Growing Up Chase

By Rebel Yell

The Girlfriend, Part Two

" I think I've had a bit too much wine, Rob." Amy confided -- loudly -- as she leaned into his side heavily. They were having their last dinner at the hotel, and Liz almost believed that Amy was drunk (she drank rather too often and too much) except that she'd only had a few glasses of wine. Not nearly enough to make anyone very drunk.

" You've not had that much. Are you feeling all right?" Robbie asked, sounding horribly over-concerned to Liz's mind.

" I'm mostly feeling like doing very, very naughty things to you." Liz flinched, and exchanged quick looks with Jen and Dan. Amy had been doing this all week, and Robbie always fell for it.

" Amy, please. We talked about this."
" You're just too tempting, Rob. Just looking at you makes me want to-" Robbie actually (finally) clamped a hand over her mouth, his other arm wrapping around her tightly to keep her still against his side. Liz had a definite urge to cheer, but she managed to stifle it. Not that she was worried about offending Amy, she just didn't want to upset Robbie.

" Amy, I've been polite about this for the last six days. Stop doing this. I don't like it and my friends don't appreciate it either. It's not cute, it's not attractive. Stop."

" Fine." Amy actually sounded…all right with Robbie's insistence. She stayed leaning in to his side, occasionally reaching out to brush his hair behind his ear or some other little gesture, but there was nothing for the rest of the meal that Liz could honestly say bothered her. Which, in itself, bothered her. It was like some sort of switch had been thrown. Even when Robbie got up, after dinner, and asked Liz to dance, Amy just smiled at him and waved them off to the dancefloor. Every other time they'd tried to go off to catch a few moments alone, Amy had found some way to keep Robbie with her and away from Liz -- even resorting to actually pouting on a few occasions.

For several songs in a row, Liz was able to pretend that it was just like every other holiday they'd taken, and she was the only person here (well, besides Dan and Jen, who were together) who had any sort of claim on Robbie. Yes, she was occasionally selfish. She wasn't proud of it, but she was certainly going to enjoy some time alone with Robbie. So she chatted to him happily, telling him all about the latest filming, her co-stars and the occasional scripts she was reading for other projects and listened to him talk about the hospital and his colleagues and mad patients. They kept dancing, fast or slow songs didn't much matter, until the band took their break. Finally, with Liz very reluctant to do so, they returned to their table to find Jen and Amy giggling over something while Dan rolled his eyes in fond exasperation.

" Tired?" Amy asked, ducking under Robbie's arm while reaching up to kiss him quickly. "You two were out there quite awhile."
" We had a lot to catch up on."
" It's starting to get late. I'm truly getting tired, Rob."
" We can head upstairs in a few minutes, all right? It's not that late yet."

" Fine, but not too much longer." Amy allowed, before leaning in to whisper something in Robbie's ear that made him blush. Liz tried to pretend that she hadn't noticed. Fifteen minutes later, Robbie made their excuses and Amy smiled warmly before following him towards the lobby and their room upstairs. It had been…pleasant. She might even, maybe, have to reconsider her dislike of Amy, if the other woman continued to behave this reasonably.

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Liz was much less favorable to Amy the next morning. She'd been tempted, more than once, to get up and knock on the door joining the two rooms -- only the extreme embarrassment of actually interrupting what she could hear kept her from doing so. She could, and did, talk about sex with Robbie, but it was much more real hearing it, and she was a little scared of how much more real it would be if Robbie came to the door mostly naked and sweaty and…it'd be very weird at best. And she already wasn't looking forward to actually discussing what she'd heard with Robbie. It wasn't just the sex, she'd heard Amy say a lot of really odd and sometimes cruel things -- through the wall, she must've been shouting at Robbie. So she tried her best to ignore the noise from next door, and didn't go and tell Amy to shut up. Instead, very early the next morning she went down the hall and recruited Jen to a plan to get Amy separated from Robbie -- inviting her to breakfast. Robbie wouldn't go, he'd be sleeping as late as possible like he always did the last morning of a holiday. So when she got a call from Jen that Amy was indeed having breakfast, sans Robbie, downstairs with her and Danny, Liz finally took a last deep breath and knocked -- loudly -- on the door between her room and Robbie's.

" Liz? It's early. Not hungry. Going back to bed." He'd barely dressed, only a pair of boxers, and Liz was more than a little disturbed to see red marks littering his chest. She gasped when he turned away to go back to bed, and vicious scratches stood out against his pale skin.

" What did she do to you? Robbie, this looks like you were bleeding!"
" Eh?" He really wasn't very awake, dropping gracelessly back into bed. He was on his stomach, giving her a very good chance to look more closely at the scratches on his back.

" I came in here to tell you off for keeping me up all night -- again -- and to tell you that your girlfriend isn't very nice to you even in bed, but now I think I'll just shout at you about this."
" Liz, it's early. Can't this wait until later?"
" No. Trust me, I'm tired too. I was up until three a.m. because the people in the room next to me were being horribly noisy!" He groaned, and buried his face in the pillow but Liz was gratified to see a bright blush spreading across his back nonetheless.

" I'm sorry, Liz. I didn't realize she was being that loud."

" I'm surprised other people on the floor didn't call to complain! It was…disgusting and just…I can't even put into words how wrong…just no one wants to hear that! And now I come in here this morning and you look like you've been mauled! You were bleeding. You've got blood on the sheets, Robbie!" She pulled out at the sheet, shoving a streak of blood under his nose. Even if it was small, it was still there.
" It's not a big deal. She got a bit excited, got me a bit deeper than she meant. I'm sorry we kept you up, though. Why didn't you say anything?"
" Robbie, I don't even like to acknowledge that you have sex! Why would I want to interrupt it? And this is a big deal -- I heard the sort of things she was saying last night Robbie. That was the reason I decided I had to talk to you about this myself -- not leave Danny to do as I have the last few times. It wasn't all encouragement, was it?"
" Liz, leave it alone. Amy can be a bit moody -- so can everyone. She's a bit possessive, but maybe I like feeling like I belong somewhere, with someone. Leave it alone."
" There's a difference between belonging with someone, and belonging to someone. How can you put up with her treating you like that? I may not know much about sex, Robbie, but even I know that talking to you like that…doing this to you physically, that's not normal, nor healthy. She…oh, I can not believe I'm talking about this with you but she talks about you like you're a walking cock with a bit of person attached! Even when you aren't actually having sex she's like that, and from what I overheard last night, aside from the extremely disgusting fact that I could overhear, she's worse in bed."
" She doesn't think of me like that. She just…acts out in bed a bit. We're on holiday. Time to let loose."
" There's no excuse for talking to anyone like that, Robbie. She…well, sex is supposed to be about love and respect and making people closer to each other. That, and apparently it feels really good. But she…said horrible things, Robbie, and that's just what I heard through the wall. Things that I know aren't true and if she can't see that you aren't that sort, that you wouldn't do those things -- not with me, or with anyone else no matter what she thinks -- then you shouldn't be with her at all. And the fact that she could hurt you like this, well, I'd like to go down and scratch her up a bit."
" Don't." Robbie finally sat up, grabbing her wrist before she could stand. Not that she was really planning to go down and confront Amy (not in the hotel restaurant at least), but he must not have known that. "I'm asking you, Elizabeth, to leave it alone. I really care for her. And yes, she has some issues with me, with my behavior. We're trying to work through them. I'm a flirt, it bothers her. And I know she's having trouble with our relationship but I think I can make her understand it's just friends."
" I can understand that, but Robert, she just doesn't act…right, somehow. She doesn't listen to you, even when she lets you get a word in edgewise. She acts like you're a cute little boy she's just indulging. She orders your food for you, and plans your whole day if you let her. She leads you around by your cock, as if it were the only part she likes, and she's not just weird about my relationship with you -- she's been really snippy and jealous about time you've spent with Danny too. It can't just be about the possibility of us having sex, because first, we'd never do that together and second, God knows you and Danny are both so straight that it never occurred to either of you to look at each other for any sort of sex!"
" Thanks for that thought, love. I think I'm going to be sick." Robbie sighed, before continuing, " She's not as bad as all that. She likes me. It's still new, she just wants to spend time with me. She wanted to go on holiday just the two of us -- and I dragged her along to this. I think she feels like a bit of outsider. That's all. So she's been a bit clingy this week."

" I'm serious, Robert. She's not acting like someone who is even in 'like' let alone in 'love' with you. She's hurting you, and not just physically like this. Promise me you'll think about it, really think about it, before you continue this relationship. Promise me."
" I promise I'll think about it. I won't promise I won't continue the relationship." He dropped to lie on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the room.
" If you honestly believe she loves you, by all means continue. But anyone who really loved you, Robbie, wouldn't speak to you like that, and wouldn't think you capable of doing such horrid, hurtful things. She wouldn't shout like that while you were having sex -- not about those things. And she definitely wouldn't treat you like a…oh, what's the term Nikki uses…fuckbuddy. But, if you promise to think about it, I'll trust you." She lay down next to him, knowing instinctively that he needed someone to cuddle a bit right now. She was making him face something he probably didn't much like to consider, and wasn't surprised when he wrapped an arm around her to pull her into his chest comfortably.
" Thank you, for being worried. I may not like it, or agree with you, but I know you're only being like this because you really believe it."

" I love you. She's hurting you. And I can't stand seeing you hurt."
" Love you too." He was clearly dozing off, and Liz stifled a small yawn herself. She really hadn't gotten much sleep last night between being disgusted, angry and worried all at once. She thought of something suddenly, and pulled back from him.
" Robbie…have you…showered? Because I'm not really comfortable with…"
" Yes." He was laughing a little, but still sounded half asleep. "Surprised you didn't hear the water run. I'm freshly scrubbed and completely girlfriend-cooties free. I promise."
" Okay." She lay back down, then thought of something else. "Robbie?"
" Hm?"
" Can we move to the other bed? Because I just realized the two of you have had a lot of sex in this bed and…that's faintly disturbing." Robbie had a double room, because she had originally booked two adjoining rooms (one double, one single) for all four of them. When Robbie announced he was bringing his girlfriend, she'd had to change plans, adding a separate room for Danny and Jen, leaving herself with the single originally meant for the married couple.

" Demanding aren't you. Come here." He rolled from the bed, and tugging her with him, moved across the small space to the other bed. He didn't even bother turning down the covers, just dropped onto the mattress lazily. Liz cuddled in to him again, sighing when he placed a kiss on her top of her head. He was telling her, in his own way, that he really was thinking about what she said. Tightened arms around her told her that he wasn't liking what he was thinking. So she cuddled a little closer, head resting on his chest, just listening to the steady beat of his heart. He was tired though, and his breathing slowed, evening out and he started that little snort/snuffle sleep thing he did a few moments later. Liz was tired too, but probably wouldn't sleep. It wouldn't hurt to doze a moment though.

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" Danny! I wasn't expecting a call from you until you'd been able to talk to Robbie about things and sort dinner next week-end." Liz answered her mobile happily, glad she had turned her mobile on while enjoying the brief break from filming. She'd been back from holiday less than a fortnight, but it felt like ages since she'd seen he and Jen and Robbie. They were all busy, and despite living in the same city, sometimes didn't get together as often as they all might like. Although, this was probably the longest she'd gone without at least speaking to Robbie in quite a long time. He might be avoiding her at Amy's behest -- she supposed that it wasn't so unusual for a woman to be upset at finding her boyfriend asleep with another woman in his arms. Even if they were mostly dressed (pyjamas at least) and best friends who had been sleeping, in the literal sense, together off and on for years.

" I just talked to Rob. It's why I called. I'm going to have to cancel on dinner tonight -- Jen says she'd still love to go, but I can't."
" Why? Robbie can join us…he just didn't answer his mobile when I called to invite him."
" He's not…in much mood to socialize. He broke up with Amy last night."
" Good. She wasn't good enough for him."
" His mother would have been easier to please than you. He could date Mother Theresa and you'd say she wasn't good enough."
" She wouldn't be very good for him -- she's a nun. Robbie doesn't like nuns. And she's been dead for a few years."
" Just…you know what I mean. Go to dinner with Jen, have a girl's night. Rob and I will get together and whinge about all women before getting him incredibly drunk since he doesn't work tomorrow."
" He can't drink when he's depressed-" Liz began, ready to remind Danny of all the bad trends that could start with Robbie. It wasn't that they didn't trust him, it was just that…he so quickly became dependent on things that made him feel good that they were all worried about him latching on to something unhealthy.
" Liz, he's not depressed. I'd say, mostly angry and hating all womankind. Give him a day before you call, all right?"
" Is he angry with me?"
" Only insomuch as you prompted the problem that finally made him break it off with her. Apparently, she made some ridiculous ultimatum of you or her."
" Well, considering she thought he was nothing more than a walking cock, she likely couldn't believe it really was completely innocent, but she probably thought he'd choose sex." Liz knew where she rated in Robbie's life, and didn't have any doubt how it would turn out if anyone gave him that ultimatum. Combined (she hoped) with the issues she'd brought up the last morning of their holiday, Robbie must've finally seen that the relationship wasn't right. He wasn't stupid, just really oblivious sometimes.

" Don't…just don't bring it up around him for a bit. He may have finally seen that you were right about certain things -- apparently the last fight was fairly eye-opening -- but that doesn't mean he appreciates it yet. He'll be pissy and rude and you'll get hurt and angry and…I don't want to be in the middle. I'll let you know the feeling tomorrow and we'll go from there."
" All right. If he's not in too pissy a mood with me, give him my love tonight -- I really am sorry she was as horrid as that and that he got hurt. Love you, Danny."
" You'd better. Between you and Rob, I've got enough excitement and drama in my life to last me three lifetimes."
" You know you love us both, Danny."
" God help me, but I do. Bye." He hung up, and Liz couldn't help but laugh a bit. Poor Danny…he really was the one with the most sense of the three of them. He had loads less issues than Robbie, and no dreams of being some great actress like she did. Well, one of them had to be normal.