FLASHBACK TO 12 YEARS AGO . . . .
On a rainy, stormy Saturday afternoon of July 31, 2003, David received a phone call from Lizzie.
"Hey Gordo!"
"What's up McGuire? Hey, you don't sound very good. You okay?"
"No, not really, and that's why I'm calling. I was supposed to go on a date with Jimmy Smith tonight, but I'm feeling really awful and feverish and I think I'm coming down with something and I hope it isn't pneumonia or something and do you think it might be pneumonia Gordo?"
Gordo laughed at Lizzie's hypochondriatic worrying. "No, Lizzie, calm down, I don't think you have pneumonia. You're just probably coming down with a cold." His smile quickly vanished from his face, however, as he began to think about Lizzie's date with Jimmy. Lizzie had started seeing Jimmy for a week now, and Gordo was intensely jealous of their budding relationship. He tried to deny it even to himself, but each time he found out Lizzie was dating someone or he heard her talking about another boy, a sharp pain would grab at his heart.
"Okay, well that's a relief. Thanks Gordo. But, anyway, I was going to go with Jimmy to this party his brother is throwing for their sister, it's a going away party before she goes off to college but now I'm sick and don't feel like going but I don't want to just hang out at home all by myself and Miranda's visiting her relatives in the city and if you're not doing anything Gordo can you come over with me and we can watch some movies or something, please, please, please?"
Gordo laughed. Lizzie's cold hadn't dampened her ability to speak at a million words per minute. Her precocious, lyrical, sing-songy voice made it virtually impossible for Gordo to ever turn down one of her requests. That's one of the things he loved about her, thought Gordo, the joy she brought to him with her utterly infectious charm.
"Alright, McGuire, alright. How can I say no to a request from a deathly ill woman? I'll tell Larry that I'll watch the Star Wars trilogy with him, again for the umpteenth time, some other weekend. What time should I come over?"
"Ohhh, thank you thank you thank you Gordo! You're such a good friend! Come over around 7:00, and we can order pizza or something for dinner, my treat."
"Great. I'll see you then, Lizzie."
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It was a few minutes to 7:00, and Gordo was approaching the McGuire's home. The sky was still smothered with dark, ominous clouds, but for the moment, they were quietly dormant, as if they were waiting for just the right moment to let loose the rain once more.
As he stepped closer to the front door, he could see that it was ajar. As he came closer, he could hear two people talking, just inside the doorway. Just as he was about to walk up the steps and knock on the door, he heard Lizzie say, "Jimmy, it's so sweet of you to come see me!"
Gordo froze in his tracks. Lizzie was talking to *Jimmy.* With that realization Gordo was taken back in time to that awful moment when he had stumbled onto Lizzie's kiss with Ronnie. Oh no, not again, whispered Gordo, not again. He stood there, transfixed, paralyzed by overwhelming feelings of jealousy, rejection, and loss, horrified at what was happening, yet feeling compelled to eavesdrop on their conversation.
He heard Jimmy respond, "Lizzie, you're the one who's sweet. I'm just gonna really miss you tonight, that's all, so I wanted to drop by and say hello and give you this." Gordo then heard the two kissing, and Gordo felt as his entire being was melting into the ground.
Not again, not again, not again. . .
"Well, considering that you'll probably get sick from kissing me, I think you are a complete idiot, Jimmy Smith," laughed Lizzie.
"I don't care. . . and if I get sick, I know you'll be there to take care of me right, Lizzie?"
"Of course, of course."
"Lizzie, I know we've only been seeing each other a week, but, I already know I really like you and that you're the most beautiful girl I've ever known in my life."
"Ohhhh Jimmy, that's so sweet!"
"But, I do wonder sometimes, what you feel about me. Or really, what you feel about Gordo. I know you guys spend a lot of time with each other. You guys don't have something going on between you two, do you?"
Gordo couldn't believe it could get any worse, but it was. Now, he was about to hear what Lizzie really thought about him, and he feared the worst. He could almost hear in his head what he expected Lizzie to say to Jimmy.
"Oh, don't worry about Gordo, Jimmy. Gordo's my best friend in the whole world, but, that's all, he's just a friend. And believe me, I'm sure he feels the same way about me. I know he used to have a small crush on me when we were in middle school, but nothing ever came of that, and now, I really think of him more like a brother than anything. And really, he doesn't have what you have, Jimmy, with your big green eyes, and curly blonde hair, and your Robert Redford good looks. . . " giggled Lizzie. The two started to kiss again, for what seemed like an eternity for Gordo.
Upon hearing Lizzie's reply to Jimmy, Gordo could feel a tear slowly flow down his right cheek. He was trying desperately to contain his volatile emotions, but they were screaming to be let loose. His hands started to tremble, and he began to feel faint. No, no, no, no . . .
"Alright, I'd like nothing more than to stay with you here all night, Lizzie, but I need to get going. You'll be okay?"
Oh, crap, Jimmy's going to come out the front door at any moment. Gordo composed himself, wiped the tear from his eye, and tried to regain his normal state of being. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then walked up to the door acting as if he had just arrived, and knocked on the open door. "Hey, it's me, Gordo."
"Oh hi Gordo! Hey, this is Jimmy, he's the boy I've been telling you about. Gordo shook Jimmy's hand. This was the first time he had ever met him. Jimmy was six feet tall, with a football player's build.
A tall guy. Figures.
"What's up Gordo? Lizzie's told me a lot about you."
"That's great," said Gordo, with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice.
"Anyway, I really have to run. Lizzie, I'll call you tomorrow? Maybe we can go to the movies when you're feeling better. See you later Gordo," and with that note, Jimmy walked out of the house, jumped into his car, and sped away to his sister's party.
"Hi Gordo, I'm so glad to see you. So, tell me tell me tell me what do you think of Jimmy?"
Gordo stood there, stone-faced.
Lizzie looked at her friend and could see that something was bothering him. "Gordo, are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah, Lizzie, I'm fine. Just hungry that's all. Why don't we order that pizza now?"
"Okay Gordo. You can tell me after we eat what you think about Jimmy."
Great, thought Gordo, I'm going to spend the entire night having to talk to you about your boyfriend. This is going to be torture. "Sure, Lizzie, whatever you want."
*********************************************
It was a few minutes before 8:30, and Lizzie and Gordo were sitting on the couch, having just finished off their pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Lizzie had a blanket draped over her, while Gordo sat on the far end of the couch, silent, deep in ruminating thought. They had decided earlier on to watch a special showing of the Wizard of Oz, which was scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. It was one of their favorite movies from childhood, and they always tried to watch it whenever it came on television.
Something was terribly wrong between the two friends. They hardly said a word to each other all night, which was completely unusual for them. They typically always had something to talk about. Something's the matter with Gordo, though Lizzie. Why's he being so distant?
"Okay, Gordo, I can't take this silent treatment anymore. I didn't ask you to come here and be all sulky with me. I want you to keep me company, not be some silent stone wall. What's going on?" Right at that moment, the Wizard of Oz started to play on t.v.
"Nothing's the matter, Lizzie. I'm just . . . tired, that's all. Anyway, the movie's starting."
"No, I don't believe you. I know you too well and I *know* when you're upset. Tell me, Gordo, what's wrong?"
Gordo sat there, and started to feel an emotion that he didn't think he would ever feel towards Lizzie . . . he was beginning to feel a surge of pure *anger* flow throughout his entire body. He clenched his jaw, and then he began saying things that he had been desperately trying to hold on all night. "So, Lizzie, I just don't have what Jimmy has, right?"
"What are you talking about, Gordo?"
"No blonde hair, no Robert Redford good looks, nothing, right, Lizzie?"
"Gordo, were you eavesdropping on me and Jimmy???"
"Yeah, and I heard everything you told him. My god Lizzie, you just take me for granted, don't you? I'm your best friend, Gordo, the guy you can use whenever you need him. Good ol reliable Gordo. When your plans fall through with the guy you really want to be with, hey, just call good ol' Gordo, and he'll come running and be at your beck and call. Right, Lizzie?" said Gordo, with a rising anger and tension in his voice. Gordo was starting to scare Lizzie, who had never heard Gordo this way.
"Gordo, you're scaring me."
"Lizzie, you don't get it, do you. I know you don't really care about me, I'm just some convenient, dependable doormat you can always rely on when you can't be with the person you really want to be with."
"Gordo, you're being absolutely ridiculous! You're my best friend since forever! You know I love hanging out with you. Are you getting a brain fever or something, because you're not sounding right."
"Oh, yeah? Then tell me this, Lizzie, who would you rather be spending tonight with, me or Jimmy?"
Silence. "That's not fair, Gordo."
"Just answer me, Lizzie! Just answer me! Me or Jimmy? Who would you rather be spending tonight with?"
"Okay, you want to know the answer, yes, I'd rather be with Jimmy right now. But, that's not because you're not my friend, it's because I really like Jimmy, you know, romantically, and I think that something might develop between us; it doesn't mean I don't like you as a friend, Gordo."
Lizzie's answer only added fuel to Gordo's jealous anger. "I knew it. I knew it. I'm nothing to you, am I?"
"Gordo! Are you listening to me? That's not what I said at all!!"
Why is this hurting so much, thought Gordo. Ever word that Lizzie was saying was turning Gordo's world upside down, as he was finally grappling with what he thought was the awful truth. . .that Lizzie would never love him in the way that Gordo loved Lizzie. And that realization was making him want to do something to Lizzie that he thought was impossible for him to do . . he wanted do nothing more than to hurt Lizzie.
"You know, Lizzie, I'm starting to realize some truths. And one thing I'm realizing is, and I hate to say this, but, I don't think I should be hanging around with you anymore. I'm realizing that you're really not the friend that I thought you were."
Lizzie stared at Gordo with a dumbfounded shock. It was as if someone had punched her in the face. "Go-Gordo, what are you saying?" said Lizzie softly.
"I'm mean, look Lizzie, this stuff happens all time. Friends grow apart. We really don't have much in common. I like school, your favorite class is still lunch. You like talking about J-Lo's latest hairdo, I like talking about Alfred Hitchcock's cinematic techniques in Psycho," said Gordo, in a steely cold, nonchalant voice.
Tears began streaming down Lizzie's face. "Gordo . . .why are you doing this?"
"Because it's the truth, Lizzie. You know it and I know it. We've been growing apart since high school started. I think I need friends with more depth, with someone with whom I can carry on an intelligent, adult conversation with. And you need someone you can talk with about make-up and the latest celebrity gossip." As Gordo finished his sentence, a part of himself was dying, as he could not believe what he was saying to Lizzie. What am I doing? What am I doing? Thought Gordo. I'm so sorry, Lizzie, I'm so sorry, I don't know what's going on, I don't know what's happening to me, I'm so sorry . . .
An eerie silence fell between the two friends. The television was still on, and Gordo could hear the sounds of a tornado emanating from the televsion, as the Wizard of Oz was still on screen, and the tornado was now carrying Dorothy to the land of Oz. Gordo looked at his watch. It was 9:00 p.m.
Tears were still falling from Lizzie's face, but now her face, which was once full of emotions, was now flat, emotionless, as if all her life and energy had been deflated out of her. In a soft, dazed, monotone voice, Lizzie said, "Gordo, I need to go for a drive, okay? I need to clear my head. What you've been telling me really hurts, and I just need to sort out my emotions. You can stay here if you want. I'll be back in a little bit." Their conversation was punctuated by flashing lightning and heavy thunder outside, as the storm was starting up again.
"Lizzie, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was saying. I didn't mean it."
"Yes, yes you did, Gordo. I could feel it in your voice. I can't believe. . . that's how . . .th-that. . .that's how you *really* think about me!" Lizzie started weeping. She threw off her blanket, grabbed her car keys from the table, and walked out the door in the pouring rain.
"Lizzie, wait!" Gordo jumped off the couch and ran outside.
He caught Lizzie a few yards from her car. The rain was beating down on them with a fury and vengeance, but the two didn't notice, the two didn't care. He grabbed Lizzie's arm. "Lizzie, I didn't mean what I said! I'm really sorry!"
"Let go of me!!" Lizzie snapped his arm away from Gordo. "I *hate* you Gordo! I hate you!! I can't believe you said those things about me!!"
"Lizzie . . ."
"Just leave me alone, okay, Gordo? You said you don't want to hang out with me, well, you've got your wish! Now, I just need to go for a drive, okay?"
"ok . . .I'll be waiting for you when you get back. I'm so sorry. . ."
"Gordo, stop it. I don't want to hear your apologies right now, okay? I'll be back in a little bit, and we, uh, can sort stuff out, alright?"
"ok. Be careful Lizzie, the road's are slick out there."
Lizzie didn't answer Gordo. She turned her back and walked into her car and drove off into the storm.
Gordo stood there, motionless, not realizing yet that would be the last moment he would see Lizzie alive.
Gordo waited for Lizzie at the McGuire's home, expecting her back any moment. That moment never came. Lizzie had left in her car shortly after 9:00 p.m. At 11:00 p.m., Gordo received a call from the police, informing him that, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Lizzie McGuire had lost control of her car on the slick Pacific Coast Highway, and that she had crashed her car head on into the cliffside. She had been killed instantly.
With that phone call, Gordo's world forever crumbled into a mass of regret and guilt.
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David had just finished telling Gordo in vivid detail everything that happened that night. He knew how hard it would be for Gordo to take, but he had to know, in order to prevent Lizzie's death.
"That's unbelievable, David. I can't believe I did or am going to do all that. I can't believe I hurt Lizzie like that."
"Well, we're *not* going to do all those things. We're going to change history."
"What should I do? Should I not go to Lizzie's tomorrow night?"
"No, you've got to be there, to make sure she doesn't go driving on that night. You know how she likes to drive around just to clear her thoughts about something. You've got to be there to make sure she stays at home tonight."
"Okay."
"But, what I want you to do is this . . .instead of arriving at 7:00 p.m., arrive a little later so you miss seeing Lizzie with Jimmy. That's what set me off that night, just catching them two together and hearing them talk about me, about us. Jimmy left shortly after 7:00, so try to get there around 7:30 or so. Then do everything you can to keep Lizzie at home, you got that?"
"Alright, David. I'll do my best."
David and Gordo said goodbye to one another, and scheduled to talk briefly the next day to go over their plans. They were positive that they could keep talking to each other over the ham radio so long as the mysterious thunderstorm kept itself up, which it was supposed to do for the next few days.
The next day, David and Gordo talked on schedule, both relieved to know that they could still communicate with each other. They went over their plans, and then said goodbye, and Gordo promised to check in with David once the night was over and Lizzie had been saved.
***********************************************
Just as David had told him, on Saturday afternoon, Gordo received a phone call from Lizzie, asking him to come over. He said that he would, but he told her he would come by around 7:30 instead of 7:00.
Gordo approached the McGuire's house a few minutes before 7:30. As he came closer, he could see the door was ajar. As he came even closer, he could hear voices in the hallway. It was Lizzie, and she was still talking with Jimmy . . .
Gordo froze in the walkway, wondering what was happening. Why was Jimmy still here, wondered Gordo? He should have left a while ago. Then Gordo realized their mistake . . . in David's world, Jimmy had left Lizzie's house because Gordo had been there to interrupt them. But, because he hadn't shown up at 7:00, what it meant was that Lizzie and Jimmy were able to keep on talking with each other.
Oh, no, thought Gordo, this isn't going the way its supposed to . . . and he stood there, in the walkway, paralyzed, transfixed by the conversation he was hearing inside . . .
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the reviews on this chapter, I truly, truly appreciate them. I just want to add that I felt emotionally drained after writing this chapter, as I felt myself getting emotionally affected by what I was writing. So I hope the intensity of the situation between Lizzie and Gordo came across to you, the reader, and that you believed that what Gordo said to Lizzie is something that would make a friend feel extremely hurt and wounded.
A difficult part about writing this chapter was to make sure I wrote the fight scene in a way that you would believe that *Gordo* could feel so angry, jealous, and hurt to be able to say such things to his best friend Lizzie. I hope I succeeded in making the scene realistic. I know from my own experience, paradoxically and sadly, that sometimes people tend to hurt people that they are closest to and love dearly.
Anyway, again, thanks for the reviews, they truly inspire and motivate me to keep on writing both for myself and for all of you. For those of you who haven't reviewed my story yet, what are you waiting for? : ) I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I'll try to update soon, I have the outlines of the next chapter in mind already; I'm going to entitle it "Deja Vu All Over Again." You'll see when you read it what I mean by the title. So stay tuned to see if Gordo is able to save Lizzie . . .
Till the next chapter, HM.
On a rainy, stormy Saturday afternoon of July 31, 2003, David received a phone call from Lizzie.
"Hey Gordo!"
"What's up McGuire? Hey, you don't sound very good. You okay?"
"No, not really, and that's why I'm calling. I was supposed to go on a date with Jimmy Smith tonight, but I'm feeling really awful and feverish and I think I'm coming down with something and I hope it isn't pneumonia or something and do you think it might be pneumonia Gordo?"
Gordo laughed at Lizzie's hypochondriatic worrying. "No, Lizzie, calm down, I don't think you have pneumonia. You're just probably coming down with a cold." His smile quickly vanished from his face, however, as he began to think about Lizzie's date with Jimmy. Lizzie had started seeing Jimmy for a week now, and Gordo was intensely jealous of their budding relationship. He tried to deny it even to himself, but each time he found out Lizzie was dating someone or he heard her talking about another boy, a sharp pain would grab at his heart.
"Okay, well that's a relief. Thanks Gordo. But, anyway, I was going to go with Jimmy to this party his brother is throwing for their sister, it's a going away party before she goes off to college but now I'm sick and don't feel like going but I don't want to just hang out at home all by myself and Miranda's visiting her relatives in the city and if you're not doing anything Gordo can you come over with me and we can watch some movies or something, please, please, please?"
Gordo laughed. Lizzie's cold hadn't dampened her ability to speak at a million words per minute. Her precocious, lyrical, sing-songy voice made it virtually impossible for Gordo to ever turn down one of her requests. That's one of the things he loved about her, thought Gordo, the joy she brought to him with her utterly infectious charm.
"Alright, McGuire, alright. How can I say no to a request from a deathly ill woman? I'll tell Larry that I'll watch the Star Wars trilogy with him, again for the umpteenth time, some other weekend. What time should I come over?"
"Ohhh, thank you thank you thank you Gordo! You're such a good friend! Come over around 7:00, and we can order pizza or something for dinner, my treat."
"Great. I'll see you then, Lizzie."
***********************************************************
It was a few minutes to 7:00, and Gordo was approaching the McGuire's home. The sky was still smothered with dark, ominous clouds, but for the moment, they were quietly dormant, as if they were waiting for just the right moment to let loose the rain once more.
As he stepped closer to the front door, he could see that it was ajar. As he came closer, he could hear two people talking, just inside the doorway. Just as he was about to walk up the steps and knock on the door, he heard Lizzie say, "Jimmy, it's so sweet of you to come see me!"
Gordo froze in his tracks. Lizzie was talking to *Jimmy.* With that realization Gordo was taken back in time to that awful moment when he had stumbled onto Lizzie's kiss with Ronnie. Oh no, not again, whispered Gordo, not again. He stood there, transfixed, paralyzed by overwhelming feelings of jealousy, rejection, and loss, horrified at what was happening, yet feeling compelled to eavesdrop on their conversation.
He heard Jimmy respond, "Lizzie, you're the one who's sweet. I'm just gonna really miss you tonight, that's all, so I wanted to drop by and say hello and give you this." Gordo then heard the two kissing, and Gordo felt as his entire being was melting into the ground.
Not again, not again, not again. . .
"Well, considering that you'll probably get sick from kissing me, I think you are a complete idiot, Jimmy Smith," laughed Lizzie.
"I don't care. . . and if I get sick, I know you'll be there to take care of me right, Lizzie?"
"Of course, of course."
"Lizzie, I know we've only been seeing each other a week, but, I already know I really like you and that you're the most beautiful girl I've ever known in my life."
"Ohhhh Jimmy, that's so sweet!"
"But, I do wonder sometimes, what you feel about me. Or really, what you feel about Gordo. I know you guys spend a lot of time with each other. You guys don't have something going on between you two, do you?"
Gordo couldn't believe it could get any worse, but it was. Now, he was about to hear what Lizzie really thought about him, and he feared the worst. He could almost hear in his head what he expected Lizzie to say to Jimmy.
"Oh, don't worry about Gordo, Jimmy. Gordo's my best friend in the whole world, but, that's all, he's just a friend. And believe me, I'm sure he feels the same way about me. I know he used to have a small crush on me when we were in middle school, but nothing ever came of that, and now, I really think of him more like a brother than anything. And really, he doesn't have what you have, Jimmy, with your big green eyes, and curly blonde hair, and your Robert Redford good looks. . . " giggled Lizzie. The two started to kiss again, for what seemed like an eternity for Gordo.
Upon hearing Lizzie's reply to Jimmy, Gordo could feel a tear slowly flow down his right cheek. He was trying desperately to contain his volatile emotions, but they were screaming to be let loose. His hands started to tremble, and he began to feel faint. No, no, no, no . . .
"Alright, I'd like nothing more than to stay with you here all night, Lizzie, but I need to get going. You'll be okay?"
Oh, crap, Jimmy's going to come out the front door at any moment. Gordo composed himself, wiped the tear from his eye, and tried to regain his normal state of being. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then walked up to the door acting as if he had just arrived, and knocked on the open door. "Hey, it's me, Gordo."
"Oh hi Gordo! Hey, this is Jimmy, he's the boy I've been telling you about. Gordo shook Jimmy's hand. This was the first time he had ever met him. Jimmy was six feet tall, with a football player's build.
A tall guy. Figures.
"What's up Gordo? Lizzie's told me a lot about you."
"That's great," said Gordo, with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice.
"Anyway, I really have to run. Lizzie, I'll call you tomorrow? Maybe we can go to the movies when you're feeling better. See you later Gordo," and with that note, Jimmy walked out of the house, jumped into his car, and sped away to his sister's party.
"Hi Gordo, I'm so glad to see you. So, tell me tell me tell me what do you think of Jimmy?"
Gordo stood there, stone-faced.
Lizzie looked at her friend and could see that something was bothering him. "Gordo, are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah, Lizzie, I'm fine. Just hungry that's all. Why don't we order that pizza now?"
"Okay Gordo. You can tell me after we eat what you think about Jimmy."
Great, thought Gordo, I'm going to spend the entire night having to talk to you about your boyfriend. This is going to be torture. "Sure, Lizzie, whatever you want."
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It was a few minutes before 8:30, and Lizzie and Gordo were sitting on the couch, having just finished off their pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Lizzie had a blanket draped over her, while Gordo sat on the far end of the couch, silent, deep in ruminating thought. They had decided earlier on to watch a special showing of the Wizard of Oz, which was scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. It was one of their favorite movies from childhood, and they always tried to watch it whenever it came on television.
Something was terribly wrong between the two friends. They hardly said a word to each other all night, which was completely unusual for them. They typically always had something to talk about. Something's the matter with Gordo, though Lizzie. Why's he being so distant?
"Okay, Gordo, I can't take this silent treatment anymore. I didn't ask you to come here and be all sulky with me. I want you to keep me company, not be some silent stone wall. What's going on?" Right at that moment, the Wizard of Oz started to play on t.v.
"Nothing's the matter, Lizzie. I'm just . . . tired, that's all. Anyway, the movie's starting."
"No, I don't believe you. I know you too well and I *know* when you're upset. Tell me, Gordo, what's wrong?"
Gordo sat there, and started to feel an emotion that he didn't think he would ever feel towards Lizzie . . . he was beginning to feel a surge of pure *anger* flow throughout his entire body. He clenched his jaw, and then he began saying things that he had been desperately trying to hold on all night. "So, Lizzie, I just don't have what Jimmy has, right?"
"What are you talking about, Gordo?"
"No blonde hair, no Robert Redford good looks, nothing, right, Lizzie?"
"Gordo, were you eavesdropping on me and Jimmy???"
"Yeah, and I heard everything you told him. My god Lizzie, you just take me for granted, don't you? I'm your best friend, Gordo, the guy you can use whenever you need him. Good ol reliable Gordo. When your plans fall through with the guy you really want to be with, hey, just call good ol' Gordo, and he'll come running and be at your beck and call. Right, Lizzie?" said Gordo, with a rising anger and tension in his voice. Gordo was starting to scare Lizzie, who had never heard Gordo this way.
"Gordo, you're scaring me."
"Lizzie, you don't get it, do you. I know you don't really care about me, I'm just some convenient, dependable doormat you can always rely on when you can't be with the person you really want to be with."
"Gordo, you're being absolutely ridiculous! You're my best friend since forever! You know I love hanging out with you. Are you getting a brain fever or something, because you're not sounding right."
"Oh, yeah? Then tell me this, Lizzie, who would you rather be spending tonight with, me or Jimmy?"
Silence. "That's not fair, Gordo."
"Just answer me, Lizzie! Just answer me! Me or Jimmy? Who would you rather be spending tonight with?"
"Okay, you want to know the answer, yes, I'd rather be with Jimmy right now. But, that's not because you're not my friend, it's because I really like Jimmy, you know, romantically, and I think that something might develop between us; it doesn't mean I don't like you as a friend, Gordo."
Lizzie's answer only added fuel to Gordo's jealous anger. "I knew it. I knew it. I'm nothing to you, am I?"
"Gordo! Are you listening to me? That's not what I said at all!!"
Why is this hurting so much, thought Gordo. Ever word that Lizzie was saying was turning Gordo's world upside down, as he was finally grappling with what he thought was the awful truth. . .that Lizzie would never love him in the way that Gordo loved Lizzie. And that realization was making him want to do something to Lizzie that he thought was impossible for him to do . . he wanted do nothing more than to hurt Lizzie.
"You know, Lizzie, I'm starting to realize some truths. And one thing I'm realizing is, and I hate to say this, but, I don't think I should be hanging around with you anymore. I'm realizing that you're really not the friend that I thought you were."
Lizzie stared at Gordo with a dumbfounded shock. It was as if someone had punched her in the face. "Go-Gordo, what are you saying?" said Lizzie softly.
"I'm mean, look Lizzie, this stuff happens all time. Friends grow apart. We really don't have much in common. I like school, your favorite class is still lunch. You like talking about J-Lo's latest hairdo, I like talking about Alfred Hitchcock's cinematic techniques in Psycho," said Gordo, in a steely cold, nonchalant voice.
Tears began streaming down Lizzie's face. "Gordo . . .why are you doing this?"
"Because it's the truth, Lizzie. You know it and I know it. We've been growing apart since high school started. I think I need friends with more depth, with someone with whom I can carry on an intelligent, adult conversation with. And you need someone you can talk with about make-up and the latest celebrity gossip." As Gordo finished his sentence, a part of himself was dying, as he could not believe what he was saying to Lizzie. What am I doing? What am I doing? Thought Gordo. I'm so sorry, Lizzie, I'm so sorry, I don't know what's going on, I don't know what's happening to me, I'm so sorry . . .
An eerie silence fell between the two friends. The television was still on, and Gordo could hear the sounds of a tornado emanating from the televsion, as the Wizard of Oz was still on screen, and the tornado was now carrying Dorothy to the land of Oz. Gordo looked at his watch. It was 9:00 p.m.
Tears were still falling from Lizzie's face, but now her face, which was once full of emotions, was now flat, emotionless, as if all her life and energy had been deflated out of her. In a soft, dazed, monotone voice, Lizzie said, "Gordo, I need to go for a drive, okay? I need to clear my head. What you've been telling me really hurts, and I just need to sort out my emotions. You can stay here if you want. I'll be back in a little bit." Their conversation was punctuated by flashing lightning and heavy thunder outside, as the storm was starting up again.
"Lizzie, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was saying. I didn't mean it."
"Yes, yes you did, Gordo. I could feel it in your voice. I can't believe. . . that's how . . .th-that. . .that's how you *really* think about me!" Lizzie started weeping. She threw off her blanket, grabbed her car keys from the table, and walked out the door in the pouring rain.
"Lizzie, wait!" Gordo jumped off the couch and ran outside.
He caught Lizzie a few yards from her car. The rain was beating down on them with a fury and vengeance, but the two didn't notice, the two didn't care. He grabbed Lizzie's arm. "Lizzie, I didn't mean what I said! I'm really sorry!"
"Let go of me!!" Lizzie snapped his arm away from Gordo. "I *hate* you Gordo! I hate you!! I can't believe you said those things about me!!"
"Lizzie . . ."
"Just leave me alone, okay, Gordo? You said you don't want to hang out with me, well, you've got your wish! Now, I just need to go for a drive, okay?"
"ok . . .I'll be waiting for you when you get back. I'm so sorry. . ."
"Gordo, stop it. I don't want to hear your apologies right now, okay? I'll be back in a little bit, and we, uh, can sort stuff out, alright?"
"ok. Be careful Lizzie, the road's are slick out there."
Lizzie didn't answer Gordo. She turned her back and walked into her car and drove off into the storm.
Gordo stood there, motionless, not realizing yet that would be the last moment he would see Lizzie alive.
Gordo waited for Lizzie at the McGuire's home, expecting her back any moment. That moment never came. Lizzie had left in her car shortly after 9:00 p.m. At 11:00 p.m., Gordo received a call from the police, informing him that, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Lizzie McGuire had lost control of her car on the slick Pacific Coast Highway, and that she had crashed her car head on into the cliffside. She had been killed instantly.
With that phone call, Gordo's world forever crumbled into a mass of regret and guilt.
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David had just finished telling Gordo in vivid detail everything that happened that night. He knew how hard it would be for Gordo to take, but he had to know, in order to prevent Lizzie's death.
"That's unbelievable, David. I can't believe I did or am going to do all that. I can't believe I hurt Lizzie like that."
"Well, we're *not* going to do all those things. We're going to change history."
"What should I do? Should I not go to Lizzie's tomorrow night?"
"No, you've got to be there, to make sure she doesn't go driving on that night. You know how she likes to drive around just to clear her thoughts about something. You've got to be there to make sure she stays at home tonight."
"Okay."
"But, what I want you to do is this . . .instead of arriving at 7:00 p.m., arrive a little later so you miss seeing Lizzie with Jimmy. That's what set me off that night, just catching them two together and hearing them talk about me, about us. Jimmy left shortly after 7:00, so try to get there around 7:30 or so. Then do everything you can to keep Lizzie at home, you got that?"
"Alright, David. I'll do my best."
David and Gordo said goodbye to one another, and scheduled to talk briefly the next day to go over their plans. They were positive that they could keep talking to each other over the ham radio so long as the mysterious thunderstorm kept itself up, which it was supposed to do for the next few days.
The next day, David and Gordo talked on schedule, both relieved to know that they could still communicate with each other. They went over their plans, and then said goodbye, and Gordo promised to check in with David once the night was over and Lizzie had been saved.
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Just as David had told him, on Saturday afternoon, Gordo received a phone call from Lizzie, asking him to come over. He said that he would, but he told her he would come by around 7:30 instead of 7:00.
Gordo approached the McGuire's house a few minutes before 7:30. As he came closer, he could see the door was ajar. As he came even closer, he could hear voices in the hallway. It was Lizzie, and she was still talking with Jimmy . . .
Gordo froze in the walkway, wondering what was happening. Why was Jimmy still here, wondered Gordo? He should have left a while ago. Then Gordo realized their mistake . . . in David's world, Jimmy had left Lizzie's house because Gordo had been there to interrupt them. But, because he hadn't shown up at 7:00, what it meant was that Lizzie and Jimmy were able to keep on talking with each other.
Oh, no, thought Gordo, this isn't going the way its supposed to . . . and he stood there, in the walkway, paralyzed, transfixed by the conversation he was hearing inside . . .
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the reviews on this chapter, I truly, truly appreciate them. I just want to add that I felt emotionally drained after writing this chapter, as I felt myself getting emotionally affected by what I was writing. So I hope the intensity of the situation between Lizzie and Gordo came across to you, the reader, and that you believed that what Gordo said to Lizzie is something that would make a friend feel extremely hurt and wounded.
A difficult part about writing this chapter was to make sure I wrote the fight scene in a way that you would believe that *Gordo* could feel so angry, jealous, and hurt to be able to say such things to his best friend Lizzie. I hope I succeeded in making the scene realistic. I know from my own experience, paradoxically and sadly, that sometimes people tend to hurt people that they are closest to and love dearly.
Anyway, again, thanks for the reviews, they truly inspire and motivate me to keep on writing both for myself and for all of you. For those of you who haven't reviewed my story yet, what are you waiting for? : ) I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I'll try to update soon, I have the outlines of the next chapter in mind already; I'm going to entitle it "Deja Vu All Over Again." You'll see when you read it what I mean by the title. So stay tuned to see if Gordo is able to save Lizzie . . .
Till the next chapter, HM.