A/N: Chloe timydamonkey – Okay, Elaine pointed out to me that not a lot happened in this chapter, but we decided not to add anything else. The reason for this is because the issues between Paul and Suze discussed in this chapter needed to be addressed. Basically, we want you to take note of what happens here and their feelings about it, so it was better to have a chapter dedicated to it than to have another chapter where this was just a small sideline that people wouldn't notice.
Does that make sense?
It does to us, anyway.
You know the drill: read and review, please.
Regrets
Chapter 7
Who knew something like this was going to happen? I mean, what are the chances of April being connected to Suze's latest charity case? It was too good to be true!
So what am I going to do now? I'm going to use it to my advantage, of course.
Okay, so getting this guy locked up wasn't going to make me too popular with April, but I can live with that. So long as it means I'll get Suze in the end, anyway.
So what I needed to do was convince Suze that the only way she was going to be able to help Eva was to let me help her. Something which I knew was not going to be easy.
I needed to plan this out. What was the best way to talk to her? Not on the phone – she'd just hang up. So, that left school or her place.
Well, I thought as I got into my car, there's no harm in paying her a little visit now.
I had no idea whether her mother would actually let me in or not, but I had to try, anyway.
In the end, I needn't have bothered worrying. As I pulled up outside 99 Pinecrest Road, I saw a figure sat on the porch roof. A figure I recognized to be Suze.
She stood up as I got out of my car and looked up at her. I couldn't see her expression in the dark, but I'm willing to bet she wasn't all that pleased to see me.
"Hey," I said.
Suze stared down at me, blinking in confusion.
"W-What are you doing here?"
I grinned at her. "Just thought I'd pop over for a chat. Are you coming down, or should I come up?"
"Get lost, Paul!"
I'd been expecting that one.
"I don't think so. I need to talk to you."
"I've got nothing to say to you!"
"You will have," I told her. "So are you coming down or what?"
"No," she said firmly.
"Right. I'll come up, then."
Yeah, I knew this probably wasn't the best way to go about this, but I did it anyway. Winding people up is quite fun.
"God, when are you going to get a life?" She snarled at me.
I smiled and started to climb up a tree next to the porch. When I was at the top, I sat down next to Suze and shrugged, "I don't know. I don't see the point, really."
"What?" Suze looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
I was slightly surprised that she hadn't moved, you know, to push me off the porch roof or something.
I had no doubt that she wanted to and that she thought I deserved it.
And it's not like it would kill me or anything, she should know that. So why not?
Because that's the kind of person she was: someone who helped others, something that I'd tried to stop her from doing. Why? Who knows? Now, I think about it, though there really wasn't any reason to stop her. Maybe it wasn't so bad that she'd, you know, used her gift for good instead of evil. Helping people and everything.
She was still just staring at me.
"God, Suze. I thought this was going to be easier. You know, I hurt you in the worst way I can, then forget about you?" If she hadn't looked confused before, she sure did now.
"What?" She repeated.
I sighed. This could take a while… "I was so angry. I just wanted to get back at you for-"
"Hating you and loving Jesse?" Give the girl a prize. She was catching on, sort of.
I didn't bother explaining it any further to her; like she'd understand.
"I was pissed, Suze. I wanted to make you feel like I did." True enough, "I didn't stop to think about it. I didn't want to. I didn't know that once the anger was out of the way, I'd start having regrets about what I'd done."
She was staring at me again, speechless. I carried on.
"I guess… I guess I just wanted to prove to myself that didn't need you."
"Well, I'm pretty sure you don't, okay? So just leave."
She stood up, gave me one last glare, then climbed back in the window.
I stared after her. Okay, I admit it, I was mad. So there I'd been, pouring out the feelings I'd get bottled up, and she was dismissing them? Did she think I was lying, or was she just denying everything I've said? Had she even listened?
So, all in all, I was pretty pissed.
"Damnit, Suze!" I called after her. The window was still open, and I knew she was still in there. She could hear me perfectly well. "When will you realize that I care? It was a heat-of-the-moment thing. Just you wait, I'll show you I care, Suze!"
Her only reply was slamming the window closed.
I scowled at her as she turned away, then I proceeded to climb down the tree.
What was I thinking? Well, just a few words were running through my head: I'll show her.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. We'll try and make the next chapter longer. Keep reviewing!