“What was all of this to you?” Justin asked bitterly, not looking at her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alissa said, placing her hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t lie to me anymore, Alissa. Or should I call you Calypso,” Justin sneered.
Alissa sobbed. “Justin, let me explain.”
“Explain what? That you let us introduce you to your parents, saw what they looked like, and did nothing? Or maybe you want to explain what this entire thing was. Just a little experiment to see how the other half lived? Three little rich girls got an idea to be poor for a few months?”
“Justin, please. It’s not like that. I was devastated when we saw our parents. And I know Veronica and Alice were, too. We couldn’t stand our lives anymore.”
“Do you think other people can? Did you ever think about those things, Calypso. Did you think about you parents?”
“Yes.” Alissa was near tears. “Why do you think we didn’t fake our deaths? And we never expected to meet anyone or make any friends, so we weren’t thinking about anyone else.”
“What happened when you meet us, then? Did the three of you get together and say, ‘Let’s play with their hearts. Who cares what they think, or feel, or anything’. Did you think about us, the guys you were supposed to love?”
“Why the hell do you think Veronica and I got into a fight? It was because of my pessimistic mood. I knew what we were doing wasn’t right, and I wanted to do something about that. I was going to tell you that day you found me at the beach, but then you told me you loved me because I was a normal teenager, and I couldn’t.”
“Yes, you could have. At least you would have gotten the truth out sooner. Did you ever love me?”
“Yes, Justin. I love you more than you can ever know. You didn’t care who I was, and you treated me like I was a princess even though you thought I was your everyday teenager. I loved you so much. I still do. And I always will.”
“Do you expect me to believe that, Lis- I mean, Calypso? You lied to me throughout our entire relationship. I can’t trust you now. And without trust, we don’t have a relationship.”
“Justin, don’t do this to us. What does it matter who I am? It doesn’t change anything.”
Justin laughed harshly. “That’s where you’re wrong. ‘Doesn’t change anything’? Please, Calypso, don’t treat me like I’m stupid. Who you are makes a huge difference in our relationship. I couldn’t have a normal relationship with Britney, and she was in the same area as me, the same sphere. You’re way outside of my area. You’re English nobility and the daughter of a billionaire. Girls like you don’t date guys like me, no matter who we are, how much money we have. Your kind stays around others of your kind.”
“Justin, that’s not true. Or it is, but not for me. Please don’t throw what we have away.”
“I’m not the one throwing it away. You did that all on your own.”
Alissa was in tears. “Can’t we give it another try?”
“There’s no fucking way in hell I’ll ever trust you again, bitch,” Justin yelled, and grabbed a book of Alissa’s on the nightstand and threw it. It missed her head by an inch or two.
Alissa looked from the book on the floor to Justin, and slowly sunk to the ground, curling up in herself and crying.
“Justin!” Veronica said, pounding on the door. “What the hell is going on? Let me in.”
“Why certainly, Circe,” he sneered, yanking the door open. “Come in. Get your little bitch of a friend off the floor and then get the hell out.”
Veronica gasped when she saw Alissa on the floor. “What did you do to her?” she asked Justin, kneeling beside her friend. “Lis, you ok?”
“I didn’t do anything. And you don’t have to call her Alissa anymore. You can go by your real names now, Circe.”
“Justin, what the hell is going on here?” Joey asked from the doorway.
“I just discovered a little secret about our girlfriends. They’re not who we think they are. Alissa is Calypso Jordan, Veronica, Circe McKenzie, and Alice is Lorelie Khanauri.”
“What?!” Joey exclaimed. He looked at Veronica. “Is that true?”
Veronica slowly nodded her head, helping Alissa up. “Yeah,” she replied faintly. “It is. And I’m sorry you had to learn this way.” She glared at Justin as she walked past him. “Someone didn’t need to be such a fucking asshole about it.”
“All of you lied to us,” Justin said. “What, am I supposed to say ‘it’s ok’, forget all about it, and go on as though nothing changed?”
“I wouldn’t ask that much of you, but I would have expected better. I should have known.” She looked at Joey. “Do you forgive everything?”
“I thought I knew you, Ronnie, I mean, Circe. I thought we didn’t have secrets from each other. How could you go and do this to me?’
Veronica sighed. “So you too. Do men ever change?” she asked the air, her voice breaking. She walked past Joey, still supporting Alissa.
“Come in here,” Alice said to her, monitoring for them to enter her and JC’s room.
Veronica walked in. “Do you hate us, too, JC?”
“No, Circe, I don’t. I already knew who the three of you were though.” JC kissed Alice and walked to the door. “I’ll try to talk to Justin and Joey.”
“Good luck,” Alissa muttered. She collapsed on the bed, once again curling into herself.
“Just let them explain,” JC pleaded with Justin and Joey.
“No. I don’t want to talk to anyone of them again,” Justin said.
“You’re gonna have to, because I’m getting married to Lorelie.”
“Why the hell are you marring her?” Joey asked. “They lied to us.”
“I knew all along who they were,” JC explained. “And I seem to be the only one who understands why they did what they did. Haven’t either one of you wondered what it would be like to have normal lives?”
“Yeah, but I don’t go running away, making my friends and family worry, and lying to everyone,” Justin said. “I don’t see why they did.”
“I give up on you two. Lose the best things in your lives just because you can’t understand their need to be normal. It’s your loss.” He walked out of the room.
Circe dialed her mother’s cell phone number. Her father probably would be in a meeting, so she didn’t want to interrupt him.
“Hello?” Mikayla said, answering her phone.
“Mom? It’s me, Circe.”
“Oh Circe. Where are you? Are you coming home soon?”
“Right now, I’m in New York, with Calypso and Lorelie. We’re going to Florida for a few days, then we’ll be home.”
“Oh child, thank god.” Mikayla burst into tears. “We were so worried, so frightened. Where are you staying in Florida? Do you need help with anything? Do you want the jet to pick you up?”
“Pick us up next Wednesday. We don’t need help with anything, but you can come down if you want.”
“We’ll all be there. Oh, Circe, I’m so happy you’re ok. Calypso and Lorelie are ok, too?”
“Yes, Mom, we’re all fine. See you Wednesday.”
“Wait, baby, Give me your number.”
Circe told her mother their home phone number, and told her they wouldn’t be home until later that day. “Calypso, we need to get ready. We’re leaving in an hour.”
“All of my stuff is in Justin’s room, and I’m not going back in there.”
“I’ll have JC get it,” Lorelie said. She walked out of the room. Five minutes later, JC walked in the room, carrying Calypso’s two suitcases and her carry-on.
Calypso dragged herself out of bed and walked to the bathroom. The door closed behind her and they heard the water running.
Justin looked at Calypso, who was boarding the plane. She was walking with her head down and her shoulders slumped. She looked wretched.
A burst of pleasure flared through him at the sight of her looking so terrible, followed by remorse. He loved her, so much, and then he discovered she wasn’t what he thought she was. She was nothing like what he’d thought. She’d been lying to him the entire time. He couldn’t handle that. The woman he loved had betrayed him. Not by cheating on him, or using him. Oh no, it was by not trusting him enough to tell him.
He refused to consider that he could have had something to do with that. Yeah, he’d told her he loved her because she was normal, but that didn’t mean his opinion of her would have changed. Nor would his love. No matter how much he hoped and prayed, he couldn't stop loving her.
Circe tried to catch Joey’s eye as she sat down in her seat. He refused to look at her.
Lorelie was right. They weren’t worth it, Justin and Joey. They should have understood, or at least tried to understand, why they’d done this.
But, like every man she knew, they hadn’t listened to reason, and now, they were throwing everything away. She knew it wasn’t all Joey and Justin’s fault, but the blame didn’t lie solely on them, either. They’d all been wrong.
Circe glanced at Lorelie and JC. At least they were still happy. And they were all better friends than when they started on the little adventure that had changed their lives.
“Do you hate us too?” Lorelie asked Amaryllis, as they got off the plane.
“No, I don’t hate you. I just don’t know if I could ever trust you three. And I don’t think we’ll be friends.”
Lorelie smiled bitterly. “That’s what I expected. Everyone seems to hate us now.”
“Except JC.”
“And I love him even more for that.” Lorelie grabbed her bags and walked towards Circe and Calypso. “Good-bye.” Before they got in the taxi that was going to take them to their apartment, Lorelie hugged JC. “I love you. Call me later.”
Everyone watched in silence as they left the airport.
“You’ll have to let your hair grow out,” Mikayla McKenzie was saying to her daughter as they walked through the airport. “And go on a diet.”
“That goes for you, too, Calypso,” Marianne told her daughter. “Mikayla, should we send them to Europe?”
“Yes, Europe would be a good thing for the girls. Sarah, can they stay with you?” she asked Sarah Khanauri.
“Of course. We’ll get them back into shape in no time. And of course you’ll all need to get new clothes. Styles have changed, you know. And you’ll have to go back into society. Try to meet some decent people. Maybe a nice young man.”
“I can’t do that, Mama,” Lorelie said. “I’m engaged to JC Chasez.”
“But, Lorelie, it was always expected-”
“I don’t care, Mama. I love him and I’m going to marry him.”
“I want you to be happy, so I suppose it’ll have to do.”
Lorelie smiled. She was going to marry JC whether her parents approved or not. It was her life, and she was in full control of it.
Justin, Joey, and JC stood in the airport terminal, watching the plane depart.
“Don’t say anything, JC,” Justin warned him.
“I wasn’t going to,” JC said.
“Just don’t. Don’t even think it. Don’t mention them.”
“Ok, Justin, whatever you say.”
As they watched, the plane left the ground. JC knew that he wasn’t losing anything. In fact, with this, he was only gaining something.
Justin and Joey, on the other hand, watched as their hearts were torn out of their chests. They were losing the women they loved, and there was nothing they could do about it.The End
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