Twenty One

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"I came to make sure you do not go through with the wedding." Stacey declared, standing with her arms crossed, her shoulders leaning slightly back and her eyes aimed at Jeanie like a gun.

Jeanie stood before her in the apartment, her mouth all of a sudden dry.

"Oh, no need, Stace!" Gabrielle called from her position on the floors where she sat with both her legs outspread before her. Jeanie didn't even want to question how her mother managed to find the bottle of wine she thought she had hidden so perfectly or why her mother's hair was wet. "She called off the wedding! Oh, but wait, there's more!" Gabrielle still managed to sound sarcastic even though she was drunk. "She claims to still be in love with Bernard but refuses to marry him! I'm a forty seven year old woman with a daughter about to hit menopause and..."

Jeanie turned from Gabrielle then, refusing to continue listening to her drunk mother.

"Look Stace..." She began.

"What does she mean, love?" Stacey spat out the last word like it was venom.

"Bernard and I started the relationship as fake but against my better judgment, things changed and we fell in love."

A loud crashing sound followed Jeanie's announcement but she didn't bother to turn to acknowledge her mother. Neither did Stacey.

"You're not allowed to fall in love." Stacey said in a low whisper and a dangerous underlying tone in her voice.

"We can't choose who we love, Stace. It just happened."

"You made a pact, Jeanie!"

"That was five years ago!"

"That's two more years to go!"

Jeanie opened her mouth to speak when the door was pushed open. To her horror, Bernard made his way inside.

Great, just great! Come home late every other day but choose to come home early today! You might as well have walked into a landmine!

Bernard's eyes traveled the living room; from her mother, to her tired self and finally, to Stacey. A frown settled on his face the second he saw Stacey.

"You know what?" Stacey finally turned back to Jeanie. "I'm done with this!" She said, before storming out of the apartment.

Guilt washing over Jeanie as she watched Stacey leave, she ran after her.

"Stace!" She called as Stacey reached the elevator and pushed the button. "Stacey!" She finally reached Stacey and grabbed her wrist.

"No, Jeanie!" Stacey shook her head.

"Please!"

"You know what?! It's me or him, you have to decide between me or him. Me; the one who has stood by your side through high school, through college, through financial issues, through heartbreaks, through foolish decisions! I have been here through out your entire miserable life and I have been more than supportive! You made a pact, Jeanie and choosing to walk away from it now, is choosing to walk away from me!" Stacey jerked her hand away.

Jeanie lowered her gaze to her feet. She did owe Stacey a lot for being the best friend any girl could ask for. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to walk away from Bernard because for some strange reason, Jeanie was confident she was doing the right thing and she was where she was supposed to be.

"I did..." She heaved a breath, lifting her eyes slowly until they came to settle on Stacey's angry eyes. "I made a pact, five years ago. I had been rejected, cheated on, cheated with and humiliated once more and in my depression and anger, I made a pact. But, considering how many times my heart has been battered, how often I have been deceived and lied to, how much humiliation and disgrace I have had to face," She scoffed, tears filling her eyes. "and how many times my heart has been broken, I dare say I deserve this. I deserve this, Stace." Her eyes begged Stacey to see reason, as tears made their way down her face. "I deserve to come out of all of that with one good thing. I deserve to be happy, to feel happiness and the thrill of being with someone who, for the meantime, isn't lying to me." She laughed nervously. "I deserve to love and while my heart might get broken again, I deserve to try one more time until I get it right. I do not deserve to be held bound by a pact simply because I'm afraid of feeling what every other human being feels. It may be betrayal, it may be hurt, it may be pain but eventually, I'll get my happy ending."

Reaching forward, she touched Stacey's hand.

"I'm asking you to be a part of not just my miserable life, but my happiness as well."

Jeanie watched her friend's expression, hoping somewhere in Stacey's heart, she'd see reason.

A loud 'ding' sound followed as the elevator doors parted.

"I guess you've made your choice," Stacey finally said. "And like hell, I hope he's worth it."

**

Bernard stuck the butt of his pen in his mouth, biting the life out of the object. He couldn't work! He groaned, rising to his feet. He had so much to do, so many things to put in place for Paris in two weeks but he couldn't think!

Running his weary hands through his hair, yet another frustrated groan escaped his lips.

He had seen her! Standing in his living room like it had been the most natural thing to do! It had been four years of searching aimlessly and he finally found her. What was worse? She was Jeanie's friend. No, he shook his head, best friend!

A nervous laugh escaped his lips. What sort of game was life playing on him?!

Reaching down, he pressed the intercom on his desk and ordered his receptionist into his office; Vera appeared.

"I need an address." He said.

"Whose, Sir?"

"Stacey," He said, the name sounding foreign in his ears. "Stacey Drew. Find Stacey Drew."

Copyright © 2017 Lily Orevba All rights reserved.

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A/N

Who exactly is Stacey?

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