Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer. They might be safer with Alliance, especially Ray, but I guarantee I'll have more fun with them. Please send comments, questions, compliments, and otters to sdelcul@yahoo.com

Author's Notes: Fifth in the Getting what you want, getting what you need series. (5/9)

Story Notes:

This story is a sequel to: And miles to go

"Can we talk?"

"I can't do this."

"We need to talk."

"Not now, okay?"

The sheer exhaustion in Ray's voice scared him. But he was desperate. He had to make Ray understand. "Ray-"

"Fine. You want to talk? Isn't that nice. Surprising, really, because you didn't, did you? You had how long to tell me? It wouldn't have changed how I felt about her, but don't you think I deserved to know? Was I not important enough to hear this key piece of information? Do you know how that feels? That you could just sit there and lie to me, day after day when I was terrified that once again I wasn't going to be good enough? Do you know what that did to me? I trusted you."

"Ray, please."

"Shut up. Just shut up." Ray hissed. "I've never been good enough. Don't you understand? My father, my wife, and my best friend. What a joke I turned out to be, huh? Problem is, I'm not laughing anymore."

Ray was no longer looking at him as he talked.

"Don't you get it? I can't do it anymore. I can't spend the rest of my life trying to live up to your expectations and never being good enough. It's hard, it sucks, and it isn't fair. It's time I got to have both feet on the ground."

"I never meant to-"

"I tried so hard to be good enough for all of you. Did you ever respect me at all? Half the time I felt like I wasn't even good enough to look at you." He turned and headed for the door. "You're such a snob, really. You think you're better than everybody else just because no one can live up to your standards. It's your world, we're all just forced to live in it. And where did that leave me? That left me getting bowled over by something that I had no way to prepare for because you couldn't tell me the truth. You would have just led me on."

"I wanted to tell you."

"That's nice. But you didn't." His voice grew colder, calm but full of ice. "Don't be here when I get back."

He could only watch Ray walk away.

End Appeal by silvina: sdelcul@yahoo.com

Author and story notes above.