Chapter 4 / Consummation
"I don't care where we go or what we do or if we ever make it back... just drive." His hands gripped the steering wheel of his trusty Viper severely as he sped away from the Harrison home. To say he was shocked to see Jude call him so soon after their moment in the studio would have been a gross understatement, but it was the super-fast talking and her gasping for breath that alarmed him. She said nothing beyond a few sentences that were jumbled beyond coherence and her asking him if he'd pick her up. He made it to her place in a record-breaking 12 minutes and she hopped in with her cell phone in one hand and an oversized green bag in the other.
"She told me, Tommy." He stole a glance at her, her pale face in complete contrast with her darkened eyes and wild looking hair. He was struck with a certain pain deep within his rib cage. She looks so far gone. How do I fix this? Fix it? You caused it, Quincy.
"Who told you what?" He spoke to her in hushed raspy words, fearing he would jar something inside of her.
"Sadie." His breath caught violently in his throat. He now understood why she was how she was. "She told me why you two broke up."
"And what did she say?" She leaned and rested her head against the door, choking back the anxiety toying with her.
"It was all because of me." Her earlier tears now returned with a new fervency. She hid her face in the crook of her elbow, her shoulders shuddering. "I didn't want to hurt her, Tommy. I wanted you so much... I prayed for it so hard. I knew it wouldn't happen but I couldn't help myself and... and... I did all this. It's all so screwed up. Where did the magic go?" Tommy pulled over on the side of the highway and pulled Jude into him. She clung to him as if it were a matter of life and death.
"I made my choices, Jude, and while you were the deciding factor in what path I was going to go down, it was my own personal decisions that hurt Sadie. None of this is your fault."
"That's good to know, but it's all riding on what she thinks and she thinks I poisoned you against her." He hugged her into him tightly, stroking the back of her hair. He rested his chin against the top of head, taking her in.
"Forget about her, Jude."
"I can't."
"You have to. There isn't anything either one of can do to help her." He pulled her away from him. Her features were a running mess of eyeliner and saline. He lightly brushed along the curves of her face while she just stared at him. "I've made my decision. I'm not turning back now."