I know I promised to update last week, but my laptop went crazy on me.
Thank you for the reviews, pm's – I appreciate it greatly. Writer's block sucks and it's only because of you I found some inspiration again.
i guess not a lot is happening in this chapter but there's an important flashback. also i know some of you requested a chapter from Wade's POV. it'll happen soon.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Sorry about my English.
Enjoy
"He what?" Lemon asked, shocked
"I don't know what to say" Annabeth continued "We had no idea ..."
Zoe gave a bitter smile, "Yes, we had a sort of unspoken agreement that we wouldn't tell anyone"
"And you said no?" Lemon's stunned gaze never left her face
Zoe nodded
"When did all this happen?" They asked together
"Well, it was a little after you and George broke up ..." She looked at Lemon "Do you remember when he went for his internship in New York"
Lemon nodded and motioned for her to continue
"It started to get me thinking ... What if I'd missed something? My parents came to visit on founder's day and my dad told me about a really good program for cardio-thoracic surgery... and that's exactly what I've always wanted and in New York ..."
"So it was because of school?" Annabeth sounded surprised
"Not exactly ... after dinner with my parents, I went to meet him. I told him about this opportunity and he almost lost it ..."
"I can't go with you, you know that ... my father ..."
"You know I would never ask you to do something like that"
"So you're just going to leave?" He almost shouted
"Stop twisting my words! I never said I wanted to leave, but I'm not giving up on this, Wade. I didn't know what I wanted to do until recently. And out of nowhere this opportunity appears. What do you want me to do? To let it just pass? Just because you're afraid of a long distance relationship? "
He was upset and ran a hand through his hair "Long distance relationships do not work. That's a fact. There are studies"
She narrowed her eyebrows, "you checked?"
"No. But people talk about it. They realize that it is too much to see each other only occasionally and having to rely on phone calls... Think about it, Zoe"
"To hell with the studies. People make relationships work. Long distance or not. You make it work because you want it to work"
"No. People get carried away with their lives and forget. Or get lazy. Or other people get in the way"
"Nobody is going to get in the way. Stop it," she said angrily and quickly regretted. She took a deep breath. "Look, it was a long day and we're both tired. Let's take the night to figure things out. I'll sleep in my house today" She came closer, stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "See you tomorrow," she whispered to him and went
"But what about the proposal?" Lemon said, getting straight to the point
"The next day I did not hear from him until the afternoon. Actually, it left me uneasy. I was nervous about everything he said to me and what I was going to say to him. He asked me to meet him at his apartment in the evening. I did not know what to expect ... I went, and there he was... "
"Okay. Before you say anything, please let me talk ..." he asked, and she froze, looking at him standing in the middle of the room holding a small blue box in his hand
"Wade ... What are you doing?" She whispered, a frightened look covering her face
"I thought about it all night. I tried to find a way for me to live in peace with a long distance relationship, and the answer was there ..." He glanced at his hands for a moment, hesitating. "It is the perfect solution. We'll make turns and visit each other until you finish school ... we'll do it your way ... but at least I'll be sure ..." He took a deep breath "marry me, Zoe"
She continued to stare at him, the turmoil evident in her eyes. "So you're asking me to marry you because you're afraid I'll run from you?"
"No, I'm asking you to marry me because I love you and I want you to fulfill all your dreams ..." He paused, trying to squeeze a reaction from her "So ...?" He never imagined it would be that hard.
She closed her eyes and held her head in her hands. "I don't know what to say"
"There aren't many options" He tried to laugh about the situation but his voice betrayed him
"I love you ..." she began, taking a step forward and taking his hand in hers
"So say yes," he interrupted
"You caught me unprepared... I…"
"Yeah, well, that's how it usually works with marriage proposals ..."
"You know what I mean. It's big. It's ... I don't know ..." She tried to find the right words, but failed. They stood there for several minutes, looking at each other
"You're only asking me because you're scared"
"Is that what you really think?" He looked hurt and she regretted the words
"Yes. Because if New York wasn't an option, you wouldn't have done it"
"Okay, maybe not now. But it opened my eyes and I know what I want. So why wait?"
Again, he left her speechless.
"I'm not going to force you to do something you are not ready for or don't want to ..." He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened again. "Maybe ... Maybe I should let you go," he released his hand and walked away slowly.
"Wade," she breathed
"What, Zoe? I already know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. No matter what. I know it. But ..." He paused. "You don't know..."
She felt her insides beginning to crack, but she refused to show she's breaking. She looked at him wide-eyed. She couldn't say yes and she knew he wouldn't accept any other answer. Both options frightened her. How could she give him what he is asking for when she is not ready? But how can she go on without him?
"We're only 22. I'm not ready ... what if" She swallowed
"What if what?"
"What if this is a mistake? We've been together almost all our lives. 8 years now. We don't know anything else. What if there is something else out there?" She didn't understand where these thoughts came from. She was happy with him. But ... She shook her head quickly
"Something better?" He hissed bitterly and she felt her heart shrinking
"No," she sighed.
"Okay, you don't want to get married now? Its okay, I understand. We can wait until you finish school. I'll wait"
"No! Why would you wait?"
"Because… you are worth waiting for, damn it. I love you. Go do your thing ..."
Tears began streaming down her face "No ..."
"Why are you crying?" He threw the box on the couch and approached her again, putting his hands on her arms
"I can't..." she whispered
"Zoe..."
"No ..." She freed herself from his grasp; "I can't do this to you ..." She took a step closer and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth
"Don't wait for me ... I do not know what will happen ..."
"Oh honey," AB squeezed her arm. "How did he get a ring so fast? Unless he thought about it before ..."
"I don't know ... I haven't seen it at all ... I couldn't look at it ..."
"It certainly explains a lot," Lemon said, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I ... It all happened so fast and I had already left ... and after I had some time to think about it, I realized it wasn't fair to tell anyone without speaking to him first ... and well, I couldn't quite do it .." She shrugged
A few seconds later the door opened and George and Lavon entered
"What are you doing here?" Lemon asked angrily "Why did you return?"
"He didn't want to talk to us; he slammed the door in our faces"
"So you open it! C'mon, you had one job! I'll go talk to him" she stood
"You're wasting your time. He's not going to let you in," Lavon intervened
"It's sweet of you to think so. We'll see," she gave her mischievous smile and went out
XXXXXXXXXX
Lemon saw from a distance that he was preparing to go out, and when she arrived he was already at the door. He didn't expect her to appear there, she saw it on his face clearly.
"Lemon, I'm really not in the mood to talk and I was on my way out," he tried to walk past her, but she insisted and stood in front of him, blocking his exit
He sighed; he knew that he couldn't win her. "All right. Get in," he motioned for her
He sat down on the couch and she sat down in the chair across from him.
"What happened?" She asked him
"I'm sure you've received all the information you wanted," he rolled his eyes
"Maybe. But I want to hear your side ..."
"I don't want to talk about it," he insisted
"Okay. I'll talk and you listen. Look, I get it, you proposed to her and she said no. How long are you going to hold a grudge about that?"
He shook his head and laughed bitterly. "See, you have all the information"
"Wade. I'm serious"
"And I'm serious too. It's in the past; there is no reason to discuss it"
"You know what? All right. We do not have to talk about the past. Let's talk about the present. I'm getting married in three weeks"
"How could I miss it ..." he quipped, and she gave him a look. He motioned for her to continue
"Both of you are going to spend a lot of time together because of that ... and"
"I know where you're going with this. You can be calm, everything will be fine"
She nodded, "Okay. I believe you ..."
He nodded back and they sat there in silence for a few seconds, Lemon not taking her eyes away from him
"Wade ... Talk to me," she tried again
"I don't know what you want to hear"
"I don't know whatever you want to tell me. We are worried about you. George and Lavon just wanted to make sure you're okay," she said softly
"I know," he sighed, "I was not going to kick them out like that... I just ... I can't deal with this right now"
"I understand that, but we all just want to help you. Tell us what we can do. Every time she comes to town, we feel we should be on alert with you two"
"I know, and I appreciate it, but really, it's okay. It's only three weeks, right? And then it is all over," he tried to sound calm, but Lemon could see through it
. She was about to say something when the door opened and there was Zoe "Um, hi," she said hesitantly. "Ah…Lemon can you give us a minute?"
"Provided you promise not to kill each other," she stood up and looked at the two of them
"We will try to" Zoe smiled slightly and looked away to Wade.
"Yes, we're okay. You can go" he assured her
Lemon nodded, she passed near Wade on her way out, squeezing his shoulder and left.
They were left alone; Zoe looked on the floor, playing with her fingers nervously.
"Sit down," he was the first to make a sound after a few minutes of silence
"I'm okay with standing here," she said in a faltering voice
"OK" He stood up
She rolled her eyes and thought for a few seconds until she finally sat on the chair that lemon was sitting on before. He stood there and studied her. She felt uncomfortable and looked away. It was her first time at the gate house. She looked around the room intently, ignoring his looks. He continued to study her and said nothing. He moved to sit down on the couch handle and it shook her. She looked him in the eye again
"We must find a way to be in the same place without fighting. The wedding is +in three weeks," she said finally.
"I know," he said dryly
"We can try to be friends Wade. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm really sorry. I can't do anything to change the past ... but I'll do everything I can to get through the next few weeks…"
He didn't answer, he just nodded.
"I'm sorry I hit you with my problems. I know you don't care; it's just, you know what's going on with me without me having to say anything. It's been awhile since this happened... and I just got carried away with it ..."
"I care," he gave her a genuine look "I will always care about you," he thought to himself
She swallowed and didn't know how to react. He looked at her and was about to say something when his phone rang.
"Hey ... I'm just about to go out ... yeah ... Okay, I'll see you soon," she heard him say to the other side and saw him smiling. He hung up and put the phone in his pocket
"I'm sorry, you have plans, I didn't mean to interrupt you in the middle"
He sighed deeply, "Zoe. I ..." It was hard to find the right words. The conversation with her was difficult for him. Being in the same room with her was difficult for him. All those years he's been doing everything in his power to evade her. And Zoe's done the same. But he couldn't ignore her now. He looked at her standing in front of him, the look on her face vulnerable. "Why don't you come to the Rammer Jammer tomorrow? You can finally see the place and we can continue our conversation from earlier... what do you say?" He gave a half smile
She thought for a few moments "OK. I'll see you there"
She turned and started to walk out, he followed. "Bye Wade," she said without looking and went toward the carriage house. She dared to turn her head only when she heard the sound of the car's engine and knew he was gone.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
She stood outside the Rammer Jammer, looking at the passers-by. She didn't know why but panic took hold of her. She took a deep breath and started her way inside. The place was full. It was lunchtime. Her eyes scanned the place with wonder
"He did so well without me" was the first thought that jumped to her mind. She shook her head. "Stop. What's wrong with you?"
After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, she found her way to the bar and sat down on one of the stools.
"Wade. What you did with this place ... it's amazing," she said, and he felt the sincerity in her voice
"I only made small changes ... it's no big deal," he poured her one of his signature cocktails
"Don't do this," she asked, "You know it's huge. It's your bar now. Yours. Don't make it sound not important"
"Thanks," he smiled
She smiled back. "It's really good, you know?" She said after taking a sip from the glass
"You think?"
"It's definitely going into my favorite's list." she said proudly, and he just laughed.
They fell into silence for a few moments.
"So ... I'm sorry that you hate your job"
She giggled, "I don't hate it ... at least not everything," she admitted. She noticed that Annabeth and Lemon entered into the bar and sat down next to a table. "Well, we'll have to continue this at another time, I promised the girls I will join them for lunch ..." She slid from the stool slowly "here" She took her purse and she heard him chuckle. She was about to say something when she saw a blonde girl walk by. I know her from somewhere. She could not remember where she recognized her from. Zoe guessed she was working in a bar by the shirt she was wearing which said "Rammer Jammer".
"Hey Wade, we are still on for tomorrow, right?" she asked him, Zoe was watching them
"Sure," he smiled to her. Zoe raised an eyebrow and hoped they didn't see it. When the girl went, Zoe took money from her purse and moved her hand to the bar when she felt his hand on hers. She shivered, hoping he didn't notice "on the house". She felt she couldn't utter a word so she just nodded and smiled back; she turned and walked toward the girls.
They sat there for an hour till Zoe found the courage to ask the question that had been bothering her
"So… how long has Wade been dating now...?"
"What? Wade is not dating anyone ..." Lemon dismissed her
"Oh, yes he is. He told me yesterday. I think he saw her yesterday. And she just talked to him about doing something tomorrow... here, that's her..." Zoe pointed to Tansy
"Tansy Truitt? He's not seeing her. Believe us," Annabeth insisted and exchanged a knowing glance with Lemon
"That's her name? I know her from somewhere. Her mind wandered, trying to understand where she knows her from
"Ah ... well, she's from Filmore... you probably have seen her once," Lemon intervened
"Yes. ... Probably ... Anyway, he's dating her"
"He's not. Let's move on. Let's talk about my bachelorette party!" Lemon exclaimed
Before they could continue the conversation, Tansy came to their table, "Can I get you girls anything?"
"Oh, no, Tansy, thanks, we're fine," Annabeth said quickly. Zoe studied her, and Tansy noticed.
"Zoe Hart, right? I don't think we've met "Tansy held her hand and Zoe pressed it "Tansy Truitt"
"Nice to meet you" Zoe forced a smile
"Okay, so if you don't need anything ..." Tansy smiled at them and turned
"Are you going out with Wade?" Zoe let out suddenly causing Annabeth and Lemon to gasp
Tansy laughed. "Going out with Wade? He's my husband"
Zoe's eyes widened, "What?"
"I'm kidding. Well, not quite. He's my ex-husband" Tansy winked at her "Now I have to run before my dear ex-husband will fire me, customers are waiting," she giggled and went
Zoe's eyes were directed straight to her friends, "he was married? And nobody thought to tell me?" She waved her hands, trying to wrap her head around the piece of information she heard now
"If I may remind you, you didn't want to hear anything about him ..." Annabeth explained
"And yet it never stopped you…"
"Okay, Zoe, you can freak about it yourself later. now I really want to talk about my bachelorette party ..."