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“What’s going on?” Suzie tapped the door to Drew’s room lightly. She could see quite well what was going on. Drew was packing. Her question was why was Gene helping him?
“Oh. I was just.” Gene sprung to his feet. He flushed slightly and glanced around the floor like he might have misplaced something there. He glanced out the door with a wrinkled brow. “I’ll go.”
“No need.” Suzie squeezed his arm in reassurance on her way to Drew’s bed. She perched on the edge of the bed, smoothing down the perfectly flat spread until Drew joined her on one side. Gene waited until she patted the other side before he joined them. “So. You’re ready to go?”
“Yes.” Drew stared straight ahead, his lips drawn tight against his teeth.
Why did it have to be so hard? Why did they all have to be so noble all the time? Except Miranda. Miranda put passion over nobility, and hurt a lot of people in the process. Which actually answered Suzie’s rhetorical self questions. They were all putting a good face on it because of how much more it would hurt if they didn’t.
“Will you… Will you call?” She felt vulnerable asking.
“Yes! Oh, yes.” Drew nodded vigorously, though he wouldn’t look her in the eye. “I’ll call.”
“Good.” Suzie relaxed a little, letting her shoulder slump. She nodded jerkily.
“So, um…” Gene glanced shyly at her. “Mr. Banks, Drew, says I have to talk to you about the room.”
“The room?”
“This room. I’d, um. I’d like to move into it. If it’s all right with you.”
“Oh, Gene, no. I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”
“Why not?” Gene blurted.
“Because…” Suzie hesitated. She felt like she had stepped into a mine field. She didn’t want to hurt Gene, but she wanted her position clear to Drew. And she didn’t want to do anything that would make her cry in front of either of them. “I want the room to always be here for Drew. In case he decides to come back.”
Drew swore under his breath, making a short-lived motion with his hand, and looking away.
“You shouldn’t.” His voice was rough.
“What do you mean?”
“No matter what, I’m never moving into this room again.”
The uncompromising sureness of his voice slapped her. Hard. Suzie blinked back the pooling moister in her eyes, and inhaled sharply, too numb to really feel the pain of rejection quite yet. After every thing she and Drew had been through, everything he’d meant to her, she hadn’t imagined he would simply throw her away. How weak, pathetic, and useless he made her feel.
“So I can have the room after all?”
“NO!” Suzie screamed it, unleashing all the pain and frustration on a place it didn’t belong.
Gene recoiled in shock. He jumped to his feet, still staring at her with spook-wide eyes. She took a deep breath, getting herself under control.
“Gene, we’ll talk about it later.”
“Right,” Gene said tightly. He stalked out the door.
“Suzie.” Drew reached for her.
She twitched away from him. She couldn’t stand to be touched by him when she still loved him so much and he didn’t even respect her.
“I didn’t mean I wouldn’t come back to you. I meant that when I do, I’m not coming back as a renter. When I come back, if I can pull it off, I expect to move into your room with you.”
It didn’t take away all the hurt. But enough. She leaned into him and let her feelings poor down her face in salty trails.
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In one word- Excellent!
Great episode, Alice. Poor Gene though. I know she’ll make it good with him, but it’s still hard to see. The little guy has been through so much already.
Oh! And I loved this line: “She leaned into him and let her feelings pour down her face in salty trails.”
Great writing!
And great book cover!!! Congratulations!!!
Very good. You captured the moment perfectly.
Flash 55 – Morbid Norberth
Yay! Can I just say, YAY! I love Drew. He may be one of my all-time fav heroes. I do worry about Gene. He’s already so wounded Suzie’s reaction concerns me. But, that’s what makes us keep reading . . .
Excellent job, Alice!
Excellent! I’m glad Drew set things straight with Suzie. But, I agree with Brynna though, I worry about Gene. I hope she can make it right with him. The poor guy.
All right, all right. I’ll make it right. But, not right away.
Yeah, poor Gene. I have plans for him.
Yes, poor Gene. But he was a little out of line, asking so soon. Besides, it’s important to torture one’s characters.
LOL. I love torturing my characters. It’s the best way to get a story across.
Okay, Drew, now you’ve got to pony up or break a woman’s heart. Which is it going to be?
And sheesh, Suzie, after hearing that, you’d better give Gene the bed. Drew’s now got a pillow with his name on it.
This one is just excellent!
And, I love your comment about torturing your characters!
Excellently written!
Thank you Mama Zen and Akelamalu.
Amazing. I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks for your comment on mine.
Yeah, I know, characters have to be tortured. But I feel a connection with Gene, so I hope he’s not tortured too much.
Thank you for visiting my site.
Congrats on writing your book. Do you post everyday? As some one who has written a book myself, I understand how hard it is to get it published.
I shall come back to read it and give you a comment.
How long is your book?
Yep. I post at least once every day. I’ve been doing so for about two years now.
My book is very short – only 22,000 words or so. It’s set in the same world as Suzie’s House, which I post here every Friday.
Very descriptive. I felt like I was in the room – intense!
Of course Gene is asking for the room – that’s what kids do when they want or need something. I am disappointed that Suzie isn’t seeing what Gene is going through but I guess that’s because she’s got her own problems. But wake up, Suzie!
Good one, Alice!
You know, even Suzie can’t be perfect all the time.