Cait knocked lightly on JC's hotel room door and waited for him to answer. He still didn't know who he was going to take as a date and she needed to know. She had given him more time than she should have, but she understood that after a realtionship ends, you have to think things through. "Come on JC open the damn door," she whispered out into the empty hall.
After pounding a few more times, the door open to reveal him standing there in a thin white towel wrapped around his waist, water running off his chest, and his hair hanging straight down. "Can I help you Cait?"
"I think you just did,"she said dreamily before snapping back into reality. "Umm..sorry about that. Do you have a date yet?"
He sighed before shaking his head. "I'm going solo..which is just fine."
"Are you sure, JC? I'm sure I can delay this a little longer.."
"No just put me down as solo..now I'm sorry to kick you out of my room but I need to get changed and seeing you look at me that way is starting to scare me."
She started to blush before rolling her eyes. "Whatever, JC..I was just making sure that..umm I'm leaving now," she said before turning around and walking down the hall, where she saw Joey standing at the coke machine. "Hey, Joe," she said as she leaned up against the machine as he pushed the button.
"Hi, Cait," he said as he waited for the coke to drop. "What are you doing here? We've behaved..no need to give us a lecture or anything," he said as he reached down and picked up the coke that finally fell from the machine.
"Why do you think that I only come here to scold you or bring bad news?" she asked as the two of them slowly walked down the hall towards his room.
"Tell me something, Cait..how many times have you came here on a friendly visit just to say that you care?"
She stopped walking before blushing. "Ok..I usually have a purpose of coming here, but its not my fault. I can't just drop everything and come visit you guys when you'd like me to be here..I'd loose my job."
"What if you had a reason to come visit us..or just one of us?" he asked her as he leaned up against his door.
She swallowed and squirmed under his direct stare. "What do you mean?"
"What if..oh I don't know..one of us..dated you..would you drop everything to come see him?"
"That's not going to happen so I don't understand why you're asking that," Cait said as she ran her foot across the carpet in an attempt to advert his stare.
"Why do you say that?" he asked her putting his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Do you not believe that one of us could win you over?"
"I didn't say that," she said, suddenly becoming defensive.
"Thats what you were implying. Cait, let me say this, have a nice day," he said before opening the door and shutting it in her face.
Her mouth droped as she watched the door shut and she became angry. Her fist pounded against the door as she yelled for him. "JOEY..OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR."
The door open, sending her fist into his chest. He cringed in pain before looking up at her with a goofy grin on his face. "Did you need something?"
She pushed him back in the room before closing the door. "You were rude to me out there and I didn't do a damn thing to you!" she said as she placed her hands on her hips.
He turned away from him, a huge smile breaking across his face. "You were acting snobbish out there and I didn't feel like putting up with it, therefor I just shut the door on you."
"That was incredibly rude!" she argued before walking around to stand in front of him, to see that he was smiling while his eyes shinned. "I hate you, Joey," she said as she turned away and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh come on, Cait..I was just playing..don't get mad," he said as he cautiously slid his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him. "I would never treat you that way," he whispered to her.
She turned around and searched his face. "You wouldn't?"
"Never," he said as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You deserve so much better than that."
She was about to say something when her pager went off. She glanced down before frowning. "Joey..I have to go return this page...I'll catch up with you later," she said before reaching up and touching his cheek gently and walking out the door. As she walked down the hall, she couldn't get the feel of Joey's lips against her forehead off her mind. She had never thought she could be attracted to Joey, but he was showing her a new side of him, and she was starting to enjoy it.
"I don't know, Steph..Riley will never accept that and besides, this is crazy. JC doesn't even know that I'm coming to be his date!" Emily replied as she pulled her hair back off her face. "I'm just going to tell Lance that I can't come.."
"Like hell you are. You're going to that show if I have to drug you and put you on a plane myself!" Stephanie said firmly.
"Em..go and have fun. Forget about Riley for once and think about yourself, sweetie. Now don't worry cause I'll take care of everything. You need to go pack while he's at work and just bring your stuff to my house. Don't argue with me, Em..if I'm being serious here..if I have to drag your ass on that plane, I'll do it," she said firmly causing Emily to sigh in defeat.
"Fine..I'll pack but I'm telling you...this won't work. Riley will never accept this."
"Then don't come back once you leave," Stephanie bluntly explained. "Think of this as a way for you to start over. New York is full of opportunities."
"Are you crazy? I have no money and there's no way I could make a jump from a small ass town to a huge city like New York."
"How will you ever know if you don't try, Em? Take a chance and try to make a better life for yourself hunnie," Stephanie said as she hugged her. "I want you to live a life without having to worry about being abused... there are places for you to get help in a big city..there is nothing around here."
"I don't want someone to take pity on me," Emily said before breaking down. "The past few years I've tried to hold my head up high as I've heard people whisper about me, but there is only so much I can take. I want to prove to people that I'm a survivor and that I am worth something."
"You are worth something, Emily. Listen to me girl, you're a beautiful, smart girl that can go places in this world. Don't let Riley hold you back."
"I'll think about it," Emily said as she threw her apron down on the counter. "I'll pack tomorrow morning after Riley goes to work and then drop my stuff off at your house on my way to work, does that sound ok?"
"That sounds perfect..make sure you call Whitney and fill her in on this cause if I'm not mistaken, you guys are sharing a room."
Emily laughed as she wiped away the eyeliner that had smeared under her eyes. "Like she's going to be there long..this will be her first time in New York and I don't think she'll even make it to the hotel room."
"You're probably right and that scares me."
"I'm going to go home now..I'll see you tomorrow, Steph," Emily called as she headed for the door. She pushed it open and stepped outside as a light rain fell around her. She dug through her purse to retrieve her keys as she allowed her hair to soak up the rain. Rain was calming to her and she loved it when it rained. She drove home slowly to ensure as much free time to herself as possible. The whole way home, she kept thinking about JC and New York. She wanted to go, but it was risky.
Since she wanted to take a chance, she was going to go, was the conclusion that she had came up with as she pulled into the driveway to see Riley's truck parked in its usual space. "Oh joy, another night of being yelled at," she muttered as she slammed the car door shut and walked slowly to the door. Once she stepped inside, she could hear the tv playing. "Thats a good sign," she said under her breath. "Riley, I'm home."
"I'm in the living room, Em...we need to talk come in here," he shouted to her and she felt fear wash over her.
"Give me a few minutes, I really want to change."
"Just hurry it up this is important," he said as his voice grew angrier.
She sighed before walking into her bedroom and grabbing some clothes to change into. She took her time to put off talking with him because she wasn't ready to be yelled at and accused of things she hadn't done. Everytime they had an arguement, it seemed to be over the same reasons, and the same outcomes usually occured. He would threaten her, she would try and be strong, and as soon as the door slammed, she would break down into tears and vow never to let him do it again. "I wonder what the hell I've done now," she whispered into the room as she pulled her hair back.
Her gaze looked at the door as she decided if she was ready to go downstairs and face what he was about to say. She couldn't advoid it for the rest of the night, but a few seconds of peace would help her build up her courage. She took one last look in the mirror before walking back into the living room to see Riley setting there in the same position that she had left him in. "You wanted to talk to me?"
His eyes looked up at her and he nodded his head. He turned the tv off and motioned for her to sit down on the couch. "I want to ask you something and you better be honest with me," he stated calmly.
"Ok," she said as a feeling of dread washed over her. If his voice started off this nice, it usually ended harsh and loud by the time their arguement was over.
"Do you totally hate me?"
She coughed as his words entered her mind. This could be a trick that she was about to walk into, or it could be a sign that he was wanting to change. "Why are you asking me this?"
"I just want to know," he said as his tone rised. He took a deep breath before clearing his throat. "I just want you to be honest with me."
She took a deep breath before answering him. "I don't hate you...it just hurts me when you yell at me and treat me the way that I do...if I didn't love you, I would have left this relationship a long time ago," she stated truthfully.
He nodded his head before starring at her for a few minutes. "Em..I realized something today. I've treated you like hell because I was afraid of losing you...I do love you, Emily..I want you to know that," he said as he got up and walked over to sit beside her. His hand reached up to stroke a fading bruise, and his head lowered in shame. "I understand if you think I'm a bastard..and I'm telling you this now..if you want out of this relationship, I understand."
She couldn't believe her ears. Here was the Riley that she had fallen in love with, the one that was gentle and caring. "I don't want out of the relationship..I want you to treat me better and to allow me to have friends. If I haven't proven my love to you, then I don't know what to do. I wouldn't cheat on you," she said as she rested her head against his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Em," he said as he kissed her forehead. "From this moment on, I'm not going to blow things out of proportion and I will NEVER hit you again..I promise you that."
She took a deep breath before pulling her head up to look at him. "I have to tell you something..you're probably not going to like it," she said as she felt him tense. "Now don't go and start assuming the worse because its nothing like that."
"Ok...what is it?" he asked as his face relaxed.
"You remember JC..from that boy band?" she asked pausing to watch his head nod up and down. "There is an award show coming up, and he was just recently dumped by his girlfriend...his friend, Lance, asked me if I could go to New York and be his date," she said pausing to put date in quotation marks with her hands. "Whitney's going up there with Justin, and the only reason I'm even considering going is so that she won't be in New York by herself..plus I think I deserve a vacation."
Riley was silent for a moment, contemplating what to say. "I don't know, Em..I don't like the idea of you going with some other guy to a highly publicized event."
"It will be ok..its one night, Riley..I need to get out of this town," she said as her voice took on a pleading tone.
He sighed before nodding his head. "Fine..just promise me that you won't do anything with what's his name.."
"You know me better than that," she said as she leaned up and kissed him quickly. "I have to go pack because my plane leaves in two days and I have to work right up until it takes off," she said as she stood up and walked out of the living room with a huge smile on her face.
This could all be a trick by Riley, or it could be that he was ending his violent stage. She hoped that he was going back to the old Riley, and that things would go back to the way they had been in the beginning, but she had learned never to read too far into something because it was very easy to get burnt.
"New York...here I come," she whispered out into the empty bedroom as she pulled out her suitcase and began to pack. She had just finished packing her shirt, when the phone rang. She reached over and brought it up to her ear, before speaking. "Hello?"
"Em..its Whitney. You're still coming with me right?"
"Yes, I'm coming with you..Riley's changing. He knows that I'm going to New York and he said that its fine...Whitney, I think things are going to go back to being normal," she said as her voice overflowed with happiness.
"Are you sure girl?" her friend replied in a voice that was far from being convinced.
"I'm not one hundred percent totally sure, but I think he's going to change..something must have happened for him to realize this."
"That's good..listen, Em, I have to finish packing so I'm going to go. I'll see you tomorrow at work."
"Ok, bye, Whit," she said before hanging up the phone. She sat down on the bed, her smile never faulting. Maybe things were going to be the way they were suppose to be. Riley and her were going to be a happy couple, no more abuse, only love...it sounded so great in her mind, but she knew that right now, everything was ify.
She laid back on the bed, and closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would provide some insight on what was going to happen.