Derek shuffled his feet down the stairs, dreading the day to come. He hadn't slept one
wink since Friday night. It was hard to believe a little over three hours ago, Casey had
offically ended it even if he had kicked around the idea himself. He deserved every
ounce of wrath that was thrown his way, but it was still hard to devour. He went on a
simple date with a girl and had fallen fiercely. He had let that girl kiss him and he kissed
her back without any hesitation. Derek really wanted to eat his cake and have it too.
What was he thinking? If Casey had been out all night with some guy, he would have
tracked her down with jealousy and kicked his ass just like he had Eric's.
Once he came home, and after the little 'dispute', Derek laid awake and realized
for the first time what a jerk he really was. He always chalked it up to his girlfriend's
being nothing more than a casual fling and cheating was no big deal since it was obvious
he wasn't going to marry a single one of them.
But with Casey...
It wasn't two weeks ago when they were lying in bed and she had talked about a future
life with him. If any other girl had done that, he would have bolted. But with Casey he
listened. He loved her ideas about her being a lawyer and he being a rock star. The
lifestyle was already sounding great.
And then she started talking about the cliche white picket fence with two kids; Derek
and Amelia. He had asked why Derek and she suprised him by admitting she had
always loved his name; loved the way it rolled off her tongue. And then he had laughed
when Casey mentioned that it was already ingrained in her to yell it in just the perfect
pitch.
Derek was suprised when the shower turned on a little past 6 when school
wouldn't be starting for another two hours and ten minutes. The sound of her pulling
back the curtain to step in; the sound of it pounding against the tile; the memory of her
wet slick body beneath the stream. He didn't deserve to see her body ever again and
he had a feeling she wouldn't let him if he tried.
He had risen out of bed, and sat against the bathroom door looking like a pathetic loser
who had just lost someone he couldn't breath without. And in reality, he had. No
matter how much he thought of ways to fix his mistake; make Casey take him back, did
he really want to?
The thought of Sally refused to leave his mind. It was like their was a split screen in his
head...a brunette beauty on one side, a gorgeous blond on the other.
If it had just been Sally's looks maybe he could stop worrying; some day soon she would
leave his mind. But that wasn't the case. Sally had a great personlity who loved
sports and ate like a man. He could really hang out with her and feel completely
comforatable.
He and Casey were a little awkward, as hard as that was to admit, unless they were
having sex and even that had been a trial and error at the beginning. It could be that
they had not been able to be honest about their relationship so far. Neither were
making a move to whip out the news, though the thought of Edwin and Lizzie knowing
freaked him out. But they weren't the tattle tailing type.
And even if they were, Derek would just hang Edwin upside down and threaten him to
secrecy.
Derek entered the kitchen, thankful that only Nora was present.
"Derek," she looked at him with concern.
"Nora."
"You look terrible," she dragged out, putting down her bowl of oatmeal and inspecting
him.
"Thanks for the compliment. I needed that."
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I suppose you stayed out all night?"
"So you did know I was gone? I didn't think anyone cared."
She cocked her head to the side and gave him a stern glare. "Your father and I give you
way too much freedom and maybe we should tighten the reins. Of course I knew you
were gone. I got up in the middle of the night to check the garage to see if the Prince
was in there and that was...2 I think."
"Ya, I came in a little before 4."
Nora began eating her oatmeal once more and turned twords the coffee pot. "We'll you
better get going."
"Eh, I still have time."
"I know but with the way you're shuffling your feet, it may take you that extra fifteen
minutes to get to class."
Nora set a thermas of hot coffee in front of him. "Thanks, Nora."
Derek took a sip of the bitter black coffee, hoping it fixed the ugly bags underneath his
eyes.
"I have to wait on Casey anyway."
"No you don't."
He looked at his step-mother over the rim of his lid. "I don't?"
"Nope, she already left. She was gone before half of you were even out of bed. I'm not
sure what's wrong with her but she barely said two words and left without any make up
on."
Derek scooted back the stool and grabbed his hockey bag. "I guess I'll see you later."
Nora began to say something else but he had already opened the door connected to
the garage and leaped into the Prince. Casey really was pissed if she would walk five
long (and they were long) blocks to school.
He started up the engine and went in the direction of the old alma mater. It felt like a
jail everyday, but today it would feel like death row. He had to face Emily, Ralph,
Sheldon, Amanda, Sam, and most importantly Casey. Turning onto Madison Avenue,
Derek could see two lone figured standing on the sidewalk, one clenching the other.
It wasn't too hard to notice who they were. Emily and Casey. And this time Emily was
the one offering comfort. Should he keep going? Derek knew that she needed space
but he wanted to talk to her away from the halls of school where she can't get away.
Parking the Prince on the curb, Emily noticed immediately that someone had pulled
beside them. Her face went from confusion to fury in 1.2 seconds. She let go of
Casey's shrunken form and stormed at him as he got out out of the car.
"Ohhh no! You better get the hell back in that pathetic excuse for wheels and drive
away from here or i'll slit your tires and then use the same knife to slit your throat."
"Back off, Em," Derek said, literally pushing her out of the way a little harder than he
intended, making his way tword Casey. Her slender arms were crossed, her long hair
hung messy infront of her face. She shrunk away from him...and then ran.
Instead of letting her go, Derek ran after her. What he was going to say once he caught
her hadn't registered in his mind. All he knew was that he had to stop her. She just
kept running until she hit Edgemont, the corner slowing her down somewhat, just
enough for him to catch her around the arms and drag her to the ground.
"Get off me!" She fought with every ouce of power she had, but he held tight. Her
arms were held captive but she managed to dig her figernails into his flesh, drawing
blood. "I hate you you selfish peice of shit! Let me go!"
"Casey! Calm down and talk to me. I just want to talk."
Derek sat on his ass and brought Casey down onto his lap, rocking her like he had when
she almost got raped.
She was breathing heavy from the run..from the struggle to get loose. And then it was
like she deflated. Her screaming anger and sobbing ceased, and she leaned into his
chest, welcoming the comfort even if he was the one she needed comfort from in the
first place.
She did get in one last "I hate you."
"What I did yesterday was wrong," Derek began. "Everything, and I mean everything, I
did this entire weekend was wrong. More wrong than I have ever done...ever.
But what's done is done and I just think that you and I need to come to some sort of
even ground, a truce maybe."
"It's a lit...little to soon for this, shit head." She was still out of breath. Derek smiled
from behind her, welcoming the name calling.
"I know Spacey but we live together and I ju..."
"Don't call me that."
"Call you what?" he asked with a confused expression.
"Spacey. From now on it's just Casey."
Derek chuckled at how angry she actually was. For him to give up her nickname's
was absurd. He rarely called her by her actual name. "Spacey, Case, Space Case,
Princess, Klutszilla. It's what I call you and that's not gonna change."
"That was before. I let you call me all of thoughs insulting names because it was
you. It belonged between us and their...is...no...more...us."
Derek loosened his grip on her, and that grip was the last shread of closeness keeping
them together. She turned around on her knees and got two inches from his face.
"This," she said indicating with her hand back and forth at a rapid pace between them.
"This is nothing. You are nothing. And just because we are forced to live together
doesn't give you the right to come near me. We will eat together at the dinner table to
'save face' but other than that, do...not...come...near...me. You're nothing but a leech
and I no longer what my blood sucked dry by something that needs put out of it's
misery."
And with that she walked away. Her slender figure disappearing into the distance and
away from everything, good or bad, that they ever shared.