AJ woke up and saw that Dawn was not in bed next to him. He got up and put his pants on.
"She’s probably taking a bath or something,” he said to himself.
He walked into the bathroom, no sign of Dawn. He continued to walk through the house calling her name. He checked the living room, kitchen, deck, and basement, still no Dawn. He was starting to get worried.
He looked in the driveway and saw that her car was gone.
"She probably just went to the store or something,” he told himself. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was definitely wrong.
He looked on all the counters for some kind of note from her. He walked back into his room and looked in the closet. He was relieved to see her clothes still there. He looked around for some clue as to where she could’ve gone. When he still came up empty handed, he sat down on the couch and lit a cigarette.
"I’m probably overreacting,” he told himself as he turned on the television and tried to take his mind off the nagging feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t concentrate on anything but Dawn, though.
He got up and went to take a quick shower to pass some time, hoping she would be there when he got out. After his shower, he got dressed and searched the house again, calling Dawn’s name. Still no luck. The fact that she had mentioned meeting Anthony today is what made him worry.
"Maybe she went to Kevin’s house. Her and Jessica have gotten pretty close lately,” he said to himself.
He picked up the phone and dialed Kevin’s number. Kevin answered on the second ring. AJ asked him if he had heard anything from Dawn or if she was there.
"No, why?" Kevin asked.
"Long story man,” AJ replied. "But she’s not here and I don’t know where she is. I thought she may be over at your place talking to Jessica or something."
"Nope, sorry. Is everything okay?" He asked, worried.
"I don’t know,” AJ responded, not wanting to waste time going into too much detail. "Can you ask Jess if she’s heard from her?"
"Sure, hold on,” he said, putting the phone down for a minute.
"No, she hasn’t heard from her either,” he said when he came back on the phone.
"Goddammit, where the hell is she?" AJ exclaimed, getting more worried.
"Just calm down,” Kevin began. "Did you guys get in a fight or something"?
"No, just the opposite actually,” AJ replied. "I woke up this morning and she was gone".
"Did you think that maybe she just went to the store or something"? Kevin asked.
"I thought of that, but she wouldn’t go anywhere without at least leaving me a note or something and I just have this feeling that something is not right,” AJ answered.
"Do you think she went back to Anthony?" Kevin asked in a low voice, barely able to make the words come out of his mouth.
AJ cringed, he didn’t even want to think about that possibility. "That just doesn’t make any sense, plus, her clothes are still here,” he replied.
"Well, if we hear from her, I’ll let you know,” he stated. "But I’m sure there’s a logical explanation, don’t get yourself worked up about it”.
"Yeah, you’re right. If you hear anything, call me,” he said as he hung up the phone.
He sat down and tried to calm down. Kevin was right.
"I’m sure she has a good explanation for leaving and not so much as leaving me a note telling me where she went. She knows I worry about her,” he finished as he stood in his kitchen trying to figure out what to do next.
"I can’t sit here and wait any longer,” he finally said. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
Dawn had no idea where to go, she just knew she couldn’t stay there with AJ. She loved him and knew that she would end up hurting him eventually. He didn’t deserve that.
She could barely see where she was going because she was crying so hard. She pulled into an empty parking lot and sat there, sobbing.
"I’m so stupid,” she said to herself. "Why did I let myself fall for him?? Now he’s going to hate me and never talk to me again. I just lost one of my best friends".
She tried to compose herself and think about where she was going to go. She was in such a hurry to leave AJ’s, she didn’t have a chance to bring any of her clothes.
"I just need to think and try to figure out what to do about this mess I’ve created,” she said aloud. "I’ll call Jess,” she said dialing the number on her cell phone. Kevin answered.
"Hey Kev, it’s Dawn. Can I talk to Jess?"
"Where are you?" He demanded. "AJ’s going crazy looking for you".
"Shit…already?"
"What’s going on?" He asked. "What happened?"
"Oh Kevin, it’s such a mess,” she started to cry, unable to control her tears.
"Tell me what happened…where are you?" He asked.
"I don’t know, I just started driving,” she replied, looking around her. "Actually, I’m not far from your place".
"Why don’t you come here and we’ll talk about it,” he suggested.
"I can’t do that Kev,” she replied. "I’m sure that is one of the first places Alex will check….he’s already called there".
"Do you have any idea what you’re doing to him?" Kevin asked, starting to get a little irritated. "He loves you, I don’t know if you know that or not".
The words cut through Dawn’s heart like a knife.
"I know…that’s why I had to leave,” she said softly.
"Why?" he asked. "You don’t love him"?
"No, I do…with all my heart. That’s why I left,” Dawn replied.
"That has to be one of the most ass-backwards answers I’ve ever heard in my life,” Kevin chuckled.
"Kevin, this is not funny,” she tried to stifle her own laugh at his comment.
"Well, come on," he began. "You two love each other. Why would you leave?"
"I’ll just end up hurting him,” she answered   "And he deserves better,” her voice trailed off.
"Listen,” Kevin started, getting irritated again. "Wait, nevermind. Get over here or I will find you and drag you back here. Then I’ll tie you up and make you listen to me”.
Dawn giggled.
"Gee Kev, you really know how to sweet talk a woman. Now I know why Jess couldn’t resist you,” she teased.
"Yeah, well, what can I say,” he laughed.
“I don’t know, Kevin. What if Alex shows up?”
“He already called and knows that you’re not here. Now I better see you pulling into my driveway in the next ten minutes…”
"Okay!” She cut him off. “I’ll be there soon".
She was unable to think of any better alternatives. She hung up the phone and headed to Kevin’s.
Once she got there, she knocked on the door and Kevin answered. She looked around.
"Is Jess here?" She asked.
"No, she had to run to the store. She’ll be back in a little bit," he answered. "Now talk to Dr. Kevin and tell me what is going on".
He sat down on the couch, patting the seat next to him for her to sit down. She sat next to him and buried her face in her hands.
"It’s such a mess,” she said, beginning to cry again.
"What happened?" He asked, glancing out his front window, making sure Dawn didn’t see him do it.
"It’s a long story,” she sobbed. "I don’t even know where to start".
"Start from the beginning", he answered, putting his arm around her. "Tell me what happened after you guys slept together", he said, knowingly.
Dawn looked at him, shocked that he had said that.
"How did you know?" She asked him.
"It’s pretty obvious", he replied. "I’m a big boy, I can figure things out for myself", he said with a slight grin. "I know AJ’s a little wild, but the sex couldn’t have been THAT bad", he joked, trying to lighten the mood. Dawn smacked him in the arm and laughed.
"Okay, just let me just play counselor here for a minute and give you my advice,” he said, glancing out the window again.
"I know AJ loves you, he has for some time now. You said you love him, but you left him because you’re afraid you’re going to hurt him. You’ve been through hell with your last relationship and I think you’re just afraid to open yourself up again to anyone,” he stated.
"Boy, all that and I didn’t even say a word,” Dawn answered.
Kevin turned and looked at her.
"You can’t let true love pass you by because you’re afraid," he began. "You have to take chances, you have to trust him. I know AJ will never hurt you".
"But that’s just it", she started. "How do I know that this isn’t just a rebound thing? How do I know that I’m not just seeking comfort from somewhere it’s convenient? How do I know if it’s true love?" She added.
He took her hand, placing it over her heart.
"You know. I know you do, you’re just afraid to admit it", he said as tears started to well up in Dawn’s eyes once again. Kevin wiped a falling teardrop from her cheek.
"I’ve seen the two of you together," he said. "Even I can see it, you two are meant to be together…you belong together. If I didn’t believe this, I wouldn’t be wasting my time talking to you right now,” he finished.
The front door opened, Dawn assumed it was Jessica and kept talking.
"I can’t go back now….I’m sure he hates me,” she sobbed, burying her head in her hands once again. "I just wish I could talk to him".
"What would you tell him?" He asked as he got up from the couch.
"I would beg him not to hate me…..I would tell him that I’m sorry and I love him,” she cried harder.
"I could never hate you," a raspy voice said. "I love you too much".
Dawn lifted her head and saw AJ standing in the doorway...


Chapter 23
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