Wow. Thank you so much for the reviews. Here's chapter two!
See first chapter for all necessary information.
Summer: When Fighting is All You Can Do
She has gone over this decision for three months. Agonizing over whether or not it is right for her to do this. She knows the answer is not 'yes.' It's not right for her to draw up these papers. It is not right for her to go through his law offices to draw up these papers. These papers that will end everything she has ever wanted.
But she has. She has called his best friend, once one of her best friends, and she has pleaded with him to keep it quiet. Knowing full well that the second she hangs up he will be standing in her husband's office, asking what the hell happened. He had asked her the same thing. She avoided the question though, only asking him to draw up the papers and mail them to her when they are ready.
She sighs as she opens the mail box and sees the envelope from "DuGrey, McCrae and Langford, Attorneys at Law." She feels nervous as she opens the envelope, and then relieved when she sees it is not a letter from him, but the papers she requested.
Her fears are not unfounded; he sent her a letter everyday for the last three months. Filling her in on his life, telling her he loves her. The usual things she expects to hear. She has not responded, though.
Instead she has filled her days with work at the Hartford Gazette, one of Huntzberger Media's newest investments. She is the editor, a job Logan had arranged for her when she left with him. A job she didn't have to work for, but a job nonetheless.
Her dream is coming true, though. No matter how she got there. One of the bigwigs at CNN caught one of her by-lines and had loved it. She had an interview there in three days.
She takes a sip of her lemonade and wipes her brow. The July sun is beating down on her. It is unbearable hot outside, and she has a feeling that it won't be getting any cooler.
She sits at the patio table in front of the pool, going over the papers. She reads the words 'writ of divorcement' and stops reading long enough to let a tear escape. She wills herself to move forward over the words 'irreconcilable differences' and scoffs. There are no irreconcilable differences, just broken promises. But those words will never be uttered from her lips. They will never be cited on these papers.
She goes to the page that matters. The one with four lines. Two open for her signature and a date. The other two open for his signature and a date. His lines are blank, and for a moment she is surprised. She half-expected Colin to allow him to sign first. But she knows Colin. He always keeps his promises. And the one to keep quiet, the one she half-expected him to break, he has kept. She is thankful that someone has kept a promise to her.
She hears Logan calling her name and smiles at the sound of his voice. It is not Tristin's voice calling her name, but Logan's voice is filled with more love than Tristin's had been for the last year. She smiles at him in greeting when he comes out and sits across from her.
He sees the papers and eyes her cautiously. He sees the address label on the envelope and nods in understanding. Colin McCrae had once been his best friend. But that had stopped the moment he went to work with Tristin DuGrey. In a way, this is his revenge just as much as it is hers.
"Are you okay?" His simple question startles her. Their silence had become companionable. She looks up to meet his gaze. His chocolate brown eyes are burning holes through her, and for a split second she wishes they were the dark blue to which she had become accustomed. But she knows that she had closed that door and burned that bridge. She has finished that chapter of her life.
She nods and walks over to him, pressing her lips to his fiercely and allowing him to take control. He delves his tongue into her mouth. Deeper, deeper, deeper each time. She meets his tongue with hers and loses herself in him. He is all that matters right now. Not Tristin, not Colin. Just Logan. His hands cup her face and she grasps at his waist, gently removing his blazer.
He picks her up and carries her into the house. They remove their clothes quickly, both too frustrated with the broken promises and weight of the situation to engage in any type of foreplay. He thrusts into her quickly, and they create their own rhythm. They ride out the waves of pleasure together, grasping tightly to each other. She expects bruises to appear within the next few hours.
He falls asleep holding tightly to her. And she forces herself to close her eyes, letting sleep take her as well. She wakes before him, though, and walks back outside into the hot July night. She sees the papers on the table, and grabs a pen before heading outside.
She sits and stares at the papers. And she hesitates before uncapping the pen. She is unsure if she wants this. Unsure if she really wants it to be over. She glances at a newspaper, though, and sees a picture that erases any and all doubts of her decision.
He is with a petite blonde whom she had wrongly assumed was her friend. A girl who had been her confidante through everything: Chilton, Yale, dropping out of Yale, coming back to Yale. He is smiling at the girl, and she clenches her fist at the picture. He never smiled like that with her.
She decides right then and there that Paris Geller is no longer her friend. And that Tristin is no longer the man she fell in love with.
With a new rage, a new fury, she presses the pen to the paper. Determined to erase him – and, now, her – from her life for good. She feels even more relief as she writes in the date, a smile planted firmly on her face.
It is summer. And she is getting her revenge.
--
He sighs exasperatedly and takes a sip of his coffee. Paris is sitting across from him at the dinner table. She is talking about how her life has gone – a husband, twins and a new job at Hartford Memorial as the head of their cardiology department. And, of course, she is talking about how he needs to clear up their relationship. But she knows, too, that he is going to let it get out for a little bit. She knows he wants to get back at Rory for leaving him.
She smiles at him sympathetically and picks up her cell phone to call Doyle. He hears her speak softly to Doyle and their conversation makes him envious. He used to speak with Rory like that – in hushed tones that only they could hear. With an air of lust behind each and every word. But he has lost her. And he is finally getting over the initial heart ache. He is allowing the need for revenge to kick in. He hopes she has seen the picture in the Washington Post.
Paris bids him good night. She leaves and he falls asleep. Allowing the dreams of he and Rory to flood his slumber. He dreams of their wedding. He dreams of their first few months together. And the last thing he dreams is her good-bye. He wakes up the next morning still exhausted. Thankful that the weekend has come. He will relax this weekend, and he will not dwell on what his life has become.
He opens the mailbox and a wave of curiosity rushes over him when he sees an envelope from her. He wonders if she has written him back. Wonders if she is wanting to come home. If she is apologizing for the last three months. Telling him she is coming home.
But this envelope is a large manila one. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion, taking out the envelope and ignoring the rest of the mail. He walks inside clutching it in his fists. Realization sinking in as he gets a glass of water and walks outside.
He opens it carefully, and he confused but not surprised when he sees what she has sent him. He sees the familiar watermark of his firm's name and realizes that these papers are the reason for his co-worker's strange attitude of late. He makes a mental note to probe his friend for answers on Monday morning. Right now, though, he decides to look at these papers. This confirmation that his life is, indeed, over.
She wants him out of her life. He sees it plain and clear for the first time in three months. Any and all hopes of reconciliation have been dashed with words like 'writ of divorcement' and 'irreconcilable differences.' He has half a notion to call and ask her what the fuck irreconcilable differences are.
But he knows. He knows he has broken promises to her. He has crushed her dreams. And he knows that she probably analyzed the parallels between 'irreconcilable differences' and 'broken promises' as she looked over the papers.
Something falls out of the envelope and he picks up a newspaper clipping. He sees the picture of himself with Paris, and inwardly kicks himself in the head for doing that. For letting things get out of hand like this. He had only wanted to make her see what she was missing. He hadn't meant to drive her out of his life completely.
Alas, the note that accompanies the clipping shows him just what he has done. The four words scream at him. He almost sees her writing them. For a split second he even hears her saying them. And he sighs as he reads the words.
We're done. For good.
He knows, though, that they aren't. He finally gets his kick in the ass. The reason to chase after her and fight for her. It's a foreign feeling. One he has not felt since he guided her back to Yale. But he welcomes it. A smile forms on his lips, and he puts the papers in his desk drawer. He marches up the stairs with a newfound feeling of determination.
It is summer. And he is going to fight like hell for her.