CHAPTER 24

~Relationship Wounds & Loose Tongues

-Two Weeks Later-

It's only been three weeks in the Shore House and without disappointment the drama moves right along. The week before, everyone went to Bamboo. The club is a playground for fights so the housemates should have known better but they were just hoping it would be a good night. Wrong.

Only an hour or so into partying, a huge fight broke out all over the club. Somewhere in the mix, Roger got into it with some guy. The Bouncer had everything handled but Jenni still got herself involved. She was only thinking about Roger's safety but it was no place for her to be at that time. Roger ended up pushing Jenni aside and knocked her to the ground.

Later on, on the walk back to the house, Jenni hurt her ankle on the sidewalk. It later turned out to be a fracture on her ankle bone that she credited to the fact that Roger pushed her, but it was not the case. Jenni was just mad and hurt that Roger did that.

Now, Jenni is looking at a three to four week recovery time with the possibility of surgery. Nicole is thrilled because now she has someone to be handicap with her as she calls it. Jenni is pissed though, she feels her summer is now ruined.

Jenni, "I am really depressed over this."

Nicole responds, "Are you going to call him?"

Jenni, "No I'm not gonna call him. He should be calling me."

Jenni continues to suck on her sucker when Deena replies.

Deena, "You don't think you'll break up because of this will you?"

Jenni shrugs, "We've never been through anything like this before… I don't know."

Deena, "Well, you gotta talk about this. You can't just leave things like this."

Jenni, "We'll just have to see how it goes. I'm not pressed to call him though."

Neither Nicole nor Deena know how to respond. They just hope things get better between the two because everyone like Jenni and Roger as a couple. They fit perfectly.

Later on at night, everyone is getting ready for Karma. Nicole has decided to come this time since Jenni is not able to be on her feet she'll have someone to hang with. It turns out to be a family affair however, because some of the guys from Vinny's family will be there.

Jenni frets over her outfit. She cannot wear what she wants because of her not being able to wear heels, so she opts for something that will go with her flip-flops. Deena puts on her dress and then she heads for the duck phone to make a phone call.

The guys are all dressed and waiting around at this point.

Vinny, "What time are we leaving? I want to be there in time to meet Uncle Nino and the Fam."

Pauly, "I don't know."

Mike, "Who are we waitin on?"

Pauly, "The girls I think."

Pauly puts his watch on and checks himself in the mirror. He then makes his way to the door to MVP's room.

"I'm about to call Ryan and see if he's ready."

With that Pauly heads downstairs to use the phone. When he enters the room, Deena looks up startled. Pauly thinks nothing of it.

Pauly, "I need to use the phone when you're done."

Deena clears her throat and speaks into the phone.

Deena, "I'll call you back later…(listening and responding)…No, it's fine I'm not mad…I'm positive…Yeah…"

Pauly looks at her when she looks at him. She then ends the conversation.

"I'll just call you when we get back…Alright…me too...Bye."

Okay…normally something like this would not matter at all but for some reason, Pauly's radar is up. Deena has been on the phone a lot lately and not like in the normal fashion as everyone else. Everyone talks for a little bit to family members and what not but the conversation doesn't take an hour.

Then whenever he comes in the room or something, she has to get off the phone. He never forces her off; he always says when she is done…Something is up.

Pauly studies her and responds.

"Everything good with your Mom?"

Deena replies, "She's great."

Pauly tests her.

Pauly, "That who you were on the phone with?"

Deena doesn't falter.

"No."

She is about to walk off when Pauly continues further.

"So you could have finished talking. I'm not rushing you off the phone. I just needed to call Ryan but he'll be at Karma regardless."

Pauly waits to see if she'll pick the phone back up but she doesn't.

Deena, "It's fine. I was done anyway."

Deena begins to walk off and Pauly looks at her.

"Is that it?"

Deena turns around to look at him, "Is what it?"

Pauly, "I'm just…kind of curious as to who you were talkin to."

Deena, "Really? Well…it wasn't my Mom and nothing is wrong otherwise. So, I don't think it's any of your business."

Pauly, "I didn't assume that there is anything wrong but if it's not a big deal then you shouldn't be making it into one."

Deena, "Me?! You're the one asking all the questions. You know what, I'm not doing this right now Pauly. I gotta finish getting dressed."

Deena walks off and Pauly leaves it at that but he got enough information by Deena's defense that she is hiding something. He'll let it go for now.

-Later On after Karma-

It was a good time at Karma with Vinny's family there. The party never stops and as usual the drinks flowed heavily. Nicole played barista and served the girls drinks as they sat outside. Jenni got pretty wasted but besides falling out of some random wheel chair, she was mellowed out.

Mike didn't drink continuing on his sobriety commitment and on another commitment, he also didn't talk to any girls. He is really thinking about making Paula the one in his life. Everyone left Karma pretty decent but on the flip side, Pauly and Deena ended up getting the most buzzed.

Now everyone is back at the house and Nicole and Deena take to the living room to talk. Everyone else goes to his or her rooms. Deena is not making much sense so Nicole is about to leave but decides to stay a little while longer via request of Jenni. So, she goes to their room to talk while Deena gets up and stumbles to the phone to make a call.

She dials in and places the phone up to her ear. All the while, she is talking she never notices feet on the stairs coming down.

In mid conversation the phone gets snatched from her hand.

"Yo, Whaddup! Who is this?"

Deena is struggling to get the phone back. She hops up and down but to no avail, Pauly is too tall for her and he has a death grip on the phone.

"Give me the phone!"

Pauly, "Naw, not until I get an answer. Who is this?"

The struggle looks funny because both parties are drunk and staggering. It isn't until Pauly hears a male voice that he sobers up real quick. He doesn't even respond he just gives Deena a look and then he hangs the phone up but not before being an ass about it.

"Hey, Deena will have to call you back. She's got a Q&A with her Baby Daddy."

Pauly hangs up and Deena goes off.

"What the fuck Pauly!? You are freakin insane!"

Pauly, "Why because I found out the truth? BUSTED!"

Deena, "Go to hell. You've lost your mind."

Pauly, "So why don't you admit it…"

Deena looks at him crazy, "Admit what?"

Pauly, "That you got a boyfriend."

Deena, "It's none of your business!"

Pauly, "Oh, it's none of my business who you sleep around with when you're around my daughter? You sound crazy!"

Deena looks at him for a minute and then responds.

"You're drunk out of your mind. I don't owe you any explanation! You're not my man!"

Deena tries to push past Pauly but Pauly doesn't want to let her go. They argue for like a good ten minutes before the house hears what's going on. Nicole and Jenni are the first to come out and then, Vinny from upstairs and Mike.

When they figure out who it is Vinny cracks a joke.

Vinny, "God…I wake up to find Ron and Sam arguing but wow…I must be in the Twilight Zone here. Can somebody help me out?"

Ron and Sammi are the last to come down.

Sam, "Shut up Vin'. What's going on?"

Vinny shrugs his shoulders and everyone watches what is going down. Deena is now screaming to the top of her lungs and neither one knows how loud they are or what they're even fighting about in this moment.

Sammi walks over and hauls Deena off into the girls' room and of course the others follow but Sam requests that she and Deena be left alone. Pauly goes off on his own after Vinny comes over to calm him down. The rest of the housemates are in bewilderment. This is not the norm.

Ron, "If this is what having a Kid does to you, then I want no part of that shit. Sam and I have a hard enough time dealin with our own shit and things are good now."

Nicole, "No, I think it's something else…"

She knows she can't be Deena's partner in crime Meatball anymore, but Nicole wishes Deena would just come to her. Something is off balance with her and she wants to know what's wrong.

A/N: Another day, another week. Are you having a Successful Sunday? Not much to say, it's pretty self-explanatory. It's just a matter of watching the circus act, so to speak. Comment and we'll keep it moving.