Status: Next Update: 10/15/11
Better Sorry Than Safe
Chapter Two
“Matt? Are you even listening to me?” Valary asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face. This was the exact reason why they’d been one of those on-off-again couples for the past few years. Every few months thoughts of Isabelle would invade his mind and she knew it.
“Yes, of course I was babe.” He smiled at her, wishing he could control his thoughts better than he really could. He was tired of losing her repeatedly.
“Don’t lie to me Matt, you were not paying attention to me.”
“Well I am now.” Matt smiled happily when she allowed him to take her hand, proof that she wasn’t really mad.
“I was asking if you were okay, you seem out of it.”
“I’m fine, I just have this song idea flying around my mind and its distracting me.”
“Can I hear about it?”
“Not yet, soon though, just not right now.” He kissed her cheek and she held in a sigh. Sometimes she wasn’t sure if they were healthy for one another. Being together was safe for them, and they did love each other. But were they in love?
♥♥♥
Most people avoided their place of work on their days off but not Isabelle. Lilly had to work that day so Isabelle found herself at the Hard Rock Café for dinner and time away from her thoughts. Since the night before she’d been plagued with images of what could go wrong with Zacky meeting Chris, and so far it was a long list.
Realizing that she couldn’t finish the remaining bites of her sunday she paid the bill and headed for the gift shop for a new necklace. Just as she was walking out her cell phone rang with Lilly’s ringtone. “Hey Lilly.”
“Belle we are going out tonight.”
“Okay what time?”
“Does 9 work?”
“Sounds good.” On her way home Isabelle decided to take the long way home, it allowed her to soak in more of her surroundings than her usual way. She’d known that this was where she wanted to be since she’d arrived. Isabelle knew that she would miss her family and friends but this was where she belonged, where she was happy, and where she was safe.
Back at the apartment a glance at the clock told her to jump in the shower. After she was done with that it was time to watch a little bit of T.V. before Lilly got back and she’d have to get ready. “No, no, no, no, hey look it’s Fuse.” The music videos help her interest well, better than several of the other programs.
There was a beep in the apartment, an alert from her cell phone no doubt. She grabbed the phone from the coffee table and flipped it open. 1 New Message from: Chris A smile spread across her as she selected read. Hey babe what are you doing tonight?
She hit reply and typed in a message back. Um going out with Lilly. Why?
Just wondering, I kinda figured you would be.
Are you doing anything tonight?
Yeah I guess I’m going out with the guys
Have fun
You too
Not much time had passed when the door opened and Lilly walked in. “Saturday night means the night to have fun! Hey you, go get ready!” She cut her eyes at Isabelle who burst into laughter at her exclamation. “Isabelle go!”
“I’m going, I’m going.” Isabelle was still laughing as she went to get ready to leave. She was applying her eyeliner when the phone rang. She was about to go answer it when the ringing abruptly stopped. “Must be Zacky.”
Her thoughts were confirmed when Lilly ran into her bedroom, holding the phone out and smiling happily. “Hello?” Isabelle took the phone and waited for her brother’s voice to come through.
“Belle I have good news! We are coming to play a small show in Vegas in about two weeks!” Zacky’s voice was ecstatic as he revealed the news to his sister. Isabelle however was not as ecstatic. The plus side was that she’d get to see her brother, the down side was that he’d meet Chris sooner than she planned.
“That’s great! How long are you staying?”
“About a week and a half, the guys are staying too.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Zack we are about to leave so I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Bye sis. Love you.”
“Love you too Zack.” Isabelle hit the end button and turned to Lilly. “I have two weeks before my boyfriend meets Zacky. I’m screwed.”
♥♥♥
“Alright I’ve had enough!” Jimmy yelled walking in the door of Matt’s house. He threw his arms up in the air and cut his eyes at the singer, who had a guitar in hand. Jimmy closed the door behind him and stormed into the kitchen.
“What is going on?” Matt asked looking towards the kitchen, hearing Jimmy grabbing something from the refrigerator.
“You and your distraction! There is no way that is a song and I want to know!” Jimmy returned to the living room and handed Matt one of the beers in his hand before opening the other one for himself and sitting down.
“And if I don’t want to tell you?” Matt opened the beer and took a drink, knowing that Jimmy would get nothing out of him.
“Then I’ll get you drunk first.”
“Good luck with that Jimmy, I still won’t say shit.”
“You just keep telling yourself that and drinking.” Jimmy smirked and let a silence fall upon them. He’d vowed to get it out of Matt and he would.
“So did Zacky tell you the plan for Vegas?”
“Yes, of course he told me. What are your views on that?”
“What are you trying to do Jimmy? Be my therapist or some shit?”
“If that is what it takes to get you to tell me the truth then yes.” Matt rolled his eyes at Jimmy and took another drink. “Why aren’t you out with Val?”
“I didn’t feel like it okay?” Matt looked away from Jimmy’s gaze not wanting to talk about Valary, it would only ruin his mood even more. He cared about her and hated that he was hurting her. He hated that he was hurting her because he couldn’t bear to loose her again. He hated himself for it.
“Are you two having problems?” Jimmy watched his friend’s reaction change suddenly before he put on a fake face of confidence.
“No we aren’t having problems Jimmy. Now let it go.”
“Just keep drinking.”
♥♥♥
The music vibrated the floor of the club later that night as Lilly and Isabelle took seats at the bar. Her thoughts of Zacky’s upcoming visit had been forgotten until the subject had been brought up. “Why do you worry about it Belle? Chris loves you and Zacky will be able to see that.”
“Because I still don’t trust Zack not to try and run him off. That and I don’t want to have to avoid the guys again. I like it better when its just Zack who stays to visit.” Isabelle took another drink of her beer after he answer.
“Why do you avoid the guys anyway?”
“I don’t avoid the guys, I just avoid Matt. It would be too awkward to see and talk to him after what happened.”
“How is it awkward Belle? So you left and moved on, he won’t hate you for that.”
“Can we not talk about the guys or Matt tonight Lills?”
“Alright, but only since it is Saturday night.”
“I’ll find away to keep you away from talking about this.”
“What did you say Belle?”
“Nothing, nothing at all.” Isabelle smiled to herself at returned to her drink. She would forget everything that she had no desire to think about for the night if it was the last thing she did. Not like it would be that hard.
♥♥♥
“Michelle I just don’t know what do say to him right now. Its like every time I ask him what is wrong there is always some excuse that I can see right through. Did I do something wrong?” Valary asked as she sat on the couch in the living room of her twin sister’s apartment.
“No Val you didn’t do anything wrong. Matt probably just has a lot on his mind. Who knows, maybe he is finally getting ready to ask you to marry him. We both know that he loves you more than anyone.” Michelle brushed her hair behind her ear and glanced in the mirror again for a final check.
“He isn’t getting ready to propose, I think he is still scared of that kind of commitment. I’m worried that he might be thinking about if he shouldn’t even be with me. And where are you going tonight anyway?”
“Ah but you don’t know that for sure. He would never think about that and you should know that by now. And I happen to have a date with this guy that I met a few weeks ago, who should be here in 10 minutes.”
“Alright, I can take a hint. Have fun on your date and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Valary stood up and grabbed her things.
♥♥♥
“Ichabod I’m beginning to think that she just doesn’t want me to meet this Chris guy. Maybe she is scared that I’ll try and scare him off, which I don’t plan on. As long as he isn’t an asshole anyways.” Zacky confessed to his dog, who was lying on his lap and sleeping. Zacky through his head back and sighed. Why did sisters have to make things to complicated and confusing sometimes?
“Yes, of course I was babe.” He smiled at her, wishing he could control his thoughts better than he really could. He was tired of losing her repeatedly.
“Don’t lie to me Matt, you were not paying attention to me.”
“Well I am now.” Matt smiled happily when she allowed him to take her hand, proof that she wasn’t really mad.
“I was asking if you were okay, you seem out of it.”
“I’m fine, I just have this song idea flying around my mind and its distracting me.”
“Can I hear about it?”
“Not yet, soon though, just not right now.” He kissed her cheek and she held in a sigh. Sometimes she wasn’t sure if they were healthy for one another. Being together was safe for them, and they did love each other. But were they in love?
♥♥♥
Most people avoided their place of work on their days off but not Isabelle. Lilly had to work that day so Isabelle found herself at the Hard Rock Café for dinner and time away from her thoughts. Since the night before she’d been plagued with images of what could go wrong with Zacky meeting Chris, and so far it was a long list.
Realizing that she couldn’t finish the remaining bites of her sunday she paid the bill and headed for the gift shop for a new necklace. Just as she was walking out her cell phone rang with Lilly’s ringtone. “Hey Lilly.”
“Belle we are going out tonight.”
“Okay what time?”
“Does 9 work?”
“Sounds good.” On her way home Isabelle decided to take the long way home, it allowed her to soak in more of her surroundings than her usual way. She’d known that this was where she wanted to be since she’d arrived. Isabelle knew that she would miss her family and friends but this was where she belonged, where she was happy, and where she was safe.
Back at the apartment a glance at the clock told her to jump in the shower. After she was done with that it was time to watch a little bit of T.V. before Lilly got back and she’d have to get ready. “No, no, no, no, hey look it’s Fuse.” The music videos help her interest well, better than several of the other programs.
There was a beep in the apartment, an alert from her cell phone no doubt. She grabbed the phone from the coffee table and flipped it open. 1 New Message from: Chris A smile spread across her as she selected read. Hey babe what are you doing tonight?
She hit reply and typed in a message back. Um going out with Lilly. Why?
Just wondering, I kinda figured you would be.
Are you doing anything tonight?
Yeah I guess I’m going out with the guys
Have fun
You too
Not much time had passed when the door opened and Lilly walked in. “Saturday night means the night to have fun! Hey you, go get ready!” She cut her eyes at Isabelle who burst into laughter at her exclamation. “Isabelle go!”
“I’m going, I’m going.” Isabelle was still laughing as she went to get ready to leave. She was applying her eyeliner when the phone rang. She was about to go answer it when the ringing abruptly stopped. “Must be Zacky.”
Her thoughts were confirmed when Lilly ran into her bedroom, holding the phone out and smiling happily. “Hello?” Isabelle took the phone and waited for her brother’s voice to come through.
“Belle I have good news! We are coming to play a small show in Vegas in about two weeks!” Zacky’s voice was ecstatic as he revealed the news to his sister. Isabelle however was not as ecstatic. The plus side was that she’d get to see her brother, the down side was that he’d meet Chris sooner than she planned.
“That’s great! How long are you staying?”
“About a week and a half, the guys are staying too.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Zack we are about to leave so I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Bye sis. Love you.”
“Love you too Zack.” Isabelle hit the end button and turned to Lilly. “I have two weeks before my boyfriend meets Zacky. I’m screwed.”
♥♥♥
“Alright I’ve had enough!” Jimmy yelled walking in the door of Matt’s house. He threw his arms up in the air and cut his eyes at the singer, who had a guitar in hand. Jimmy closed the door behind him and stormed into the kitchen.
“What is going on?” Matt asked looking towards the kitchen, hearing Jimmy grabbing something from the refrigerator.
“You and your distraction! There is no way that is a song and I want to know!” Jimmy returned to the living room and handed Matt one of the beers in his hand before opening the other one for himself and sitting down.
“And if I don’t want to tell you?” Matt opened the beer and took a drink, knowing that Jimmy would get nothing out of him.
“Then I’ll get you drunk first.”
“Good luck with that Jimmy, I still won’t say shit.”
“You just keep telling yourself that and drinking.” Jimmy smirked and let a silence fall upon them. He’d vowed to get it out of Matt and he would.
“So did Zacky tell you the plan for Vegas?”
“Yes, of course he told me. What are your views on that?”
“What are you trying to do Jimmy? Be my therapist or some shit?”
“If that is what it takes to get you to tell me the truth then yes.” Matt rolled his eyes at Jimmy and took another drink. “Why aren’t you out with Val?”
“I didn’t feel like it okay?” Matt looked away from Jimmy’s gaze not wanting to talk about Valary, it would only ruin his mood even more. He cared about her and hated that he was hurting her. He hated that he was hurting her because he couldn’t bear to loose her again. He hated himself for it.
“Are you two having problems?” Jimmy watched his friend’s reaction change suddenly before he put on a fake face of confidence.
“No we aren’t having problems Jimmy. Now let it go.”
“Just keep drinking.”
♥♥♥
The music vibrated the floor of the club later that night as Lilly and Isabelle took seats at the bar. Her thoughts of Zacky’s upcoming visit had been forgotten until the subject had been brought up. “Why do you worry about it Belle? Chris loves you and Zacky will be able to see that.”
“Because I still don’t trust Zack not to try and run him off. That and I don’t want to have to avoid the guys again. I like it better when its just Zack who stays to visit.” Isabelle took another drink of her beer after he answer.
“Why do you avoid the guys anyway?”
“I don’t avoid the guys, I just avoid Matt. It would be too awkward to see and talk to him after what happened.”
“How is it awkward Belle? So you left and moved on, he won’t hate you for that.”
“Can we not talk about the guys or Matt tonight Lills?”
“Alright, but only since it is Saturday night.”
“I’ll find away to keep you away from talking about this.”
“What did you say Belle?”
“Nothing, nothing at all.” Isabelle smiled to herself at returned to her drink. She would forget everything that she had no desire to think about for the night if it was the last thing she did. Not like it would be that hard.
♥♥♥
“Michelle I just don’t know what do say to him right now. Its like every time I ask him what is wrong there is always some excuse that I can see right through. Did I do something wrong?” Valary asked as she sat on the couch in the living room of her twin sister’s apartment.
“No Val you didn’t do anything wrong. Matt probably just has a lot on his mind. Who knows, maybe he is finally getting ready to ask you to marry him. We both know that he loves you more than anyone.” Michelle brushed her hair behind her ear and glanced in the mirror again for a final check.
“He isn’t getting ready to propose, I think he is still scared of that kind of commitment. I’m worried that he might be thinking about if he shouldn’t even be with me. And where are you going tonight anyway?”
“Ah but you don’t know that for sure. He would never think about that and you should know that by now. And I happen to have a date with this guy that I met a few weeks ago, who should be here in 10 minutes.”
“Alright, I can take a hint. Have fun on your date and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Valary stood up and grabbed her things.
♥♥♥
“Ichabod I’m beginning to think that she just doesn’t want me to meet this Chris guy. Maybe she is scared that I’ll try and scare him off, which I don’t plan on. As long as he isn’t an asshole anyways.” Zacky confessed to his dog, who was lying on his lap and sleeping. Zacky through his head back and sighed. Why did sisters have to make things to complicated and confusing sometimes?