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Stacey watched Nick go, happy and fairly certain that things with Jasmine would go his way. Jasmine would like it that he chased after her. Who wouldn’t? And then it hit her. Stefan wanted her to chase after him! Oh how could she have been so blind not to have seen it? She went to him immediately.
She knocked on the door and waited for Stefan to answer it. Her stomach was in knots. She was so nervous; she wasn’t sure how she was going to put a coherent sentence together.
He opened the door and looked at her with such sadness in his eyes. All the frenetic energy she had just drained from her body. She really made a mistake in not following him immediately. “Can I talk to you?”
He opened the door wider to allow her entry, but still didn’t say anything. So Stacey began to ramble. “I am so sorry Stefan. I truly didn’t mean to make you feel that you weren’t a priority. I just got so caught up in the urgency of Nick’s situation that I didn’t stop to think how my actions might be construed by you. I know you already have questions about the depths of my relationship with Nick and this certainly could not have made a good impression. You are very much a priority to me. I’ve never done this relationship thing before, so I am in unchartered territory here. Maybe you could cut me some slack.” Stacey smiled up at him hoping that all would be forgiven.
His expression was still bleak. “I’ve got a lot on my plate right now Stacey with my mom and the new job and all. I’m not sure if this is a good time to try to start a relationship; especially one that comes with my best friend in the package. I’ve been competing with Nick all my life and I don’t really care to do it any longer, so I’m just going to walk away.”
Stacey was stunned. Her first instinct was to declare her true feelings for him. To let him know that she had fallen madly in love with him, but she squashed that impulse because if he was rejecting her attempt to make it right over such a small misunderstanding then, why open herself up to more heartache. She felt the water pool in her eyes, but refused to let them spill over. “I see. I am sorry to have wasted your time.”
Stacey turned stiffly and walked out the door. Her first thought was to go and talk to Nick, but hopefully he was making things right with Jasmine, so she definitely didn’t want to interrupt them. How was it that such a wonderful relationship between Nick and her could have such devastating consequences?
Stacey didn’t even know how she made it back to her apartment. She let herself in and just crawled into her bed and pulled the covers over her head. Now in the quietness of her lonely home did she let the tears that she had refused to shed in front of Stefan pour unchecked down her face.
Take Care of Me Page 10