Life’s Strange Turns Ch. 03-04

"Jennifer! We're here!" Regina had grabbed my arm and was shaking it. I realized that I had been remembering how much I wanted to be with Dennis and what I would say when I saw him.

I looked around and didn't see his car. I threw open the passenger door and rushed to the house. It was still locked... not a good sign. I wrestled with my keys, fumbling with them because I was both drunk and scared, and finally opened the door. "Dennis?! Dennis, please be here!"

The place was deserted and I collapsed on the couch in tears. Shit! He had no idea how or why it happened. And would it really matter to him? Was fucking around just fucking around, reasons be damned? Would the fact that at that time I was still feeling a little like I shouldn't be entering into a serious relationship at such a young age matter? It happened when we had only been "exlusive" for a month and since then we had had eight glorious months of being together. He had talked around moving to Chicago and asking me to marry him, so he was a little wary and scared, too, right? Wouldn't that make a difference? Couldn't he then see my position? Or would he act like a "man" and just throw away what we had because of something that happened eight months ago? And where did he go? Would he drive back to Chicago tonight? I looked up at Regina, who was looking at me with such sadness and was now starting to cry herself. She sat down beside me and hugged me and I let her. I just let it go and sobbed into her shoulder while not thinking for a while. Finally, after what seemed like 30 minutes I looked up.

"How... how much do you think he heard?"

She looked at me. "Jen, does it really matter? All men have to hear is that you fucked somebody besides them and they book."

"Do you think he drove back to Chicago? Would he do that tonight?"

"Where else would he go? It's at least an hour to his apartment, but if he's mad, he'll drive all the way there thinking about it and getting more and more angry."

"Should we drive up there tonight? Should we go after him right now?"

Regina looked at me and thought about that. "I don't know. Maybe if he cooled down for a while, he'd at least be able to talk to you. I don't know how he's going to be right now. You are both a little drunk and that never makes for a good argument."

I thought about it. Regina made sense about arguing when drunk. "Okay, we'll go up there in the morning and see him. I don't want to do this on the phone."

I also knew that I wasn't going to be able to stay awake long. Between the alcohol and all this commotion, I was going to crash as soon as all the adrenalin was gone. I fell asleep remembering how wonderful it was waking up next to Dennis. He was the best man I ever met, loyal, trustworthy, and more attentive than I had ever imagined a man could be. He would still try to do nice things for me, even though I had already said that I loved him. He would surprise me with some little gift or go out of his way to do something for me. Oh god, please don't let me lose him.

*******Dennis *******

When I got back to my new apartment in Chicago I paced, I cried, I got angry. I called Jennifer and left a rambling rant about her being a lying, cheating, two-faced slut. Finally, about 6am, I was exhausted and fell asleep.