Chapter 7: Together Again
Stephanie looked at Chris without speaking. She felt... She didn't know what she felt. She had just asked Chris why he had broken up with her in the first place, and he had placed the blame on her father. Her sweet, loving, dependable father. She desperately wanted to believe Chris. She wanted to believe that he had been forced to dump her, forced to break her heart, but at the same time she couldn't believe him. There was just no way that her father could've purposely caused her so much heartache.
"Stephy?" Chris asked after waiting for her to say something, to say anything. She had been silent ever since he had told her the real reason why he had broken up with her. She only looked at him, not saying a word, and he was starting to worry about her. Was she in shock or something? "Stephy?" he said again, this time a little louder. "Say something. Say anything."
Silence.
"I don't believe you," she said finally. "I do not believe you."
"I know it's hard for you to believe, to understand, but I'm telling you the truth," he said in a pleading tone. "You have to believe me. I never wanted to break up with you, sweetheart. Your dad made me."
"My dad had nothing to do with your decision to break up with me, and I'm appalled that you would say something like that," she said, holding her chin up. "My father is a good man. Don't drag his name through the dirt just because you did something that you're not proud of now."
"Your father is the reason," he said, reaching for her hand. He held her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Your father is the reason," he repeated.
"Why? Why are you lying to me?" she asked in an anguished voice. He looked so sincere, though, and it scared her, knowing that he could quite possibly be telling the truth about her father, about the whole situation. But she didn't understand. If he was telling the truth, that meant that her father had betrayed her, and she just wasn't ready to accept something of that magnitude.
"I swear to you, I'm not lying," he said sincerely, reaching up to take off the shades that were still on her face. He looked directly into her eyes. "I would never lie to you about something like this. You know me."
"I thought I knew you," she said softly. "But that changed last Friday night, and I don't know you anymore."
"Look me in the eyes and see if I'm lying," he challenged her. She gazed into his eyes and he looked into hers. "Your father is the reason why I broke up with you last Friday night. The only reason."
She looked into his eyes as he spoke, and she knew that he was telling her the truth. But she couldn't accept that. She didn't want to accept the fact that her father had been the one to ruin her life and break her heart this way... She felt the tears building up in her eyes, and she reached for the shades that Chris was holding.
"You don't need these right now," he said in a low voice, pulling her to him. "You just need me to hold you right now...just like this."
He always knew what she needed, and she did need him to hold her close... She felt like her whole world had just been turned upside down again. There were no doubts in her mind now that her father had been the one to initiate her breakup with Chris...
"Why did you listen to him when he told you to break up with me?" she whispered to him. His body tensed, and she felt it. She pulled back a little and looked at his face. The expression on his face was one she'd never seen before. "Chris? What's wrong?"
"I don't want to tell you why I listened to your father, not yet," he said quickly. "I'll tell you tonight... But for now, babe, why don't you just let me take care of you?"
"I want to know," she said. "I want you to tell me right now, or I'll go ask him myself."
"No, no, no, you can't do that!" he exclaimed. "It's complicated. Look, meet me in my hotel room tonight and I'll tell you everything, ok? Everything."
"Do you promise?" she asked him, searching his face.
"On my life," he told her. He looked at his watch. "Damn it, I have a meeting with your dad about this new storyline in, like, ten minutes."
"That's funny," she said thoughtfully. "I have a meeting with him in ten minutes, too. He said something about wanting me to get back onscreen again." She looked up, eyes wide. "You don't think-"
"That he could be thinking of putting us into a storyline together?" he finished. "That would be interesting."
"But why would he do that when he's obviously the one who drove us apart?" she wondered. "And he knows how I feel about you..."
"Your dad is obsessed with hurting you and making you think he's the one who knows what's best for you," he said. "Right now, he thinks you're hurting, that you're heartbroken over me, so putting us in a storyline together would make us have to be around each other, and that-"
"Would force me to see you, knowing that I can't have you anymore, knowing that you don't want me anymore," she finished. She frowned. "Damn, he really does want to hurt me."
"You and I both know that I still want you, Stephy," he said, pressing his lips to hers. "God, I do...want you so much..."
"And I want you, too," she said, kissing him back, clinging to him. She had missed this with him... She hadn't seen him for a whole week before the Friday he had broken up with her, and today was the first day she had seen him since Friday, so yes, she wanted him. She definitely wanted him. "More than I ever have, if that's possible..."
"It's possible. I know, because I can feel it, and I feel the same way," he whispered, pulling away and putting a little space between them. "But your father can't know about this, about us. When we go to that meeting, you have to pretend that you don't know anything."
"That's going to be difficult. It's going to be so hard not to smile at you from across the table and everything," she said with a sigh, stepping closer to him and laying her head on his shoulder. "Knowing that you never wanted to break up with me... Knowing that you want me back..."
"I never stopped wanting you, baby," he said, reveling in the heat of her body pressed against his. "But we can't let your dad know that you know that."
"At least, not yet," she agreed. "Because I'm thinking that I want some revenge for this crap."
"Revenge?" he repeated, letting her go and raising an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're already planning something."
"Why not? We deserve it," she said. "I mean, he made me believe that you never loved me..." She looked away, blinking back the tears that threatened to start falling. "I actually believed you when you told me that."
"I wish you hadn't believed it... I love you more than any woman I've ever loved, and don't ever think otherwise," he said softly, gently touching her cheek. "It broke my heart to lie and tell you that I didn't, because I do. I love you."
"I love you, too," she whispered.
"So we're back together now?" he asked her hopefully.
"Definitely," she said. "Because I never wanted us to be apart in the first place."
"Neither did I," he said. They gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments, and then he looked at his watch again. "Ok, baby, I have to go see your dad now... You come in a few minutes after me. And remember... He can't know that we're back together now."
"Ok." She watched him as he started to walk away. Before she knew it, she reached out and grabbed his arm. He turned around, about to ask her what was wrong, when she kissed him hard. When she pulled back, her breathing was ragged. He looked at her questioningly, and she touched his lips. "What can I say? It's been too long..." She licked her lips and smiled at him. "Now don't you have a meeting to get to?"
He grinned at her. "It's good to have you back, Stephy."
"Same to you, Chrissy," she said, watching him walk away. "Same to you..."
When he was out of her sight, he couldn't stop smiling. She still wanted him, and they were back together. And she knew the truth...well, part of it, anyway. Now, the only other thing he had to do was get through the night. If Stephanie would stay with him even after she found out the whole truth... If she would stick with him after that, then their relationship could truly survive anything...
Stephanie leaned against the wall and thought about Chris, and a smile appeared on her face. He loved her and he wanted her...They were back together again... And then she thought about her father, and she frowned. She couldn't believe that he would actually force Chris to break up with her... She couldn't believe that he had pretended to comfort her the day before, when really, inside he was probably happier than he'd ever been.
"Father or not, his ass is going to pay," she vowed.
A/N: Sorry this chapter's so short. I'm glad I finally updated it, though. And now they're really back together... But will their relationship last after Chris tells Stephanie why he listened to Vince and dumped her?