Disclaimer: I don't own them, and trust me…no money is being made.
True Love Renewed
Chapter 10: The Truth Comes Out
November 19, 2001
"Hi Bodie, is Bess around?"
"Sure Joey, I'll get her. We can't wait to see you tomorrow."
"Me too."
There was a short time of silence on the phone as Joey waited for her sister to come talk to her.
"Hey, sis, how is school going?"
"Great. There's not much time left before finals. I should do pretty well in all of my classes though."
"That's great. So, I guess you are calling about the arrangements for the break, huh?"
"Yeah. Drue, Jen, Jack, Grams and I will be on the 4:15 train. We were hoping Bodie could pick us up at the station."
"Sure, that's not a problem."
"Ok, and are you sure there is enough room for everybody at the B&B?"
"Yeah, you know we aren't very busy around the holidays. Jen and Grams are going to be in a room together, Jack will have his own room or he can share a room with Drue, it's up to them. And do you know if Pacey is staying here or is he staying at Doug's?"
"I don't know. I thought he was staying in Boston for Thanksgiving?"
"He was, but Gale told Bodie that he decided to come home to see Dawson again."
"See Dawson again?"
"Yeah, they haven't seen each other since Dawson drove the car down to Florida for Pacey." Joey was shocked by this, she had no idea that Dawson and Pacey had even spoken to each other since Pacey had left Capeside last summer.
"Do they talk a lot?"
"Oh yeah, all the time. According to Gale they have been keeping in touch since right before Dawson left for California. Phone calls, letters, postcards, email, any way they could. Dawson even has pictures of all the places Pacey saw this summer and on his trip back to Boston."
"Oh, ok. Well, I'm gonna get going. I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow. Kiss Alex for me."
"I will, and be careful Jo."
"Ok, I love you Bess."
"I love you too."
Joey hung up the phone and looked around her dorm room. She had to pack for her trip home but her mind wasn't on the task. All she could think about was what her sister had just told her. Dawson and Pacey had been keeping in touch all summer and all semester? She finally understood the pause before Pacey had answered her that day in the elevator. No, none of her friends in Boston knew that he was here, but the one in California knew. She couldn't believe that Dawson had known all this time. He had lied to her all summer. When she was wondering where Pacey was and if he was alright, Dawson had known and hadn't told her. Why? Well one thing was for sure…Joey was going to find out. When she got back to Capeside the first thing she was going to do was to confront Dawson. And then she had to have a talk with Pacey. It was time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 20, 2001
6:30 pm
Dawson's bedroom
Dawson looked up as he heard the knock on his bedroom door. He knew it was Joey, he had seen her row up to the dock and tie the boat up before walking up to the house. He had also heard talking to his mother about how big the baby had gotten while we were all away at school. Dawson nervously got up to open the door. He knew that she must have an important reason for being at his house this soon after getting home. The whole group was supposed to meet for a vacation movie night at 10:30 and he wasn't expecting her until then.
"Jo, what are you doing here so early? I thought you were coming over later with Drue?"
"I need to talk to you Dawson. It's really important."
"Okay, shoot."
"When were you planning on telling me the truth? Or were you going to keep it to yourself forever? If I hadn't run into Pacey on the elevator that day would you ever have told me that he was in Boston?"
"Joey, I don't…"
Joey cut off his feeble attempt at continuing to lie to her, "Don't lie to me Dawson, I know that you knew the whole time. Your mom told Bessie that you had been keeping in touch with Pacey since he left and that you always knew where he was, so why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to get hurt."
"So you just waited for me to find out on my own. You waited for me to find out that the two people who mean the most to me have both spent the past few months lying to me. I thought you and I were finally getting our friendship back on track, but then I find out that you can't be honest with me."
"Joey, let me explain. Pacey and I were trying to get our friendship back on track too. He asked me not to tell you and I couldn't betray his trust."
"So you lied to me."
"Joey…"
"Don't Dawson. Don't try to rationalize your way out of this. You lied to me. You can't change that. I guess our friendship isn't as good as I thought it was."
"Joey, do you remember the time you lied to me about my mother having an affair? I forgave you for that."
"I know you did Dawson, but I also remember that you stopped speaking to me for a while first, so just give me time to process this before you ask me to forgive and forget."
"Take all the time you need."
"Thank you Dawson. I'll see you later. Oh, and Pacey? Will you please get out of the closet and come with me? I need to talk to you too."
The closet door slowly opened and Pacey walked out with an amused look on his face. "How does she do that?" he asked with a grin.
"Gale told me you were up here. Now come on."
With that Dawson's two best friends walked out of his bedroom and out of his house. Dawson knew that his friendship with Pacey was intact for the first time in over a year, but he had no idea where his relationship with Joey stood. He could only hope that she would forgive him for his part in Pacey's deception.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pacey and Joey walked for a little while before either of them said anything. When they finally stopped they found themselves at the dock where Joey had told him it was over for the first time. Pacey thought about that night and shuddered. That was the worst night of his life. He had lost his best friend and the woman he loved all in the same hour. When Joey had come to the boat and asked to go with him because she loved him he thought he was dreaming. Now looking back on how happy she had made him, he couldn't believe that he had given that up. He couldn't believe he had been stupid enough to walk away from her.
Joey broke the silence with a quiet question, "What are you thinking about?"
"I was just thinking about last time we were here together."
"That was quite a night wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it sure was. Who would have thought back then that everything would have turned out this way?"
"Certainly not me."
"So what are you thinking about Potter?"
"Prom."
"Ah, another of those nights I'd like to forget."
"You broke my heart that night Pacey. I loved you so much and I didn't think anything could be worse than how I felt that night. But then you left Capeside without telling anyone. You didn't even have the decency to give me a proper goodbye. And I had to go through another broken heart, one that I never got over. Even now I'm not over it. Then when I was finally getting my life back together and moving on there you were. Standing in that elevator looking at me like I was the last person on earth that you wanted to see, yet at the same time looking at me like I was the only person you wanted to see. And the heartbreak came back. Just like that."
"Jo, I'm sorry for all of that. Can't you see how sorry? I never meant to hurt you that way. I love you."
"I love you too Pacey. But I don't know if I can ever trust you again, and that is what I can't forgive you for. So I'm sorry too, but from now on all you will ever be is my friend. I can't let you be more than that."
With that said, Joey walked down the dock. Pacey watched her with tears in his eyes. He sat there for a while wondering if there was anything he could have done differently. Of course there was, he could have stayed in Capeside and not broken Joey's heart. Maybe if he had, his heart wouldn't be breaking now, every time he saw her.