Running her hands through AJ�s hair gently, she opened her eyes slowly. AJ stared back at her intently. It was a passionate and yet tender gaze. Elizabeth knew what was coming next. Stop! You can�t do this! she pleaded with herself. When Elizabeth had told AJ she needed to speak to him, she had never intended for anything like this to happen. She wanted to tell AJ to stop. She wanted to tell him that they were about to make a huge mistake. She just couldn�t do it thought. It felt too right for her to tell him to stop. AJ had almost left her once and she wasn�t about to let him leave her again. She wrapped her arms tightly around AJ�s neck as she pressed herself even closer to him. Elizabeth kissed AJ passionately returning his emotion as she slowly and gingerly reached for his belt buckle.

Suddenly, AJ jerked away from her abruptly. Placing his hands firmly on her shoulders, he created distance between them. As Elizabeth looked into his eyes, her whole body went rigid. He didn�t want her back after all. Now it was his turn to break her heart.

�We can�t do this,� AJ said rather abruptly, his voice low.

Elizabeth stared back at AJ incredulously. She willed herself not to cry. Not to show him how much he had just hurt her. She watched helplessly as AJ quickly got off the bed clumsily fumbling with his belt buckle in the process. At a loss for words she sat watching in astonishment as AJ rapidly made his way over to door. He opened it silently and exited the room without looking back.

As the door slammed shut in her face, Elizabeth�s tears began to fall. They cascaded down her face, soaking her shirt as she sobbed uncontrollably now. She buried her face in AJ�s pillow in an attempt to conceal her sobs.

Elizabeth cried and cried. Her tears were not tears of sadness though. They were tears of anger. How could I have thought AJ wanted me back? After all I put him through? How could I have been so stupid? she berated herself.

As her tears quieted, the true meaning of rejection sunk in. Simply put, she had been rejected by the only guy she ever cared about and it was all her fault. There was nothing she could do about it. AJ was gone forever. They would never be together again. �Not now. Not ever,� she said softly to herself.

Nick�s black BMW careened down the street, his car haphazardly making zigzags as he drove. The rain and sleet pelted down on his windshield rendering it nearly impossible to get a good view of oncoming traffic.

Nick�s face was flushed with anger. He was angry with himself. How could he have done it? He cared about her so deeply and yet he had gone and alienated her. His feelings for Jessica were like nothing he�d ever experienced before. She had an immense power over him. Even one glance from her could make him forget about everything else around him.

Letting up on the gas, he realized that he was driving much too fast for conditions like this. He was bound to end up in an accident if he didn�t slow down. Why didn�t you listen to Brian? He warned you, Nick wondered to himself.

He had done it because he couldn�t stand it anymore. Not being with her was driving him crazy. So crazy that he hadn�t even bothered to take into consideration her feelings. Now Jessica probably would never want to speak to him again.

Nick stared out the windshield at the scene in front of him. As he inched down the street, he watched the trees as they swayed violently with the wind. Leaves, which had been ripped prematurely from their branches, were strewn about in the air. It was then that he realized that he had no real destination in mind. Where was he going to go?

Sighing, Nick�s thoughts unwillingly travelled back to Jessica. What have I done? Nick thought back to the moment his lips had grazed Jessica�s. She had been into the kiss to at the beginning until suddenly she had pulled away. Had he hurt her in some way? He had never meant to. That was the last thing that he ever wanted to do. He could never hurt someone he cared about so much. He could never hurt someone who made him feel the way she did.

Through the rain, Nick miraculously managed to recognize a set of cheap fluorescent lights indicating a seedy motel. The rain had caused one of the lights to malfunction displaying a sign that now read �otel� instead of motel. He slowed the car to a stop in front of the shabby establishment as he contemplated his options. It was too far to turn back now. He would never make it back home in weather like this. The storm was getting worse with each passing second. With a sigh, Nick resigned to the fact that this was where he would be spending the night.

Turning off the engine, he listened to the rain as it pounded on the roof of the car. I wonder where Jess is right now? What is she thinking? he wondered as the image of her face floated through his mind.

Taking a deep breath, Nick braced himself for the rain as he quickly opened the car door and slammed it shut, sprinting towards the motel. As Nick set foot in the motel, he almost decided to turn around and leave. He didn�t though. He couldn�t very well stay in his car all night.

The hideous cinder-block walls of the motel were offset by the cheap linoleum floor, which was now caked with mud. It obviously hadn�t been cleaned in days. The room was filled with the stench of mothballs creating an unappealing smell. It�s going to be a long night, Nick thought to himself.

Lila impatiently dialed the number to the beach house. �Pick up. C�mon Jess. You have to pick up!� she shouted aloud. She could feel her body trembling with each unanswered ring.

Brian put his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. His touch could usually work wonders on her, but today she barely noticed his presence.

Lila listened to the repeated rings as they droned on. Suddenly there was a click on the line. �Jess?!� Lila inquired breathlessly.

Lila waited to hear Jessica�s familiar voice, but instead she heard her own. It was the girl�s answering machine. Lila�s knees began to tremble as she wondered where Jessica was. She couldn�t still be outside. A million thoughts raced through her mind as she waited anxiously for the digital beep of the machine.

�Jess! It�s me. If you�re there please pick up,� Lila let out in a rush.

Back at the beach house, Jessica sat on the sofa, her head in her hands as she listened to Lila plead with her to pick up the phone. Removing her hands from her face, she stared at the answering machine forlornly.

What have I done? She was so scared. Her feelings for Nick scared her. They reminded her too much of the feelings she used to harbor for Justin before they had begun dating. If possible, her feelings for Nick were even stronger than the ones she had once felt for Justin. It scared her that she could feel something so strongly for someone. The idea that he could understand her completely and that she could understand him too terrified her.

Through her tears, she could still hear Lila�s familiar voice begging her to answer the phone. Lila would be able to help her through this. She was her best friend after all. She would help Jessica figure all of this out. �Hold on Lila,� Jessica said aloud as she moved numbly towards the telephone.

�Li. I�m here,� Jessica said meekly as she answered the phone. It was too late though. Lila had already hung up the phone. Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes as Jessica slammed the phone back in its cradle.

Burying her face in the sofa, she let her tears flow freely. They coursed down her cheeks quickly, soaking the sofa as she cried. I never meant to hurt you Nick, she told herself. I�m just so confused. Confused and scared.

Brian paced up and down the kitchen, the portable phone in hand. Whenever he got nervous or worried about something, he paced. It was a bad habit of his. He punched the familiar digits of Nick�s cell phone number into the keypad and waited for the call to go through.

As he waited, he thought about Lila. She had been so adamant about going back to the beach house to look for Jessica that Brian had been unable to intervene when she had left in her car. Brian knew better than to get involved when Lila�s friends needed her. She was like a mother to them. They were like her children and just like any mother, she would do almost anything for them. He had hardly been surprised when Lila had rushed out the door to go looking for Jessica. In fact, he had anticipated it when Jessica hadn�t answered the phone. Surveying the scene outside, Brian hoped desperately that this time Lila hadn�t taken things too far.

Brian listened as the phone began ringing. The phone rang once, twice, three times with no answer. As Brian listened intently, in the distance he heard the distinct sound of another phone duplicating its rings. Following the sound, he made his way slowly down the hall. Standing outside, Nick�s room, Brian could now hear the steady ringing of Nick�s cellular phone clearly.

Opening the door to Nick�s room, Brian found the ringing phone carelessly thrown upon Nick�s rumpled bedspread. Swearing to himself, Brian pressed the end button ceasing the rings. In frustration, he threw the portable onto the bed. �Where the hell are you Nick?� he shouted at the cell phone.

Angrily, Brian stalked out of Nick�s room, slamming the door as he exited. As he set foot outside, he saw AJ exiting his own room alone. Brian�s expression softened at the distressed look upon AJ�s face. �What happened?�

AJ opened his mouth to answer but closed it shrugging his shoulders. What did just happen? he wondered to himself. Truth be told, AJ was still unsure himself. All he knew was that he had wanted Elizabeth so badly. It had been so hard to leave her there. Hard to just walk away from someone he cared about so much.

He was certain that if he had allowed it, he and Elizabeth would have done something they both would have regretted. He hadn�t allowed it though. He hadn�t allowed his feelings for her in the past to overpower him yet again. He couldn�t be with someone he cared about so much when he knew that she didn�t love him. It wasn�t right and it never would be.

Even though AJ knew this, he couldn�t help wondering if maybe Elizabeth�s actions reflected her true feelings for him. Maybe she really did care about him. Maybe she had realized she had made a huge mistake. Then again, maybe she hadn�t. [Next Chapter].[Table of Contents].