Chapter Five
A few weeks had passed and Chris had barely thought about his old girlfriend, Ashley. Once he got comfortable enough with Michelle he told her the whole story about Ashley and what she had done, and Michelle continued to help him with his fear of being hurt again.
Both Michelle and Chris had grown very attached to each other, and everyone around them watched with joy as the two officially announced they were together. Everything was going great for the couple.. Until one day.
Chris and Michelle had gone out shopping, telling their friends they'd be home in a few hours. When they got back to Chris's house he noticed a familiar car in the driveway.
"Oh no..." he groaned, his stomach starting to tie itself into knots.
"What is it?" Michelle asked, putting a hand on Chris's.
"It's her... It's Ashley," Michelle frowned slightly as they pulled up and got out.
"But what would she be doing here?" Michelle asked, grabbing some bags.
Chris shook his head.
"I don't know. She has no reason to come around here." he said, grabbing the rest of the bags.
They both went up the walkway and Chris opened the door, letting Michelle go in first, then he followed her in and closed the door. Justin heard the door close and walked in from the kitchen and over to Chris and Michelle.
"Hey guys... Umm... Have fun?" he asked, a little nervous.
"Yeah... J what's Ashley's car doing in my driveway?" Chris asked, a little afraid of the answer.
"Uhh, well... you see..."
"Justin."
"She's here with Joey," Justin spat out.
"She's what?" Chris asked in disbelief.
"He said that..."
Before Justin had a chance to finish his sentence Chris brushed past him and to the door of the living room. What he saw made him start to see red. Joey and Ashley were sitting on the couch, making out.
"Joey?!" Chris half yelled, making the couple jump and pull away, looking up.
"Chris... She's not..." Joey started, but Chris cut him off.
"I can't believe you, man."
"Chris, get over it. I'm with Joey so deal with it," Ashley said with a bitchy tone in her voice.
Chris looked at her with fire in his eyes.
"Get out of my house."
"Chris..." Joey started, but shut his mouth when Chris looked him in the eye.
"Get out," Chris repeated to Ashley.
"Fine," Ashley said. She leaned forward and gave Joey an extremely passionate kiss before standing up.
"Whatever you say, tough guy."
Chris stepped aside as she brushed past him and watched her head for the door. Before going outside she stopped in front of Michelle and looked her over, smirking slightly.
"I guess it's all down hill after me," she said, the smirk never leaving her face.
"Haven't you done enough?" Justin asked her angrily.
She just looked at Justin and smiled, then turned and walked out.
"Michelle, baby why don't you go put things away. Justin, could you help her, please?" Chris asked.
"Sure. Come on girlie," Justin said, picking up some bags and following Michelle up the stairs.
Chris turned around and looked at Joey, anger and hurt still in his eyes.
"How could you? After all she did to me..."
"She's changed, Chris," Joey said, standing up.
"Changed my ass. Joey you know what she did to me. How could you even think about trusting her?"
"She's not like that anymore," Joey stated, starting to get defensive.
"Sure she's not. She's a perfect little angel now, right? She cut me so deep it's taken me over six months to even begin to heal from it..."
"This isn't about you, Chris. This is about me and Ashley. Not what she did in the past. I've had it, Chris. Just because she cheated on you in the past doesn't mean you have the right to condemn her to hell. Or anyone that falls for her, for that matter."
"Joey, you were the first one I went to after she hurt me. You were there for me..."
"Yeah, well you're not a damn baby, Chris. You've got a girl now, what do you care? You need to move on. That's what I've been trying to get you to do so you wouldn't blow up at me when you found out..."
Joey cut himself off quickly before he finished what he was saying. That didn't stop Chris from knowing what he ment.
"You were seeing her the whole fucking time?!" Chris asked, anger filling his voice.
"About four months," Joey stated.
"Joey, I trusted you, and you turn around and date the same woman who hurt me so badly..."
"You know what, Chris? If you can't accept me and Ashley together then maybe I should just leave."
Chris's anger grew inside him at Joey's last words. He picked up Joey's jacket and threw it at him.
"Then go."
Joey put on his jacket and looked Chris in the eye.
"Fine Chris, I'm gone."
"And don't ever fucking come back," Chris said, locking eyes with Joey.
Joey growled under his breath and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.
Justin and Michelle, who were sitting at the top of the stairs listening, came downstairs. Michelle walked over to Chris and put her arms around him. She could feel him shaking with anger and hurt as she started to rub his lower back, attempting to calm him down.
Jc and Lance, who had been in the kitchen and overheard everything, walked out and stood next to Justin, none of them really knowing what to say. An uneasy silence settled over the room, and Chris felt like he was going to suffocate. He pulled away from Michelle and headed out the back door, not bothering to grab his jacket. Michelle bit her lip as she watched him go.
"What are we gonna do now, guys?" Justin asked softly.
"I don't know, Just. It'll take a long time for them to patch this up... if at all," Jc answered.
"Man why did Joey have to go and do this?" Justin asked to no one in particular.
"I don't think he did it on purpose..." Lance said.
"I remember him telling me that Ashley kept showin' up around him and stuff... She probably convinced him she had changed so she could hurt Chris more or something."
"I can't stand that woman... Even while her and Chris were dating I couldn't stand her," said Jc, leaning against the wall.
Michelle walked over to the window and looked outside, spotting Chris sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. She watched him for a moment before walking outside. She walked over to where he was sitting and sat down on the grass next to him.
"Chris? Baby are you okay?" she asked.
Chris kept his head down for a second, wiping away the tears that had escaped his eyes before looking up at her.
"Yeah... yeah I'm okay. I just... couldn't breathe in there." Michelle nodded understandingly, putting her arm around him.
"It's going to be okay, Chris," she tried to reassure her boyfriend.
"How?" Chris asked softly, looking down and picking up a piece of grass, twirling it in his fingers.
"Well, I don't know exactically... but I do know it will. You and Joey are best friends. You've known him longer than you've known the others. You're hurt now, and he's angry and defensive, but I know you both still love each other."
Chris sniffed, fighting the urge to let loose the flood of tears that threatened to overflow.
"I told him never to come back..." he whispered. Michelle scooted in front of Chris and made him look her in the eye.
"Chris, have I ever lied to you?" she asked.
"No..." Chris answered, shaking his head.
"Then believe me when I say everything will be okay."
Chris nodded, leaning forward to pull Michelle to him. Michelle turned around and scooted back against him, letting him put his arms around her. He rested his head on her shoulder as she put her head back against his chest. They stayed that way for a while, neither of them talking, but just enjoying each other's company.
After about an hour they both went inside. Jc, Justin and Lance were in the living room watching a movie, so Chris and Michelle snuck into the kitchen to get something to eat for everybody. They made sandwiches, grabbed some chips and drinks, and brought it all out to the guys, who ate it all up gratefully.
Michelle and Chris sat and watched movies with the guys until it was around eleven. Michelle got up and started to clean up the mess they had all made, Chris getting up to help her. Once that was taken care of Michelle excused herself because she had to go to bed, she had work the next day. Chris kissed her goodnight and watched her go upstairs, then sat back down with the guys.
"You guys are so good together," Lance smiled. Jc and Justin nodded in agreement.
"Thanks guys... I haven't felt so good in such a long time. I guess I owe all this to you, Just. You urged me to get to know her..." Chris said, looking over at Justin.
"Hey, no problem man. It's about time you cheered up," Justin grinned. Chris just smiled.
"Hey guys, I think I'm gonna hit the sack, too. I wanna get up to take her to work."
"Okay Chris. We'll go home tomorrow, we promise..." Jc said, looking up at him innocently.
"Yeah yeah... You guys are like leaches," Chris joked.
"Goodnight."
"Night, Chris," the guys chorused as Chris headed up the stairs and to his bedroom, where Michelle had just laid down.
She saw him come in and smiled up at him. He got ready for bed and slid under the covers next to her, wrapping his arms around her and planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Night Michelle. I love you."
"I love you too, Chris. Goodnight," Michelle whispered softly as they both drifted off to sleep.
| Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine |
