Chesapeake was tired.
It was slow and painful with so many eyes watching a wound like
theirs heal. Well-intentioned friends knew very little of what
to say... so mostly they said nothing. Her eyes were always blood-shot
and she'd find herself crying at the strangest times. When she
looked at Jack, he would glare. Everyone knew it had been a bad
breakup and that Chesa wanted him back. Would he give in? They
knew he loved her first. But they also knew that she had hurt
him, and his pride. Would he be able to forgive her?
The answer came to Chesapeake one evening, when she climbed the stairs to the attic to be alone. It seems obvious what she found there, now, but it had never entered her mind at that point. Sensual moans assailed her ears as she reached the top of the stairs. She recognized the girl's voice immediately as Elsa's. Elsa was rude and average looking. She had mousy hair and hazel eyes and an amazing amount of freckles. She'd been raised by God-knows-who in Boston and was now giggling erotically. It took Chesapeake two seconds more to discern who the male voice belonged to. She began to cry as she whirled around a corner and saw them, nude except for a fleece blanket wrapped around their midsections. When Jack looked up guiltily, "Chesa, I-"
Chesapeake took a deep breath, "Which of the standard lines will we use?" Her stare hardened and she spat sarcastically, "I hope that you're happy, you really deserve it. This will be the best for us both in the end." She turned on her heel and began to storm out.
"Wait!" Jack called, as she'd hoped he would, "I'se sorry, Chesa. I don' mean ta hoit ya... It's just that I'm so hoit I don' know what else I should do... Ya know?"
Elsa glared at them and threw her clothes on, starting down the stairs. Chesa stepped closer to Jack and placed her open palm on his chest, "I... I know. I'm sorry."
"I know ya are..."
"Do you think..." Chesa started, "Do you think we can fix this?" She hung her head.
Jack sighed, "I don' know... I don' know what love is... I don' know what I'd be sayin' if I said what I wanna... Which is dat I love ya."
"You should say it if you mean it, Cowboy," Chesa said, pensively, "But I don't think... Even if ya do, I mean.... maybe someday we could get together again..."
"I know," said Jack, "I t'ink you'se right. An' I do mean it. I love ya, but we can't be tagedda."
Chesa grinned, for the first time in ages, "Thanks."
Jack smiled back, "It's gonna take some time, doe, fer me ta trust ya..."
She nodded, "I understand." An awkward silence ensued, until Chesapeake grinned again, toothily and threw her arms around him, "I missed you..."
He was a bit taken aback, but that was just Chesa. He chuckled and they went down the stairs to go get dinner with the rest of the guys.
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