Part 4
The Message
I entered my apartment quietly, dropping my keys on the counter and heading for
the living room. I turned the envelope over in my hands as I sat in my chair.
Scrawled on the front, in Joey's loopy handwriting, was my old Capeside address.
I hadn't been back to that house since I'd left three years ago! Joey had to at
least know that about me! Unless she'd written it before I left. I flipped it
over to open it and noticed a short note on the back. I stopped to read it.
Pacey;
Please read this after watching the tape. I've included a quick message at the
end and you really need to hear that before reading this letter.
Foreheads.
Jo.
I quickly put the tape in and watched it. I had already watched the other final cut tapes, and as soon as I watched hers I knew I would be calling her in for the part. No matter how much it hurt personally, she was Stacey, and nothing would ever change that. The scene ended, and after about ten seconds of air the hot switched to just Joey. I sat back to watch and listen.
"Hey. Well, if you're watching this, either I made the final cut or Dawson
decided to meddle. I'm betting on the latter, or both.
"I suppose you're wondering about that letter you're holding gently in your
hands. Please don't be hurt by it. I haven't been that angry with you in a long
time. I miss you and I hope that somehow we can be friends again.
"I don't really know what happened that night. I know I should have stayed to
find out, but I panicked, and I'm sorry. I sent you the letter because...well
I'm really not sure why, but you need to know how upset I was; how hurt and
angry, I'm not anymore, but I didn't want that hanging between us. I suppose
that even if I don't get the part, we'll probably be running into each other
eventually. Dawson made me promise to visit him." She paused and smiled softly to herself, and in a small way, to me.
"Jen and Dawson will be back any minute. I hope you understand that I didn't
leave because I stopped loving you; I left because I thought you stopped loving me. Dawson has only recently bothered to let me know that this fact is
definitely untrue, but he refused to go into details. He was right to do that I suppose. This is probably one of those thing we need to hash out ourselves, in our own time. I'm hoping you'll tell me what really happened that night, because based on what little Dawson has told me, my assumptions were wrong." She placed her forehead against the lens of the camera, and I was surprised and happy that she had remembered the small gesture we'd shared. "I'll see you soon" she whispered softly as she reached out to turn off the camera. The picture cut out sharply.
I stared at the screen in silence, then looked down at the letter in my hands. I placed it on the table, not needing to read it, knowing instinctively what it said. I picked up the phone and dialled the number, a number I'd dialled so many times I didn't even need the speed dial any more.
It rang once. "Dawson Leery." He answered the phone.
"D; call Jo. She's coming to LA." I said carefully, knowing my voice was thick with unshed tears.
"Pace? What was in that letter?" he asked carefully.
"I wouldn't know. I didn't read it. I'll show the tape to everyone tomorrow.
When is she done with 'Rent'?"
"Next Friday."
"There will be a plane for her in New York on Sunday that she can catch for the start of rehearsals on Monday."
"Deal." He paused. " Pacey, are you sure?"
I was quiet. "Yeah D. I really am."
We hung up, and I called the airport to charter a weekend flight to New York. I then called an old friend and readied myself to see a Broadway show.
The Message
I entered my apartment quietly, dropping my keys on the counter and heading for
the living room. I turned the envelope over in my hands as I sat in my chair.
Scrawled on the front, in Joey's loopy handwriting, was my old Capeside address.
I hadn't been back to that house since I'd left three years ago! Joey had to at
least know that about me! Unless she'd written it before I left. I flipped it
over to open it and noticed a short note on the back. I stopped to read it.
Pacey;
Please read this after watching the tape. I've included a quick message at the
end and you really need to hear that before reading this letter.
Foreheads.
Jo.
I quickly put the tape in and watched it. I had already watched the other final cut tapes, and as soon as I watched hers I knew I would be calling her in for the part. No matter how much it hurt personally, she was Stacey, and nothing would ever change that. The scene ended, and after about ten seconds of air the hot switched to just Joey. I sat back to watch and listen.
"Hey. Well, if you're watching this, either I made the final cut or Dawson
decided to meddle. I'm betting on the latter, or both.
"I suppose you're wondering about that letter you're holding gently in your
hands. Please don't be hurt by it. I haven't been that angry with you in a long
time. I miss you and I hope that somehow we can be friends again.
"I don't really know what happened that night. I know I should have stayed to
find out, but I panicked, and I'm sorry. I sent you the letter because...well
I'm really not sure why, but you need to know how upset I was; how hurt and
angry, I'm not anymore, but I didn't want that hanging between us. I suppose
that even if I don't get the part, we'll probably be running into each other
eventually. Dawson made me promise to visit him." She paused and smiled softly to herself, and in a small way, to me.
"Jen and Dawson will be back any minute. I hope you understand that I didn't
leave because I stopped loving you; I left because I thought you stopped loving me. Dawson has only recently bothered to let me know that this fact is
definitely untrue, but he refused to go into details. He was right to do that I suppose. This is probably one of those thing we need to hash out ourselves, in our own time. I'm hoping you'll tell me what really happened that night, because based on what little Dawson has told me, my assumptions were wrong." She placed her forehead against the lens of the camera, and I was surprised and happy that she had remembered the small gesture we'd shared. "I'll see you soon" she whispered softly as she reached out to turn off the camera. The picture cut out sharply.
I stared at the screen in silence, then looked down at the letter in my hands. I placed it on the table, not needing to read it, knowing instinctively what it said. I picked up the phone and dialled the number, a number I'd dialled so many times I didn't even need the speed dial any more.
It rang once. "Dawson Leery." He answered the phone.
"D; call Jo. She's coming to LA." I said carefully, knowing my voice was thick with unshed tears.
"Pace? What was in that letter?" he asked carefully.
"I wouldn't know. I didn't read it. I'll show the tape to everyone tomorrow.
When is she done with 'Rent'?"
"Next Friday."
"There will be a plane for her in New York on Sunday that she can catch for the start of rehearsals on Monday."
"Deal." He paused. " Pacey, are you sure?"
I was quiet. "Yeah D. I really am."
We hung up, and I called the airport to charter a weekend flight to New York. I then called an old friend and readied myself to see a Broadway show.