Terry and Gene 19

She walked past him and headed for the stairs. He took her arm and turned her to face him.

"You still love him, don't you?" he asked.

Terry shook her head, tears spilling down her face.

"Look at me." he ordered.

Terry raised her eyes to him. His were like beer bottle glass, cold and hard. "Don't lie to me." he warned.

"I'm not," she said.

"So, why did he come here? He must think you still care for him."

"He knows I won't turn him away if he needs help. I'm 'old reliable'." she said bitterly.

He pressed his lips together and stared hard into her eyes. She felt like he was boring into her soul.

"Come on," he said and pulled her toward his car.

"Where are we going?"

"My place."

"I..."

He stopped and turned her around to face him again. He didn't tell her to shut up, but the look he gave her was plenty clear. Terry closed her mouth and he walked her to his car.

During the ride to Gene's house, Terry occasionally wiped tears from her cheeks. He was silent, offering neither reproof nor comfort. Terry wasn't sure if it was the pain of old wounds opened by seeing Jason again or the anger on Gene's face that hurt the most.

When they arrived at his house, Gene came around and helped her out of the car. She had stopped crying, but in her heart of hearts, she was afraid to look him in the eye again.

Still holding her hand, he pulled her through the house and into the bathroom where he started to undress.

Terry looked at him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Taking a bath. And so are you. Blow your nose and take your clothes off."

Terry stared at him, open-mouthed.

"Get a move on or you can forget blowing your nose and I'll take your clothes off," he threatened, standing before her with just his jeans on.

Terry's knees nearly buckled, but she managed to find some tissue and blow her nose. For a moment, she stood with her back to him, feeling like she was made of jelly. She raised her shaking hands and tried to unbutton her blouse. She heard Gene turn on the water and the next thing she knew, he was behind her, arms around her, unbuttoning her shirt. He kissed her shoulder as he bared it and Terry let her mind go blank.