A/N: I just wanted to let ya'll know that I think I'm gonna put The Twin on
hold for a little while. Well, until I get settled into this story more.
So probably for about a week or so. So that's for those of you who were
reading that story. And I'm really being talked into doing the sequel to
Connection. A really good friend wants me to do a sequel. So I'm thinking
bout it. Although with the dream she had, she could do the whole thing
herself...........ya hear that chica?! Lol Anyways, here's the next
chapter. I used Evanescence's song "Forgive Me" in it. I absolutely love
that song and it just totally fits.
**************
"Casey, wake up, we're almost there," Shane said nudging me awake. I lifted my head off the car window and yawned.
"Shane, we're in Cameron. What the hell are we doin here?" I exclaimed looking out the windows.
"Well, I figured it'd be easier to get some of your stuff now to move into my house," he answered.
"I thought I'd just have you do it for me," I said.
"Like you did to Shannon and Matt the day after you broke up with me?!" he laughed. "I don't think so! You're so gonna help here!"
"Fine, but just know that I don't like you right now," I sulked.
"Sweetie, you've told me that 5 times on the drive here, 10 times on the plane from Paris, and oddly, once in your sleep," he replied smirking at me as we pulled into Matt's driveway.
"Shane, seriously, I don't want to do this," I said as he turned off the car.
He sighed and unhooked my seatbelt before getting out of the car and walking over to my side. He opened the door and pulled me out. "Tough. Deal with it," he said dragging me up the steps to the door. I crossed my arms as he knocked on the door.
"Well, looks like no one's home. Too bad," I smiled sarcastically starting to walk away as we heard steps through the house. Shane grabbed the hood of my sweatshirt and pulled me back to him just as the door opened. I looked up at Matt as he stood there looking shocked to see me. "Hi Matt." I bit on the inside of my lip as he continued to stare at me.
"Oh my God," he spoke softly. Surprisingly, he wrapped me up in his arms, lifting me off the ground. "I'm so glad you're home!"
"You are?" I questioned as he put me done.
"We've all been worried sick about you two. Where the hell have you been?!" he asked.
"Um, Italy, England, France," I replied as he pulled me into the house. I grabbed Shane's hand and pulled him with me. We all sat down in the living room and stared at each other.
"I'm so glad you're alright," Matt smiled.
"Why?" I asked.
"What do you mean why?" he asked.
"When you heard about what happened, you told me you thought it was a mistake to have met me," I said looking past him so I wouldn't have to look into his eyes.
"Case, I was so upset that you would do something that.........bad," he said. "But that doesn't mean that I didn't love you. When you left we were all scared and upset. We didn't know if you were alive, dead, or otherwise."
"I guess I'm sorry," I said softly.
"I don't care. I'm just glad you're back," he smiled at me.
"Well, I just came to pack up my stuff," I said.
"What?! Why?!" he exclaimed.
"Everyone's kicked me out. I'm gonna stay with Shane until I can find an apartment," I replied.
"No, you can stay here. Casey, we've all gotten over what happened. We don't want you to leave. You're family," he said placing his hand on my knee gently.
"I think it's for the best," I nodded at him moving my leg out from under his hand.
"Oh, okay," he said hurtfully. "If you really feel that way, I understand."
"Well, I should probably go over to um, to Jeff's and get that stuff," I said as tears started to form in my eyes. "Is he home?"
"Yeah, he's home," Matt replied as I stood.
"You gonna be okay?" Shane asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I nodded at him, leaving the house.
****************
I walked down the road slowly, my head down, fighting with the tears that were coming. I had replaced the engagement ring with the claddah ring Jeff had given me one Christmas, and I stared at it as I walked. I wondered how he was going to react to seeing me and if he would push me away. Many times during that walk I was tempted to walk right back to Matt's, but somehow I continued to walk and I eventually made it. I looked up at the house that held fond memories. It was like a vacation slideshow going through my head, as each memory came into view. I wasn't sure if I was to just walk in or knock when I reached the door. I took the first choice and just walked in, being greeted by a VERY excited Luna. I knelt down to pet her and she happily licked my face. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. As if in slow motion, I looked up and saw him.
'Can you forgive me again?
I don't know what I said
But I didn't mean to hurt you'
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a stone look on his face of anger.
"I, um, I came to get my stuff," I struggled with my words as I stood, looking at the anger on his face. "Jeff, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't. I don't want to hear it!" he exclaimed meeting me at the bottom of the stairs.
"Please Jeff, just listen to me!" I cried collapsing to my knees and grabbing his arms. He pulled me up and kissed me roughly.
"Do you know how much it hurt me that you left without so much as a goodbye?!" he yelled at me.
'I heard the words come out
I felt like I would die
It hurt so much to hurt you'
"I'm so sorry! But you had kicked me out! No one wanted anything to do with me!" I argued.
"And so you ranaway with HIM?!" he screamed.
"He cared for me when I thought no one else did!!"
"But you didn't bother to stick around to see if anyone cared or not, did you?! No, you just picked up and left!! What the hell were we supposed to do?!"
"Why does it matter?! It's not like you love me anyways!" I screamed.
"You fuckin slept with him!" he screamed back.
"AND I'M FUCKIN SORRY!!" I screamed so loudly I thought that we may have gone deaf. But then I realized that he had stopped speaking. He wasn't yelling at me and he wasn't screaming. He just looked at me, a tear running down his face.
'Then you look at me
You're not shouting anymore
You're silently broken'
"Casey, sorry doesn't exactly cut it this time," he said.
'I'd give anything now
to hear those words from you
Each time I say something I regret I cry "I don't want to lose you."
But somehow I know that you will never leave me, yeah.'
"What can I do to make this all right again?" I asked.
"I don't know if there is anything you can do," he sighed smoothing back his ponytail.
''Cause you were made for me
Somehow I'll make you see
How happy you make me'
"I don't know if I can be without," I cried.
"And I don't know if I trust you enough to be with you," he said truthfully.
"Jeff, you're my world. You're everything to me!" I cried.
"And you were that to me. But then you cheated on me! And then you just up and left. Casey, I can't trust you. It's as simple as that. And at this moment in time, there's nothing you can do to gain back my trust," he said.
'I can't live this life
Without you by my side
I need you to survive'
"Then I guess we're through, huh?" I asked quietly, looking down at the floor.
"Yeah, I think so," he replied. "It wouldn't be a healthy relationship for either of us if we weren't through."
"Yeah, I guess your right," I said.
'So stay with me
You look in my eyes and I'm screaming inside that I'm sorry.'
"God, Casey, I love you so much," he said raising my head with his hand.
"I love you too Jeff. So much and I know you don't believe me, but it's true," I said.
"I do believe that you love me. There's no doubt in my mind that you do," he smiled at me. "Casey, I know that we're not together, but I still want you to be my bestest friend ever."
"You do?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, cause I know I can't live without you being in some part of my life. I'd rather you be my friend than not be in my life at all. So if you need me, I'm here. Always and forever," he said.
"And I'll be the same for you," I smiled as we stood in the hall hugging tightly.
'And you forgive me again
You're my one true friend
And I never meant to hurt you'
******************
"I don't want to do this meeting with Vince. He sounded totally pissed on the phone," Shane said shaking his head as we sat in front of Vince's office at Titan Towers.
"And you think I wanna do this?! I really don't need this kind of pressure right now," I said.
"Alright, come on in you two," Vince said opening his door for us. Shane and I looked at each other and took deep breathes as we stood and walked in. "Shut the door behind you and have a seat." We did as we were told and stared at him, full of fear. "I want you both to know that what you two did was unacceptable. And I will NOT tolerate ANYONE of my superstars to get away with doing something like that. I should fire the both of you!"
"Sir we're immensely sorry. We just had to get away from it all," Shane spoke holding my hand tightly.
"I understand that. And if you had explained it all to me, we could have arranged something. I believe I'm a very fair man, but you two leaving for a month when you're at the top of the roster is just not tolerable!"
"So does this mean we're fired?" I asked fighting hard to keep tears from slipping down my face.
"Fortunately for the two of you, no," Vince said. "I'm not firing you two today, but I don't want to hear that you've done anything like this again. You'll be on a probation type deal. You'll sign in with the guard at the door to the arena we'll be at and you'll sign out after the show."
"Thank you sir. That's very fair of you," Shane smiled.
"Well, we have to talk about storylines. Since you two up and left we've had to change you're characters. Shane, you'll be coming back as a heel. We played you up as if you were injured. You'll come back demanding to take the Cruiserweight belt from Rey. Of course you'll lose, building up your heel status more."
"What about Mystic Angel?" I asked.
"Dead," he said.
"WHAT?!" I yelled.
"Well, we told the crowd that Mystic Angel received serious injuries that are career threatening from the hardcore match with Rhyno. So we think we want you to come in as like her twin sister," Vince explained.
"That makes NO sense! The fans aren't that stupid," I said.
"Maybe not, but that's what's going to happen. So be thinking of a character name and look. Once you've done that, let me know and we'll get you back on in a couple weeks," Vince said. "That's all. You two may go."
Shane and I shook Vince's hand and left. We were driving to the airport in silence. I spoke once we boarded the plane. "This fuckin sucks! I'm Mystic Angel. I can't be anyone else!"
"I know. But you'll be fine. I'm sure you'll think of someone really awesome," Shane smiled.
"It's gonna be so hard to give her up though," I sighed.
"Do you want me to help you think of a new character?" he asked.
"Nah, I'll think of someone. Or Jeff will help me," I replied.
"I'm glad you and Jeff sorted things out to become friends," Shane said softly.
"Yeah, me too. I don't think I would have been able to stay around without him in my life. Seriously, I probably would have moved someplace else. Like in a different state and never returned to North Carolina," I laughed.
"You would have left me?!" Shane exclaimed.
"Well, I mean, I just............Shane, Jeff and I were meant to be. I'm sure even you could see that," I said.
"Well duh! Of course I saw how compatible you to were. I'm not blind! But we're such good friends you would throw that away because you and Jeff weren't friends?!" Shane argued.
"Shane, I'm not doing this. Just stop," I demanded.
"Whatever Case. What fuckin ever," he said slumping down in his seat. I rolled my eyes at him and started looking though a magazine.
**************
"Casey, wake up, we're almost there," Shane said nudging me awake. I lifted my head off the car window and yawned.
"Shane, we're in Cameron. What the hell are we doin here?" I exclaimed looking out the windows.
"Well, I figured it'd be easier to get some of your stuff now to move into my house," he answered.
"I thought I'd just have you do it for me," I said.
"Like you did to Shannon and Matt the day after you broke up with me?!" he laughed. "I don't think so! You're so gonna help here!"
"Fine, but just know that I don't like you right now," I sulked.
"Sweetie, you've told me that 5 times on the drive here, 10 times on the plane from Paris, and oddly, once in your sleep," he replied smirking at me as we pulled into Matt's driveway.
"Shane, seriously, I don't want to do this," I said as he turned off the car.
He sighed and unhooked my seatbelt before getting out of the car and walking over to my side. He opened the door and pulled me out. "Tough. Deal with it," he said dragging me up the steps to the door. I crossed my arms as he knocked on the door.
"Well, looks like no one's home. Too bad," I smiled sarcastically starting to walk away as we heard steps through the house. Shane grabbed the hood of my sweatshirt and pulled me back to him just as the door opened. I looked up at Matt as he stood there looking shocked to see me. "Hi Matt." I bit on the inside of my lip as he continued to stare at me.
"Oh my God," he spoke softly. Surprisingly, he wrapped me up in his arms, lifting me off the ground. "I'm so glad you're home!"
"You are?" I questioned as he put me done.
"We've all been worried sick about you two. Where the hell have you been?!" he asked.
"Um, Italy, England, France," I replied as he pulled me into the house. I grabbed Shane's hand and pulled him with me. We all sat down in the living room and stared at each other.
"I'm so glad you're alright," Matt smiled.
"Why?" I asked.
"What do you mean why?" he asked.
"When you heard about what happened, you told me you thought it was a mistake to have met me," I said looking past him so I wouldn't have to look into his eyes.
"Case, I was so upset that you would do something that.........bad," he said. "But that doesn't mean that I didn't love you. When you left we were all scared and upset. We didn't know if you were alive, dead, or otherwise."
"I guess I'm sorry," I said softly.
"I don't care. I'm just glad you're back," he smiled at me.
"Well, I just came to pack up my stuff," I said.
"What?! Why?!" he exclaimed.
"Everyone's kicked me out. I'm gonna stay with Shane until I can find an apartment," I replied.
"No, you can stay here. Casey, we've all gotten over what happened. We don't want you to leave. You're family," he said placing his hand on my knee gently.
"I think it's for the best," I nodded at him moving my leg out from under his hand.
"Oh, okay," he said hurtfully. "If you really feel that way, I understand."
"Well, I should probably go over to um, to Jeff's and get that stuff," I said as tears started to form in my eyes. "Is he home?"
"Yeah, he's home," Matt replied as I stood.
"You gonna be okay?" Shane asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I nodded at him, leaving the house.
****************
I walked down the road slowly, my head down, fighting with the tears that were coming. I had replaced the engagement ring with the claddah ring Jeff had given me one Christmas, and I stared at it as I walked. I wondered how he was going to react to seeing me and if he would push me away. Many times during that walk I was tempted to walk right back to Matt's, but somehow I continued to walk and I eventually made it. I looked up at the house that held fond memories. It was like a vacation slideshow going through my head, as each memory came into view. I wasn't sure if I was to just walk in or knock when I reached the door. I took the first choice and just walked in, being greeted by a VERY excited Luna. I knelt down to pet her and she happily licked my face. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. As if in slow motion, I looked up and saw him.
'Can you forgive me again?
I don't know what I said
But I didn't mean to hurt you'
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a stone look on his face of anger.
"I, um, I came to get my stuff," I struggled with my words as I stood, looking at the anger on his face. "Jeff, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't. I don't want to hear it!" he exclaimed meeting me at the bottom of the stairs.
"Please Jeff, just listen to me!" I cried collapsing to my knees and grabbing his arms. He pulled me up and kissed me roughly.
"Do you know how much it hurt me that you left without so much as a goodbye?!" he yelled at me.
'I heard the words come out
I felt like I would die
It hurt so much to hurt you'
"I'm so sorry! But you had kicked me out! No one wanted anything to do with me!" I argued.
"And so you ranaway with HIM?!" he screamed.
"He cared for me when I thought no one else did!!"
"But you didn't bother to stick around to see if anyone cared or not, did you?! No, you just picked up and left!! What the hell were we supposed to do?!"
"Why does it matter?! It's not like you love me anyways!" I screamed.
"You fuckin slept with him!" he screamed back.
"AND I'M FUCKIN SORRY!!" I screamed so loudly I thought that we may have gone deaf. But then I realized that he had stopped speaking. He wasn't yelling at me and he wasn't screaming. He just looked at me, a tear running down his face.
'Then you look at me
You're not shouting anymore
You're silently broken'
"Casey, sorry doesn't exactly cut it this time," he said.
'I'd give anything now
to hear those words from you
Each time I say something I regret I cry "I don't want to lose you."
But somehow I know that you will never leave me, yeah.'
"What can I do to make this all right again?" I asked.
"I don't know if there is anything you can do," he sighed smoothing back his ponytail.
''Cause you were made for me
Somehow I'll make you see
How happy you make me'
"I don't know if I can be without," I cried.
"And I don't know if I trust you enough to be with you," he said truthfully.
"Jeff, you're my world. You're everything to me!" I cried.
"And you were that to me. But then you cheated on me! And then you just up and left. Casey, I can't trust you. It's as simple as that. And at this moment in time, there's nothing you can do to gain back my trust," he said.
'I can't live this life
Without you by my side
I need you to survive'
"Then I guess we're through, huh?" I asked quietly, looking down at the floor.
"Yeah, I think so," he replied. "It wouldn't be a healthy relationship for either of us if we weren't through."
"Yeah, I guess your right," I said.
'So stay with me
You look in my eyes and I'm screaming inside that I'm sorry.'
"God, Casey, I love you so much," he said raising my head with his hand.
"I love you too Jeff. So much and I know you don't believe me, but it's true," I said.
"I do believe that you love me. There's no doubt in my mind that you do," he smiled at me. "Casey, I know that we're not together, but I still want you to be my bestest friend ever."
"You do?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, cause I know I can't live without you being in some part of my life. I'd rather you be my friend than not be in my life at all. So if you need me, I'm here. Always and forever," he said.
"And I'll be the same for you," I smiled as we stood in the hall hugging tightly.
'And you forgive me again
You're my one true friend
And I never meant to hurt you'
******************
"I don't want to do this meeting with Vince. He sounded totally pissed on the phone," Shane said shaking his head as we sat in front of Vince's office at Titan Towers.
"And you think I wanna do this?! I really don't need this kind of pressure right now," I said.
"Alright, come on in you two," Vince said opening his door for us. Shane and I looked at each other and took deep breathes as we stood and walked in. "Shut the door behind you and have a seat." We did as we were told and stared at him, full of fear. "I want you both to know that what you two did was unacceptable. And I will NOT tolerate ANYONE of my superstars to get away with doing something like that. I should fire the both of you!"
"Sir we're immensely sorry. We just had to get away from it all," Shane spoke holding my hand tightly.
"I understand that. And if you had explained it all to me, we could have arranged something. I believe I'm a very fair man, but you two leaving for a month when you're at the top of the roster is just not tolerable!"
"So does this mean we're fired?" I asked fighting hard to keep tears from slipping down my face.
"Fortunately for the two of you, no," Vince said. "I'm not firing you two today, but I don't want to hear that you've done anything like this again. You'll be on a probation type deal. You'll sign in with the guard at the door to the arena we'll be at and you'll sign out after the show."
"Thank you sir. That's very fair of you," Shane smiled.
"Well, we have to talk about storylines. Since you two up and left we've had to change you're characters. Shane, you'll be coming back as a heel. We played you up as if you were injured. You'll come back demanding to take the Cruiserweight belt from Rey. Of course you'll lose, building up your heel status more."
"What about Mystic Angel?" I asked.
"Dead," he said.
"WHAT?!" I yelled.
"Well, we told the crowd that Mystic Angel received serious injuries that are career threatening from the hardcore match with Rhyno. So we think we want you to come in as like her twin sister," Vince explained.
"That makes NO sense! The fans aren't that stupid," I said.
"Maybe not, but that's what's going to happen. So be thinking of a character name and look. Once you've done that, let me know and we'll get you back on in a couple weeks," Vince said. "That's all. You two may go."
Shane and I shook Vince's hand and left. We were driving to the airport in silence. I spoke once we boarded the plane. "This fuckin sucks! I'm Mystic Angel. I can't be anyone else!"
"I know. But you'll be fine. I'm sure you'll think of someone really awesome," Shane smiled.
"It's gonna be so hard to give her up though," I sighed.
"Do you want me to help you think of a new character?" he asked.
"Nah, I'll think of someone. Or Jeff will help me," I replied.
"I'm glad you and Jeff sorted things out to become friends," Shane said softly.
"Yeah, me too. I don't think I would have been able to stay around without him in my life. Seriously, I probably would have moved someplace else. Like in a different state and never returned to North Carolina," I laughed.
"You would have left me?!" Shane exclaimed.
"Well, I mean, I just............Shane, Jeff and I were meant to be. I'm sure even you could see that," I said.
"Well duh! Of course I saw how compatible you to were. I'm not blind! But we're such good friends you would throw that away because you and Jeff weren't friends?!" Shane argued.
"Shane, I'm not doing this. Just stop," I demanded.
"Whatever Case. What fuckin ever," he said slumping down in his seat. I rolled my eyes at him and started looking though a magazine.
