Nemesis: A Love Story

TESSA/HUGH

She goes into the bathroom before leaving. Opens her purse and finds the small bag with white powder. Just enough left for two lines.
She'll have to go find more.
She prepares the powder and sniffs.
It takes a second but she slowly starts to feel the high and she sinks into her own skin comfortably.
She smiles.
It doesn't reach her eyes.
She steps out into the hall.
Can hear loud voices coming from the support group.
She keeps walking
Out into the dark night.
They all know now.
They looks on their faces.
All surprised.
All sorry.
All but his.
She realizes it then.
He already knew.
He wasn't shocked at all. He just looked at her with sympathy and something else in his eyes.
Comfort.
Understanding even.
She doesn't know whether to be angry or not.
Had Megan told him. Probably
He'd seemed angry when Megan outted her story.
He and Megan.
Seeing them together keeps replaying over and over in her mind, like a repeated movie.
Was this his coping mechanisms, like drugs is hers?
Is that how he drives the pain back?
He fucks it away?
She sees his face before her eyes.
That face that had once flipped back and forth between the light and dark side of him. As easy as flipping a coin.
The Sun and Lucifer.
She sees The Sun more in him now then ever before.
Like the light has driven Lucifer back into his dark hole but he's still there.
Waiting.
Somewhere.
Or is that what she needs to believe to stop what is really happening to her.
That she likes the feel of his eyes on her when she looks away.
Liked the feel of his arm spread protectively across her.
She's lost between the side of her that should fear him and the side that needs him.
This thought slows her.
She wipes the tears off her face.
She hears voices and looks across the street to see the line outside The Descent.
She hasn't realized she's come this way.
She's glad.
She needs to find more powder.
She crosses the street and the big bouncer sees her.
They make eye contact.
He looks both happy and sad to see her there.
"Angel" he calls out waving her over.
The ground grumbles.
He looks over her shoulder as she approaches.
"Shut your mouths or you can wait longer" he warns and then looks to Tessa "Rough night?"
She knows she must look demented. She's sure her eye make is down her cheeks by now. She doesn't care.
"You could say that." She sighs "is josh inside."
"Josh is bad news."
"Everyone who comes here is." She admits.
Her high is going to wear off.
She needs to get inside.
"Touché" Otis says sadly and steps back to let her pass.
As she enters the darkness she remembers the girl from here.
Touching him.
Remembers Megan touching him.
Remembers she's nothing to him.
She heads to the bar to scan the room. She doesn't have to wait long.
He finds her.
She wonders what it's like to fuck the pain away?
It seems to work for Lucifer.
She sees his face flash before her eyes.
"Nothing. I want nothing from you"
"Is there anything I can help you find?"

He's not bad looking. Buzzed hair. Tattoo covered. Even his face. His eyes almost black.
He'd do.
He offers an assortment of pills and then the better stuff.
She offers herself.
He looks at her in surprise.
Those black eyes scanning her body up and down. Slowly. Desire.
He takes her hand and leads her to the handicap bathroom.
He holds the door open to let her inside and closes the door carefully behind them.
Mike looks at the closed door.
Concern in his eyes.

HUGH
He'd wanted to leave with her. At least follow her to make sure she was safe wherever she ended up.
He saw the look on her face.
The defeat in her eyes and he knew not to push her.
He had something to deal with here.
The others had remained there a bit longer
Rita telling Megan point blank that what she had done was fucked up and that Tessa should've kicked her ass.
She might've even helped her.
With that she left taking an emotional Kat with her.
The boys left soon after.
Megan waited to see them leave and reached out to grab him.
"I had too"
Hugh wretches his hand away.
"Don't" he warns.
"Hugh. Please let me explain." she reaches for him again "please let me explain!" She says more forcefully.
Hugh steps away from her again.
"Explain what?"
He's seething.
He's so angry.
He doesn't care the out come. Doesn't care if she rats him out to his PO. Doesn't care if he's even sent back to jail. Not after this.
"Explain what?"
She continues to grab at him.
Grabbing hold of his collar, trying to get him to understand.
"It was the only way we could be together!!" She cries.
"Be together? That's how you explain spewing someone's personal hell, to a room full of people, cause you're jealous! Do you have any idea what you've done to her???"
Megan's grip loosens.
"You said you wanted to see that smug look wiped off her face" she shakes her head in confusion.
He grabs her face in his hands.
"I lied." he whispers menacingly to her.
Megan drags her face from his hands.
"My god you do have feelings for her!" She covers her mouth with a shaky hand.
"What I feel for her is none of your business. The only thing you need to understand is this thing between us" he points back and forth to them.
"It's over"
Megan wipes the tears with the back of her hands.
"You don't mean this" she tells him. "You're just angry right now."
"I've felt it for awhile. I just didn't know how to end it. This was finally it."
"It's since she came isn't it? Ever since she got here you've been pulling away from me." Megan realizes. "I saw it that night. You looked at her in a way you've never looked at me. I should've gotten rid of her then"
Hugh takes a menacing step towards her.
His blue eyes stone cold.
"You leave her out of this Megan! You want revenge? You take it out on me. You come after her and your precious boy will also have his world blown apart. You're not the only one who knows secrets here."
He's threatening her with the kid.
The sensitive troubled kid of her own.
He turns to leave.
Megan panics. Clutching at his back.
"Don't do this! I love you! Hugh don't go!!!"
Her grip is strong on the back of his jacket. He unzips it and breaks free.
Megan crumbles to the floor.
"SHE'LL NEVER LOVE YOU, HUGH"
Those words echo through his head as he runs towards his car.
Maybe Megan was right.
Maybe Tessa never will.
It changed nothing.
He peels out of the parking lot.
He has to find her.
He makes a call.
"Have you seen her?"
"Yeah. Get here man. Now."