HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
By Sarah Wartman
PART THIRTY-SIX
I tried to scream but my mouth was quickly covered and he threw me up against a nearby wall. I struggled to get free, but his grip tightened. I couldn't even see who it was, because it was so dark in the hallway, but deep down, I already knew.
"Hi Sarah. Bet you didn't plan to see me here, did ya?"
I shook my head and he laughed. This royally pissed me off and I bit his hand that was over my mouth. "Bitch!" he said and slapped me across the face.
Since his hand wasn't over my mouth anymore, I screamed "Help!" at the top of my lungs, which made Jared laugh even more.
"You stupid bitch! No one can hear you over that music!"
I sighed, knowing he was right and bowed my head in defeat. What was I going to do?
He got really close to my face and I could smell the heavy scent of liquor. "You know what baby doll? JC and Joey don't scare me. None of those sissy boys do. You're mine, do you hear? Mine!"
"I'm not yours!" I screamed back at him. "I'm not a piece of fucking property Jared! I'm a human being!"
"We'll see about that," he said before kissing me violenty. I tried to push him off of me, but he was so much stronger than me. He forced his tongue into my mouth and I bit it hard.
"Damn it," he said, pulling away from me.
"Let me go Jared!"
"Why should I?" he yelled at me.
"Because if any of the guys find out about this, they'll kill you!" I told him.
He laughed. "I see how it is now. What are you screwing all five of them now? Joey and JC not enough for you?"
"You bastard," I mumbled and I quickly kneed him in the groin as hard as I could.
He stumbled back and fell to the ground. "You leave me alone, you hear?"
"Never," I heard him mumble.
That was it. I had had enough of this. I kicked him in the stomach as hard as I could and leaned over so he could hear me. "I'm not going to tell the guys about this. But if you ever call me or leave me notes or ANYTHING, I'm getting a restraining order and I'm gonna have all five of them do with you what they want. You'll wish you never messed with me, Jared!" I yelled at him before storming off.
I walked back into the restroom and leaned against the counter and tried to compose myself. I smiled to myself, feeling awfully proud of standing up for myself like that. I straightened my shirt and my hair so the guys wouldn't know what had just happened.
I walked back to see all the guys on the dance floor and I slowly walked over to the bar and ordered and drink.
I was about halfway through my beer when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder, making my heart stop for a second.....
PART THIRTY-SEVEN
I slowly turned around to see Chris standing in front of me. "Would you like to dance, SJ?"
I stood up and quickly jumped into his arms and held him tightly. He laughed. "I'll take that as a yes," he said, pulling away from me and leading me towards the dance floor. 'Angel' by Monica started playing and I held on to Chris for dear life. I looked over at Joey sitting at the table in the corner with Justin. He saw me and blew me a kiss and I pretended to catch it.
The song ended and I practically ran over to the table as Justin was standing up.
"Leaving so soon?" Chris asked him.
Justin grinned widely. "You bet. Sammie should be asleep by now," he said.
He kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear, "And yes, that couch is very comfortable." We both laughed and he left.
I slid into the booth next to Joey and he put his arm around me. I layed my head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of my head. "You tired, SJ?"
"Kind of," I said and I closed my eyes.
"You want to go?"
I looked up at him and smiled. "One more slow dance, then we'll go," I said. As if on cue 'Until the Time is Through' by Five came on.
I got up and took Joey's hand and led him to the dance floor.
"Listen to the words, Sarah," he whispered in my ear. I laid my head on his shoulder and he held me close as I listened to the song. And for the first time in a long time, I felt truly safe and happy.
~*~*~*~
We got into Joey's and I collapsed onto the couch. I wasn't really all that tired, I think it was more just a relief to get out of the club and away from Jared.
"I got an idea," Joey said and he quickly sprinted upstairs.
"You and your ideas," I yelled.
I heard him laugh and he came back downstairs with a whole bunch of pillows, blankets and a small radio.
I raised my eyebrows in suspicion. "What is this?"
"We're going to go watch the stars," he said. "Come on!" he said when he noticed I didn't immediately get up.
I climbed up onto the trampoline as Joey adjusted the radio. He found a station and set the radio down. We both laid on our backs, looking at the sky. There was almost a full moon out and the sky was covered with stars.
I laid my head on Joey's chest and he wrapped his arms around me. I felt so safe in his arms, I never wanted to leave and told him so.
"Then let's not," he told me.
I giggled. "We can't stay here forever Joey."
"Okay, well, then I guess we'll have to settle for all night then."
I smiled and closed my eyes. "I think I can live with that."
PART THIRTY-EIGHT
My eyelids fluttered open to see a bright, sunny day and for a second, I forgot where I was. The arm around my waist jolted me back to reality and I turned to see Joey asleep with a small smile across his face. I slowly slipped his arm off of me and I went inside to take a shower.
I picked up my blow-dryer and heard Joey shut off the shower and I smiled as an idea crossed my mind. I threw on some jean shorts and a big, white Fubu jersey that I had borrowed from JC, since I loved it so much, and walked across the hall to the bathroom.
I knocked softly on the door, but didn't get a response, I could hear Joey humming loudly and I figured he couldn't hear me. I slowly opened the door to see Joey's back to me, dressed in nothing but a pair of gray Adidas windpants. I walked up to see that he was putting shaving cream on his face, between his goatee and his sideburns, he didn't even notice I was behind him.
We both reached for his razor at the same time, but I got to it first. If I startled him, he didn't show it. I picked up the razor and turned to him and smiled. I slid in front of him and sat on the bathroom counter. I wrapped my legs around his thighs and pulled him up next to the counter and he smiled.
I put the razor up to his face and took two small, slow strokes. Leaning over to the sink, I rinsed the razor off and looked back at him. Neither of us said anything, just looked at each other. He looked so deeply into my eyes, it was as if he was looking at my soul. I decided to go with what my heart was telling me and I put my left hand behind his neck and pulled him towards me.
Our kiss was soft and romantic at first, but grew into a much deeper and passionate kiss. When he pulled away, I realized I must have had shaving cream all over my face and turned to look in the mirror and laughed. I felt Joey's hands on my face and turned to look at him to see him studying my face, as if to see what I was thinking. He slowly wiped away the shaving cream off of my face. "I thought you needed time, SJ," he told me as he wiped his hand on a nearby towel.
Flashbacks from the night before danced in the back of my mind. Jared slapping me and pushing me up against the wall. He used to be a very big part of my life, but I decided he was a part I didn't want anymore. I deserved better. I deserved this.
I looked into Joey's eyes and I couldn't help but smile. "I don't need anymore time," I told him as I pulled him into another kiss.
PART THIRTY-NINE
I finished putting little flowers in my hair and stood up. I had decided to wear a gray georgette dress with spaghetti straps and small white flowers all over it.
Just then I heard a knock on my door and turned to see Joey in his tux. "You look so good," I told him as I walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss.
"And you look amazing," he told as he wrapped his arms around me and embraced me. I pulled away and grabbed my long gray scarf that was laying on the bed. I wrapped it around my neck and looked at him.
"Ready?" he asked, offering his arm.
"Absolutely," I answered, taking it.
Joey's cousin, Ashley's, wedding was so beautiful. It was in a huge church with a lot of flowers, lace and candles all over the place. I couldn't help but wonder what my wedding day would be like. During the vows, Joey took my hand and squeezed it. Ashley looked so unbelievably happy and I only wished I would be half as happy as she looked someday.
The dance that followed was at Ashley's parent's house, they had set up a huge white tent in their big backyard. Joey and I were dancing and having the times of our lives. Ashley and her husband, Brandon, danced near us and Joey asked Brandon to switch places, he hadn't had the chance to dance with his cousin yet.
I had never really met Brandon before this day, but he seemed like a really nice guy. He was swinging me all over the place and laughing, but suddenly he grew very serious.
"How long have you and Joey been together?" he asked me.
"Oh, a couple of months, why?"
He looked over at Joey to see him watching us intently. Brandon looked back at me. "Just curious. He totally worships the ground you walk on. He's a really nice and I don't want to see him hurt."
"I would never hurt him. Besides, he doesn't worship the ground I walk on," I whispered.
Brandon smiled and looked back over at Joey. "Look at the way he looks at you," he told me.
I looked over at Joey to see him still watching us. He did seem different, his face, the way he looked at us.
"Joey looks at you the way Ashley looks at me. And the way I look at her. You two have something special," Brandon told me as the song ended. "I just hope it works out for you two as wonderfully as it did for Ashley and I."
PART FORTY
His words left my mind whirling as Shania Twain's "From this Moment" played.
I hadn't even noticed I was standing by myself until Joey came up next to me and swept me into his arms. "May if I have this dance?"
"Absolutely," I said, placing a kiss on his nose. All during the dance, I couldn't help but think about what Brandon had told me. Was I falling in love with Joey? I had always dreamed about the guy of my dreams, what he would look like and what he would say. It just seemed weird it all was actually happening.
"A penny for your thoughts," Joey said, smiling at me.
"Yeah," I whispered.
"What is it, SJ?"
"I was just wondering how all this happened," I told him.
"How what all happened?"
"This," I told him. "Everything that has happened."
"Well," he said, spinning me around. "I guess fate works in the weirdest ways."
"Guess so," I whispered, looking over his shoulder to see all his family dancing, his parents smiling and totally in love.
"Can I ask you something, SJ?"
I looked up and deep into his eyes. "You can ask me anything Joey."
"If you had the chance, would you change anything? I mean, like Jared and everything?"
I shook my head. "No."
"No?" he asked me.
I sighed. "I believe everything happens for a reason. Do you know what I mean? I mean, if it wasn't for that whole situation with Jared, you and I might have never gotten together."
"Guess so," he said and I rested my head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head and I smiled. I didn't know what was in my future. I didn't know if Joey and I were meant to be together. And if I learned anything from the past few years, it was you couldn't live in the past. Jared was my past. Joey was my future and I hoped nothing changed that. But who knows? After all, just like Joey said, fate works in mysterious ways.
THE END!