Lost Love Found
By: Manna

Chapter 2

Later that night, Pacey sat on the couch watching TV when the phone rang, "Hello?"

"Mr. Pacey Witter please."

"This is Mr. Witter."

"Hi. I'm calling in regard to your audition this afternoon, with DL Enterprises."

"Yes, hello."

"I'd like to see you again. For another audition that is," Joey hoped that she didn't sound nervous.

"Really? That's great," Pacey said, trying not to sound too anxious.

"Could you meet me tomorrow at the theater, noon?"

"I'll be there."

"Perfect. See you then," Joey hung up the phone and heaved a sigh of relief. That was done. She was going to see him again. She just wasn't sure what she was going to do when she did.

Shortly after he hung up the phone, Pacey went to bed, elated. He might finally have a job. He fell asleep in a whirl of dreams.

'Honey, I'm home.'
His wife greeted him with a gentle kiss. 'How was your day?'
'Great, and yours?'
'Pretty busy, as usual. Jade and Justin have been into everything today.'
'Where are the rugrats now?'
'Justin's coloring in the kitchen, and Jade's off bothering Brittany.'

Dawson emerged from the bathroom and climbed into bed. These trips were the only time anymore that he and Joey shared a bed. At home, they have had separate rooms for quite some time now. "So, Jo, did you find anyone to fill the roles?"

She couldn't possibly tell him about Pacey, not right now anyway. She wasn't in the mood for one of his rages right now. "Possibly, all except the lead that is. I'm going to see a few more people tomorrow," it wasn't a total lie.

Once again, the alarm went off. This time was different though. Pacey was ready for the day. Now he just wished to have someone to share his excitement with. But, these days he found himself to be friendless. He hadn't had much for friends since college, when everyone had gone their own ways, and when he had left his old life behind. He assumed that Joey and Dawson were somewhere living happily ever after with a house full of kids. He still talked to Jen on grave occasion… she had remained his only link to Joey. Jen had told him about the wedding, they'd gotten married just four months after he left. And even though he had been the one to end it, it hurt that they had waited such a short amount of time. It was almost as if they'd been waiting for him to leave. And even though Jack was living with Jen, Pacey never talked to him. Although he'd asked Jen not to tell a soul that she talks to him, he figured that Jack knows, but Jen doesn't want Jack to murder him. And as for Andie, he hadn't talked to her since before he left the first time.

Pacey arrived at the theater a few minutes early, only to run into his potential employer outside of the building.

"Mr. Witter, I'm glad you could make it. Could we go somewhere and grab lunch?"

"Um, sure," he didn't know what to think; he had been expecting another audition.

"I'll drive. There's this place I'm dying to try."

"Ok," he wasn't going to argue.

They were both silent the entire drive. As they pulled up to the restaurant, Pacey couldn't believe his eyes. She was taking him to the ritziest place in Kansas City.

Joey pulled into the parking lot, and watched the look on his face. It was working. He seemed to be impressed. She left her keys with the valet, and together they walked through the doors of the restaurant. Greeted by the mater 'd, she said, "Reservations for Miss Josephine."

"Certainly ma 'ma, this way please."

After being seated, Pacey said quite frankly, "I get the distinct sense that this meal was planned."

"Well, yeah, it was. I don't need you to re-audition. I just needed an excuse to talk to you in person." She took a drink of water and looked at him before continuing. His face displayed an expression of confusion. "As soon as I saw you standing on that stage, I knew you were perfect for the part. There's just one problem though."

"I should have know this would happen. I was stupid to get my hopes up," he looks down at the table and notices her hands trembling on the table. On her left hand, there was a simple gold wedding band. He should have guessed. This just wasn't his day. He got up to leave.

"Wait a minute Mr. Witter. Can I call you Pacey?"

"Whatever you want."

"Pacey, please don't be mad. You don't understand. I think you're perfect, but I don't think the director would agree. I have something to tell you, and please don't get angry."

Confused more now than ever, Pacey agreed, "I couldn't get mad at such a beautiful woman."

He heard her whisper under her breath, 'If only that were true,' but chose to ignore it.

She took a deep breath and continued, here goes nothing, "Have you heard of the director Dawson Leery?"

"I'm not really one for remembering big…" coughing, "Did you say 'Dawson Leery'? I haven't heard that name in a long time." Although I just thought of him this morning. "He's a director huh, that doesn't surprise me. But, I have a question for you. While I have to agree, how do you know he wouldn't like me? Have you heard bad stories?"

Going out on a limb, Joey said, "I've more than heard stories Pace. I lived them."

Pacey didn't seem to catch on at first, "You just called me Pace. He once called me that, years ago, not many people ever called me that."

She didn't want to beat around the bush anymore, "I know Pace. What did you think would happen to me after you just up and left? I wake up one morning, and you're gone. No explanation as to why you left. Just an evil note," she was blubbering now.

"My God, JO! I didn't recognize you. Please don't cry, you know how I hate it when you cry," he got up and hugged her. "I'm sorry about that, I really am."

Regaining her composure, she says, "That's in the past now. What's done is done."

"If that were true Jo, you wouldn't have called me, and you wouldn't be crying."

"Pacey, what happened between us? What made you leave? Do you know how much I've tortured myself all these years? What did I do wrong?"

"Oh Jo, it wasn't you. I guess it was me. And maybe Dawson too. But, It definitely was not you."

"DAWSON? He had something to do with you leaving. He never…"

"Not intentionally Jo, he didn't purposely make me leave."

"Then do you mind telling me why? It's something I'm dying inside to know."

"I really don't know anymore Jo. That was seven years ago," 'Seven painful years.' Shifting awkwardly in his seat, he continued, "All I remember is that, at the time, it seemed like the only possible answer to the problem. And it seemed like the right thing to do."

"Oh, I get it. You ran away, again, from a problem that I didn't even know existed."

"I didn't runaway…I just altered my direction in life."

Quite disgusted, she reached into her purse, grabbing a business card. Quickly she scribbled a phone number on the back and threw it on the table along with some cash, "If you ever remember what made you leave, I'll be in town for about a week. Call me. And use the money for a cab." Standing up, she stormed out the door. She couldn't believe how easily she was still riled up by him.

Pacey watched Joey get up, not really wanting her to leave. So, on pure instinct, he chased after her, "Jo, wait!" He didn't catch up with her until they were out of the restaurant. Reaching out, he grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!"

"Jo," saying no more, he pulled her closer, and kissed her. It seemed like the natural thing to do. He'd forgotten how great it felt, kissing her. He also couldn't help but notice that she wasn't fighting him. Unfortunately the kiss ended all too soon. It wasn't long before she pushed him away. It reminded him of junior year when he had kissed her on the side of the road.

Looking shaken up, she stammered, "Pacey, I have to go now."

"I'm sorry Jo."

"I really have to go," with that she raced off.

Dawson returned to the room, surprised Joey wasn't back yet. She said she only had one or two auditions left. He didn't know why he was worried, things were different now. Nowadays, they were only married in the legal sense. It had been like this for some time now. He couldn't remember exactly when and why things changed. It seemed as if they had just grown apart. But today was somehow different. He was worried. Something just didn't feel right.

Joey stood outside the door, leaning against the wall. She had to regain her composure before entering the room. She knew Dawson would be there, and she couldn't let him see her like this. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

"Hey Jo. Where've you been?"

Lying through her teeth, "At the theater," she hoped that Dawson could no longer tell that when she was or wasn't lying, that was once a skill he had mastered. "One of the idiots never showed up."

"Then you found someone?"

"Yeah, but I changed my mind. I don't think he's right for the part at all."

"Well, maybe I'll think differently."

"No! I mean, I don't think that's necessary. He's just not the person we were looking for."

"Jo, I don't want to fight. I'm tired of fighting with you."

"Who says we're fighting? We're not fighting."

"Don't deny it Jo. We've fought enough that I recognize the signs. Please Jo, just show me the notes. I promise I won't go against your decision, but I want to know what made you change your mind. That's not like you."

"Fine, have it your way." She grabbed her notes and threw them on the bed next to him, "I hope you're happy now. I'm going down to the bar." Joey really just wanted to lay in bed and relax, but she couldn't be there when Dawson read the name on the application. She knew he was just going to flip.

As Joey shut the door behind her, Dawson grabbed the folder and opened it. This was easy, there was only one application, so this had to be the guy. He glanced at the notes and read only positive remarks, nothing bad. He then glanced at the rest of the application. Nothing seemed unusual. Then, he read the name, and lost it. Jumping to his feet, Dawson ran to find Joey.

He found her exactly where she said she'd be. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her on the bar stool so that she was facing him, "Why Jo!?"

"Why what?" She pretended to have no clue what he was raving about.

"You lied to me! And I want to know why."

Continuing to play dumb, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me Jo. You know EXACTLY what in the hell I'm talking about! Why didn't you tell me that Pacey was here?"

"I didn't find it necessary."

"You can't be serious! How did it seem to you that your seeing Pacey Witter was something I didn't need to know?"

"Dawson, please, calm down. You're making a scene."

"I really don't care Jo!"

"That's a first. You, don't care about your image. You know Dawson, this is exactly the reason why I didn't tell you. I knew you'd throw one of your tantrums – ranting and raving about everything Pacey's ever done to you. And frankly, I'm sick of hearing about it, and didn't want to hear about it again."

"Oh, so this is about you now. What YOU want. I get it. Everything is about you."

"No Dawson, it's always about you. You don't care about me anymore, if you ever did. All you care about is your career. But, believe whatever you want. I'm going out – away from you."

With that said, Joey left the bar, her head held high. She wasn't going to lose what little pride she had left. She went up to the room and grabbed her keys. The message light was blinking. She played it, hoping it was maybe a business call, anything to get her mind off of the situation. No such luck. She listened to the familiar voice, "Hey Jo, its Pacey. I'm sorry about this afternoon. Give me a call."

Joey deleted the message, grabbed her purse, and retrieved Pacey's profile from its spot on the floor. Maybe she'd just have to pay Mr. Witter a visit.

It was 8:30, and had been a slow evening thus far, but Mike had a feeling that would all change as he watched a pretty brunette stroll up to the bar. She laid her purse on the bar, sat down and said, "Give me a shot of the hardest stuff you've got."

"Sure thing miss." He watched as she quickly downed the drink.

She then set the glass on the bar, "Give me another one of those." She watched him pour more liquor into a glass, "So, what's your name?"

"Mike, and yours?"

"Joey, it's short for Josephine."

"That's a nice name. So what brings you to my bar tonight? Are you new in town?"

"I'm visiting for a few days. And I was on the way to see a friend when I saw your bar. I decided to stop in for a quick drink first." Joey downed her second drink, "Another Mike."

"My pleasure," the place was slow tonight, and that didn't bother Mike at all. He wanted to get to know this beautiful woman. "So Miss Joey, what had you so riled up tonight? Wait, let me guess, it's a guy."

"Betcha get girls like me in here all the time, trying to drown whatever problems a member of the opposite sex has inflicted on them. Well, I've got two guys causing me problems. Men are more trouble than they're worth," she downed the third shot. "Give me something bigger this time."

"Why am I not surprised that you have two men."

"Actually it's the opposite. My husband is an asshole. I haven't loved him since high school. Our marriage has been an enormous game of make believe from the get go." Joey downed a third of her now larger drink.

"You mentioned two men?"

"Oh yeah, then there's my ex."

"Husband?"

"No…just boyfriend. Probably would've been my husband if he hadn't run away. He left me seven years ago, next month actually."

"So how is he a problem?"

"I heard nothing of him since he left, until I ran into him yesterday and I realized that I still love him." Joey gulped the rest of her drink, "That was good. Give me another."

"I think maybe you should slow down a bit. The night is still young."

"Don't you worry about me, Mike. I'll be fine. You just keep doing your job."

At 10:30, Mike listened as the beautiful Joey made a fool of herself. As she asked for another drink, Mike knew that he had to deny her request. She had long ago stopped making any sense. "Joey, I'm sorry. I can't serve you anymore to drink."

"Then get me a different bartender."

"Joey there isn't a bartender here that is going to serve you. You're extremely intoxicated. I can give you some coffee."

"No thanks."

"Can I call you a cab?"

"I suppose I should go home."

"I think that's a great idea."

"Thank you so much Mike."

"You're welcome Joey."

Joey stood outside leaning against the building waiting for her cab. She seriously had no idea where she was, or where home was. She dug through her purse and found a piece of paper just as the cab drove up.

"Where to miss?"

She handed him the piece of paper. Joey laid across the backseat for what seemed like forever before they pulled up outside an unfamiliar house. She hoped that this was home, and she was just to drunk to realize it. She handed the cabbie some money, and he returned her piece of paper and she shoved it back in her purse. Joey stumbled up the sidewalk to the door to find it locked. She tried all of her keys, but none of them worked. So, she resorted to knocking.

Pacey looked at the clock, 11 pm. Who could possibly be knocking on his door at this hour? He stopped his video and made his way to the door in his boxers and a t-shirt. "Who's there?" There was no answer. He tried to slowly pull open the door, but as soon as it was unlatched, it fell open and Joey fell onto him. "Jo! What happened to you?"

"I went to the bar," she giggled.

Pacey groaned, he knew from past experiences that she doesn't hold her alcohol well. "Do you know where you are?"

"Home. But, why did you change the locks."

"I didn't change the locks Jo."

"Then why don't any of my keys work?"

"Because this isn't your home," Pacey looked at Joey laying on his couch, now passed out. "Jo," he shook her gently.

"Hmmm…"

"I can't let you sleep."

"Sure you can."

"No I can't, you're drunk."

"Pacey, please let me sleep."

"How do you know that I'm Pacey?" He couldn't help but question her. She'd been known to mistake her men when drunk before. And he couldn't believe it. She couldn't seem to remember anything.

"Duh," she slurred, "I'm at home, so obviously you're Pacey. Because you live here too."

Curious to hear her reasoning, "I do?"

"Why wouldn't my husband, the man I love, live in my house with me?"

"No reason." Pacey looked at her with pity, she was passed out again. Then he whispered, "Because this isn't your house."

Despite his protests, Pacey couldn't keep Joey awake. After she fell asleep she picked her up and carried her into his bedroom. Then he went back to the living room. He still couldn't believe that Joey was passed out drunk, sleeping in his bed. And to think that she believed that he was her husband. Pacey sat at the coffee table. He went back to his movie and the open box that sat on the table. He hadn't looked at any of these things in a long time. After rummaging through the pictures in the box, he found the one he was looking for. It was a picture of him an Joey, taken on a pier in Florida. Holding onto the photo, he lay back on the sofa and focused his attention on the TV.

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