Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 28: Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet

Y/N sat in a booth in a diner near her apartment. She had been there for only 7 minutes, but she checked her phone at least 20 times since she sat down. The door remained closed, no matter how intently she stared at it.

She checked her phone again.

The door chimed, and she nearly jumped out of her seat. It wasn't Chris. Y/N mentally berated herself for being so wound up. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and the door chimed again. When she opened her eyes, she saw Chris scanning the small space. He was obviously hungover; his eyes were hidden by sunglasses, and she could see the sallow cast to his skin from her booth. Chris spotted her and made his approach. Y/N anxiously studied his every movement.

Chris slid into the booth across from Y/N. He took off his sunglasses - wincing at the sudden brightness - and put them on the table. When his eyes met Y/N's she saw how bloodshot they were. Mickey and Mary were right; he seemed like a mess. Something inside her swelled with sympathy, but she shoved it down. There was no room for feeling sorry for him, not when he'd been badmouthing her.

"Alright then," Chris started, "why am I here?"

Anger snuffed out any remaining compassion Y/N might have felt. "You're here because you obviously have an issue with me. Mary told me you spent half of the night bitching about me after I left."

"That makes it seem like I give a shit about what you do, Y/N. Mary is exaggerating."

The words cut deep, but Y/N would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that. "So you didn't mention me at all after I left, Chris?"

"I mean, I think I mentioned I found it suspicious you'd turn up randomly after months of radio silence for Mary's birthday, but that's about it." Chris shrugged, but with a strange tenseness.

"To who?

"To who what?"

"Who did you mention it was suspicious to?"

"Maybe Brandon and Josh?"

"Who? You were talking shit to people who don't even know who I am!" Y/N snapped.

"Well I was talking to them when you showed up. I was trying to explain."

"Explain why you shoved them out of the way and ran over when you saw me? I'm sure they were curious as to why you did that, I definitely was." She still felt unsettled by how quickly he'd made his way over to her, and how numb Chris looked when he reached her.

"I wanted to know why you showed up out of the blue. I still want to know. I can't believe you just came to Mary's birthday and then left. Who does that, Y/N?" Chris interrogated.

"Is this you 'giving Y/N a piece of your mind'?" Y/N said with air quotes. "Because I heard you went around telling people that you should have."

"I guess it is." Chris' eyes bored into hers. "What the fuck are you doing showing up out of nowhere? You left the cabin without a word to anyone, and then no one heard from you for months. Forgive me for being curious."

Y/N held his stare. "Mary and I figured things out, not that that's really any of your business. I was trying to avoid a scene, that's why I left. But it seems like you made one anyway."

"A scene? Is that what Mary said? You have got to examine where you're getting this information. She's so dramatic, I didn't cause a fucking scene." Chris rolled his eyes.

"She told me you trashed me for half the night, got drunk as hell, and then went home with Liz. Which, by the way, is hilarious."

"Why wouldn't Liz want to sleep with me? You slept with me." He didn't meet her eyes as he said it.