The Minister Ch. 05

Ivy was back at school. The weekend after everything happened, she pulled herself together, caught up all her school work and woke up early Monday morning completely refreshed and ready. Lindsay had been pissed to say the least but after a few apologies and a little bit of gossip, she was her normal self again. Ivy had told Lindsay that this was the week her parents had died, all those years ago and so she had taken some time off to get away and rethink her life. Lindsay seemed to buy it.

Or she was just too busy trying not to break the news that she and Kurt were finally together. Ivy knew it before she said it. Even under her anger, Lindsay was bubbling with that teenage girl 'I finally got together with that cute boy I like' look. Ivy laughed and congratulated them both. They were good together and they looked happy. Plus, it meant that Lindsay would stop sleeping around so much and bringing random jock guys to sit with them at lunch.

It had been almost three weeks now since Ivy had last seen Heath or Derek. Heath; despite all his boasting and gloating, had disappeared, seemingly scared. And Derek, well, Ivy had no one idea what had happened to him. She had gone to church both Sundays since then and she hadn't seen him at either service. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to see him.

He made her heart flutter, her stomach hollow and her breath leave her. He made her palms sweaty and her cheeks flush red when she thought of him. But she still wasn't sure. He was a minister. They weren't allowed to get involved with anyone. Let alone someone as young as herself. Derek was what, 34? Ivy wondered how many times she had pondered this.

Almost every day she thought of him. She thought of his sexy body, his hard stomach and chest, his tattoo and the scares that decorated his muscular torso. She thought of his beautiful bronze eyes and dark, wavy hair that always look slightly unruly. She thought of his strong, lightly stubbled jaw and the curve of his mouth when he smiled, she imagined his strong arms around her. Embracing her. Safe.

She knew though, that her life was much less complicated without him. She had not felt whole before she met him true, but maybe she just felt less empty while she was with him because she was too busy worrying about all the trouble he was causing. She had to admit she had been lonely the past two weeks. Especially with Kurt and Lindsay dating now. She felt like a third wheel most of the time. Even when she went to visit her grandparents for the weekend, she had felt out of place.

She was back in the city now; it was Thursday night. Tomorrow would mark three weeks since she had seen Derek. That was good. She had heard it took three weeks to make or break a habit. Derek was just a habit. If she could go three weeks without him, then she would be fine and she could move on. In theory.

She sat at her desk in the small study, right next to her parent's room, studying for her exams. There were more coming up in about two weeks. She hated exams. You only just finished them before you have to start studying for the next ones. Next week would be fairly quite at least. There were some cheerleading competitions coming up the week after that. Ivy was lucky she was quite talented, otherwise she would have been cut from the team for missing so many practices. She had been to practice every day since. Ivy decided it was fair to say, she really had her life on track now. In a few weeks, she would be out of the city and back home with her grandparents, exams finished and ready for spring break.

Derek fumbled with the keys to his apartment. He opened the door and stumbled in, barely making it to the couch before he collapsed. The past weeks had been rough. He would work all day and drink all night. It glanced at the clock. His vision was slightly blurry and he couldn't see straight. He figured it was around 2am.

Derek drank a fair bit when he was younger. But only on weekends, wild Friday and Saturday nights. Before he met Ivy, he had been sober for almost 3 years. Now, he was getting drunk most nights for the past three weeks. Luckily, with the help of a lot of aspirin and some old hangover tricks, he was still managing to hide it from the other ministers.

He couldn't sleep at night. He tried. Thinking of Ivy would keep him awake. And if he ever did get to sleep, the nightmares would haunt him. He would wake up in a tangle of sweat and bed sheets, heart pounding. Each day he looked worse. The dark rings of sleeplessness under his eyes would grow and his cheeks would get hollower. He had seen Ivy at church the last two weeks but both times retreated to his office, locked the doors and not come out until well into the evening.

He didn't know why he didn't want to see her. He knew he needed to resist, and he guessed that avoiding her would be the easiest way to do that. But it was killing him. Literally. If he kept drinking like every night, he was going to get himself killed. Especially seeing that he went to shady bars in dodgy neighbourhoods, to ensure that no one he knew caught him out getting drunk.

He thought about her every minute of every day. Every drink he drank, every step he took, he was thinking about her. He thought about her laugh and her smile. The curves of body and her perfect ass. He thought about her full lush lips and caramel tanned skin. Her dark, wavy hair and he perfect breasts. No matter how he tried to distract himself, it always came back to her. The only thing that stopped her from coming into her mind, the only thing that let him sleep at all; was the drink.

He couldn't help but hate himself for what he had allowed himself to become over the past few weeks. He was sick. Sick and dying and there was only one cure. Ivy. She was his cure.

The next day went like any other for Ivy. She woke up, went to school, watched Kurt and Lindsay talk, laugh and flirt over lunch, then went to cheer practice for a couple of hours.

Her life was almost exactly the same as it had been before she met Derek. Except a lot lonelier. Now she was living by herself in the city and her two best-friends were dating. She felt more empty now than ever. Ivy stood outside in the cold night air, the city was silhouetted against the evening sky. Lindsay had just left to go and hang out with Kurt for the evening. Something about catching a movie then trying to sneak into some clubs.

Ivy wondered what she would be doing on her Friday night. She didn't have a lot of close friends and she wasn't about to join in on Kurt and Lindsay's date. She leaned against the brick wall outside the gym and wondered about it for a moment. What she really wanted was to go to the church. Talk to some random minister about her life, her loneliness. She really needed some more friends. Maybe then she would have someone other than a minister to talk to.

She decided to go. She would keep an eye out for Derek and leave right away if she saw him. She doubted she would see him. She was fairly sure he was avoiding her. When she told him to leave that day. She hadn't planned on not seeing him again. It was only after he hadn't come back or been at church that she decided she was better off without him anyway.

Ivy made it to the church within a few minutes. She stepped in, grateful that despite its ancient looks, modern heating was appreciated by the church too. Ivy turned and was about to walk up the aisle when she saw Derek standing at the other end. He was frozen, still as a statue. Staring at her. She froze. She knew her plan was to leave if she was him but she couldn't. She just stood and stared right back at him from the other end of the church.

She noticed how terrible he looked. His cheeks were sunken, there were deep, dark rings under his red eyes, his hair was messy and face unshaven. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

Before either of them could say or do anything a voice broke their connection. "Minister Heathen. You are dismissed. You have a lot of paperwork to catch up on." Derek's eyes widened and he paled but didn't take his eyes from her. Slowly he turned and then hurried out of the room.

Ivy's heart was pounding, her mouth was dry and her eyes wide. There were butterflies in her stomach from seeing him and a longing between her legs. She turned slowly to the other minister. He was a large burly man with an almost bald head. He looked to be about in his 60's.

Ivy suddenly didn't want to talk to anyone so much. He didn't look approachable. She had been hoping for some nice elderly man who looked like he wanted to talk. Not some disapproving giant of a man. She turned slowly and rushed out the door.

Derek hurried out the back of the church and into the night. He wasn't sure where he was going but he needed to get away from here. He didn't think he knew where he was going but his legs seemed to be guided by his subconscious. About half an hour later he ended up in a smoky bar which had bad rock music playing in the background as he ordered a bourbon.

He sat at the bar and stared at the brownish liquid in his glass. He turned the glass in circles and wished for an easy option. He wanted to see Ivy. Every inch of him. But this job was everything to him. God had saved him from himself more than once. God had given him life and Derek wanted to thank him by devoting that life to God. But now, all he wanted to do was turn on God and run into Ivy's arms. He knew he needed to serve and thank God. He grabbed the drink and downed the whole thing before slamming it down on the counter and demanding another.

Alcohol was the only thing that could numb his heart. He needed her. He had to have her. He swallowed another drink.

"You might want to slow down there, buddy" An older man sitting a few seats down from Derek said.

Derek just turned and glared at him, then tapped the counter, indicating to the bartender that he wanted another. He had stopped thinking. The first drink was setting in and there was no more time for thinking. It was time for drinking and time for doing.

Ivy found herself back at home. She sat on the couch and stared at the television, even though it wasn't on. Seeing Derek was making her rethink everything. She had thought she was fine, that she could move on. But she wasn't so sure now. Now she felt like she needed him. Her heart was empty her mind in pieces. Her body craved him. Her soul missed him. Every single part of her wanted him. She knew that he was a minister and it was wrong. She could make him leave his job. He had to. If he felt the same way, he couldn't turn away from this. If he felt the same way, he would leave his job and just be with her. She was in love with him.

Ivy stared. She couldn't take it. Suddenly the last three weeks felt like a lie. They felt fake, as if their perfectness was just a distraction from how wrong it all felt. Ivy got up and dug through her kitchen drawer. She picked up a small white bottle. Sleeping pills. She needed to go to sleep and then, in the morning, this unbearable pain of seeing him would have dimmed. She needed to skip this most painful time and drinking was not an option. There was no other way she was going to sleep tonight.

She swallowed a pill and within minutes she was passed out on the couch.

Ivy was pulled slowly from the sweet embrace of sleep by a banging in the distance. She rubbed her eyes groggily and sat up. She glanced at the illuminated time on the microwave. It read 3.45am. She groaned and wondered what the banging was. It came again. She jumped. It sounded louder now. Someone was knocking at her door.

She got up and stumbled, still half asleep, toward the door. She fixed her clothes and smoothed down her hair, unsure as to who the hell would be banging on her door at this time of night. She took a breath, rubbed her eyes again in an effort to wake herself up and then pulled the door open.

She gaped, "Derek?! What the hell are you doing here? It's like 4am!" she demanded.

There was a bottle in his hand, he was swaying and his eyelids were droopy. He was as drunk as a skunk.

"Ivy." He slurred. "You hurt...." He trailed off as he stumbled into the wall and almost fell over. She grabbed the bottle out of his hand and looked at it. He didn't seem to notice. It was whiskey.

"You hurt me" He demanded, drunkenly. "Here." He jabbed a finger at his chest.

"I can't believe you're drunk." Ivy said, disgusted. She considered closing the door and sending him packing. She knew she wouldn't be able to.

"You hurt me Ivy." His voice was coarse and not quite as slurred.

"Derek..." She trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

"You're killing me. I think... I think I'm in love with you." He was quieter now, still slurred but now his voice had a husky, dangerous undertone.

She stared at him wide eyed and said nothing.

"You hurt me." He demanded again. He took a step toward her, almost losing his balance.

Ivy could smell the sour alcohol on his breath. He was no more than two steps from standing nose to nose with her.

"You said that, I know. I'm sorry Derek. I didn't mean to hurt you." She wanted to hide from him suddenly, she couldn't do this.

He seemed to consider her for a moment. "But you did Ivy." He whispered.

Suddenly he was on her. His mouth crashed down on hers, the taste of alcohol strong on his lips. He kissed her with a near animalistic ferocity. He grabbed the back of her head with one hand, as if to make sure he could keep her mouth pressed to his. He forced her back against the wall, pressing her hard up against it, his body covering every inch of her. There was no space between them, he pressed so hard against her it felt as if she would be squashed against the wall.

Panic suddenly flared in Ivy's chest, he was being too rough, too forceful. She tried to push him off but he barely noticed. He was too strong. She could see his bicep bulging as he held her head to his. She tried to pull back but that hand kept her head firmly in place. Ivy panicked. She pushed as hard as she could against him.

He backed off a little and she pulled back, pushing with all her might against his chest. If he wasn't drunk he probably would have barely swayed, but as it was he stumbled back a few feet. He looked angry all of a sudden.

He came at her again, wanting more of her lips, to slid his hand up her thigh and feel her perfect breasts.

"Derek! Stop! Please, you're scaring me." She said, and she shrank a little against the wall. She hated to feel so weak and small.

His eyes soften suddenly as he seemed to realise what he was doing. His face was just centimetres from hers. He took a step back. He leaned against the wall on the other side for a second then before Ivy knew it, he crashed to the floor, out like a light.

Ivy looked at him, unsure what to do. She had tried half-heartedly to move him to the couch but he was far too heavy for her to move him while he was unconscious. In the end she had laid a blanket over him and put a pillow under his head. Then she had stripped out of her clothes and crawled between the sheets of her own bed and fallen asleep.

When Ivy awoke the next morning, Derek was still sound asleep. She took a quick shower and then dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a baggy hoody. She was hunting around for some aspirin when she heard Derek wake. She heard a grown then hurried footsteps and the bathroom door slamming.

She smiled to herself a little. He was going to have a killer hangover. Served him right, he shouldn't have gotten so damn drunk. She finally found some aspirin and headed over to the bathroom. She knocked lightly on the door, so not to upset him. He had to have a huge headache. She opened the door a crack.

He was kneeling in front of the toilet. Arms either on the edge, leaning into the bowl. He looked up when she entered. Ivy tripped a little when she saw him. He looked terrible. His shirt was stained with dirt, probably from falling over a few times on his way over last night, his tie was missing and the first few buttons too. His pants had a long tear in the leg and his shoes were missing. She hadn't noticed how horrid he looked last night. His eyes were black from sleeplessness, as if someone had punched him. He had dirt on his face, his hair was messy and his eyes bloodshot and red.

Ivy said nothing. She just held out her hand, offering him the aspirin. He took them and swallowed them dry. Ivy couldn't help but admire his partially exposed chest. The rippling muscles and scars, the swirl of ink, just peeking out from behind his shirt.

"You don't look so good." She said quietly, so she wouldn't hurt his head.

He shook his head a little. "I feel a million times worse. I was meant to meet an old friend for lunch today though, so I had better get going."

"Pfft!" Ivy grunted. "I am not letting you go anywhere like that; you look like shit. I'll get you some fresh clothes and you better have a shower. Did you roll in something dead?" She asked, pinching her nose.

Derek ignored her and climbed slowly and painfully to his feet. "Fine, get out."

"It's my bathroom." Ivy said, but she turned and left anyway.

Derek's head was pounding and his stomach was churning. He had finished throwing up and the aspirin helped ease his headache. After drinking a lot of water to help cure his hangover, he undressed and hopped in Ivy's shower. He was beginning to wonder if he should just bring an overnight bag here. Seemed like he was coming over that much.

He let the warm water wash over him, ebbing away at the dirt which covered his body. He washed his hair with Ivy's shampoo. He smiled, it smelt like her. He could never say anything like that to her face, but here in her shower, alone, he could admit it was little things like that which he was growing to love about her.

He hopped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He wasn't sure how he got here and he didn't remember much about last night. Hopefully nothing had happened between him and Ivy. She didn't seem to be acting different around him so maybe he just came over and passed out. No harm done.

Derek stepped out of the bathroom, clean and fresh as a daisy. Ivy watched him walk over to her. He was really one of the most gorgeous men she had ever met. Very manly too. The scars and swirling ink added to it. And his muscular torso, his abs hard and defined, his biceps tensing slightly with each stride.

Even after last night, Ivy was still thoroughly attracted to him. She had decided not to say anything about last night yet. She was sure he didn't remember. He didn't seem to and she hadn't expected him to either; he was far too drunk.

She passed him a neat piled of clothes. Jeans and a t-shirt. Yet again, something she was not used to seeing him in. He almost always wore impeccably tailored suits. It made him look like a super-hot, badass spy or something.

He disappeared back into the bathroom without another word. Ivy glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was almost 11am. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Ivy groaned. Why couldn't people just leave her alone?

She cursed and dawdled to the door, hoping she had just imagined it. She opened the door.

"Gran?!" She exclaimed.

"Surprise!" Her gran said, holding her arms out for a hug. Her Pop was standing just behind, smiling at her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, as she gave both of them a hug.

"Well, we decided that since you are very busy here and can't get back home for a while that we would come to the city and surprise you. I have been meaning to come in and do some shopping anyway. Plus, it's not fair that you always have to come to us and we never make any effort and come to you." Her Gran explained, smiling.

"Are we just going to stand out here in the hall or what?" Her pop asked.