Disclaimer: The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

Thanks for all the reviews guys. Love reading them all. :D

Chapter 14

"Nothing?" I asked.

Joey shook her head. Ten weeks and the girl still gazed at the phone every time it rang with hope that it would be him calling from boot camp, but he never called her. She wrote him every day at first, then once a week, but she never got a letter from him.

Joey moved in with us shortly after Roman left. My father was seriously injured at work. He couldn't move around on his own and my mother had to go back to work. Joey took care of Mia and my father all day and in the evenings she worked as a grill cook. Somehow in between all of that she managed to finish high school and start earning an online degree as a paralegal. We gave her the apartment above Dad's garage. She was still on her own and didn't have a lot of bills to worry about, but she helped out anyway. I think she just tried to stay busy and keep her mind off of how much she missed Roman

"Maybe he will." I felt bad for her. She stayed faithful even though she was completely free.
"I thought I would at least get an invitation to the ceremony."

Joey and I went on a couple of dates just to see if there was anything still there, but we figured out that she and I had never been anything but really good friends. The love we thought we had felt as kids was really just exploration. I was still a boy with raging hormones and I know I saw Joey as the perfect girl to explore my curiosities with. I openly admit that I was a manipulative teenaged boy and Joey had been vulnerable. She needed a gentle touch and to feel loved, something she'd never gotten at home.

We spent so much time together and there was no way to ignore the truth. We were friends. There was nothing else there. Not anymore. I would remember her as my first love and the mother of my child. But we would never be more, still I planned to marry her. I was going to ask her because Joey needed someone in her life. She needed a family and I couldn't bear the thought of her falling for some guy that may abuse her.

"I think I'm going to drive down there anyway." She finally blurted out. "It's only a few hours away."

"But you don't know what day or when?"

"Sara at work's son is at the same boot camp. I'm going with her."

"He's going to be shocked."

"He's going to have to face it." Joey laughed. "He's trying to hide but I know he didn't want to end it. I saw it in his eyes. He was just scared."
"I think he wanted to give us a chance to be a family. He told me he thought he was standing in the way. He said that if he had never been in that class that you and I would have gotten together."

"It would have ended up like it is now."

"You still want to marry a friend?" I laughed. "Can you live like that?"

"I won't be unfaithful. Even if Roman comes back." She told me. "I'm never going to love another man. I don't want to. So being with my best friend is the next best thing. We have Mia. No other man is going to understand our situation and allow me to be so close with you and your family. I love this family. I felt this way as a kid too."

Joey had forgiven everything. I don't know if I could have been so kind. And every time I thought about it I wondered how any of us could have thought it was true. Joey had been in and out of our home for years. I guess our mind was clouded with all the bad things that could have happened to that innocent child. I know that was my parent's thinking, but I really should have known better. I knew her better than anyone. I still did and I knew her heart was broken.

"Well, I'll take the day off." I agreed. "You go and do what you have to do, but I need to know something soon because if you and Roman are not getting back together I'm going to ask this girl at work out."

"You should ask her anyway."

"I'm only willing to put in the time if I have to." I laughed. Honestly, being in a real relationship was just too much work. I found most women were really hard to keep happy and jealous. And then I had the same problem. Who would accept the role Joey played in my family?

Please Review.