SOS by Glory, Girl Writer.pdf - Dawson's Creek Fandom Wiki

Joey suddenly felt the crush of silence around her as she sat among her luggage. Are
you really going to do this? She pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, but she
heard it again, coming unmistakably from somewhere inside her own head. Are you
really going to do this?
She was, of course. There had never been any real question. As soon as Dawson
asked her to go with him to California, everything else had gone out the window. She
could pretend she had agonized over it, given it hours of thought while scribbling pros
and cons in her journal, listened to the sage advice of her sister and her friends . . . but it
was a lie. The invitation had come to her like a lifeboat, three weeks after her father
died, two months after she broke up with Pacey. Dawson had started talking about how
excited he was about Los Angeles, about school, about the beaches and the palm trees
and doing everything he'd ever wanted to do. She had felt herself leaning in toward his
enthusiasm, trying to wiggle into it like a cat lying on the floor in the last stripe of
afternoon sunshine. He was happy, and she wasn't, and she wanted to be. So when he
looked up with a start one day and said, "You should come," she had as much as
packed her bags the minute it was out of his mouth.
She'd wondered whether Pacey would be upset, even though he didn't have any reason
to be and, as far as she could tell, it turned out he actually didn't care very much. They
weren't together anymore, thanks to one last argument about school that proved to be
too much to get over. She'd said a few things she probably shouldn't have said, and one
that she really shouldn't have said (something about his "living down to her every
expectation"), and suddenly it had been over. At first, it had been like having her hand
cut off. She felt like she couldn't do anything, couldn't think straight, couldn't stand to
see anyone. Over time, though, it had turned into a dull empty feeling from which she
was mercifully distracted when she got word that her father had died of a sudden heart
attack in prison. That particular news hit with such a resounding thud that she didn't get
out of bed for a week.
And now she was off to California. New life, new start, new state, new plan . . . and then
that voice in her head again. Dull old albatross boyfriend. "Shut up," she said out loud,
checking one more time that her plane ticket was in her purse.
"Hey, gorgeous, you about ready?" Jack leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then
surveyed the room. "I'd say you've got enough stuff."
"Yeah, I'm ready. Thanks for giving me a ride to the airport. Mitch and Gale wanted that
last tear-jerking journey all to themselves." She picked up two suitcases and let him
grab the other two. "Is Jen coming to the airport?"
"She's going to meet us at the gate." He shrugged. "She had a few errands to run."
Joey wanted to ask, but she didn't. Instead, she pressed ahead with forced cheer that
felt like it was choking her. "Okay, well, let's go then."
Jack stopped briefly in the doorway and turned to look at her. "You're sure this is what
you want to do?"