she mumbled to herself. Liz was probably worried about the close call and was going through the 'why did Jess have to get me involved in one of her schemes' phrase! Oh well Liz would get over it! She couldn't pretend to be interested in her sister and Todd's relationship. It was too boring to waste energy on.
"I was right, wasn't I?" Todd demanded suddenly, reading Jessica's facial expressions. He knew her too well to be fooled that easily. He'd made the mistake of trusting her too many times before. "It wasn't you there at all, was it"
"Planet Loony bin calling," Jessica taunted, rolling her eyes. "Who else would it be"
"Your sister," he snapped knowingly. "You dragged her into another one of your stupid schemes, didn't you?" He stormed towards the door, not waiting to hear the answer.
"My schemes are not stupid," Jessica informed him. "They work ninety-nine percent of the time." Todd didn't respond and walked out the door with Jessica chasing after him.
"Ouch," Jessica cried suddenly. Todd, who was still walking quickly down the corridor, turned and looked at her worriedly.
"What's the matter?" He asked anxiously. He wouldn't normally care about Jessica but he'd hate to think he'd done anything to harm a defenceless baby.
"You made me break a nail," Jessica moaned. "Do you know how much it costs to keep them looking like this?" Todd rolled his eyes and started walking again. He was determined to find out why Liz was lying to him.

"Todd, you're completely overreacting," Jessica called after him, following him down the corridor. He was walking so fast that she was finding it hard to keep up. He stopped outside Elizabeth's dorm room and banged on the door. A few minutes later Liz finally opened it.
"Give me a chance to open the door for crying out loud," Liz moaned angrily. Her hair was wrapped in a towel. Todd didn't respond to her comment and walked passed her into the room, his arms folded. "What's going on here?" Liz questioned confused, staring at Todd.
"You'd really think you'd be able to tell us apart by now," Todd said, mimicking Liz's voice from the night before. Liz turned to her sister, immediately realising who the culprit was.
"Jessica, how could you?" She demanded bitterly. She'd always stuck up for her twin and expected some loyalty back.
"Hey, I didn't tell him, he figured it out for himself," Jessica replied defensively. She wasn't going to become the villain when the problem was clearly between Liz and Todd. This didn't involve her. "Surprisingly enough," she added under her breath. Normally Todd was pretty easy to keep in the dark about things.
"Well, it's really none of your business," Liz informed Todd, giving him a disinterested look. Her voice was emotionless and she sat down on her bed.
"None of my business?" Todd demanded in an astounded voice.
"So, what if I pretended to be Jessica? I'm allowed to live my life aren't I?" Liz asked flatly, unusually opening up her make up box and starting to apply eye shadow.
"I can't believe you're saying this," Todd responded shaking his head in disbelief. He'd thought Liz would at least have the decency to apologise. Liz shrugged. In her mind she could understand why Todd was annoyed with her but emotionally she just felt too exhausted to contemplate it. "Do you like this colour?" She turned to Jessica and pointed at her eye. Jessica shook her head.
"No," she replied honestly, never one to miss the opportunity to dispense beauty advise. "It makes your eyes look more green, your top is blue, it clashes"
"Liz, I'm trying to talk to you!" Todd shouted in irritation, struggling to keep his temper under control. Since when did his girlfriend care about eye shadow colours? Liz sighed. She really couldn't face him right now.
"I am sorry, Todd," Liz assured him, trying to make her voice sound as apologetic as she could. "I can't talk right now. I promised Alex I'd meet her for breakfast," she lied. "Why don't we meet up tonight about eight"
"Ok," Todd agreed reluctantly, feeling slightly more contented. At least Liz had said sorry and he really didn't want to have it out in front of Jessica anyway. He stood there and Liz looked at him expectantly. "I guess I'll just go then," he grumbled before heading out the door, slamming it on his way out. Liz returned to putting on her eye shadow.
"Why didn't you tell Todd?" Jessica questioned with surprise. She'd always been a little envious of the openness in Elizabeth and Todd's relationship. Liz thought to herself for a second. Why hadn't she told Todd? Part of it had just been how quickly it had all happened. She'd been at the bookstore before she'd had a chance, but she knew that wasn't the only reason, she could have called him before she went to explain. If she was being honest Jessica had always been a sore spot in their relationship. Todd and Jessica both resented the closeness the other had with Liz and Todd especially hated it when Liz put herself in awkward situations for her sister. It was almost so much second nature for Todd to be against any of Jessica's plans that she'd been certain he would object. But another part of the reason was that a little part of Liz, the part independent of her twin, secretly agreed with him. Jessica did need to stand on her own two feet, especially if she was going to be responsible for another human being. Also the sisterly loyalty often seemed to only run one way. Where had Jessica been when she was having all her problems settling into college? Too busy moving in with Isabella and chasing after Mike to bat an eyelid. However Liz knew that the bond she shared with Jessica was unlike any she had or would ever share with anyone else. No matter how separate their lives became she would always be there for Jessica and in her own peculiar way Jessica would always be there for her.
"I don't know," Liz admitted, not really wanting to discuss it with her twin, Jessica would just use it as an opportunity to stir up trouble in their relationship. "Why? Did you tell Mike?" She enquired, trying to change the conversation.
"No!" Jessica yelped, pulling a horrified face. "Do you think James would still be alive if Mike knew he'd been hitting on me?" Liz bit her lip and stopped herself from saying that might not be such a bad thing. Just the sound of his name made her cringe. "I don't think I'm going to be able to work for the next few days," Jessica complained suddenly, lying down on Elizabeth's bed, her head on her pillow. "I feel all queasy and light-headed." Liz stared down at her sister. She knew perfectly well why Jessica was suddenly feeling ill. Lila, who had gone off jet setting around America for several weeks after she'd found out Jessica was going to be fine, hoping to show Tisiano some of her home country, had called a couple of days ago and said she was going to be back in California for a few days before heading back to Italy. Jessica of course now wanted to spend time with her and work didn't fit into that plan. She knew the game. Jessica wouldn't be able to work but she'd be well enough to hang out having luxury beauty treatments at Fowler Manor. And if anyone questioned it, she'd inform them that facials and Lila's masseur's back rubs were just the perfect medicine for the ailments of pregnancy. Lila would probably realise she could make a quick buck and people would fly from all over to go to Lila's exotic health spa, aka Fowler Manor with a few banners and extra employees. Lila's dad would turn up and wonder what on earth had happened to his house, chuck out the guests, yell at Lila and take the money but secretly be impressed with his daughter's entrepreneurial skills. Jessica would fume at Lila for giving him the money and make her usual threat never to speak to her ever again. Lila would then confess she'd kept just enough for a couple of designer dresses from Lisettes and they'd skip off happily to the mall. Liz wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth though, at least if it kept Jessica away from James. Hopefully by the time Lila was gone she'd have convinced Jessica to stay away from him or Jessica would be so envious seeing Lila as a lady of leisure that she'd decide to be one too, carefully ignoring the fact that Lila's father was a millionaire and she was married to a rich count whereas Jessica's father was a lawyer putting three kids through college and her husband was a mechanic.
"If you feel that bad, why don't you call the midwife?" Liz commented lightly, not able to fake concern even to keep her twin happy. Jessica groaned.
"I'm not calling her. Every time I do she gives me a longer list of things I'm not allowed to do. I'd like to keep the little bit of life I do have thank you!" Liz resisted the temptation to comment how odd it was that Jessica's pregnancy only seemed to stop her doing certain things, the things she didn't want to do! Not that Liz was surprised it was just like her sister to twist symptoms that women had been struggling with since human kind evolved into something that benefited her.
"Jess, I'm not meaning to chuck you out or anything but I do have a lot of work to do," Liz explained to her twin in a soft tone.
"I'm just going to lay here for a while," Jessica replied, not picking up on Liz's hint.
"Jess, I really need to concentrate. I need it to be peaceful and quiet." "Fine I'll be quiet," Jessica assured her, still not moving. Liz groaned out loud. She knew with Jessica that meant she'd be silent for a couple of minutes and then she'd start blabbering on about something completely meaningless like who was on the new cover of Vogue.
"I really just want to be on my own," Liz cried in frustration. She didn't mean to sound so harsh but she didn't want to be around anyone at that moment. Jessica looked at her sister and sat up, her face filled with annoyance.
"Fine I can take a hint," she yelled, storming out the door and making sure to slam it shut. Liz stood there motionless. Why were the two people she cared most about in the world slamming the door in her face?

"Mr. Guererro, I'm not going to change my mind. Music has always just been a distraction for me," Billie asserted. She was struggling to keep her resolve and not be talked out of her decision.
"That's a shame because you play at an extremely advanced level, especially considering it isn't your major," he informed her firmly, not relenting. Billie blushed. She wasn't used to people complimenting her music.
"But Law has to-," Billie began to argue, her voice breaking off as she turned to look at the person who had just come through the door.
"Sorry to disturb you. I just brought those recordings that you wanted," Chas explained to the music professor, looking awkward and not making eye contact with Billie. He walked over and put the tapes down on the desk.
"Chas, can you believe Billie here is quitting the guitar?" The professor questioned, gesturing towards her. "Help me to convince her that she's too good to just give it up." Chas finally looked over at Billie and nodded.
"You're right, she's too good to just let go," Chas responded with certainly, giving her a meaningful look. Billie's face went even more red.
"You see, it's settled. You at least have to give it more consideration," the professor told her, not looking as if he'd accept any arguments. Billie opened her mouth to tell him she didn't need to give it more consideration but she desperately wanted to leave so she closed her mouth.
"Ok, I guess I'll go and give it more thought," she agreed weakly. She was annoyed with herself for giving in so easily.
"Hopefully we'll have no more of this silly talk," the professor answered with a smile. Billie turned to leave the classroom.
"Wait! I'll walk with you," Chas called, moving fast to catch up with her. She wanted to tell him to leave her alone but the professor was watching them walk out of the classroom and she didn't want to draw any attention to herself. She let him walk with her a small way down the corridor and then she turned to face him.
"I don't know what you think you're playing at," she said sharply, her voice boiling over with anger. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the music practise room which they were standing opposite.
"You know exactly what I'm playing at." "No I don't," she replied. She was genuinely confused about what he wanted from her and why he wouldn't accept she was taken. "When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I'm not interested"
"Yeah, you're not interested," he answered back sarcastically. "That's why you slept with me!" Billie looked down at the keyboard on the table, trying to avoid eye contact.
"How many times do I have to tell you that was a mistake?" Billie shouted frustrated. She was more angry with herself than him.
"As many as it takes for you to sound like you mean it," he shouted back, waving his arms in frustration.
"I was upset. I didn't know what I wanted," she argued, turning to face him again.
"It didn't seem like you didn't know what you wanted to me." Chas looked into her eyes and started to walk towards her.
"Well I didn't," Billie said simply, frozen on the spot. "Yes you did." He cupped her face, pressing his lips to hers. Billie didn't push him away but stepped back after he released her from the kiss, her conscience plaguing her. She stared into his eyes and then threw herself back into his embrace, their lips meeting feverishly. He pushed her back towards the long table and shoved the keyboard off to far end. All the music sheets and books littering it fell onto the floor. They moved onto the table, their hands all over each other, his fingers already fumbling with the buttons of her top, her hands under his shirt.