Sorry for the wait. I do not make any money off of this story.

Chapter 7

J.D's POV

Darry and Patrick left me and Eric outside staring at each other. In my cocktail skirt, I was freezing, trying to huddle into my jacket. Eric didn't know what to say, he just kept looking at me like I was the only thing that was ahead of him. I started shivering, and began to bounce on my heels.

"Um…. I need to get to work." I say getting into my car again.

"J.D, wait!" Eric says. He jumps into the car, looking at me again. I sigh and put my head on the steering wheel.

"Eric, look, I can't…"

"I'm sorry." He blurts out. I turn to him.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, alright. I should never have ran out like that. I should have stayed and tried to work things out. I was scared. I didn't know what to do, I was an idiot. After your Dad died…."

"Don't bring him into this! You left because you wanted to! So don't you dare bring my father into this!" I yell at him.

"J.D, I wanted to work things out. I wanted to help you with Patrick and Mike. You know that I love them like they were like my own…."

"You have no idea what you are talking about! If you really cared about us you would have stayed! Do you know how hard it is to raise a teenage and a kid who talks to himself? You have no idea what love is!

"Patrick got hauled in the other night! Did you know that? For public drinking! Where were you during that? Huh? Sleeping with some dime store hooker! You said that you loved me! You said that you wanted to be with me when we were 80! Do you remember that? That we could make it in this world! That we would leave this place behind us and raise a family, and build a house, and that you would never leave me! That you loved me! How could you…."

Eric grabbed me by the back of the neck and kissed me. It was like the kisses that we had when we were kids. His tongue tasted the same way he did the first time we kissed, mint gum and nicotine. He was still smoking. I felt hot tears rolling down my face as I pushed him away.

Eric looked at me for a minute. He looked like he wanted more again. Like before he left. When we use to spend the night together, held each other in our arms, him kissing me so gently like he was afraid I would break. To tell the truth, he was breaking me. Breaking me into a million tiny pieces, shattering my love for him and for what we use to have.

"Get out." I whisper.

"J.D…."Eric tries.

"GET OUT!" I scream. Eric sighs and gets out of the car.

I put my head down again, crying into my hands.

I still love him.

Eric's POV

J.D, my J.D was gone. I ruined her in every way possible. I sighed and shook my head. I would never be able to make this up to her. I zipped up my jacket and went into Darry's house. Everyone was looking out the window, watching J.D, or waiting at the table.

"Hey, everyone." I say weakly.

"Hey Eric, how's it been?" Soda asks me.

"Fine, where's the birthday boy?"

"Over here." I turned around to see Dad standing there, his DX cap around his head. He was looking older, not old, just older. He looked happy.

"Hey Dad, happy birthday." I say going over to him.

"Thank you, son." He hugs me.

"How have you been?" I ask him. "How's the garage?" He and Soda owned a car shop that was the best in town.

"As good as it was when you left. I need to talk to you later." He said clapping me on the back.

"Can we start eating? I'm starving!" he says loudly.

"Yes! Everyone, gather around to pray." Lizzy says taking Darry's hand. We all take someone's hand and circle around the table. I was holding Dad's and Mikey's hand. M.J looked up at me and smiled.

"I missed you Eric." He says quietly while Darry prays.

"I missed you too kiddo." I say squeezing his hand.

"Amen." Darry finishes.

"Amen." Everyone repeats. Darry rubs his hands together and smiles.

"Dig in everyone. Just because its Steve's birthday, doesn't mean he gets to go first."

"Thanks Darry, I can feel the love." Dad says sarcastically.

"Just kidding man. Happy birthday!" Darry says clapping him on the back.

We all fill our plates and sit in the living room. Well at least the men do, the girls go sit in the table. I missed all of this. The family dinners, watching football together, screaming at the TV because the people playing football did something stupid, my family.

J.D's POV

I got to the bar and went to work. I did the normal routine. Smile at the guys, flirt a little bit for extra tips, report anyone drinking too much, and making sure that the peace was kept. Another girl that worked here, Rose, was looking out for me, and she could see that I wasn't up to par tonight.

"Johnny, what is with you tonight? You keep zooning out. Are you alright?" she asks taking me into the back room getting me a beer out of the cooler.

"Eric came back tonight." I said. She turned back and rushed over to the couch that I was lying on.

"Oh, honey, you should have called." She says putting my head in her lap.

"He said that he was sorry." I say rubbing my face. "Do you think he really means it?"

Rose sighs, and runs her fingers through her black hair. "I don't know Johnny. Some men say their sorry when they don't mean it and they hurt you worse, and some men say they're sorry when they do mean it and we are to stubborn to listen. Now, are you willing to get hurt again?"

"I don't want to talk about this right now. What am I suppose to do?" I ask looking up at her.

Rose sighs again and pulls out a bottle of hard liquor out of her pocket. "Let's go back to my place, you can curl up on my bed and I'll watch your baby boy."

"I'm going to lose him. I'm going to lose both of them." I say almost to myself.

"No you're not. Just go get in my car, I'll tell the girls that they got to finish out the night. And I'll call your house and tell Michael to get ready."

"They're both with Darry, at his house." I mumble.

"Then I'll call there." She says with finality.

I get up and wrap my coat around me. Running out to the car and nearly tripping over the pothole that was right next to Rose's car. I turned on the heater and started to warm up. Rose got in and drove us to Darry's house.

Rose had been my best friend since I started working at the bar. She lived in the rougher side of town, but she was sweet. She had chocolate mocha skin with dark curls. She had been there for me when Eric left me, and she was there for me when I had to drop out of college. She was a good friend.

Rose came out with Mikey who was carrying a plastic bag of his overnight things. He spent the night with Darry so many times that Dad's and Soda's old room had become his. M.J got in the car and gave me a hug.

"I'm sorry that Eric is a bastard." He says.

"Michael! You don't say that!" I exclaim giving him a light smack on the cheek.

"Well he is!" he says.

"Are we going to stay with Rosie?" he asks me happily.

"Yeah, baby, were staying with Rose."

"Good, what about Patrick?" Mike asks me.

"He'll stay with Darry or go back to the house." I say. Pat did what he wanted to.

"Alright." He says putting on his seatbelt. Rose got back in the car and lit up.

"Next stop, Auntie Rosie's House!" Rose says speeding off.

I hate driving with Rose.