The Experiment © [Completed]

Chapter 60 - Starting Over

RJ woke up with a start, his heart pounding, as he felt the emptiness and coldness on the other side of his bed.

"Dei?" he called softly, but Dei was no longer lying beside him. He switched the lamp on and his hands searched for his phone on the bedside table. It was only 4:30 in the morning.

He quickly got out of bed, walked briskly towards the door and out of the room, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he found Dei drinking coffee by the kitchen counter.

"Dei?"

"RJ... It's early, why are you up? You look... upset." Dei said, looking at him closely.

"I thought you left," he said, walking over to her.

"I couldn't sleep so I just got up and got myself a cup of coffee. Do you want some?" she asked, handing him her mug.

He gave her a small smile and took a sip from it. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah..." she said, playing with the teaspoon and swirling it around her coffee mug.

"But? I feel a but in there somewhere," he said, looking at her face.

"But still hurt," she said softly, her eyes fixed on the contents of her mug.

RJ bit his lip and took a deep breath. "What do I need to do, Dei?"

"I don't know..."

"Please tell me you're not planning to break up with me," he said, breathing hard.

"No, I'm not," she said, finally looking at him, and he could see the hurt in her eyes. The pain that only he had caused. "I just feel like I may need some time to heal. I couldn't sleep last night with your words still flashing back into my mind. I've been thinking about how scary it was that I was able forgive you so easily even after you've broken my heart like that, and it just hurt more. I feel like I've betrayed myself."

"Dei..."

"I'll stay, RJ... But I need my space for now," she said, her attention back on her mug.

"What does this space actually mean?" he asked.

"Maybe just us going back to how it was before the kiss..." she said.

"That's a huge jump backwards, Dei, and it's scaring me," RJ said staring at her desperately.

Dei didn't respond.

RJ took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll let you have it. I won't ask you to stay in my room anymore. I'm sorry, asking you last night was so selfish. I'll give you time to heal, babe, and I will leave you alone. But I will do my best to earn your trust again."

Dei gave him a small smile and nodded. "Thank you. I think I could get ready for work now, it's almost 5:30," she said, jumping off the stool.

RJ held her hand tentatively. "Do you still love me though?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered. "So much... I just need to love myself too."

++++++

"Are you sure you're okay now?" Matt asked Dei as she sat in front of his desk later that day.

"Yes," she nodded.

"If you really want out of the project I can let the HQ know and we will stop it right away," he said, studying her face. "We'll fly RJ back to New York too if you want."

Dei closed her eyes, suddenly feeling a sharp pang on her chest at the thought of RJ leaving. "No, Matt. That's not necessary... RJ and I, we're trying to patch things up... Little by little. You guys were right, we were moving too fast. We're going to try and make that right now."

"Will you ever tell me what happened?" Matt inquired, unconsciously grabbing a caramel popcorn from a bucket on the desk.

"Christine." Dei said, looking at Matt. "She has to leave."

Matt's jaw set and he raised his left eyebrow. "Was this all Christine's doing?" he asked.

Dei nodded. "Can you do something about it, Matt?"

"With pleasure." he said quietly. "I have a favor to ask from you though." he added.

"What is it?" Dei asked.

"If it isn't too much to ask... Since you still want to proceed with the project... Can you please not let your followers know or feel that there is something going on?" he asked her.

"Of course," she nodded. "Thanks, Matt." she said as she left.

She went back to her workstation but then changed her mind and got up from her chair again. She walked straight to Christine's desk and leaned against it.

"Christine, can we talk?"

Christine glanced at her and smirked. "Can't you see I'm working?"

Dei sighed and slammed the lid hard on Christine's laptop, almost hitting her fingers. "Now, can we talk?"

Christine looked around and saw some of her staff staring. "Let's go to the conference room," she told Dei.

"Mendoza, you seem to be forgetting that I'm your boss," Christine said as they walked inside the room. She crossed her arms against her chest and stared at Dei.

"Well you don't act like one so you can't really blame me," Dei countered.

"Dei, dear... Don't be too bitter if RJ doesn't want you anymore," Christine told her with a sneer. "I guess he's not that into you if he was ready to believe whatever lies I handed him right?"

"Why did you have to do it, though, Christine? Why do you keep wanting to ruin us?" Dei asked her. "What exactly do you get out of this?"

"I always get what I want, Dei. RJ probably doesn't get it yet, but I'm all he needs, and he'll come back running to me when he realizes that," Christine said with a smile.

"Are you crazy? After all the pain you put him through?" Dei exclaimed incredulously. "You're so messed up, Christine," she added, shaking her head.

"Well, he believed me didn't he? That says a lot about what RJ and I had. It only took one video for him to forget about everything you've been through together, which isn't a lot, by the way," Christine said, chuckling. "The fact is, I only handed him a knife but he was the one who stabbed you with it," she added, smiling gleefully.

"But you're wrong," Dei said, staring at her squarely. "At the end of it all, RJ still wanted me. And I just feel so bad for you because no matter what you do, and even if RJ and I do end up breaking our relationship, he still wouldn't want you. He is so done with you, Christine," she stated before walking out.

"You do understand I can get you fired from this company, right?" Christine said before Dei got to the door, her lips between her teeth as she chewed on it angrily.

Dei turned to her, "Not if I can get you fired first. Just let it go, Christine."