Denial

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Rae

Walking out of my room, I went down the stairs. As I turned to leave out the front door, I caught a glimpse of Derrick out of the corner of my eye. He was seated on the couch in the living room, staring blankly at the TV which he hadn't bothered to turn on.

The poor guy has been like this for the past couple of weeks. Lexi refuses to look him in the eye, let alone allow him to sleep in bed with her. He's been camping out in the living room every night instead of just going to his parents' house and staying in his room. I admit, I admire his tenacity and willingness to stick around. I really screwed up royally and Lexi doesn't even know the whole truth. If she ever found that out, she might actually kill him. Or me for that matter.

Breathing in a deep, fortifying breath, I walked over and stood in front of him. He looked up at me and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Hey, Derrick."

"Hey, Rae." he responded, his voice hoarse and weary. He was dressed in simple dark-wash jeans and a yellow polo.

I shuffled my feet, my hand twitching lightly at my side. As we stared at each other, I took note of the dark circles under his eyes and the beard he'd grown over the last couple weeks. His light brown hair was longer than usual and messy, as if he hadn't bothered to take care of it. I'm sorry I ruined your life like I ruined mine. "I shouldn't have kissed you." I said, peeking up at him through my eyelashes.

He ran his hands through his already messy hair, making it worse before dragging them down his face. "It's okay, Rae. I know you didn't mean it." He was looking at me like he felt sorry for me.

I shook my head at him, confused by his response. I destroyed your future, just like I destroyed mine. "What if she never forgives you?"

"She will, Rae. She just needs time."

She knows how to hold a grudge. "And then she'll forgive you?"

"Yeah," he sighed.

No, she won't. "I hope so, for your sake."

Irritation starting to creep on me from the words unspoken, I turned to leave when Carey and Lexi strolled in, immediately followed by Joe and Junior.

"Good, you're here." Carey remarked.

"Who? Me?" I asked in confusion. Since when is it good for me to be here?

"Yes, you, Dominique." Before I could get at her for calling me by that name, she continued. "You all have your physicals today."

"Physicals?" Junior exclaimed. "But, mom! I told you I was going out with Ren today!"

"You can go out with her afterwards. If you hadn't had that sports camp this summer, you would've had yours by now." She looked around at all of us before nodding her head towards the door. "Come on. Everyone load up! That means you too, Derrick." she added, pointing over at him.

I hate doctors. I didn't always dislike them, but certain circumstances caused my strong aversion towards them. Now, I'm sitting in a room with Carey, Lexi, and Dr. Annabelle Collins as they finish up Lexi's physical. Apparently, she's perfectly healthy. Yet, Lexi keeps asking about using birth control and the possibility of gaining weight off of it. It took the doctor forever to explain to her that weight gain is a side effect, but most females never even notice the difference.

Finally, the doc turned her attentions to me. "Hello, Raeshawn. How are you?" She was pretty, with her big, exotic brown eyes and her lightly tanned skin. The way her hand sat on my thigh certainly didn't bother me. I might actually enjoy this visit if she kept this up.