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lynnlee22One of my favorite Joey/Kelly (Jelly/OLTL) fics I've ever written.
Cover Up
Joey/Kelly
PG-13 (Content, language)
Kelly checked her watch. 6:30. He had said 6:00, hadn’t he? Surely she hadn’t screwed this up? The way her mind had been recently, she didn’t feel sure of anything anymore. Placing her hand on her leg to stop the shaking, she took a sip of the white wine in front on her. Sensing a presence behind her, she turned.
“Hi,” she smiled.
“Hi, yourself,” Joey said, sitting across the table from her. “You look good.”
“So do you,” she said, smiling at him. She literally felt the tension leaving her body. Leaving Llanview last year hadn’t been easy, but she’d told herself it was for the best. If only she’d known then what she now knew…she would have never left the comforts of home. Joey was her safe place. She’d always known that and he’d never know how grateful she was to have him to come home to.
“Hey,” he said, softly, breaking her from her daydream, “Where’d you go?”
“Oh, sorry,” she replied, snapping back to attention, “I was just thinking. So..tell me what’s been going on with you. Life has to be different since…”
Joey laughed a little, “Since my wife was arrested for extortion among other things.”
Kelly winced, “I’m sure I would have come up with something a little less harsh.”
He smiled, “I’m sure you would have, but let’s just be honest. She’s in jail…where she belongs and life is…life is good. I’m getting back to what I love to do. I’m working for the Banner again.”
“That’s really great,” she smiled. Joey had always loved photography and she was truly happy he was getting a chance to pursue his dream again.
“What about you?” he asked, looking at her hand, “No ring yet, I see?”
Kelly forced a smile, “No. Not yet.”
“Well, what’s he waiting on?” Joey asked, trying to seem supportive. “Doesn’t he know what a catch you are?”
Kelly laughed a bit. She didn’t really know what Scott thought anymore. In the beginning, their life had been nearly perfect. After everything with Joey, Scott had been just what she needed. Attentive and caring and he was interested in everything she did. Thinking back, It had started early…the phone calls, the questions, the jealousy. At first, she’d thought it was kind of sweet. She’d even mentioned it to Dorian who had told her to be glad she had a guy that knew she was a catch. That made sense for a while, but then it didn’t anymore.
“So where is he?” Joey said, causing Kelly to take notice of his presence again.
“Where is who?” she asked, trying not to appear as out of it as she felt.
“Who?” Joey laughed, “Mr. Charming…What’s his name? Scott.”
Kelly forced another smile, “Yeah, he’s got a meeting tonight. He couldn’t come.”
He was charming….to everyone else. At work no one had a clue what he could be like when things didn’t go his way…when you dared have your own opinion…when you did something he didn’t approve of. No one knew what it was like on weekends when he came home from work early so that he could get a head start on his drinking. No one knew that Scott.
“You want to get out of here,” Joey asked, after he had tried in vain twice to get Kelly’s attention.
“Huh?” Kelly asked.
“What is it with you tonight?” Joey smiled. “It’s like you’re in another world.”
Kelly sighed, “Sorry, I guess I’m just tired. This place is just really busy and with all the people and the music…it’s just like sensory overload.”
“Well, that settles it,” Joey explained. “I know just the place. Come on.”
Kelly moved to stand as she felt her bracelet fall to the floor. She moved to retrieve it, but was stopped by Joey.
“I got it,” he said, crossing the table to her side and kneeling beside her to help her refasten it around her wrist. The soft lights from the bar shone on the clasp and cast an unmistakable glow on the shades of blue and green that adorned the bones of her wrist. Joey held her wrist in his hand for a moment, looking at it, before looking up at her. “Kel, what happened to your wrist?”
“It’s nothing really. It’s silly,” she said, laughing nervously. “I was shopping last weekend and the stupid trunk shut on my wrist. I think that’s what’s wrong with that silly clasp too.”
Joey stood up, helping her to her feet. He didn’t buy the story for a second, but he also didn’t want Kelly spilling a story like this in a crowded restaurant. There were better places to talk—and he knew just the place.
Part 2
He watched her as she stood there. The sunset cast eerie shadows across her face, but the warmth of the rays seemed to relax her in a way she hadn’t been all evening. Part of him hated to interrupt the moment. She seemed peaceful and to ask her questions, to make her talk, it would surely end that peace.
“Kelly,” Joey said, lightly touching her shoulder.
Almost immediately the tension seemed to return. It was as if she sensed what was coming next. She turned to look at him, her eyes almost pleading with him not to ask any questions. “It’s beautiful up here,” she said, smiling.
“That’s why I brought you here,” he said softly. “This was always a place where we could be honest with each other—a place where we could talk and say anything no matter how hard it is.”
“Let it go,” she said, turning away from him again.
Joey gently took her shoulders and turned her back towards him. “You have no idea how much I wish I could,” he said quietly, brushing her hair back off her shoulders, “but you know I can’t. I can’t walk away from this. I can’t walk away from you.”
“It’s not what you think.” Kelly walked over to the sky light, sitting on the edge. “I’m not some battered woman. I’m smarter than that.”
Joey took a breath. His body was full of contradictions. Part of him felt physically ill. The thought of someone—anyone putting their hands on Kelly and hurting her made him ill—yet it also made him angry. So angry in fact, that it was a good thing Scott had a meeting. He wouldn’t trust himself around him at the moment. “Tell me what it is like,” he said, sitting beside her.
“Scott has a lot going on,” she said quietly, looking up at Joey and quickly seeing that her excuses weren’t making any headway with him, “and I’m not making excuses for him, but he’s just…he’s been under a lot of pressure lately. Work has been crazy and his family has been pressuring him to advance at the office. He’s been working really long hours and when he comes home, he just wants to relax.”
“Relaxing is fine,” Joey said looking at her, “you’re still not explaining this,” he said, lifting her wrist.
“Scott drinks sometimes,” she admitted, looking down at the cement. “Sometimes he drinks a little too much and he gets upset.”
Feeling his blood pressure rising, Joey forced himself to ask, “How upset?”
“Like,” Kelly took a breath, “Like if he comes home from work and I’m not there and I forgot to leave him a note, he gets worried because he doesn’t know where I am and then when I get home he’s really upset.”
“Kelly…” Joey began..
“No, see. He’s really worried about me,” she said, feeling herself begin to shake, “and I normally do remember to leave a note, so it doesn’t happen a lot anymore.”
Joey shook his head. “Kelly. He is not your father. You don’t have to answer to him.”
Kelly sat quietly for a moment, not speaking.
“When did it start?” Joey asked.
“I don’t really know,” she said, her eyes filling with tears, “He was always kind of clingy, but at first I thought it was kind of cute, but then…somehow it stopped becoming cute.”
Joey placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to stop the shaking. Her skin felt cold. Slipping off his jacket, he draped it around her shoulders. “Better?”
“Thanks,” she said, looking up at him. “Tonight..when I called and said I had business here in town….that was a lie.”
Joey nodded, “Ok.” He wanted to let her talk. She needed to talk and he needed to hear anything she was willing to share.
“I had to get out of there. Before…he had always yelled and screamed. He’d grabbed me before,” she held up her wrist, to illustrate her point, “but the other night…” She stopped, not realizing how difficult it was to continue.
“What?” Joey asked, “What happened.”
“He came home from work early. I had gone out to the store to pick up some groceries and when I got home he asked me why I was dressed up.” She looked up at Joey. “I wasn’t. I had on a linen skirt and a blouse. It was warm out and I was just thinking about something light.”
Joey hated seeing her like this…explaining herself…fearful.
“Anyway, he asked me who I went to see and I told him that I just went shopping. He said I was lying and he just went on and on. He was yelling and pacing and angrier than I had ever seen him. He kept screaming and he backed me up against the wall and he raised his hand…” The tears fell from her eyes as she remembered how terrifying it had been. Looking up at Joey, she managed to continue. “I really thought he was going to hit me…and if he had, I don’t know if he would have stopped.”
It was Joey’s turn to fight for composure now. “You’re not going back there.” He had often thought about the man Kelly was with. If she’d come here and told him that she was in love---that she was happy…maybe he could have been happy for her. It wouldn’t have hurt any less of course, but he could have lived with it—with the choice he’d made. But this, this was different. He couldn’t sit back and watch her be hurt—he’d hurt her enough and he couldn’t let this happen to her.
“I can’t just not come back,” Kelly said softly, standing up and walking towards the edge of the rail. “He needs me. He’s not a bad guy, really.” She looked back at Joey, catching note of the expression. She knew what he was thinking and she admitted the words sounded less convincing as she heard them come from her own mouth. “Scott needs help…I know that, but if I leave..he’ll never get help.”
Joey walked to stand beside her. “You can’t help him with this,” he said gently, but with authority he’d not heard in himself in quite some time. “I won’t stand back and watch this happen to you.”
Part 3
“You don’t have to do this,” Kelly protested, as they pulled up into the parking spot. “I would have been fine at Aunt Dorian’s.”
Joey shook his head. “I’ll feel better with you here and besides, you get great deals when you book at the last minute. “ He smiled at her, desperately trying to win a smile in return.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, as he retrieved her bag from the car. “Come on, let’s go.”
“You don’t have to escort me. I think I can find the room. You’ve already done enough, really.” She hated feeling helpless like this.
Joey stared at her for a minute. “I’m not leaving you here,” he stated, as he realized she was under the impression she was being dropped off. “I’m staying with you.”
“Joey,” Kelly started…
“No discussion. There is no way I’m leaving you alone right now. You said yourself that Scott gets upset when things don’t go his way. What do you think he’s gonna do when you don’t come home?”
“I know exactly what he’s gonna do,” Kelly stammered, “He’s going to come looking for me. That’s why you can’t be here.”
“No,” Joey said, looking directly into her eyes, “that’s exactly why I’m going to be here.”
Kelly sat on the bed and looked around the room. Joey was right—the place was really nice. The furnishings were sleek and modern and the beds were covered in luxury linens. If she allowed herself to forget, even for a moment, she could imagine she was here with Joey for a completely different reason.
As she heard the door handle rattle, she felt herself tense, but seeing Joey enter, she immediately relaxed. “I talked to the guy at the front desk and explained the situation. No one will be given your information. No one will be told we’re here.”
Kelly nodded. “This is really unnecessary, Joey.”
“No,” he said, cutting her off. “It’s not. I need you to trust me on this, Kelly.”
“The way you trusted me about Aubrey?” As soon as she said it, she regretted it. This certainly wasn’t the time to be throwing the Aubrey situation in Joey’s face. He was just trying to help her and she knew it. She just…she couldn’t help feeling that he wasn’t listening to her. Scott had been there for her when Joey wasn’t, and he had his faults, but Joey had to understand that, at the time, Scott had filled a need for her.
“Kelly, I” Joey started to speak, to explain…
“I’m sorry,” Kelly said quickly, “That just came out. I’m just so…I’m so tired of being angry and upset and of not telling you any of it. I was so damn angry at you when I left.”
Joey sat down on the bed silently, letting her talk. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she sat on the bed across on the bed across from him, facing him.
“When I left Llanview, I was determined to be ok without you. I saw that you weren’t going to listen to me about Aubrey and as much as I hated knowing what she was going to do to you, I had to let it go. I had to walk away—for me. When I met Scott, he was amazing. He said all the right things. He was kind and compassionate. He listened and he was so interested in every aspect of my life. He told me I was beautiful and he sent me flowers and he made me feel like the most special person in the world.”
Joey nodded. “Did you love him?”
Kelly paused, “Maybe…kind of. I don’t know,” she admitted. “I think I wanted to. I really did. I wanted to believe that I could have a life with him and be happy and just forget about what I walked away from here, but I couldn’t. Sometimes it would be a song…sometimes it was the way a couple laughed when they walked down the street, and sometimes it was just a memory that popped into my head, but somehow, some way….you always crept into my mind.” She looked up at him. “The more Scott pushed me to commit to him, the more I thought about you. We’d get into these fights about me not wanting the same things and he’d get angrier each time.”
Joey still didn’t speak. As long as she was talking to him, he wasn’t going to stop her.
“One night, I came home and he was waiting for me. He told me that he was tired of waiting of me to make up my mind. He said that if I didn’t want to marry him, that I needed to tell him. That I needed to stop wasting his time. I told him I wasn’t ready to make a commitment like that and he lost it. He just lost it. I said I was leaving and I tried to, but…” She stopped for a moment, taking a breath.
“Was that the first time?” Joey asked quietly.
“He didn’t hit me,” she whispered, “He just grabbed my arm so tight I thought he was going to break it. I remember he said that I didn’t have the right to jerk him around like that..to mess with his feelings. He was just so angry.”
Joey watched her as she spoke. Her eyes filled with fear as if she were literally reliving the moment with each word she spoke.
“Anyway,” she said, regaining her composure somewhat, “After that, it just got worse. He’d come home and start drinking and he’d get angry. We’d fight. He’d yell and it would usually end up with him throwing something at me or grabbing me or something.” Kelly looked away from Joey. “I know what you’re thinking.”
Joey reached out to her. “What do you think I’m thinking?”
“You’re thinking that it’s pathetic that I stayed. You’re thinking I should have left the first time…that I never should have let it get this far.” She knew Joey well enough to know that he had no tolerance for this type of behavior.
“Hey,” he said, gently turning her chin towards him, “I’m not blaming any of this on you. Do I wish you had left this jackass a long time ago? Sure. But that doesn’t give him any right to continue treating you like this.”
Kelly felt a tear escape down her cheek, but quickly brushed it away, “I know. He isn’t a violent person, and normally he’s a really sweet guy. After our fights, he really does feel terrible about it,” she explained, realizing how trivial the excuses sounded.
“Not nearly terrible enough,” Joey said. “Listen, Kelly. I think it’s important that you get out of there now. In the morning, we’ll book a flight. I’ll go with you. We can go, get your things, and be out of there in a few hours.”
Kelly furiously shook her head. “That’s a bad idea. If I show up at home with another man, he’ll go ballistic.”
“You’re not going back in that house alone,” Joey told her. “Before…what you said about being angry with me.” Joey stopped to look into her eyes. “You were angry because I wasn’t there for you…I wasn’t there for you the way you wanted me to be. Let me be there now. Let me help you through this.”
She knew it wouldn’t be easy. Scott would be furious. It would be an ugly scene, but she was so tired…tired of being afraid of saying the wrong thing…of wearing the wrong thing…of looking the wrong way. She was just so tired.
It was as if he sensed he resignation as he sat beside her on the bed and took her hand in his. He lowered his head, making sure to catch her gaze. “I’m here now, Kelly. Isn’t that worth something?”
She nodded, feeling the tears flowing again. Leaning in to him, she allowed all the emotions she’d been bottling up for what seemed like years to escape. Her body shook with sobs that had been stifled. Joey simply held her and let her cry. Tonight he was her shoulder to cry on, and he wasn’t going to let her down.
Part 4
Joey glanced over at the small alarm clock on the bedside table. 2:00—He was fairly certain he’d seen every hour come in. Sleeping in new places had never been his thing. Kelly had fallen asleep hours ago, he thought out of sheer and total exhaustion. The thought of what she’d been going through haunted him. He blamed himself for not keeping better contact with her. If he’d called more..if he’d talked to her…surely he would have noticed. Surely he would have picked up on the signs that something wasn’t right. Running his hand over his face, he wondered what he could have done differently. The truth was there was very little he wouldn’t change, if given the chance. His marriage to Aubrey had been a disaster—if it weren’t for that, he and Kelly might have been able to have a shot at something.
He glanced over in Kelly’s direction thinking as he heard the covers on the other bed rustle. She stilled again and he went back to his guilt. He certainly had plenty to think about. His guilt had kept him awake many nights. Another small noise from Kelly’s direction distracted him. As he watched her, he noticed her back shake a bit. “Kelly,” he whispered softly.
The noise stopped, instead replaced by frantic movement. Turning towards him, she whispered, “I didn’t realize you were awake.”
Joey reached up to turn on the overhead lamp and immediately noticed she’d been crying. “Hey…what’s wrong?” He stood from the bed and walked over to sit beside her.
Kelly felt silly and stupid. “I’m sorry. I thought you were asleep,” she sniffled. “I didn’t want to bother you with all this. You’ve already done more than enough.”
“It’s ok,” Joey said softly, stroking her hair. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Just feeling sorry for myself basically,” Kelly explained, wiping her face to catch the most recent barrage of tears. “I mean, I was just thinking about how pathetic I must look to you. I mean, my whole life is one screw up after another.”
Joey shook his head, “I don’t think that at all.”
“Well you should,” she scoffed before continuing, “Think about it..my mother…she spent most of her adult life in a mental institution…then there was the wild life that I supposedly had in Paris that never really happened, then you’ve got the whole Blair situation, only to be followed by the situation with Ace and…” Kelly took a breath. Saying it…repeating each life tragedy one after another did make it all sound kind of daunting. No wonder she had issues.
“Kelly, it’s not like my life has been perfect. Everyone has their problems. No family is perfect. Have you checked out the Buchanans lately?” He smiled.
“I know, but I mean…I left town to get a fresh start. I wanted a new life and I come back to town with this.” Kelly shut her eyes and leaned her head against the headboard. “I must attract this stuff somehow. Nobody can be this unlucky.”
“No. Bad things just happen to you. You haven’t done anything to make these things happen. In fact, in spite of it all, I think you’ve turned out pretty incredible.” Joey looked at her.
Kelly wasn’t buying it.
“Come on, Kel. It’s true. You’re warm and caring and smart. You’re a great mother to Zane and you’re loyal to your family and your friends. God knows you gave me every chance in the world to listen to you during the whole thing with Aubrey. I shot you down so many times and yet you still kept trying. You just wouldn’t give up on me.”
“I couldn’t,” she admitted softly. “I could never give up on you.”
“Same here,” he smiled. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you now. I’m not giving up on you. No matter how bad it is. No matter how bad it sounds. No matter what Scott says or does when we go up there. I’m not giving up on you.”
Part 5
The sound of the cell phone roused them from sleep. Joey leaned to the side of the bed, realizing for the first time that Kelly lay curled up beside him. He couldn’t help but smile as he checked for his phone.
Kelly stirred, “Oh…that’s mine,” she said, reaching for her purse, on the chair beside the bed. She quickly checked the screen and furrowed her brow.
“What is it?” Joey asked, noting her change in expression.
“It’s Scott,” she said, looking up at Joey. “Honestly, I’m surprised it took him this long to call. I need to call him back.”
“Don’t,” Joey said, reaching out to touch her hand and stop her. “You don’t have to answer to him.”
“It will be easier if I just call him and tell him that I’m coming home today. At least then it won’t be like we just show up and take him by surprise. That would be even worse.”
Joey thought about it for a moment. “Ok, if you think it’s best.”
Kelly nodded. “I do…” As she moved to dial, she looked up at Joey.
“I’m coming with you, ok?” Joey said looking at her, “You just remember that. You don’t have anything to be afraid of.”
“No records of anyone by that name,” Scott said into the phone, his face clearly annoyed, “Ok, thanks.” He clicked the button on the cell phone and sat it down hard on the phone. “Where the hell are you, Kelly?” he muttered aloud.
The buzzing of the phone caused it to scamper across the table. Scott grabbed it, answering it quickly when Kelly’s name appeared on the caller ID. “Where the hell are you?,” he said in lieu of a greeting. “I’ve been calling you all morning.”
“Sorry,” Kelly said, trying to place her hand over the receiving in an attempt to muffle his harsh words. One look at Joey’s face told her it was useless.
Joey felt his blood pressure rising. The fact that he spoke to Kelly that way was bad enough, but knowing that he put his hands on her was enough to make him want to be sick.
“I’m sorry,” Kelly said quietly, “I didn’t hear the phone.”
“Whatever,” Scott said, “You didn’t answer my question. Where the hell are you?” He took a sip of coffee.
“I’m in Llanview actually. I came to see my family for a little while.”
Scott was silent for a minute. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to see your family?” he asked, obviously suspicious. “This was an awful sudden trip.”
Kelly literally felt as if she were shaking. She looked over at Joey.
“It’s ok,” Joey whispered, trying to help her stay calm.
Scott’s face grew serious. “Who was that?” he said, his voice raised and curt.
“What?” Kelly said as she felt her heartbeat race. “That was just the tv.”
“That wasn’t the tv. That was a man’s voice? Who’s there with you? Is that why you left? You thought you’d go whore around behind my back?”
Kelly felt the tears fall down her face, “Scott…I told you..I”
“Save it,” he screamed, “Come home…Now! We’ll deal with it then. I’ll fix it so that you won’t be quite so appealing from now on.”
Before Kelly could answer, Joey grabbed the phone from her hand, slamming it shut. “Enough,” he said looking at her. “You’re not listening to any more of that.”
Kelly’s eyes were full of tears. She was shaking. She felt completely and totally out of control.
As angry as Joey was at Scott, he was equally concerned about her. “Come here,” he said softly, gathering her into his arms, trying desperately to calm her shivering, soothing her jagged breaths with calming strokes on her back. “It’s going to be ok. I promise you. He will never touch you again.”
Kelly shook her head. “You don’t know how he can get Joey,” she said through the tears. “I don’t want to get you caught up in this whole thing.”
“Hey,” he said, backing away from her slightly. “Too late. I’m all in.”
Part 6
Joey glanced over at her. She’d barely said three words since they left the hotel. He could tell she was nervous. She always got quiet when she was anxious about something. All the signs were there…the silence, the fidgeting, the taut facial expressions. Sometimes knowing someone so well was not such a good thing…sometimes you knew too much.
Casually removing one hand from the wheel, he reached over to take her hand. “It’s going to be ok,” he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Kelly met his gaze and sighed. She had tried so hard to appear ok, yet Joey knew all her secrets—her little signals that she was anything but ok. “Was I that obvious?” she asked, forcing a smile.
“Not to a novice,” he smiled, “but to a trained expert like myself, you’re pretty transparent.” Joey squeezed her hand again, “But it will be ok. I promise. We’re going to go in there, get your things, and get your out of this whole mess.”
Kelly closed her eyes. She wished she truly believed it would be that simple, but Joey didn’t know how he could be. How angry he could really get…”Joey,” she began slowly, “What if he…What if he won’t let me…”
Joey shook his head, “He doesn’t have a choice,” he said bluntly. “I’m here now and I’m not going to sit back and watch you stay in a situation like this. He’s going to see that you’re not alone and he’ll back off.”
“And if he doesn’t,” she said quietly, looking at Joey.
Joey sighed, “If he doesn’t, he’ll wish he did.”
~
“Well, he’s home,” Kelly said, her voice already a little shaky.
“It’s fine. We knew he probably would be.” Joey walked around to her, taking his place beside her as the stood in the paved driveway.
“Maybe I should go in alone first,” she said quietly. “Just to talk to him…try and calm him down. If you walk in with me he’s going to think the worst and then things really might get out of hand. I just…”
“I’m coming in with you,” Joey said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “I heard the way he talked to you earlier. He won’t ever talk to you like that again…not as long as I’m here.” Taking her hand in his, he gently pulled her towards the door. “Come on. Let’s get this done.”
Part 7
Joey watched as she softly knocked on the door—yet another indication that she wasn’t an equal here. She couldn’t use a key and walk in—she had to wait to be invited. This was sick and he couldn’t watch it any longer.
The door swung open with a force that startled both of them. Scott stood behind the door, the smell of stale beer permeating the air. “Well..Well..Well,” he muttered, his speech slurred, “Look who decided to come home.” Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her inside. “Get in here.”
Kelly tried to protest..to warn him, but she couldn’t. His grip was too strong and the alcohol only fueled his anger. He was on a roll—so much so that he hadn’t even noticed Joey’s presence.
“You think you can just walk out of this house like that?” he sneered at her, waving a half empty bottle in her face? “Is that what you think?” he screamed hovering in her face. The sound of the bottle as he threw it against the wall made Kelly flinch and Joey had seen enough.
“You’re gonna want to back off now,” he said, stepping inside. He’d never considered himself a fighter—in fact, in school he’d been the guy that usually stayed out of the way when the fights broke out, but where Kelly was concerned, logic took a back seat. The fact that the guy was clearly drunk meant nothing to him. He’d put his hands on Kelly and that was unacceptable.
“Who the hell are you?” Scott spat at him, looking quickly between Kelly and Joey. Walking over to Joey, he stepped up to him, “You want her?” he asked him, his breath indicative of something far stronger than beer. “She been whoring around with you? That where she’s been?”
“Scott…stop, please,” Kelly said tearfully.
“You shut the hell up,” Scott screamed at her. “I deal with you later.”
“Go get your things, Kelly,” Joey said looking at her.
“Joey, I don’t think that’s….” Kelly had seen Scott angry. She’d seen him drunk and angry, but she wasn’t sure she’d even seen him quite like this. He was feeling cornered and that could be a dangerous situation. She didn’t want to leave Joey with him…Scott was a bully, but he was also clearly drunk…and when he was this drunk, he didn’t use his head. Things happened when he got drunk. People got hurt.
“Kelly…it’s fine. Go upstairs and get your things,” Joey repeated.
“Wait a minute,” Scott said, staggering over to Kelly and grabbing her again, pulling her roughly towards him, “You don’t come in my house and tell my woman what to do.”
Joey took a step towards Scott and looked him in the eye. “Kelly isn’t staying here with you. You don’t deserve her. You’ve hurt her. You’ve disrespected her and you’re doing it now. You’ve got your hands on her. Get them off.”
Scott looked at Joey and released Kelly’s arms, “Oh, I get it,” he said, laughing, “You’re gonna come in here and be a hero….rescue the damsel in distress. You think you’re gonna bring her home and clean her up…think she’ll make a good trophy wife for you? I’ve got news for you..she’s trash,” he sneered. “You come in here judging me….you think you can do better. She’s out there sleeping with all the guys, like the whore she is…acting like some slut. How would that make you feel? You do what you have to do to keep her in line.”
Joey might have been able to write off his maniacal accusations as a drunken, pathetic fool’s ramblings if it hadn’t been for Kelly’s sobs. Those sobs incited a fury in him he couldn’t describe and before he realized what he was doing, he felt his hand connect with Scott’s jaw.
As he saw him slump to the floor, he looked over at Kelly, “Go get your stuff,” he said softly. “I’m going to call the police and get somebody out here.”
Kelly didn’t move. She sat on the stairs hunched over, her body shaking with silent sobs.
Joey walked over to her. “Hey,” he said, touching her back. She shuddered at his touch. “It’s ok,” he said softly. “It’s gonna be over soon. Go get your stuff. We’ll send for the rest. I’ll make sure he stays right here. Ok?”
Kelly looked up at him, her eyes still filled with tears, her hands still shaking. With Joey’s help, she slowly stood from the steps and climbed them one by one.
Joey watched her walk into the room and then looked back at Scott. Picking up the phone, he dialed the 911, he wanted him out of here. If he woke up again, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.
Part 8
Joey watched as the police cuffed Scott. He’d been worried initially that they wouldn’t have grounds to arrest him without having to question Kelly, but Scott’s rants and raves after regaining consciousness took care of any concerns he had. Drunk and disorderly was the charge for now, but Joey explained the situation to the police and they gave him a card to come to the station with Kelly later.
As he watched the squad car pull away, he stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what to do next. There was a part of him that couldn’t believe she would stay with a man like that. Kelly was always a bit of a hellion and the thought of her succumbing to anyone was a bit of a stretch. The woman he’d seen a moment ago…hunched on the steps, afraid to move—that wasn’t Kelly. That was someone else. Scott had broken her…shattered her spark, her confidence, her love of life. Now it was his turn to pick up the pieces.
He climbed the stairs and turned into the room he’d seen Kelly disappear into earlier. Kelly sat on the bed, in an almost trance—mindlessly folding a few clothes and placing them ever so slowly in a bag.
“Need some help?” he asked, sitting beside her.
“Sorry,” Kelly said looking up at him, “I’ll try to hurry.”
Joey hated that—the way she was so quick to apologize. It was as if she’d been programmed to think everything she did was wrong. “You don’t have to apologize, Kel,” he said softly. “Look at me.” He waited for her to slowly turn her eyes toward him. “I’m not Scott,” he said, his voice kind but firm. “Scott is on his way to the police station. He’s not ever going to hurt you again. I’m here now.”
It was as if she finally heard him and he could see some of the tension leave her shoulders. He moved closer and let her lean against him as he wrapped his arm around her.
She took a shaky breath. “This is it,” she said, gesturing to the bag on the bed.
“This is all you want to take today?” Joey asked, taking note of the small size of the bag.
Kelly shook her head, “No, this is it. That’s all my clothes.”
Joey ran his hand through the stacks, ten..maybe twelve shirts, some jeans, some pants, a sweater or two. He looked up at her his eyes asking all the questions his mouth was afraid to.
Kelly understood and answered before he had to ask. “Scott thought my clothes were too….revealing and he went through this thing a few weeks ago. He took most of them and cut them up. When I came home from the grocery, I found them on the bed…shredded.”
Joey didn’t know what to say. He looked at Kelly noticing her outfit, “This is nice,” he said gesturing to what she wore.
“I stopped on the way to Llanview and bought a few things and the dress I had on the other night,” she said, looking at the floor. “I knew if I showed up wearing something like this,” She reached into the bag and pulled out a long sleeve crew neck t-shirt, “you’d be suspicious”.
Joey forced a smile, “Yeah, that’s not exactly your style.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Is there anything here that you care about,” he asked?
Kelly nodded, walking over to the side of the room where the wardrobe stood. He watched as she opened a drawer and shifted the contents around, clearly looking for something specific. She pulled out an old watch box.
“A watch,” Joey asked a little confused. “Since when do you care so much about watches?”
Kelly slowly opened the box and pulled out the watch, sitting it on the bed. As she pulled the foam, Joey understood. It wasn’t the watch at all. It was what the watch was hiding.
She pulled out a ring, and held it for him to see. “This,” she said softly.
Joey’s breath caught. He’d know that ring anywhere. That was the ring he’d given Kelly when he asked her to marry him. Walking over to her, he slowly closed his hand around hers and softly kissed her forehead. “Let’s get out of here,” he said softly as he led her to the doorway.
Part 9
Joey sat in the straight chair waiting for Kelly. As he saw the female office handing her a cup of water, he stood, walking over to them. “Everything ok,” he asked?
Kelly nodded. “I think I’m all finished here,” she said quietly.
The officer nodded, “You did great. We’ll call you if we need anything else. For now, I think we’ve got more than enough to charge him and keep him here.”
She reached over and patted Kelly’s arm. “You take care.”
Kelly nodded and looked back at Joey. “Can we go now?”
Joey nodded, walking her out. “I have an idea”.
Looking back at him, Kelly actually smiled. There was a spark in Joey’s eyes. That spark was something she’d missed so often in the last year—“What?”
“Let’s go get you some clothes,” he said smiling at her.
“You want to go shopping,” she said, her eyes widening a little.
“What?” Joey said, feigning indignation, “Men can shop too. It’s just that…well, you don’t have any clothes and while all the single guys in Llanview probably wouldn’t mind if you walked around in nothing at all, you’d probably get some not so nice looks from the married women.”
Without even realizing it, she laughed. “You are incredible.” Looking up at him, she couldn’t help but smile. “You come here and go through all this with me and you actually make me laugh. How do you do it?”
“What can I say? It’s a gift,” he smiled.
“It’s you,” she said softly, leaning in to him…”It’s who you are, and I’m so grateful you’re here with me.”
Joey leaned down to kiss her forehead, “Me too,” he whispered.
Part 10
“You don’t have to do this.” Kelly couldn’t help but smile as she looked back at Joey who could barely see over the armful of bags. “Really, I don’t need all this.”
Joey sat on the bench and went to work consolidating the bags. “You deserve to be pampered a little. Besides—I’ve missed Christmas and your birthday and all the holidays in between…consider this back pay.”
Kelly smiled, “Well, you’re certainly all paid up now. We need to get back to the hotel. The flight leaves early in the morning.”
“Not yet,” Joey said. “One more store…”
Joey grabbed the three larger bags, now much heavier since they held all the smaller ones and directed Kelly towards the last store. “What else can I possibly need?”
Rolling his eyes and pretending to be put off, Joey looked at her, “If you insist on knowing, I made dinner reservations tonight and you’re going to need a dress—a nice one. This is the perfect place.”
Kelly was stunned. “When did you do that?”
“I work fast….and you did slip off to the dressing room for a little while.”
He smiled at her surprised expression. “Why don’t you go inside and pick out something for tonight and let me go and make a quick call just to make sure everything’s set with the flight tomorrow. I’ll be in in a minute.”
Kelly nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You’re incredible,” she whispered and headed into the store.
Joey smiled as he watched her disappear. He quickly strolled into the small stores a little bit further down the mall.
“It’s ready,” the store clerk said, pulling out the small bag from under the counter.
“Thank you,” Joey said.
“Special night?” she asked.
“Yeah…yeah it is, and this is going to make it perfect.”
Part 11
Joey made sure his bag was totally hidden within the maze of bags as he stepped into the dress shop. He saw Kelly still empty handed.
“Hey,” he said, approaching her, “Having trouble finding something you like?”
“No…no..it’s not that at all,” she said, a little ashamed of the real reason she hadn’t tried anything on. “These dresses are beautiful…all of them. It’s just that they’re strapless or strappy and…”
“Kelly,” Joey said slowly, “You don’t have to worry about that. I think you’re beautiful and Scott…he was crazy. You can dress any way you want.”
Kelly shook her head. “It’s not that,” she said quietly. She looked around the store, taking Joey’s hand and pulling him to a corner where she was sure no one would see. As she pulled the shirt away from her collarbone, Joey understood.
“God, Kelly,” he said, touching her skin softly. “I didn’t know.”
“I just…I can’t wear these dresses..not like this…”
Joey felt terrible. He knew it was bad with Scott, but seeing her skin bruised, it somehow made it more real. He wished he’d done more when he’d had the opportunity. He wished he had left some bruises of his own. “You know what,” he said, touching her face. “Forget the dress. We’ll pick up food and take it back to the hotel.”
“I ruined your evening,” Kelly said softly.
“Don’t you ever think that,” he said softly, taking her face in his hands, “You didn’t ruin anything. We’re just changing gears. Instead of shopping for formal wear, we’ll shop for pajamas and slippers. Come on..”
Kelly smiled and followed him from the store. For the first time in a long while, she really felt as if things might be ok.
Part 12
“Wow,” Joey said smiling. “Do they make those in mens?”
“If they do, they shouldn’t,” Kelly said laughing as she sat on the bed, grabbing a box of Chinese take-out and a set of chopsticks.
“What? You don’t think I could rock the peace sign pajama bottoms? I’m hurt.”
Kelly laughed. “Are you trying to choke me again?”
“No. I don’t want to have to attempt any drastic life saving measures in here tonight,” he said with a smile.
Kelly looked at him, smiling at first, then turning serious. “You did you know.”
“What?” he said looking at her.
“You saved my life. He could have killed me if I’d stayed. If he’d decided to….he could have.”
Joey walked over to the bed and sat beside her. “That didn’t happen…He’s gone. He’s out of your life for good.”
“Because of you,” she said, looking into his eyes intently, “You took me out of there. If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“It wasn’t just me. You came to Llanview. You made that choice to leave. You came to me…you knew you had to tell someone. I’m just glad you knew you could come home.”
“You’re my home. You always have been. Wherever you are…that’s where I feel safe,” she said, averting her eyes for a moment.
Joey stood up and walked over to the chair.
Thinking she’d said too much, Kelly walked over to him, “I’m sorry,” she began. “I didn’t mean to push. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate everything…” Her words stopped when she saw his hands. Their contents changed everything.
Part 13
“Joey…I…” She felt herself begin to shake as he carefully led her back to the bed.
He sat the small box on the bedside table and gently took her hands in his. “Kelly,” he began, “I know that you think you’ve made a mess of your life. I know that you feel like you’re just one big screw up after another, but that’s not the way I see you. It’s never been the way I see you.” He smiled at her, taking a breath before he continued. “You live your life…good or bad. You don’t just sit back and watch. You’re exciting and you’re fun and you make me want to be exciting and fun too.”
Kelly felt the tears begin. “I get you into trouble.”
“I loved every minute of it. Last year, after you left and after all this mess with Aubrey, I was trying to get my life back on track so I did a lot of thinking. I started thinking back to when I was really happy…the times in my life where I really truly felt content and I realized something.”
“What?”
“They were all with you,” he said softly. “Every time in my life when I truly felt happy, I shared with you. And before you even say it, I know we had our bad moments too, but what stands out are the moments when we were happy. The nights we’d spend laughing and talking—how good that was and how much I missed it—how much I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” she said, wiping away the tears.
“I don’t want to miss you anymore,” Joey whispered. “I’m tired of wasting time chasing happiness when I have it right in front of me. I’ve let you go too many times to be stupid enough to do it again.” He reached for the box and opened it, holding it in front of Kelly. “I know it seems sudden…and I know you’ve just been through a lot, but that’s part of the reason I want to do this now. I want this to be a new beginning for us and for you. I want you to know that I’m in…for good…forever. Marry me, Kelly. Marry me and you’ll never have to be anything but you again.”
Her kiss was the only answer he needed.
The End
Cover Up
Joey/Kelly
PG-13 (Content, language)
Kelly checked her watch. 6:30. He had said 6:00, hadn’t he? Surely she hadn’t screwed this up? The way her mind had been recently, she didn’t feel sure of anything anymore. Placing her hand on her leg to stop the shaking, she took a sip of the white wine in front on her. Sensing a presence behind her, she turned.
“Hi,” she smiled.
“Hi, yourself,” Joey said, sitting across the table from her. “You look good.”
“So do you,” she said, smiling at him. She literally felt the tension leaving her body. Leaving Llanview last year hadn’t been easy, but she’d told herself it was for the best. If only she’d known then what she now knew…she would have never left the comforts of home. Joey was her safe place. She’d always known that and he’d never know how grateful she was to have him to come home to.
“Hey,” he said, softly, breaking her from her daydream, “Where’d you go?”
“Oh, sorry,” she replied, snapping back to attention, “I was just thinking. So..tell me what’s been going on with you. Life has to be different since…”
Joey laughed a little, “Since my wife was arrested for extortion among other things.”
Kelly winced, “I’m sure I would have come up with something a little less harsh.”
He smiled, “I’m sure you would have, but let’s just be honest. She’s in jail…where she belongs and life is…life is good. I’m getting back to what I love to do. I’m working for the Banner again.”
“That’s really great,” she smiled. Joey had always loved photography and she was truly happy he was getting a chance to pursue his dream again.
“What about you?” he asked, looking at her hand, “No ring yet, I see?”
Kelly forced a smile, “No. Not yet.”
“Well, what’s he waiting on?” Joey asked, trying to seem supportive. “Doesn’t he know what a catch you are?”
Kelly laughed a bit. She didn’t really know what Scott thought anymore. In the beginning, their life had been nearly perfect. After everything with Joey, Scott had been just what she needed. Attentive and caring and he was interested in everything she did. Thinking back, It had started early…the phone calls, the questions, the jealousy. At first, she’d thought it was kind of sweet. She’d even mentioned it to Dorian who had told her to be glad she had a guy that knew she was a catch. That made sense for a while, but then it didn’t anymore.
“So where is he?” Joey said, causing Kelly to take notice of his presence again.
“Where is who?” she asked, trying not to appear as out of it as she felt.
“Who?” Joey laughed, “Mr. Charming…What’s his name? Scott.”
Kelly forced another smile, “Yeah, he’s got a meeting tonight. He couldn’t come.”
He was charming….to everyone else. At work no one had a clue what he could be like when things didn’t go his way…when you dared have your own opinion…when you did something he didn’t approve of. No one knew what it was like on weekends when he came home from work early so that he could get a head start on his drinking. No one knew that Scott.
“You want to get out of here,” Joey asked, after he had tried in vain twice to get Kelly’s attention.
“Huh?” Kelly asked.
“What is it with you tonight?” Joey smiled. “It’s like you’re in another world.”
Kelly sighed, “Sorry, I guess I’m just tired. This place is just really busy and with all the people and the music…it’s just like sensory overload.”
“Well, that settles it,” Joey explained. “I know just the place. Come on.”
Kelly moved to stand as she felt her bracelet fall to the floor. She moved to retrieve it, but was stopped by Joey.
“I got it,” he said, crossing the table to her side and kneeling beside her to help her refasten it around her wrist. The soft lights from the bar shone on the clasp and cast an unmistakable glow on the shades of blue and green that adorned the bones of her wrist. Joey held her wrist in his hand for a moment, looking at it, before looking up at her. “Kel, what happened to your wrist?”
“It’s nothing really. It’s silly,” she said, laughing nervously. “I was shopping last weekend and the stupid trunk shut on my wrist. I think that’s what’s wrong with that silly clasp too.”
Joey stood up, helping her to her feet. He didn’t buy the story for a second, but he also didn’t want Kelly spilling a story like this in a crowded restaurant. There were better places to talk—and he knew just the place.
Part 2
He watched her as she stood there. The sunset cast eerie shadows across her face, but the warmth of the rays seemed to relax her in a way she hadn’t been all evening. Part of him hated to interrupt the moment. She seemed peaceful and to ask her questions, to make her talk, it would surely end that peace.
“Kelly,” Joey said, lightly touching her shoulder.
Almost immediately the tension seemed to return. It was as if she sensed what was coming next. She turned to look at him, her eyes almost pleading with him not to ask any questions. “It’s beautiful up here,” she said, smiling.
“That’s why I brought you here,” he said softly. “This was always a place where we could be honest with each other—a place where we could talk and say anything no matter how hard it is.”
“Let it go,” she said, turning away from him again.
Joey gently took her shoulders and turned her back towards him. “You have no idea how much I wish I could,” he said quietly, brushing her hair back off her shoulders, “but you know I can’t. I can’t walk away from this. I can’t walk away from you.”
“It’s not what you think.” Kelly walked over to the sky light, sitting on the edge. “I’m not some battered woman. I’m smarter than that.”
Joey took a breath. His body was full of contradictions. Part of him felt physically ill. The thought of someone—anyone putting their hands on Kelly and hurting her made him ill—yet it also made him angry. So angry in fact, that it was a good thing Scott had a meeting. He wouldn’t trust himself around him at the moment. “Tell me what it is like,” he said, sitting beside her.
“Scott has a lot going on,” she said quietly, looking up at Joey and quickly seeing that her excuses weren’t making any headway with him, “and I’m not making excuses for him, but he’s just…he’s been under a lot of pressure lately. Work has been crazy and his family has been pressuring him to advance at the office. He’s been working really long hours and when he comes home, he just wants to relax.”
“Relaxing is fine,” Joey said looking at her, “you’re still not explaining this,” he said, lifting her wrist.
“Scott drinks sometimes,” she admitted, looking down at the cement. “Sometimes he drinks a little too much and he gets upset.”
Feeling his blood pressure rising, Joey forced himself to ask, “How upset?”
“Like,” Kelly took a breath, “Like if he comes home from work and I’m not there and I forgot to leave him a note, he gets worried because he doesn’t know where I am and then when I get home he’s really upset.”
“Kelly…” Joey began..
“No, see. He’s really worried about me,” she said, feeling herself begin to shake, “and I normally do remember to leave a note, so it doesn’t happen a lot anymore.”
Joey shook his head. “Kelly. He is not your father. You don’t have to answer to him.”
Kelly sat quietly for a moment, not speaking.
“When did it start?” Joey asked.
“I don’t really know,” she said, her eyes filling with tears, “He was always kind of clingy, but at first I thought it was kind of cute, but then…somehow it stopped becoming cute.”
Joey placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to stop the shaking. Her skin felt cold. Slipping off his jacket, he draped it around her shoulders. “Better?”
“Thanks,” she said, looking up at him. “Tonight..when I called and said I had business here in town….that was a lie.”
Joey nodded, “Ok.” He wanted to let her talk. She needed to talk and he needed to hear anything she was willing to share.
“I had to get out of there. Before…he had always yelled and screamed. He’d grabbed me before,” she held up her wrist, to illustrate her point, “but the other night…” She stopped, not realizing how difficult it was to continue.
“What?” Joey asked, “What happened.”
“He came home from work early. I had gone out to the store to pick up some groceries and when I got home he asked me why I was dressed up.” She looked up at Joey. “I wasn’t. I had on a linen skirt and a blouse. It was warm out and I was just thinking about something light.”
Joey hated seeing her like this…explaining herself…fearful.
“Anyway, he asked me who I went to see and I told him that I just went shopping. He said I was lying and he just went on and on. He was yelling and pacing and angrier than I had ever seen him. He kept screaming and he backed me up against the wall and he raised his hand…” The tears fell from her eyes as she remembered how terrifying it had been. Looking up at Joey, she managed to continue. “I really thought he was going to hit me…and if he had, I don’t know if he would have stopped.”
It was Joey’s turn to fight for composure now. “You’re not going back there.” He had often thought about the man Kelly was with. If she’d come here and told him that she was in love---that she was happy…maybe he could have been happy for her. It wouldn’t have hurt any less of course, but he could have lived with it—with the choice he’d made. But this, this was different. He couldn’t sit back and watch her be hurt—he’d hurt her enough and he couldn’t let this happen to her.
“I can’t just not come back,” Kelly said softly, standing up and walking towards the edge of the rail. “He needs me. He’s not a bad guy, really.” She looked back at Joey, catching note of the expression. She knew what he was thinking and she admitted the words sounded less convincing as she heard them come from her own mouth. “Scott needs help…I know that, but if I leave..he’ll never get help.”
Joey walked to stand beside her. “You can’t help him with this,” he said gently, but with authority he’d not heard in himself in quite some time. “I won’t stand back and watch this happen to you.”
Part 3
“You don’t have to do this,” Kelly protested, as they pulled up into the parking spot. “I would have been fine at Aunt Dorian’s.”
Joey shook his head. “I’ll feel better with you here and besides, you get great deals when you book at the last minute. “ He smiled at her, desperately trying to win a smile in return.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, as he retrieved her bag from the car. “Come on, let’s go.”
“You don’t have to escort me. I think I can find the room. You’ve already done enough, really.” She hated feeling helpless like this.
Joey stared at her for a minute. “I’m not leaving you here,” he stated, as he realized she was under the impression she was being dropped off. “I’m staying with you.”
“Joey,” Kelly started…
“No discussion. There is no way I’m leaving you alone right now. You said yourself that Scott gets upset when things don’t go his way. What do you think he’s gonna do when you don’t come home?”
“I know exactly what he’s gonna do,” Kelly stammered, “He’s going to come looking for me. That’s why you can’t be here.”
“No,” Joey said, looking directly into her eyes, “that’s exactly why I’m going to be here.”
Kelly sat on the bed and looked around the room. Joey was right—the place was really nice. The furnishings were sleek and modern and the beds were covered in luxury linens. If she allowed herself to forget, even for a moment, she could imagine she was here with Joey for a completely different reason.
As she heard the door handle rattle, she felt herself tense, but seeing Joey enter, she immediately relaxed. “I talked to the guy at the front desk and explained the situation. No one will be given your information. No one will be told we’re here.”
Kelly nodded. “This is really unnecessary, Joey.”
“No,” he said, cutting her off. “It’s not. I need you to trust me on this, Kelly.”
“The way you trusted me about Aubrey?” As soon as she said it, she regretted it. This certainly wasn’t the time to be throwing the Aubrey situation in Joey’s face. He was just trying to help her and she knew it. She just…she couldn’t help feeling that he wasn’t listening to her. Scott had been there for her when Joey wasn’t, and he had his faults, but Joey had to understand that, at the time, Scott had filled a need for her.
“Kelly, I” Joey started to speak, to explain…
“I’m sorry,” Kelly said quickly, “That just came out. I’m just so…I’m so tired of being angry and upset and of not telling you any of it. I was so damn angry at you when I left.”
Joey sat down on the bed silently, letting her talk. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she sat on the bed across on the bed across from him, facing him.
“When I left Llanview, I was determined to be ok without you. I saw that you weren’t going to listen to me about Aubrey and as much as I hated knowing what she was going to do to you, I had to let it go. I had to walk away—for me. When I met Scott, he was amazing. He said all the right things. He was kind and compassionate. He listened and he was so interested in every aspect of my life. He told me I was beautiful and he sent me flowers and he made me feel like the most special person in the world.”
Joey nodded. “Did you love him?”
Kelly paused, “Maybe…kind of. I don’t know,” she admitted. “I think I wanted to. I really did. I wanted to believe that I could have a life with him and be happy and just forget about what I walked away from here, but I couldn’t. Sometimes it would be a song…sometimes it was the way a couple laughed when they walked down the street, and sometimes it was just a memory that popped into my head, but somehow, some way….you always crept into my mind.” She looked up at him. “The more Scott pushed me to commit to him, the more I thought about you. We’d get into these fights about me not wanting the same things and he’d get angrier each time.”
Joey still didn’t speak. As long as she was talking to him, he wasn’t going to stop her.
“One night, I came home and he was waiting for me. He told me that he was tired of waiting of me to make up my mind. He said that if I didn’t want to marry him, that I needed to tell him. That I needed to stop wasting his time. I told him I wasn’t ready to make a commitment like that and he lost it. He just lost it. I said I was leaving and I tried to, but…” She stopped for a moment, taking a breath.
“Was that the first time?” Joey asked quietly.
“He didn’t hit me,” she whispered, “He just grabbed my arm so tight I thought he was going to break it. I remember he said that I didn’t have the right to jerk him around like that..to mess with his feelings. He was just so angry.”
Joey watched her as she spoke. Her eyes filled with fear as if she were literally reliving the moment with each word she spoke.
“Anyway,” she said, regaining her composure somewhat, “After that, it just got worse. He’d come home and start drinking and he’d get angry. We’d fight. He’d yell and it would usually end up with him throwing something at me or grabbing me or something.” Kelly looked away from Joey. “I know what you’re thinking.”
Joey reached out to her. “What do you think I’m thinking?”
“You’re thinking that it’s pathetic that I stayed. You’re thinking I should have left the first time…that I never should have let it get this far.” She knew Joey well enough to know that he had no tolerance for this type of behavior.
“Hey,” he said, gently turning her chin towards him, “I’m not blaming any of this on you. Do I wish you had left this jackass a long time ago? Sure. But that doesn’t give him any right to continue treating you like this.”
Kelly felt a tear escape down her cheek, but quickly brushed it away, “I know. He isn’t a violent person, and normally he’s a really sweet guy. After our fights, he really does feel terrible about it,” she explained, realizing how trivial the excuses sounded.
“Not nearly terrible enough,” Joey said. “Listen, Kelly. I think it’s important that you get out of there now. In the morning, we’ll book a flight. I’ll go with you. We can go, get your things, and be out of there in a few hours.”
Kelly furiously shook her head. “That’s a bad idea. If I show up at home with another man, he’ll go ballistic.”
“You’re not going back in that house alone,” Joey told her. “Before…what you said about being angry with me.” Joey stopped to look into her eyes. “You were angry because I wasn’t there for you…I wasn’t there for you the way you wanted me to be. Let me be there now. Let me help you through this.”
She knew it wouldn’t be easy. Scott would be furious. It would be an ugly scene, but she was so tired…tired of being afraid of saying the wrong thing…of wearing the wrong thing…of looking the wrong way. She was just so tired.
It was as if he sensed he resignation as he sat beside her on the bed and took her hand in his. He lowered his head, making sure to catch her gaze. “I’m here now, Kelly. Isn’t that worth something?”
She nodded, feeling the tears flowing again. Leaning in to him, she allowed all the emotions she’d been bottling up for what seemed like years to escape. Her body shook with sobs that had been stifled. Joey simply held her and let her cry. Tonight he was her shoulder to cry on, and he wasn’t going to let her down.
Part 4
Joey glanced over at the small alarm clock on the bedside table. 2:00—He was fairly certain he’d seen every hour come in. Sleeping in new places had never been his thing. Kelly had fallen asleep hours ago, he thought out of sheer and total exhaustion. The thought of what she’d been going through haunted him. He blamed himself for not keeping better contact with her. If he’d called more..if he’d talked to her…surely he would have noticed. Surely he would have picked up on the signs that something wasn’t right. Running his hand over his face, he wondered what he could have done differently. The truth was there was very little he wouldn’t change, if given the chance. His marriage to Aubrey had been a disaster—if it weren’t for that, he and Kelly might have been able to have a shot at something.
He glanced over in Kelly’s direction thinking as he heard the covers on the other bed rustle. She stilled again and he went back to his guilt. He certainly had plenty to think about. His guilt had kept him awake many nights. Another small noise from Kelly’s direction distracted him. As he watched her, he noticed her back shake a bit. “Kelly,” he whispered softly.
The noise stopped, instead replaced by frantic movement. Turning towards him, she whispered, “I didn’t realize you were awake.”
Joey reached up to turn on the overhead lamp and immediately noticed she’d been crying. “Hey…what’s wrong?” He stood from the bed and walked over to sit beside her.
Kelly felt silly and stupid. “I’m sorry. I thought you were asleep,” she sniffled. “I didn’t want to bother you with all this. You’ve already done more than enough.”
“It’s ok,” Joey said softly, stroking her hair. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Just feeling sorry for myself basically,” Kelly explained, wiping her face to catch the most recent barrage of tears. “I mean, I was just thinking about how pathetic I must look to you. I mean, my whole life is one screw up after another.”
Joey shook his head, “I don’t think that at all.”
“Well you should,” she scoffed before continuing, “Think about it..my mother…she spent most of her adult life in a mental institution…then there was the wild life that I supposedly had in Paris that never really happened, then you’ve got the whole Blair situation, only to be followed by the situation with Ace and…” Kelly took a breath. Saying it…repeating each life tragedy one after another did make it all sound kind of daunting. No wonder she had issues.
“Kelly, it’s not like my life has been perfect. Everyone has their problems. No family is perfect. Have you checked out the Buchanans lately?” He smiled.
“I know, but I mean…I left town to get a fresh start. I wanted a new life and I come back to town with this.” Kelly shut her eyes and leaned her head against the headboard. “I must attract this stuff somehow. Nobody can be this unlucky.”
“No. Bad things just happen to you. You haven’t done anything to make these things happen. In fact, in spite of it all, I think you’ve turned out pretty incredible.” Joey looked at her.
Kelly wasn’t buying it.
“Come on, Kel. It’s true. You’re warm and caring and smart. You’re a great mother to Zane and you’re loyal to your family and your friends. God knows you gave me every chance in the world to listen to you during the whole thing with Aubrey. I shot you down so many times and yet you still kept trying. You just wouldn’t give up on me.”
“I couldn’t,” she admitted softly. “I could never give up on you.”
“Same here,” he smiled. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you now. I’m not giving up on you. No matter how bad it is. No matter how bad it sounds. No matter what Scott says or does when we go up there. I’m not giving up on you.”
Part 5
The sound of the cell phone roused them from sleep. Joey leaned to the side of the bed, realizing for the first time that Kelly lay curled up beside him. He couldn’t help but smile as he checked for his phone.
Kelly stirred, “Oh…that’s mine,” she said, reaching for her purse, on the chair beside the bed. She quickly checked the screen and furrowed her brow.
“What is it?” Joey asked, noting her change in expression.
“It’s Scott,” she said, looking up at Joey. “Honestly, I’m surprised it took him this long to call. I need to call him back.”
“Don’t,” Joey said, reaching out to touch her hand and stop her. “You don’t have to answer to him.”
“It will be easier if I just call him and tell him that I’m coming home today. At least then it won’t be like we just show up and take him by surprise. That would be even worse.”
Joey thought about it for a moment. “Ok, if you think it’s best.”
Kelly nodded. “I do…” As she moved to dial, she looked up at Joey.
“I’m coming with you, ok?” Joey said looking at her, “You just remember that. You don’t have anything to be afraid of.”
“No records of anyone by that name,” Scott said into the phone, his face clearly annoyed, “Ok, thanks.” He clicked the button on the cell phone and sat it down hard on the phone. “Where the hell are you, Kelly?” he muttered aloud.
The buzzing of the phone caused it to scamper across the table. Scott grabbed it, answering it quickly when Kelly’s name appeared on the caller ID. “Where the hell are you?,” he said in lieu of a greeting. “I’ve been calling you all morning.”
“Sorry,” Kelly said, trying to place her hand over the receiving in an attempt to muffle his harsh words. One look at Joey’s face told her it was useless.
Joey felt his blood pressure rising. The fact that he spoke to Kelly that way was bad enough, but knowing that he put his hands on her was enough to make him want to be sick.
“I’m sorry,” Kelly said quietly, “I didn’t hear the phone.”
“Whatever,” Scott said, “You didn’t answer my question. Where the hell are you?” He took a sip of coffee.
“I’m in Llanview actually. I came to see my family for a little while.”
Scott was silent for a minute. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to see your family?” he asked, obviously suspicious. “This was an awful sudden trip.”
Kelly literally felt as if she were shaking. She looked over at Joey.
“It’s ok,” Joey whispered, trying to help her stay calm.
Scott’s face grew serious. “Who was that?” he said, his voice raised and curt.
“What?” Kelly said as she felt her heartbeat race. “That was just the tv.”
“That wasn’t the tv. That was a man’s voice? Who’s there with you? Is that why you left? You thought you’d go whore around behind my back?”
Kelly felt the tears fall down her face, “Scott…I told you..I”
“Save it,” he screamed, “Come home…Now! We’ll deal with it then. I’ll fix it so that you won’t be quite so appealing from now on.”
Before Kelly could answer, Joey grabbed the phone from her hand, slamming it shut. “Enough,” he said looking at her. “You’re not listening to any more of that.”
Kelly’s eyes were full of tears. She was shaking. She felt completely and totally out of control.
As angry as Joey was at Scott, he was equally concerned about her. “Come here,” he said softly, gathering her into his arms, trying desperately to calm her shivering, soothing her jagged breaths with calming strokes on her back. “It’s going to be ok. I promise you. He will never touch you again.”
Kelly shook her head. “You don’t know how he can get Joey,” she said through the tears. “I don’t want to get you caught up in this whole thing.”
“Hey,” he said, backing away from her slightly. “Too late. I’m all in.”
Part 6
Joey glanced over at her. She’d barely said three words since they left the hotel. He could tell she was nervous. She always got quiet when she was anxious about something. All the signs were there…the silence, the fidgeting, the taut facial expressions. Sometimes knowing someone so well was not such a good thing…sometimes you knew too much.
Casually removing one hand from the wheel, he reached over to take her hand. “It’s going to be ok,” he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Kelly met his gaze and sighed. She had tried so hard to appear ok, yet Joey knew all her secrets—her little signals that she was anything but ok. “Was I that obvious?” she asked, forcing a smile.
“Not to a novice,” he smiled, “but to a trained expert like myself, you’re pretty transparent.” Joey squeezed her hand again, “But it will be ok. I promise. We’re going to go in there, get your things, and get your out of this whole mess.”
Kelly closed her eyes. She wished she truly believed it would be that simple, but Joey didn’t know how he could be. How angry he could really get…”Joey,” she began slowly, “What if he…What if he won’t let me…”
Joey shook his head, “He doesn’t have a choice,” he said bluntly. “I’m here now and I’m not going to sit back and watch you stay in a situation like this. He’s going to see that you’re not alone and he’ll back off.”
“And if he doesn’t,” she said quietly, looking at Joey.
Joey sighed, “If he doesn’t, he’ll wish he did.”
~
“Well, he’s home,” Kelly said, her voice already a little shaky.
“It’s fine. We knew he probably would be.” Joey walked around to her, taking his place beside her as the stood in the paved driveway.
“Maybe I should go in alone first,” she said quietly. “Just to talk to him…try and calm him down. If you walk in with me he’s going to think the worst and then things really might get out of hand. I just…”
“I’m coming in with you,” Joey said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “I heard the way he talked to you earlier. He won’t ever talk to you like that again…not as long as I’m here.” Taking her hand in his, he gently pulled her towards the door. “Come on. Let’s get this done.”
Part 7
Joey watched as she softly knocked on the door—yet another indication that she wasn’t an equal here. She couldn’t use a key and walk in—she had to wait to be invited. This was sick and he couldn’t watch it any longer.
The door swung open with a force that startled both of them. Scott stood behind the door, the smell of stale beer permeating the air. “Well..Well..Well,” he muttered, his speech slurred, “Look who decided to come home.” Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her inside. “Get in here.”
Kelly tried to protest..to warn him, but she couldn’t. His grip was too strong and the alcohol only fueled his anger. He was on a roll—so much so that he hadn’t even noticed Joey’s presence.
“You think you can just walk out of this house like that?” he sneered at her, waving a half empty bottle in her face? “Is that what you think?” he screamed hovering in her face. The sound of the bottle as he threw it against the wall made Kelly flinch and Joey had seen enough.
“You’re gonna want to back off now,” he said, stepping inside. He’d never considered himself a fighter—in fact, in school he’d been the guy that usually stayed out of the way when the fights broke out, but where Kelly was concerned, logic took a back seat. The fact that the guy was clearly drunk meant nothing to him. He’d put his hands on Kelly and that was unacceptable.
“Who the hell are you?” Scott spat at him, looking quickly between Kelly and Joey. Walking over to Joey, he stepped up to him, “You want her?” he asked him, his breath indicative of something far stronger than beer. “She been whoring around with you? That where she’s been?”
“Scott…stop, please,” Kelly said tearfully.
“You shut the hell up,” Scott screamed at her. “I deal with you later.”
“Go get your things, Kelly,” Joey said looking at her.
“Joey, I don’t think that’s….” Kelly had seen Scott angry. She’d seen him drunk and angry, but she wasn’t sure she’d even seen him quite like this. He was feeling cornered and that could be a dangerous situation. She didn’t want to leave Joey with him…Scott was a bully, but he was also clearly drunk…and when he was this drunk, he didn’t use his head. Things happened when he got drunk. People got hurt.
“Kelly…it’s fine. Go upstairs and get your things,” Joey repeated.
“Wait a minute,” Scott said, staggering over to Kelly and grabbing her again, pulling her roughly towards him, “You don’t come in my house and tell my woman what to do.”
Joey took a step towards Scott and looked him in the eye. “Kelly isn’t staying here with you. You don’t deserve her. You’ve hurt her. You’ve disrespected her and you’re doing it now. You’ve got your hands on her. Get them off.”
Scott looked at Joey and released Kelly’s arms, “Oh, I get it,” he said, laughing, “You’re gonna come in here and be a hero….rescue the damsel in distress. You think you’re gonna bring her home and clean her up…think she’ll make a good trophy wife for you? I’ve got news for you..she’s trash,” he sneered. “You come in here judging me….you think you can do better. She’s out there sleeping with all the guys, like the whore she is…acting like some slut. How would that make you feel? You do what you have to do to keep her in line.”
Joey might have been able to write off his maniacal accusations as a drunken, pathetic fool’s ramblings if it hadn’t been for Kelly’s sobs. Those sobs incited a fury in him he couldn’t describe and before he realized what he was doing, he felt his hand connect with Scott’s jaw.
As he saw him slump to the floor, he looked over at Kelly, “Go get your stuff,” he said softly. “I’m going to call the police and get somebody out here.”
Kelly didn’t move. She sat on the stairs hunched over, her body shaking with silent sobs.
Joey walked over to her. “Hey,” he said, touching her back. She shuddered at his touch. “It’s ok,” he said softly. “It’s gonna be over soon. Go get your stuff. We’ll send for the rest. I’ll make sure he stays right here. Ok?”
Kelly looked up at him, her eyes still filled with tears, her hands still shaking. With Joey’s help, she slowly stood from the steps and climbed them one by one.
Joey watched her walk into the room and then looked back at Scott. Picking up the phone, he dialed the 911, he wanted him out of here. If he woke up again, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.
Part 8
Joey watched as the police cuffed Scott. He’d been worried initially that they wouldn’t have grounds to arrest him without having to question Kelly, but Scott’s rants and raves after regaining consciousness took care of any concerns he had. Drunk and disorderly was the charge for now, but Joey explained the situation to the police and they gave him a card to come to the station with Kelly later.
As he watched the squad car pull away, he stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what to do next. There was a part of him that couldn’t believe she would stay with a man like that. Kelly was always a bit of a hellion and the thought of her succumbing to anyone was a bit of a stretch. The woman he’d seen a moment ago…hunched on the steps, afraid to move—that wasn’t Kelly. That was someone else. Scott had broken her…shattered her spark, her confidence, her love of life. Now it was his turn to pick up the pieces.
He climbed the stairs and turned into the room he’d seen Kelly disappear into earlier. Kelly sat on the bed, in an almost trance—mindlessly folding a few clothes and placing them ever so slowly in a bag.
“Need some help?” he asked, sitting beside her.
“Sorry,” Kelly said looking up at him, “I’ll try to hurry.”
Joey hated that—the way she was so quick to apologize. It was as if she’d been programmed to think everything she did was wrong. “You don’t have to apologize, Kel,” he said softly. “Look at me.” He waited for her to slowly turn her eyes toward him. “I’m not Scott,” he said, his voice kind but firm. “Scott is on his way to the police station. He’s not ever going to hurt you again. I’m here now.”
It was as if she finally heard him and he could see some of the tension leave her shoulders. He moved closer and let her lean against him as he wrapped his arm around her.
She took a shaky breath. “This is it,” she said, gesturing to the bag on the bed.
“This is all you want to take today?” Joey asked, taking note of the small size of the bag.
Kelly shook her head, “No, this is it. That’s all my clothes.”
Joey ran his hand through the stacks, ten..maybe twelve shirts, some jeans, some pants, a sweater or two. He looked up at her his eyes asking all the questions his mouth was afraid to.
Kelly understood and answered before he had to ask. “Scott thought my clothes were too….revealing and he went through this thing a few weeks ago. He took most of them and cut them up. When I came home from the grocery, I found them on the bed…shredded.”
Joey didn’t know what to say. He looked at Kelly noticing her outfit, “This is nice,” he said gesturing to what she wore.
“I stopped on the way to Llanview and bought a few things and the dress I had on the other night,” she said, looking at the floor. “I knew if I showed up wearing something like this,” She reached into the bag and pulled out a long sleeve crew neck t-shirt, “you’d be suspicious”.
Joey forced a smile, “Yeah, that’s not exactly your style.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Is there anything here that you care about,” he asked?
Kelly nodded, walking over to the side of the room where the wardrobe stood. He watched as she opened a drawer and shifted the contents around, clearly looking for something specific. She pulled out an old watch box.
“A watch,” Joey asked a little confused. “Since when do you care so much about watches?”
Kelly slowly opened the box and pulled out the watch, sitting it on the bed. As she pulled the foam, Joey understood. It wasn’t the watch at all. It was what the watch was hiding.
She pulled out a ring, and held it for him to see. “This,” she said softly.
Joey’s breath caught. He’d know that ring anywhere. That was the ring he’d given Kelly when he asked her to marry him. Walking over to her, he slowly closed his hand around hers and softly kissed her forehead. “Let’s get out of here,” he said softly as he led her to the doorway.
Part 9
Joey sat in the straight chair waiting for Kelly. As he saw the female office handing her a cup of water, he stood, walking over to them. “Everything ok,” he asked?
Kelly nodded. “I think I’m all finished here,” she said quietly.
The officer nodded, “You did great. We’ll call you if we need anything else. For now, I think we’ve got more than enough to charge him and keep him here.”
She reached over and patted Kelly’s arm. “You take care.”
Kelly nodded and looked back at Joey. “Can we go now?”
Joey nodded, walking her out. “I have an idea”.
Looking back at him, Kelly actually smiled. There was a spark in Joey’s eyes. That spark was something she’d missed so often in the last year—“What?”
“Let’s go get you some clothes,” he said smiling at her.
“You want to go shopping,” she said, her eyes widening a little.
“What?” Joey said, feigning indignation, “Men can shop too. It’s just that…well, you don’t have any clothes and while all the single guys in Llanview probably wouldn’t mind if you walked around in nothing at all, you’d probably get some not so nice looks from the married women.”
Without even realizing it, she laughed. “You are incredible.” Looking up at him, she couldn’t help but smile. “You come here and go through all this with me and you actually make me laugh. How do you do it?”
“What can I say? It’s a gift,” he smiled.
“It’s you,” she said softly, leaning in to him…”It’s who you are, and I’m so grateful you’re here with me.”
Joey leaned down to kiss her forehead, “Me too,” he whispered.
Part 10
“You don’t have to do this.” Kelly couldn’t help but smile as she looked back at Joey who could barely see over the armful of bags. “Really, I don’t need all this.”
Joey sat on the bench and went to work consolidating the bags. “You deserve to be pampered a little. Besides—I’ve missed Christmas and your birthday and all the holidays in between…consider this back pay.”
Kelly smiled, “Well, you’re certainly all paid up now. We need to get back to the hotel. The flight leaves early in the morning.”
“Not yet,” Joey said. “One more store…”
Joey grabbed the three larger bags, now much heavier since they held all the smaller ones and directed Kelly towards the last store. “What else can I possibly need?”
Rolling his eyes and pretending to be put off, Joey looked at her, “If you insist on knowing, I made dinner reservations tonight and you’re going to need a dress—a nice one. This is the perfect place.”
Kelly was stunned. “When did you do that?”
“I work fast….and you did slip off to the dressing room for a little while.”
He smiled at her surprised expression. “Why don’t you go inside and pick out something for tonight and let me go and make a quick call just to make sure everything’s set with the flight tomorrow. I’ll be in in a minute.”
Kelly nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You’re incredible,” she whispered and headed into the store.
Joey smiled as he watched her disappear. He quickly strolled into the small stores a little bit further down the mall.
“It’s ready,” the store clerk said, pulling out the small bag from under the counter.
“Thank you,” Joey said.
“Special night?” she asked.
“Yeah…yeah it is, and this is going to make it perfect.”
Part 11
Joey made sure his bag was totally hidden within the maze of bags as he stepped into the dress shop. He saw Kelly still empty handed.
“Hey,” he said, approaching her, “Having trouble finding something you like?”
“No…no..it’s not that at all,” she said, a little ashamed of the real reason she hadn’t tried anything on. “These dresses are beautiful…all of them. It’s just that they’re strapless or strappy and…”
“Kelly,” Joey said slowly, “You don’t have to worry about that. I think you’re beautiful and Scott…he was crazy. You can dress any way you want.”
Kelly shook her head. “It’s not that,” she said quietly. She looked around the store, taking Joey’s hand and pulling him to a corner where she was sure no one would see. As she pulled the shirt away from her collarbone, Joey understood.
“God, Kelly,” he said, touching her skin softly. “I didn’t know.”
“I just…I can’t wear these dresses..not like this…”
Joey felt terrible. He knew it was bad with Scott, but seeing her skin bruised, it somehow made it more real. He wished he’d done more when he’d had the opportunity. He wished he had left some bruises of his own. “You know what,” he said, touching her face. “Forget the dress. We’ll pick up food and take it back to the hotel.”
“I ruined your evening,” Kelly said softly.
“Don’t you ever think that,” he said softly, taking her face in his hands, “You didn’t ruin anything. We’re just changing gears. Instead of shopping for formal wear, we’ll shop for pajamas and slippers. Come on..”
Kelly smiled and followed him from the store. For the first time in a long while, she really felt as if things might be ok.
Part 12
“Wow,” Joey said smiling. “Do they make those in mens?”
“If they do, they shouldn’t,” Kelly said laughing as she sat on the bed, grabbing a box of Chinese take-out and a set of chopsticks.
“What? You don’t think I could rock the peace sign pajama bottoms? I’m hurt.”
Kelly laughed. “Are you trying to choke me again?”
“No. I don’t want to have to attempt any drastic life saving measures in here tonight,” he said with a smile.
Kelly looked at him, smiling at first, then turning serious. “You did you know.”
“What?” he said looking at her.
“You saved my life. He could have killed me if I’d stayed. If he’d decided to….he could have.”
Joey walked over to the bed and sat beside her. “That didn’t happen…He’s gone. He’s out of your life for good.”
“Because of you,” she said, looking into his eyes intently, “You took me out of there. If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“It wasn’t just me. You came to Llanview. You made that choice to leave. You came to me…you knew you had to tell someone. I’m just glad you knew you could come home.”
“You’re my home. You always have been. Wherever you are…that’s where I feel safe,” she said, averting her eyes for a moment.
Joey stood up and walked over to the chair.
Thinking she’d said too much, Kelly walked over to him, “I’m sorry,” she began. “I didn’t mean to push. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate everything…” Her words stopped when she saw his hands. Their contents changed everything.
Part 13
“Joey…I…” She felt herself begin to shake as he carefully led her back to the bed.
He sat the small box on the bedside table and gently took her hands in his. “Kelly,” he began, “I know that you think you’ve made a mess of your life. I know that you feel like you’re just one big screw up after another, but that’s not the way I see you. It’s never been the way I see you.” He smiled at her, taking a breath before he continued. “You live your life…good or bad. You don’t just sit back and watch. You’re exciting and you’re fun and you make me want to be exciting and fun too.”
Kelly felt the tears begin. “I get you into trouble.”
“I loved every minute of it. Last year, after you left and after all this mess with Aubrey, I was trying to get my life back on track so I did a lot of thinking. I started thinking back to when I was really happy…the times in my life where I really truly felt content and I realized something.”
“What?”
“They were all with you,” he said softly. “Every time in my life when I truly felt happy, I shared with you. And before you even say it, I know we had our bad moments too, but what stands out are the moments when we were happy. The nights we’d spend laughing and talking—how good that was and how much I missed it—how much I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” she said, wiping away the tears.
“I don’t want to miss you anymore,” Joey whispered. “I’m tired of wasting time chasing happiness when I have it right in front of me. I’ve let you go too many times to be stupid enough to do it again.” He reached for the box and opened it, holding it in front of Kelly. “I know it seems sudden…and I know you’ve just been through a lot, but that’s part of the reason I want to do this now. I want this to be a new beginning for us and for you. I want you to know that I’m in…for good…forever. Marry me, Kelly. Marry me and you’ll never have to be anything but you again.”
Her kiss was the only answer he needed.
The End