That Blue Gibson

CH 30

Liz's eyes flew open and she pulled back from Dave so quickly that her head hit the wooden door with a dull thud. They both turned to Johnny, who was standing alone in the middle of her dark sitting room and quickly untangled themselves.

"What... the hell are you doing here?" Liz tried to laugh off her shock and stepped into the room.

Johnny remained motionless, a bemused smile on his face. "I heard you were in a little... altercation so I came to check in on you."

Liz narrowed her eyes at him, "How did you hear that?" She looked back at Dave who was still in the doorway.

Johnny shrugged, "Things move quickly when you're famous and in LA, Lizzy."

Liz heard the door latch behind her and felt Dave's hand on her back, "Well, I'm fine," she said, looking up at him before turning back to Johnny.

"She actually handled the situation pretty well herself," Dave smiled down at her, making a mental note to check the swelling in her hand.

"Yes, she's quite good at taking matters into her own hands, if you will," Johnny said smoothly before walking up to a stunned Liz and resting his hands on her shoulders. "If I don't see you Sunday, then I'll see you in London," he leaned down to kiss her cheek before brushing past them and leaving the room.

Liz turned a little to watch him leave. "He's like a weird Dickensian ghost," she muttered then looked up at Dave, who was staring at the empty fireplace with a confused look on his face.

"I thought you were going home next week."

"I am," she slowly turned towards him and narrowed her eyes, "You know he only did this to piss you off."

"He wants to fuck you, Liz."

"I don't fucking care!" she cried, moving out of his arm to stand in front of him, "He's a coworker. And this?" she waved her hand between the two of them, "isn't exactly marriage material, so why are you even worried about who wants to fuck me?" She cringed, regretting her words the moment they came tumbling out of her mouth. She felt her stomach drop as Dave's face went from confused to completely blank. He took a small step back from her and nodded.

"You're right," he said quietly, "You're leaving in six days to god-knows-where to be with god-knows-who and I'll just sit in the Valley, watching you exist from the other side of the screen."

"Dave...," she whispered and reached for his hand, but he shook his head and held his hands out to stop her from coming closer to him.

"It's fine, Liz. I hardly know your name anyways," he turned on his heel and walked towards the door, pausing for a moment when he opened it. He wanted to turn back to her, to carry her into her room and hold her while she slept, but he knew it would just make it harder to leave her later on. He ripped the door open wider and left before he changed his mind.

*

Liz watched the door slowly close behind him and latch with a soft click. The room plunged into darkness and the only sound she could hear was her strangled breathing. She dropped onto the white, overstuffed couch and tried to blink her tears away, but they streamed down her cheeks in steady rivers, pooling in the hollows of her collarbones. A sob racked through her chest and she slumped forward onto the arm of the couch, burying her face into her arms and letting the tears take over.