Fate's Perspective
|| She would probably be okay, she's done this before. She'll probably be okay... I sighed to myself. I had to repeat this thought over and over again as I kept tapping my foot against the ground. Forty minutes had gone by but still, we had heard nothing about Dory. Jesse wasn't here either. And I while I wondered why I knew not to ask. So I looked to Tom, and sighed.
"I don't know if I can handle staying much longer..." Tom looked at me and smiled a little.
"Don't worry. I'm sure Jesse will be here really soon..."
"That's not what I'm worried about..." he frowned and bit his lip. He sighed, resting his head on my shoulder as he spoke again.
"She'll be okay." I rested my head on his and closed my eyes. I rubbed my hands up and down my black fur jacket and thought to myself. This was the second time this had happened this year. Would Dory still smile the way she always did, or would this finally wake her up? I gulped. I looked to Tom to see him already looking at me. I bit my lip.
"What if she's not okay?" Tom sighed before whispering.
"...She will be." I slowly nodded. Then, when I looked over to see Jesse racing down the hallway towards us, I stood.
"Hey, where the hell have you been? What happened?"
"I was in LA. Dory and I got in a fight over the phone, she had a panic attack and passed out. I got worried and called 911." I folded my arms.
"You know whatever 'fight' you too got into, I hope it was for a good cause--"
"Fate." Tom warned as I looked at him. I sighed and nodded. Tom was just trying to remind me to be nice, yet, it was difficult to do so with Dory being where she is. Not to mention, with it being Jesse's fault. I looked to Jesse again.
"I'll be back." I huffed and walked past Jesse, walking quickly towards the bathroom. All these emotions had been building up inside of me and making me feel so anxious, I just had to get it out. So when I reached the bathroom to find it empty, I immediately went into one of the stalls and slammed the door shut. I sank down and buried my face in my knees. I began to sob. I couldn't loose Dory and while I knew it was unlikely that anything too bad would happen, the idea of anything happening to her seemed overwhelming. I thought everything over.
That night in New Jersey, those years ago. How scared she was this November...How Evan treated her... These memories and thoughts all clouded my mind. Then I remembered the conversation Jesse and I had at that party a few weeks ago. How I refused to tell him about how Dory and I had met...I felt guilty about never telling him, but at the time I knew it was for his own good. He couldn't handle that back then. But maybe he could handle it now... I slowly got up and left the stall, walking towards the sink to wash my hands.
Jesse's Perspective
|| I couldn't stop tapping my foot against the ground as I ran my hands through my hair. I had sat down but I felt like running. I felt like running and screaming and crying yet I held it all in. I began to rock back and forth until I could see Fate coming down the hallway. I looked to the ground again and pretended I didn't notice her. I assumed the question racing through my mind wouldn't amuse her. Yet as she kneeled down to my eye level in front of me, I just had to ask.
"Hey Jesse, I have something I need to tell you--"
"How did you and Dory meet?" I blurted. She bit her lip. She looked to Tom before answering.
"It was...a few years ago. Dory was at one of our parties. You know, the New Year's Eve ones?" I nodded quickly. I clasped my hands together and listened closely, trying my best to soak up every detail she could give me. "And um, I don't know why she was there to this day. I didn't feel the need to ask her back then, but, she was there. I think it was because we knew Nicola, and she was there and she had brought Dory. Yeah, I... I think that's right." she looked up to the celling and began to recall the memory the best she could. I began to rock back and forth again.
"W-Why couldn't you tell me this sooner?"
"Well, I'm not done. The reason why I couldn't tell you sooner is...What I'm about to say. A-are you sure you want to know?" I bit my lip, starting to brace myself. I nodded.
"O-of course. Tell me." Fate nodded a little before speaking again.
"I was standing all the way on the other side of the room, but, it didn't matter. I could still see her just fine. And when I did see her I immediately noticed something. What I noticed, was that she was trying to get away from somebody. A guy, I think it was. He was trying to grope her. When she ran outside I followed her and she started to cry...Tom came with me and we sat with her and talked with her. She told me about how she hated New Jersey and how she wanted to go somewhere else. To go to New York, but, she didn't have a money. Tom and I bought her a train ticket in exchange for her promising to keep in touch." she smiled and I smiled too. Suddenly, Fate seemed to be much better of a person than I previously assumed. Not that I thought she was a bad person before this. But now, I believed she was a saint. The story comforted me until I had the nerve to repeat my previous question.
"Why couldn't you tell me this sooner?"
"Because while that sounds great and everything...There's a dark part to it. You see the guy that was trying to grope her, it wasn't any random guy. I later found out that he...He was Evan. They later on got together and he followed her to New York...I knew you wouldn't be able to handle the fact that he was so disgusting and cruel to her, but, Jesse...I know you can handle it now." that wasn't true. I couldn't handle it. The idea that my savior, the woman who saved me from a abusive relationship, had a abusive relationship of her own. And sure I had known about Evan before but not like this. Only God knows what he did to her behind closed doors, and the idea of that made me sick. But she went on.
"I know you can handle it now because you're here." I shook my head.
"No. No, no Fate I can't handle this..." I began to choke back tears.
"Jesse calm down."
"N-no, no I don't believe you. There's no way Dory would hide that from me."
"She didn't hide it from you she just didn't tell you."
"No. N-no. There's no way. Dory wouldn't be as special as she is if something happened to her. T-that's why she is special, because nothing has happened to her. She's unique and beautiful."
"Jesse bad things happen to all of us! Just because something's happened that doesn't make us not special!" she shook her head and held onto my hand, forcing me to let her speak. "I-I mean, Jesse, the reason why I'm telling you this is so you can know that...T-that even if something does go wrong and if Dory ends up getting sick or something that I have never seen her happier than she is with you! Okay? She has never been brighter, perkier, or even more charming without you. And while she was of course bright and perky before you met her she's never been happier." she started to tremble also, telling me that she was about to cry. "Jesse, she could've called anyone while she was having that panic attack. She could've called me, or Jeremy or Tom...But she didn't. She called you." I shook my head.
"S-she called me because she knew I'd answer..." I frowned even more. Yet she smiled and put her hand on my cheek.
"No Jesse. It's because without you, she's lost. She wanted you to find her."
