Jude had made plans with Steve to go out to dinner. They hadn't spend much time together and she wanted to try and figure out what was going on. She had gone with intentions of breaking up with him, but in the end, she never got the chance. On the up side, Darius loved her new song, and the final cut of her album was getting mixed. "Far Away" was climbing the charts, and she was just wondering if Tommy had heard it yet.
She just got out of the shower and was thinking about her night out with Steve. He was late, of course but only because he had some work to finish up at his office. He worked at an advertising company, and was very busy most of the time. He really didn't like Jude working at G-Major so much because of all the guys there, but she was on contract and there wasn't much he could do. They fought about it all the time, and he continuously accused her of cheating. That was one of the biggest fights in their relationship. She hated fighting, and that night was no exception.
AT THE RESTRAUNT:
Jude had been sitting and waiting for Steve for over an hour. The wait staff was giving her sympathetic looks, and she was getting embarrassed. Finally, ten minutes later, Steve rushed in, face red with anger in his eyes. He threw down some money on the table, looked at Jude and said "Lets go." She got up, confused and followed him out to his car. Silently, he turned on the car and the radio came on. He switched it to CD player, and Tommy's voice filled the car. Jude's jaw dropped, and she actually got a little scared. "Little red flag there…" she thought to herself. Three painful minutes later, the song ended, and she started to say something.
"Steve, I don't-" He put his hand up to stop her, and she listened as her new song came on. "Shit…" she muttered. She was hoping that there was going to be more time to prepare for this. As her song ended, they had pulled up to their house. They made their way up to her apartment, silently, and the tension was aparent. As soon as they went into the apartment, Steve exploded.
"So, when were go going to tell me that you are pretty much song-fucking Quincy? I thought we talked about this, made the decision to stop talking to him. I told you I don't like him, and I don't like what he does to you. What is so fucking hard to understand Jude?" She thought about her conversation with Tommy. He was so understanding, so kind. He really missed her, and she missed him. She looked at Steve, waiting for an answer… and she gave him one.
"You know what Steve? I'm twenty-three FUCKING years old. I can talk to whomever I want, when I want. I can write songs about who and what I want. I don't need some boyfriend telling me what I am to do. Do you know why you don't like Tommy?" She looked at Steve in the eyes. "Because he brings out emotions in me that you never can. That's what he does to me that you don't like. And no matter how much me and Tommy fight it will never end between us. You know that- and it kills you. I'm done with this… I'm done with this relationship. I can't have you telling me how to run my life when you're barely in it. Do you know that yesterday was my birthday?" Steve's jaw dropped. "Exactly. Just leave. Now you can 'work late' whenever you want." She said to him using finger quotes.
Steve looked dumbfounded. Jude never acted like this. She usually just did what he said. He couldn't take this. Before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed Jude's chin, hard, and brought her ear to his mouth. "You know what I've been working on so late?" Jude had tears in her eyes. "My secretary…" He let her go roughly. "I'll be getting my things tomorrow." He walked out and slammed the door. Jude stood in her living room… shocked. She didn't know what to do. She grabbed her keys and went out the door. But not before looking in the mirror. There were red marks on her face from where Steve grabbed her. She rolled her eyes as tears came. "No! She was done with him. He left, so it was over. She had time now, to find herself, and maybe Tommy. I need a change…" At the drug store, she went to the hair dye. She picked up a box. "Hmmmmm time to go back to red, I think." Smiling, she paid for the box, and went back to her apartment.
An hour later, She emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered and loving her new hair. It reminded her of when she was younger, and she loved that feeling of looking forward and making the future, not having it planned out. The only thing definite in her life was her record contract. And that might scare most people, but to Jude, it was great. She was putting her PJs on, A black tank top, and Black Pants with white guitars on them. Just as she got done doing that, she heard a knock. Confused, she made her way to the door and opened it. Right then, she got the shock of her life.
"Tommy?"
