Judged By You (Judge Me Series) by Patricia Voois Page B

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    Nicole just looked at me and didn’t say a word. It was hard for her to have to tell him something like this. I told her to at least tell her parents, which I take she hadn’t.  I know her mother would be here in an instant to be by her side w hether she approved or not. Nicole’s parents were strict, and they did have high hopes for her, but they loved her and would never let her go through anything alone.
    “You should ring him and invite him Nic.” I waited for the knockdown response, but she just continued to set the table.
    We made sure we had enough food cooking, and I cleaned up the kitchen once we made one hell of a mess. I had put a few bottles of wine in the chiller along with beer for the guys. Once everything was almost finished I went upstairs and had a shower. I put on a pair of jeans and a light pink sweater. It was overcast outside and normally when it became this cold it would rain. We hadn’t seen rain in a while so it would be gratifying.
    I was getting my shoes on, when Nicole came in. “Stephen is on the phone Savannah. He sounds upset.” She said with concern.
    I went down stairs and picked up the receiver.
    “Hey you.”
    “Hey Sav.” He said in a voice that didn’t sound his own.
    “What’s wrong ? Is it Stephen?” I couldn’t hide the anxiety in my voice.
    “Can’t I ring you?” He almost shouted at me. When he spoke I moved the phone away from my ear. Something was going on , and it worried me.
    “Yes of course you can. It’s just….. I….. I miss you Stephe n. You would tell me if you weren’t okay, or something was wrong, wouldn’t you?.” I turned to Nicole who handed me a glass of wine. At the same time, the doorbell rang. Nicole mouthed that she would get the door and not to worry.
    “God Savannah, give me a fucking break. I thought it would be good to hear your voice okay. Don’t fucking worry about it.” He was distressed I could hear it in his voice.
    “Stephen, please , calm down.” I hated it.
    He did this once before, and I didn’t sleep until I saw him still alive. It wasn’t like I could talk to him every day, and seeing him once a week wasn’t enough. When I turned I saw Derek, Angel and Damon standing with Nicole in the living room. I gave them a wave with a smile. Damon was wearing his jeans and sleeveless shirt still, but he had a black leather jacket on. He looked smoking.
    “Derek’s here St ephen, do you want to say hello?” I was hoping Derek could work out Stephens’s problem because I sure as hell couldn’t.
    “Chuck him on then .” Stephen snapped.
    I covered the receiver and walked to where everyone was standing. I handed the phone to Derek and mouthed that it was Stephen than leaned my head towards the door way so Derek would go out of ear shot. He nodded and excused himself and took the phone.
    “Hey Bro.” He said as he was walking away.
    I turned back around and gave Angel a small smile and kissed Damon on the cheek. Angel was wearing a little black dress with bright pink fish net stockings and high black heels. I have no idea how the hell she could walk in them. I swear she was 2 inches off hitting the roof. Nicole shot me a look from the kitchen wh en I turned and gave her a look. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
    “You look lovely Savannah .” Damon said with a smile.
    “You don’t look so bad yourself .” I said with a teasing nudge.
    Angel had excused herself to go outside and have a cigarette, so Damon, Nicole and I stood in the kitchen making small talk about her cooking skills. I turned to see Derek with the phone in his hand.
    “He wants to talk to you again Savannah.”
    When Derek said my full name, I knew something wasn’t right.
    “Hey .”
    “I’m sorry for the way I reacted on Sunday Sav, I heard your boyfriend is there for dinner. Must be serious.” At that point, I couldn’t believe a) he was saying sorry, and b) Derek ratted me out.
    “Hey that’s o kay. And he isn’t my boyfriend.” I said