Sand In My Shoes
Part 2
Pacey's Tale
Pacey Witter walked towards his girlfriends' house and walked in through the back door, there was no one in sight, he just hoped she hadn't left already. He looked through the window and saw Jack and Andie loading up the trunk of the car with her luggage. They shut the trunk and Andie hugged Jack goodbye. He ran out of the house and through the back garden, jumping over the wall, watching her as she prepared herself to leave.
"Andie!" He shouted breathlessly as he arrived to her side. "Andie!" he called, causing her to turn and look at him. "Hey," he told Jack as he ran past him and slung his arms around his girlfriend. He had caught her, one more moment and he would have been watching her leave.
"We said no goodbyes," Andie told him softly, hugging him tightly.
"I don't want to say goodbye," he reassured her, cupping her cheeks with his hands. "I just want to look at ya..." he confessed, he didn't think he could stand three months away from her, he didn't want to leave her. "I wish I had some eloquent parting words for you but..." he shook his head and thought rapidly of some parting words. "All I could think of was this; thank you. Thank you for everything you've given to me. Thank you for forcing me to be the man you made me. Just thank you. I am so grateful to you, Andie,"
"Oh, I don't want to let you go, Pacey," she cried into him as they stood, together in their tight embrace.
"Just remember your promise, okay?" he asked her, the only thing he would ever ask of her again. "You and me together again, happy, healthy, more in love than ever,"
"I'll remember," She said, managing what little she could through her emotions.
"You'll get better, McPhee. Then you hurry back to me," she said confidently, but part of him had doubts, part of him was scared, terrified that she wouldn't come back to him, but he had to hope. He had to be confident, even if it was just for her.
"Pacey...kiss me?" Andie requested softly.
He brought his lips to hers, bending down and kissing her softly, just like the first time they kissed, his heart was beating and he felt her knees tremble.
"My knees are shaking," she told him after pulling away from their goodbye kiss, pressing her forehead to his.
"My heart...boom-boom, boom-boom," he told her. He hugged her tightly for as long as he could, but he knew she had to go. She broke away from him and walked towards the car, getting in and closing the door.
Pacey stood in the driveway, watching her leave.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked him, putting his hand on his shoulder for comfort.
"Fine," He told his dismissively before walking away slowly, making his way to the fountain and perching himself on the edge. He sat there for hours, until it was dark, just thinking about her and how he would cope being away from her for so long
But that was four weeks ago and it seemed like a lifetime, Andie had hardly written, called or emailed. The last letter he had read was two weeks ago, he had stayed up all night just reading it over and over again, reading word after word as many times as he could. It hadn't been very confident, full of what her therapist had said about stresses in her life, she didn't even say she missed him. It had broken his heart. He just hoped when he got home there would be a letter or an email waiting.
He had been away for ten days, sailing and fishing with his father. Ever since Andie had left his father had tried hard, too hard, to connect with him and he appreciated the effort. It had helped, but he knew that as soon as he was back on dry land it would force him to think about her and all the places they went together.
He had called Jack a few times, and asked about Jen. He promised him that he would go with him to a party tonight, but he was starting to change his mind.
He hadn't seen Joey since the fire at the icehouse, apart from once, in passing. He had been shopping with his mother, stocking up for the fishing trip with his father. It had been the day after he had received Andie's letter and he didn't even have the energy to talk to her. He had wanted to; he wanted to tell Joey he was still her friend even through what had happened with Dawson, but he couldn't. But he would, as soon as he got back.
Dawson hadn't called since he left for the summer, he hadn't emailed or written, for someone who was meant to be his best friend he wasn't doing a very good job of checking he was okay after the sudden departure of his sick girlfriend.
"Pacey! Tell the guys to fill her up will ya? I got to go and take a wiz," John Witter said, walking up to him. "Hello?" he said, waving his hand in front of his sons face, snapping him out of his daze.
"What was that pop?" Pacey asked.
"I'm going to take a wiz," he repeated. "Make sure the guy fills her all the way up, I promised Kevin we would hand her back fully gassed up," he told him, handing him the keys, hopping off the boat and heading towards the public toilets.
Pacey watched the figure that approached, it wasn't a guy, it was a girl. A hot girl and even if he was taken, that woman had a set of legs on her that led to heaven. He squinted as she approached closer, he shook his head. He couldn't believe it. There was no mistaking her. The permanent scowl on her face, the eyes full of ice and biting her swollen lip all the way towards him. It was, without a shadow of a doubt, Joey Potter.
"Pacey?" she asked him, looking at him as he removed his shades.
"Hey," he said, a little surprised, he jumped down onto the side of the boat and perched there, watching her as she looked at him, eyeing him up and down. "Serving Wench, fill her up," He joked. He looked down to see what she was staring at. He wasn't doing anything peculiar he wore his long combat shorts and a white wife beater, complete with a pair of shades and sandals. "What's with you? What you looking at?" he questioned her, slightly amused.
"Nothing I just," she shook her head and let out a small laugh. "I just wasn't expecting to see you," she told him, a small smile on her lips, relieved to see a friendly face. "I'll get her filled up right away," she told him, reaching for the pump.