Courtney sighed and choked down another mouthful of soup. Jon stood watching as Daphne was diligent in her task of nursing her back to health. It had been three weeks since Jon and Daphne sprung Courtney from her home and Jon had spent all his free time with them, or covering their tracks. Daphne smiled up at him and he leaned down and kissed her as Courtney shivered from another full stomach.
"I can't eat anymore, let me sleep." Courtney whined and Daphne set down the bowl and nodded. Courtney stood and held her stomach before curling up on the small sofa and pulled her only blanket over her.
"She's getting better." Daphne said and Jon nodded. "How are you doing?" Jon smiled down at her.
"It's been hard. Derrick's getting suspicious and Grant has stopped. We can relax and let some fresh air in." Jon said and Daphne looked around her small apartment and laughed. She had closed all the blinds, locked the doors and sealed the windows. She walked up to her kitchen window and pulled the blind open, letting the sun shine brightly into the room. Courtney groaned from the light and rolled over, drawing a small laugh from Jon. "You're definitely better. How do you feel?"
"Tired and sore." She grumbled and Jon walked over and sat her up.
"You're getting your muscles back is why you're sore." Courtney looked at the shag carpeting in defeat. She wouldn't be ready for Derrick's onslaught before he left. "Wipe that sorrow off your face. We're not done yet. Daph, get some steaks ready for tonight. We're having company." Jon said and stood. Courtney's eyes flared open.
"You don't mean that." Courtney replied and Jon laughed and looked down.
"Remember what happened the last time you said that?" Courtney looked away and nodded. She asked that and soon after found herself in the hands of two people governing her life. "Take this wonderful girl shopping. She needs clothes that actually fit her." Courtney looked down at the shirt she borrowed from Daphne and saw that her chest had returned and that her frame was indeed filling out. She wasn't back to her former weight but began beaming that she was starting to look like a woman.
"Do we want to knock his socks off or just startle him?" Daphne asked and Jon smiled as he handed over two hundred dollars.
"Surprise me." Daphne grinned and licked his lips and he licked hers in return. They laughed before he left.
"I never thought I'd see the day when Jon would finally settle." Courtney said as she watched him leave. Daphne smiled and sat down beside her friend and hugged her softly.
"I have you to thank for that. I never would have met him if it wasn't for you. Although I wish it had been under different circumstances." Courtney lowered her head and Daphne looked over.
"I'm so sorry. I never wanted anyone to get hurt because of me."
"There's that big heart again. That's what I love about you but you got to protect yourself too. Come on let's get you some clothes and some food for tonight." She replied and Courtney moaned in protest before Daphne drug her out the door.
"I don't think I can wear this." Courtney said as she looked herself over. She straightened out the tight, beige coloured dress that ended before her knees and Daphne grinned as she never could have picked a better outfit for her to wear.
"Yes you can. You look amazing. Derrick will be all over you. Hell I want to be all over you." Daphne replied and Courtney looked at her in confusion. "Jon brings out the worst in me. That man is walking hormones." Courtney laughed and once again pulled at the bottom of the dress as it began to ride up.
"That's putting it a different way." Courtney replied as Daphne sighed quietly and looked at her friend. "I can't do this Daphne. I can't face him." Courtney said as she fell to the floor. Daphne rushed over and helped her sit up as her first tears tickled down her face.
"You love Derrick don't you? You want to be with him right?" Courtney nodded and Daphne smiled and held her face. "Then you have to do this. Sure it may be painful sure you may cry before the night is over, but at least you got to see him again and tell him the truth." Courtney sighed deeply.
"He wouldn't believe me anyways." Courtney said and Daphne gripped her face harder and kissed her on the lips. Courtney's eyes flared open in surprise once Daphne pulled herself back grinning at her friend.
"Feel better?" Daphne asked and Courtney covered her mouth with her hand. "I thought so."
"Daphne, what's gotten into you?" Courtney asked in shock and Daphne laughed.
"I'm relaxing. Everyone has told me to." Courtney shook her head before looking away from Daphne's eyes. "Besides it's Jon's fault."
"Sure it is." Courtney replied and Daphne giggled. Courtney put her hand down and sighed deeply. "What if he won't listen to me?"
"Then Derrick has moved on and you will have to do the same. The repercussions will ultimately settle into a swirling chaotic mess that neither of you will ever recover from because you two are meant for each other." Daphne replied and Courtney stiffened. "Too much?" Courtney was about to reply when the door opened to the apartment.
"Daphne." She whined and Daphne held her up. "I can't do this."
"You have to. This is your story. How do you want it to end?" Daphne replied and Courtney took in a deep breath.
"So who's this mystery person you've been running to so often? You vanish for a day and now you're completely taken by someone. I never thought I'd see the day." Derrick asked as he looked around the small apartment.
"What can I say, I find the best." Derrick laughed at Jon's reply as the door to the bedroom opened. Derrick's eyes widened as Daphne emerged from the room and walked sexily over and kissed Jon.
"There you are baby. I was wondering when you'd get here. The bbq is fired up, steaks on the counter." Daphne said and Derrick closed his mouth and sat down on the sofa. Jon kissed her again and stood by the door as Daphne looked to her bedroom. Courtney reluctantly emerged from the room and Derrick's eyes widened further as they stared at each other. An awkward, yet moving silence emerged as both didn't know what to say.
"I should have known you'd be here." Derrick said finally, glancing at Jon. "It all makes sense now. Guess I should have expected you would try to worm your way back into my life." Derrick said quickly.
"She was brought here by Daphne and I. After I punched Grant." Jon replied and Derrick smirked before turning his attention back to his once fiancΓ©e. Courtney stood in the doorway of the bedroom, unable to take another step. She wanted to run up and wrap her arms around him and beg for his forgiveness. She yearned to spill the truth to him and pray that he would understand but the anger in his eyes ordered her to stay where she stood.
"So what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?" Derrick announced and Courtney's tears brimmed.
"I want to say I'm sorry." Courtney said and Derrick crossed his arms and glared at her. She felt her knees weaken as Derrick licked his lips with anger.
"You did that." Derrick snapped, and Courtney took a step back. "You said you loved me and you left. You said you would be my everything and still you ran." He yelled.
"I had to!" Courtney screamed back, her tears beginning to fall. "Grant put me in a spot where either I suffered or you suffered. I chose myself."
"Like I would believe that." Derrick snorted and Jon quickly took Derrick's arm and dragged him outside with the steaks in his hand and a stack of papers under his arm. Jon slammed the sliding door once he got him outside and Courtney could be heard balling inside.
"I take back what I said about you being dense. You're just dumb." Jon growled and Derrick lowered hi s eyes. "Here's something for you to read." Jon threw the stapled stack of papers at him and Derrick stood and began reading all the work Jon had put into keeping Courtney hidden from her parents. Derrick slouched and slowly sat down as more proof of the depths that Grant attempted to travel made Derrick sick to his stomach.
"He tried arresting me and used his favours with the judge to push it if they caught us together." Derrick said and Jon nodded as he turned their steaks before lathering them in bbq sauce. "He went to disown Courtney and arrest me." He mumbled again and looked back inside as Daphne consoled her best friend.
"If he had, you'd be in jail for twenty five year man. Courtney was willing to sacrifice herself for you." Jon said and Derrick returned to the pages. He saw pictures of Courtney upon her arrival to Daphne's apartment. He gasped as the frail looking woman shown was a mere shadow of the woman he once knew.
"We've spent the last three weeks getting that girl back to health. You say she ran from you, please. You ran from her. She took the bullet for you and this is how you repay her?" Jon said and Derrick slouched in the plastic chair and stared at her through the sliding glass. "She bled her soul for you. I bled for her. Daphne has bled her accounts dry. The only one that hasn't helped is you."