Thanks everyone for the reviews!! I loved the overwhelming response!! It was great. Hopefully you like chapter.
After they left the house, Casey felt bereft. Derek was within reach and she been dragged out the door by the girls.
Their first stop was the dress shop to get the dress. She had lost a few pounds since ordering the dress and they were going to finish the alterations.
She could remember falling in love with the dress when she saw it. It was a beautiful ivory lace dress and did suit her beautifully.
She slid on the dress in the change room and stepped out.
The girls gasped.
"Oh Casey," Lizzie gushed. "It's so beautiful."
Casey turned to look at herself. The dress was beautiful but what she noticed was the sudden pallor she had.
She took a deep breath and smiled. The lady went about trying to finish the last of the alterations on the waist.
"Are you getting excited?" Vicki asked her.
Casey gave a shrug. "It's really close now and I can finally see the end of the tunnel. It would be nice to enjoy the event I've been planning for."
There was some truth to her words. She had been getting sick of planning for the wedding and up until recently she had sort of been looking forward to the wedding despite her doubts.
"Well if things go well then next year or so we'll be doing all this for me," Emily grinned.
Casey looked at her. "Really?"
Emily practically beamed. "Sheldon has been acting strange, you know, nervous if I look around his place too much… he's showing all the classic signs that he's getting ready to propose."
Casey smiled. She had to love Emily and her ways of systematically breaking down everything to know the behavioral patterns of people. It was probably why Emily chose to become a counselor. She knew how to read people and was good at helping to break down their problems and really look at them.
Emily had been one of the helpful and supportive ones of Derek and her when they were going out. It was Emily that made her look at her perspective and made her admit that she did in fact love Derek.
"That will be awesome," Casey smiled. "I'm really excited for you."
Emily smiled. "Unfortunate about the name, Emily Schlepper, but hey, he is genuinely and truly in love with me. That's all that matters in the end."
They all smiled.
"Yes, that is what's important," Lizzie smiled.
"Alright my dear, we're finished with your dress," the seamstress smiled as she dropped the side of her dress.
Casey gave her a warm smile. "Thanks Maria, it's great."
She then went to take off the dress. After she was changed, the girls then dragged her out of the store to head out to the spa. They went to get pedicures and manicures.
They were sitting in massage chairs, getting pedicures, and munching on pizza that Emily had ordered for them.
Marti joined up with them, now free from her writer's club. She was part of a club taught by a professional writer. He had told both George and Nora that Marti had a lot of potential. So she never missed a meeting.
"Jamie is going to be an Econ major," Lizzie stated as she tried to pick a shade of blue that she wanted for her toes.
Marti laughed. "Lizzie, I never figured you would end up with someone doing anything so—boring."
Lizzie laughed. "There's nothing wrong with having someone different than me. It makes it interesting."
Casey laughed. Marti was always one to stir the pot. Of course it was only in jest.
Lizzie grinned. "When I finish school I plan on going into education. I plan on coaching while I teach. It's a way to give back and to prevent coaches from trying to seduce the soccer sisters or mothers."
Casey frowned but then burst out laughing.
Derek had stepped in to save Casey from Scott, Lizzie's soccer coach that was a serial dater. It was then that she really noticed that Derek seemed to always interfere with the guys she dated.
"It was nothing Derek," she protested.
He stared at her. "How can you say that it was nothing?"
"Derek, he was my study partner! I have to make sure that I make it through this course for my program."
He grabbed her arms and pulled her close. "Damn it Casey, I can't help I go to pieces when there are other guys trying to get close to you."
"We have been together long enough that you should just trust me…
"I do trust you, I don't trust them."
She exhaled as she frowned. "Derek, I can't believe you are putting this strain in our relationship over something that is not there. I need you to be able to trust me. We go to school far apart from each other. You live on campus at U of T and I have to trust that with all the partying that goes on that you are true to me. I trust you."
"Casey McGill is too far away from me. Why can't you come to Toronto?"
"This is part of my dream for the future. Once I am done here we'll be able to go and live together wherever we need to be."
Derek looked at her.
She felt so frustrated. He had always interfered in her life. Before it had been because he had been her annoying step brother but she couldn't figure out where this jealousy was coming from now.
They were together—the we're dating and I hear music when we kiss and feel safe with him together.
She sighed.
"Look Derek, you need to just trust me—otherwise we're not going to work."
The fury raged in his eyes. "So you think we're not going to work?"
"I didn't say that! I said that if you can't trust me and believe in my love for you then it probably won't work for us. I don't want that. I love you with all of my being but I won't have you not trusting me."
He took in her words but he was just not himself and needing to cool himself off he needed to leave.
He stormed out of her dorm room and was gone.
She stared after him. He left and there she was sitting, stunned into silence. She thought perhaps she should run after him but thought it was probably best to let him cool off.
Helen, her neighbour, came over and they worked on some of the homework they had together. In the end though, Helen noticed that Casey was distracted and asked her what was wrong. Afterwards she told Casey that she needed to go to Derek and just tell him that she loved him and they would just have to prove it by believing in the other.
Casey reluctantly agreed. Helen took Casey's cell phone and dialed for her.
"Hello?" a voice said.
"Hello?" Casey said frowning.
"Who is this?"
Casey was beginning to get pissed off at this girl who had answered Derek's cell phone.
"This is Casey, who is this?"
"Melinda… uh, Derek cant answer the phone right now… Derek!"
The phone went dead.
Casey just stared at it. Helen decided the best thing to do would be to share some of the Malibu rum she had stashed from the last party. They had a few Malibu and pineapples and Casey got more emotional.
It was four in the morning when her cell phone rang.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Casey," he said.
She frowned. Despite being drunk, she still felt tingly at the sound of his voice. But she had to remember that she was mad at him.
"Who the hell was that girl who answered your phone earlier?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I called and some chick answered the phone."
Silence on the other end.
"Well Derek, I'm waiting."
"Nothing happened."
She went numb. "what?"
"Casey, nothing happened. She borrowed my phone to make a call."
"What the hell…"
"Look, I'm sorry that I stormed out like such an I diot…"
"Why didn't she have her own phone? Why did she answer yours?"
"She tried to kiss me—I think, and I was falling off the stool and…"
"WHAT?"
"Case, it was nothing."
She stared at the phone then brought it up to her ear. "Derek, I know you don't seem to want to trust me and apparently I can't trust you. We're through."
Casey hung up the phone then proceeded to cry her eyes out.
The situation didn't get better. They both were so stubborn and emotional that week that no matter what they did, they just couldn't reconcile their differences.
It was the worst week of her life, she felt like her heart had shattered into a million pieces and like she had lost something very valuable.
Casey frowned at the memory. While she had hated and loved Derek's protective nature, they let it break them apart during the time that was their most fragile. She knew now of course that she should have not let her inebriated self try to deal with a situation like that one. She should have known that it was two people letting something small and stupid tear them apart.
Lizzie waved a hand in front of Casey's face.
"Are you okay? You look like you're in another world."
Casey gave a smile. "I'm fine."
Lizzie gave her a bright smile. "Alright."
"Where's the dinner going to be?" Vicki asked as she looked at her nails carefully.
"At Casa Bella," Casey answered.
Max had really wanted Italian and since the place was big enough for both their families. Casey had agreed not really caring about the choice of restaurant because it was just food.
Everyone in the family was going to be there at the rehearsal dinner, or at least all of her immediate family. Then it suddenly dawned on her. Among her family, Derek would be there. The question now was, would it be a good or bad thing to come face to face with the guy she never stopped loving and knew it now.
I'm not sure I liked this chapter as much as my others, but I think it will work. Let me know what you think. Please review.
