CHAPTER 8 – HERE COMES THE RAIN

A few hours later, Jane was back at the hut hanging out in the armchair drinking the little liquor bottles from the minibar. He was running low and thought about calling room service for a restock. He hadn't seen Lisbon after their argument – she'd been long gone. A knock came at the door. He went to check it in case it was Teresa – but it was Stan – the wrong Lisbon.

"Man, you look like crap, Patrick," said Stan as he entered. "Why aren't you ready? We've been waiting for you to head out to the bar."

"Thanks – but I'm going to pass," said Jane, his head spinning a little from too much alcohol.

"I don't think so! You said you'd come – you can't bail. Besides – it's better to drink with buddies than alone," he said as he looked at all the empties on the coffee table.

"C'mon – go get dressed so we can get out of here," Stan pressed.

"I'm not going… sorry. I have to wait for Teresa," said Jane.

"Why? She's out having fun! She finally broke up with that Marcus guy – he was the wrong dude for her I'll tell you. We hoped she'd see the light soon," Stan said looking around.

"You didn't like Marcus?" asked Jane.

"Nah," said Stan impatiently. "Nice guy – just not for Teresa. She needs a guy like you, you know… that makes her laugh and come out of her shell."

"Really?" asked Jane – surprised.

"Why are you drinking by yourself?" – Stan knocked over the tower of mini-bottles. – "Did you break up with Marcus too?" said Stan laughing at his joke.

"Funny," said Jane, making a mocking face at Stan.

"Then what is it?" he asked.

Jane opened his arms wide and expelled his breath frustratingly. He was too drunk to keep his thoughts to himself. "Ahh… It's Teresa, she hates me. She said she's moving to D.C. to get away from me."

"Seriously man – my sister doesn't hate you – that I know," Stan said with raised eyebrows. "She'll calm down and you two can work out whatever it is that you two have going on right now. And we all know something is going on – so don't deny it – but we like you, so we're okay with it," Stan pointed his finger at Jane.

Jane walked up to Stan and stared him down. "This is the second time you've implied that your sister is less than a straight arrow. Nothing is going on between us. We're just friends," he said and then backed off and started pacing the floor.

Stan put up his hands in front of himself and said, "Okay partner. Whatever you say."

Jane didn't appreciate the sarcasm but decided to let it go.

"She said she wants things to end between us… Our friendship. She's been mad at me before – but this is different." – Jane paused his pacing and frowned. – "She says she wants a fresh start."

"Look – you're not going to figure this out tonight man. Go get dressed and let's go out and deal with this like men… by getting piss drunk and dancing with hot single women." – Stan put his hand on Janes back and shoved him towards the bathroom. – "C'mon. Let's go. We can talk about this more on the way. The gang is waiting."

Jane grabbed a white shirt and grey pants and went into the bathroom to change. He took a quick shower and was back in the main room in under ten minutes. Stan gave him a once over…

"Don't you want to shave and comb your hair or something?" asked Stan.

Jane gave him a dirty look.

"Okay, so you're going for the homeless look… great… let's get going," said Stan.

Jane wasn't at the bar for more than a few minutes when the dinner date he stood up spotted him and walked up to him. She called him a nasty name and slapped him. The Lisbon men all found it very funny and brought him a drink to take the sting away. Jane watched them carry on – he could see what Teresa meant about them getting into arguments and fights – they were completely out of control when drinking. He did not want to be here. He called Teresa a few times, but she wasn't picking up. He kept his phone on the bar to be sure he didn't miss her call.

Teresa doesn't remember how she got to the bachelorette party. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. They were playing games and she tried not to be a wet blanket, but this is the last place she wanted to be. She felt awful after breaking up with Marcus and her confrontation with Jane. She had a heavy knot in her chest and it was making it hard for her to eat and drink. The girls were getting bored with the dry party and wanted to take the festivities to a bar and the bride agreed that alcohol was needed. So, the gang of girls headed out to the nearest bar. They'd been bar hopping looking for the best place to dance and just her luck they landed at the same place that Jimmy was having his bachelor party and Jane was at the bar. She didn't want to face him. She gave her regrets to the girls – said she was sick and headed back to the hut.

Jane saw Jimmy's fiancée arrive with the bachelorette party guests in tow. He looked for Teresa, but she wasn't with them. He went and asked Jenny where she was and found out that she wasn't feeling well and had headed back to the hut. Jane told the closest Lisbon – Tommy – that he was leaving and headed out after her.

The hut was dark as he approached it. Where was she? He went in and she wasn't there. He called her in case she was in trouble and he heard her phone ringing outside. He looked through the patio door and saw her sitting on the lounge chair on the deck attached to the hut, she looked at her caller ID and ignored his call. That stung but didn't surprise him. He took a steadying breath and went down to join her.

Teresa looked up at him when he arrived and then looked back at the ocean.

"Are you okay? Jenny said you weren't feeling well," asked Jane.

"I'm fine. I just said that so that I could leave," she said.

"Teresa-" he began.

"I'm not in the mood to talk or argue… I just want to sit out here – alone," she said.

"You're upset, and I need to fix it. Just tell what I did wrong-" he trailed.

"I don't want to talk Jane," she said again.

"You're mad at me – I hurt you or you haven't forgiven me for something I did-" he didn't know how to continue.

"I'm over it, Jane," said Teresa. "There's nothing you can say or do… I'm not changing my mind. I have to do what is right for me."

"Okay – I want that too. I want you to be happy. That's all I want here," – Jane squatted next to her chair and she could smell beer on his breath. – "You mean a lot to me… and if going to D.C. will make you happy then I will get behind it, I promise. Just don't cut me out of your life."

Teresa started to tear up because she didn't want to hurt him. Jane looked upset. She had to be strong, she had to stick to her plan and save herself from more heartache. He didn't have the same feelings for her… she was certain of that and from the way he'd carried on over the years she knew that there was no vacancy for her as anything more than a friend in his heart. As much as she wanted to be there for him, she had to put herself first. This was the right thing to do. It would hurt for a while – but the right thing didn't always feel good. She learned that the hard way as a teen taking care of her brothers.

Teresa swung her legs off the lounge chair and turned to face him. She touched his face – she never did that but couldn't help herself.

"This is for the best," she said and got up to leave.

Jane got up at the same time and held her arm.

"How is this for the best?" asked Jane incredulously. "We've been partners, friends… for years and now you're just leaving, and you won't tell me why."

This got Teresa's ire rising and she responded accordingly, "How does it feel, Jane?"

Jane looked like she'd just slapped him, and she instantly felt bad, but she was too mad to take it back. He let her go and walk to the end of the deck and stuck his hands in his pockets and put his head down.

"So, this is payback…" Jane said.

"No. I-… you want an answer to something that won't change anything. You're making this about you – you just don't get it. It's about me!" Teresa said exasperatedly.

"Then make me get it… I can't guess everything! I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what I did to make you want to cut me out of your life when you get to D.C. I don't understand what I've done so wrong since we got here," – Jane made a sweeping arm gesture. – "Please, just tell me," Jane asked. His heart was beating so fast and he couldn't think straight. He didn't know how to get through to her, what to do.

"Why! Tell me why it matters to you," she begged.

"Because I don't want to lose you. Please – just tell me what do to and I will do it," he said desperately.

"Fine – you want to know," she said, not caring about her self-preservation anymore.

She turned, stood toe to toe him, looked into his face, and waited.

Jane was surprised by her move. She usually tried to hide her emotions from him, but now she was letting him read her. Her eyes – he'd always thought they were so stunning. He looked into them now… what he read there scared him and he froze.

"That's what I thought," she said on a broken whisper. "Now you know." She turned around and ran up the stairs and through the patio doors.