The Time of Our Lives – Chapter 26
The Beach Apartment
Donna closes the door after Jason. He had stayed with her for a few hours and let her get all of her emotions out. She hadn't really told him anything about the situation with David and he didn't seem to mind at all. He was content just sitting with her and letting her cry it out.
Donna begins cleaning up the tissues from the living room when the door opens and Kelly comes walking in.
'Hey Donna,' she says.
'Hi Kel, how's Jim?' Donna asks, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.
'Well, it seems as though he's doing better. I think he'll be able to go home in a day or two,' Kelly says watching Donna pick up tissues and finally notices the puffiness around her eyes.
'Donna, are you alright?' she asks and walks over to where Donna had stopped.
Donna turns to face Kelly as she approaches and immediately throws her arms around her.
'Oh, Don,' Kelly says and holds her tight. 'What happened?'
Donna weeps softly into Kelly's shoulder for a few minutes. She finally pulls away, grabs another tissue, and sits down on the couch.
'I'm just confused and angry and just plain frustrated,' Donna finally says.
Kelly joins her on the couch and looks at her with concern.
'What happened? What's going on?'
'David came to see me the morning you were recovering from drinking. We walked out on the beach to talk and he told me that he just couldn't imagine his life without me in it and begged me to at least think about considering him again,' she says.
'Really? Well, that's something I didn't expect from him,' Kelly says.
'Yeah, well, I don't know if I'm ready for that. Kel, I love him and although he hurt me really badly, I still love him and could definitely see myself with him again,' she says.
'So, what's the problem? Are you worried that you're not going to be able to tell him how you feel?' Kelly asks her.
'No, I'm not worried about that. I'm really just confused because I really do like Jason too,' she admits.
'Oh, right, Jason. I forgot about him. Have you even kissed him yet?' Kelly asks.
'No, not yet, but he's really fun to hang out with, he's a great cook, and he actually listens to what I have to say,' Donna says.
'All really great things, Donna. I can see why you're so frustrated. As painful as it might be, you really need to make a tough decision here. Is there anything I can do?'
'I don't think so, Kel, but thanks,' Donna says and gets up slowly from the couch. She wanders back into her room and shuts the door quietly.
Kelly sighs trying to figure out what she could possibly do to help her friend when the phone starts to ring.
'Hello?'
'Hey, Kel,' Brandon says.
'Hey, how's your dad doing?' she asks him.
'Better, I think they're going to let him come home tomorrow,' he says.
'Oh, that's great, that's really great.'
'Yeah, it is. Listen, I need to get out of here for a little while, want to grab some dinner with me?' he asks her.
'Sure,' she says.
'Great, I'll be over in a little while,' he says and hangs up the phone.
Brandon starts to walk out of the kitchen when the phone rings again.
'Brandon, it's Brenda,' she says when he answers.
'I just heard from Mom and she said that Dad might be able to come home tomorrow,' he tells her.
'Wow, that soon? That's good news. I just wanted to check in and make sure that everything is okay,' she says.
'Everything's fine over here. I'll call you if something changes,' he says.
'Okay, thanks, Brandon,' she says and hangs up the phone.
'Dad might be able to come home tomorrow,' Brenda tells Dylan and joins him on the couch.
'I'm glad. That's a good sign,' he says. She sits down next to him and he puts his arm around her.
'Yeah, it is. So, where were we?' she asks.
'Well, you were just about to tell me what this poem means and I was just about to do this,' he says and lunges toward her. He puts his hand on the back of her head and starts to kiss her.
Brenda tries not to laugh at Dylan's sudden movement and enjoy this kiss, but can't hold it in long enough. She breaks from him and starts to laugh.
'You surprised me,' she says when she finally stops laughing.
'That was the idea,' he says and slowly leans her back onto the couch and then shimmies his way up her body slowly.
'Mmmm, Dylan,' she moans out loud.
The Beach Apartment
Brandon knocks on Kelly's door and waits for her to answer. She opens the door quickly and steps outside.
'Um, Brandon, do you mind if I ask Donna if she wants to come with us? She's been in a horribly depressed mood all day and I really don't want to leave her alone,' Kelly says.
'What happened?'
'She's just confused about David and Jason. She's trying to work through it, but I'm really concerned about her,' Kelly says and looks back toward the door.
'Well,' Brandon says as he takes her hands, 'why don't we just order food and stay in?' he suggests.
Kelly looks at him with surprise. 'That is a very thoughtful suggestion,' she says. 'Let's run it by her and see if she'll come out of her room.'
Brandon follows Kelly into the apartment. He goes to the kitchen to look at the take-out menus while Kelly gingerly walks to Donna's bedroom door.
She knocks softly a few times. 'Donna?'
She hears Donna sniffle a few times and then hears her say, 'Yeah, come in.'
Kelly slowly opens the door and sees Donna lying on her bed staring up at the ceiling with a tissue in each hand.
'Brandon's here and we're going to order some food, do you want something?' Kelly asks her and sits on the bed.
'I don't know, Kel. I kind of feel sick to my stomach, I don't know if I should eat anything,' Donna says.
'Well, I'm going to order you something anyway, okay? We are just going to park ourselves on the living room floor and try to find something fun to do, if you're interested,' Kelly says.
Donna just nods at her and turns onto her side. Kelly puts her hand on Donna's shoulder and squeezes a little before getting up and joining Brandon in the living room.
'Is she alright?' Brandon asks.
'Not yet, she's still really upset. I'm not sure what to do,' Kelly says.
'Well, let's do this one step at a time. Food first, solution second,' Brandon says.
Kelly laughs a little at him and looks at a few of the menus.
After ordering food, they sit on the couch trying to figure out what to do.
'I have an idea. It may not be the best idea, but it's a suggestion,' Brandon says tentatively.
'Anything is better than what we've come up with so far, which is nothing,' Kelly says.
'I think we need to bring in the big guns,' Brandon says seriously. 'I think we should call Brenda,' he says.
Kelly thinks about what he said for a few seconds and then starts to nod her head.
'Of course, that's a great idea, Brandon. Brenda can definitely help her,' she says and gets up to find the phone.
She hands it to Brandon who begins to dial Dylan's number.
Dylan's house
Brenda and Dylan had fallen asleep after making love on the couch. There were poetry books and clothes strewn from one end of the room to the other while they lay perfectly still and smiling in each other's arms.
The phone begins to ring and Dylan jumps a little at the sound. Brenda opens her eyes quickly as Dylan tightens his grip around her body.
'Dylan, the phone's ringing,' she tells him.
'Who cares? I have everything I need right here,' he says and tries to get his body closer to hers.
Brenda smiles and laughs a little at him. She begins to stroke his arm with her hand as they let the answering machine pick up the call.
'Dylan, it's Brandon. I'm looking for Brenda. I'm over here at Kelly and Donna's and Donna is not doing so well tonight. She's having some kind of man issues between David and, what's his name again Kel? Right, okay, Jason. We thought maybe Bren could talk some sense into her and help her out of her funk. Give me a call at Kelly's when you get this. Later.'
Brenda stares at the ceiling listening to her brother's voice on the answering machine. She immediately thought that something was wrong with her father when he started talking, was relieved when she heard him say Donna's name.
She starts to get up as Dylan quickly kisses her on the neck. She tries to maneuver her body out from underneath him.
'Bren,' he says.
'Dylan, let me just call and find out what's going on, okay?' she says pleading him with her eyes.
He shoves a pillow over his head and huffs at her. She gets up and puts a few articles of clothing back on before walking over to the phone and dialing Kelly's number.
'Kel, it's Brenda. What's going on?' she says.
Brenda spends a few minutes on the phone with Kelly getting the update on Donna. She walks back over to the couch where Dylan still had his head under the pillow. She can almost hear him huffing and puffing under the pillow and starts to laugh.
'Come on, Dylan, you know I have to at least try to get her to talk to me about it. We won't stay long, I promise,' she says.
She gets closer to him and hears a muffled, 'No more promises.'
She smiles and sits on the edge of the couch. 'Come on, if you come with me I will do that thing in that spot that you like,' she says, teasing him.
He pulls the pillow off of his face immediately to look at her. He tries to gauge whether or not she's serious about the offer that she just made.
She smiles brightly at him and begins to put the rest of her clothes on. She walks around the room throwing his clothes in his direction while picking up hers.
The Beach Apartment
Dylan pulls up to the beach apartment and walks up to the door with Brenda in tow. Kelly answers the door when they knock.
'Oh, hey,' she says. 'It's just Dylan and Brenda,' she yells back to Brandon, who is impatiently waiting in the living room for the food.
'Well, that's some greeting,' Dylan says.
'Sorry, we're still waiting for our food to show up, which we ordered five minutes before calling you,' she says.
Dylan walks over and pats Brandon on the shoulder. Kelly and Brenda stare down the hallway to Donna's door.
'She hasn't come out at all,' Kelly tells her.
'Well, here goes,' Brenda says, taking a deep breath and slowly walking toward Donna's room.
She knocks softly and waits for Donna to answer.
'I don't feel like eating Kel, put it in the refrigerator,' Brenda hears through the door.
She opens the door a little bit and peeks her head around it. 'I don't think I'd fit in the refrigerator,' she says.
'Brenda?' Donna says rolling over to face the door.
Brenda walks over and sits on Donna's bed. Donna sits up and puts her arms around Brenda and hugs her tight.
She starts to cry again and Brenda holds onto her, stroking her hair as she cries.
'Brenda, I'm so confused,' Donna weeps.
'I know, sweetie,' Brenda says and pulls Donna a little closer. 'Tell me what happened.'
Dylan, Brandon, and Kelly watch and listen from the end of the hallway as Donna opens up to Brenda about David and Jason.
As they strain to hear what she is saying there is a very loud knock at the door. Brandon jumps up and runs to the door.
Kelly and Dylan go back into the living room while Brandon puts the food out.
'You hungry man?' Brandon asks Dylan.
'Nah, not really,' he says.
Brenda sits and listens to her friend pour her heart out.
'Bren, I know that it shouldn't be this hard to make this decision, but it is,' Donna says.
'Donna, honey, it should be this hard. You were dating David for a long time, you two have a lot of history together, and you know already what the good and bad sides to that relationship are. With Jason, you'd be starting all over from scratch,' Brenda says.
She puts her hand on top of Donna's and squeezes.
'All you need to figure out right now is if you want to put your energy toward getting to know someone new, or toward figuring out and dealing with your past relationship,' Brenda says.
'At times one is going to look way more attractive than the other, but you don't have to make this decision black and white. You don't want to string Jason and David along keeping their hopes up that you will pick them. Tell them both how you feel. Sit down with each one or both of them together and tell them the truth,' Brenda tells her.
'I think David is expecting me to make some kind of decision,' Donna says.
'Listen, I like David, but right now, who cares what he expects? This is your life and your heart, and you make the decision when you are damn good and ready. They will either understand or walk away, which is the chance you take by telling them,' Brenda says.
Donna nods and looks up at her friend. 'Thanks, Bren,' she says.
'Now, let's get you up so that you can eat. I will not stand by while your stomach growls for the twelfth time,' Brenda says with a smile.
Donna smiles back at her and takes her hand. They walk down the hall with their arms around each other and join Dylan, Brandon, and Kelly in the living room.
'Did someone say food?' Donna asks, looking around the room.
'Yes, ma'am, this is all yours,' Brandon says handing her a plate.
'So, Bren, when does your community show open?' Brandon asks her.
'Two weeks from Friday,' she says. 'I have another set of directing scenes that go up next week too.'
'Let's hope these directors are better than the last ones,' Kelly says.
They laugh together while Kelly and Brandon start cleaning up the food.
'Well, I think we should probably go. I have to get some sleep before class tomorrow,' Brenda says.
Dylan gets up and gives Brandon a high five.
'Goodnight guys,' Brandon says.
Brenda leans over and gives Donna a hug. 'Call me okay?' she says.
Donna nods and hugs her back.
'Goodnight,' Brenda says as they leave the apartment.
Dylan starts the car and drives back to his house.
'What's going on with Donna? Is she alright?' he asks Brenda.
'She will be, Dylan. She's just confused with David telling her that he wants her back in his life and her growing feelings for Jason. It'll work itself out,' she says.
They walk into his house and Dylan puts his arms around her.
'I'm so happy that we don't have to deal with that,' he says and leans down to kiss her.
'Mmmm, me too,' she says as he picks her up off of the floor and spins her around.
Brenda lies in Dylan's arms after they had finished making love and watches him sleep. She brushes a few pieces of hair off of his forehead and smiles at him.
'I love you, Dylan,' she whispers to him and closes her eyes.