For Mya, the beach was her solace. The one place where she could go to free her mind. A place where her thoughts could flow freely without disturbance. A place away from all the consoling words, cards and flowers that she was forced to accept.

As if a bunch of flowers could take the pain away, she thought bitterly. The accident had happened almost 2 months ago and people were still calling everyday to express their condolences. It bothered Mya that people who had so callously brushed her off in the past were now calling her to express their deepest concern. It made no difference to Mya that they called. They had never cared about her before.

As Mya flopped down on her soft mattress the vivid memory of the events leading up to the accident flashed before her eyes. They were memories that she had travelled half way across the world in an attempt to escape.

For as long as she could remember, they had never been supportive of her pursuits. Especially painting. They had always looked down on it urging her to go into the medical field instead. She certainly had the brains and the grades for it. She had refused repeatedly sparking many heated debates between them. A fallout had finally prompted her to move away. She couldn�t give up painting. Not even for the two people who she owed so much to.

That night, she had decided to put their differences behind her. She called them because she wanted them to be there. She wanted to share the biggest moment of her life with someone. She was so tired of being alone. Tired of revelling in all her triumphs by herself.

She was being honored for her painting �Hope� at the auspicious Tate Gallery. It was an incredible honor. She would be the youngest painter ever to have their work grace the walls of the Tate Gallery.

She remembered mounting the stage to accept her award. As she had looked out into the sea of faces, she had realized that they weren�t there. They hadn�t come after all. She had delivered a curt and short-winded speech, fleeing the stage quickly after posing unhappily for newspaper photographers along with her award.

Suddenly, she remembered the horribly loud ringing of her cell phone, the blaring sirens, the shattered glass, the hospital, and then the silence. After that everything was a blur and they were gone forever.

Today with AJ though all of this had been the farthest thing from her mind. It was the first time in 2 months that she had thought of something besides the accident. Now that AJ was gone though, she was left alone with her thoughts and the horrible memories of the night they had been killed.

Lila sat alone at Brian�s desk. She had left Brian downstairs claiming she had a splitting headache. Unsuspectingly Brian had urged her to go upstairs and get some rest. She sat at his solid oak desk with the calendar spread out in front of her. She was searching for the perfect date. The date to put her plan into action.

Lila could hardly believe she had concocted a plan so deceitful by herself. It was so unlike her. She was always the one with strong morals and ethics. She stood for what she believed in and nothing ever got in the way of her principles. She was always everyone�s little angel. She always abided by the book and followed the norm - at least up until now.

Sighing, she shamelessly went back to meticulously counting the 28-day cycle. She counted and recounted leaving room for no error. Trembling, she flipped the calendar closed. She couldn�t believe that she was actually going through with this. If Brian ever found out about it, he�d be devastated. Brian won�t find out, she assured herself.

This wasn�t the way she had planned it. Things weren�t supposed to be like this. She didn�t enjoy the idea of going behind Brian�s back. Yet that was exactly what she was going to do. Her whole existence depended on it.

Although she knew this was something she had to do, it still hurt her every time she thought about it. It hurt badly. Every time she felt the familiar tugging of her heart as she looked into Brian�s eyes, her stomach would churn. It got to the point where just thinking about it sickened her so much that it hurt.

Sometimes she found herself unable to look into Brian�s eyes. If she had looked though, she would have seen adoration plain and simple. She would never see the adoration though because she was too scared. Scared that he�d leave her and she would never be able to look into his eyes or feel him run his fingers through her hair ever again. Only fear could instil such a feeling in you. And fear it was. Fear that he would leave her all alone, fear of being alone and most of all fear of fear itself.

Elizabeth watched AJ forlornly through her window as he climbed the stairs to the beach house. She hid behind the curtains making sure that AJ didn�t catch a glimpse of her. As she watched AJ stride quickly towards the door a part of her wanted to run and hide from sheer embarrassment. There was another part of her though that wanted to wrap her arms around AJ tightly and never let him go.

She knew all of these feelings were so wrong, but she couldn�t help it. AJ was like that. His presence empowered her to feel things she never thought she could. Although her mind told her it was over, her heart beat faster as she thought about him.

I wonder who she is. Elizabeth certainly would have remembered someone like her. Her jet-black hair framed her smooth pale skin in perfect layers. She carried herself with unbelievable grace, her aura exuding confidence. Yet there was something amiss. Elizabeth couldn�t pinpoint what it was exactly.

Whoever she is, she definitely has a secret, Elizabeth told herself. A secret yet to be uncovered. It would be soon though. Elizabeth would make sure of it.

I wonder if she realizes how lucky she is. She had seen the compassion in AJ�s eyes even from far away as he looked at her. It was a look he always got when he was worried about someone. It surprised her slightly that AJ was able to show such concern for someone he barely even knew.

Closing her eyes, Elizabeth remembered the look of utter hatred and disgust that had appeared on AJ�s face the day she had ended it. Just the thought of it even made her wince.

Although she was incredibly jealous, she couldn�t help but hope that the mystery girl was aware of how lucky she was that AJ cared about her. Elizabeth had once been lucky too. She had just been too blind to notice. Luck runs out sooner or later, she mused sadly to herself.

Jessica lay next to Nick staring up at him. His strong arms were wrapped securely around her waist. They had been for the whole night. She had finally managed to fall asleep, feeling safe in his arms only to wake up again a few hours later. She now lay awake in his arms unable to fall back asleep. It was too early in the morning for anyone to be awake so the whole house was silent as everyone slept peacefully. Everyone except her.

She gazed at Nick drinking in every detail about him. She watched his eyelids as they fluttered while he dreamt. She watched him wondering what he was dreaming about. She finally tore her eyes from Nick�s sleeping figure almost half an hour later. She couldn�t believe that she and Nick had grown so close in such a short time.

As she lay awake in Nick�s bed, her mind flashed back to last night when she had finally told him what had really happened to her that fateful night. The night that she would remember for the rest of her life.

She remembered Nick�s face as she had said the words. The look on his face had been one not of pity or disgust, but instead one of sadness and remorse. As Nick had put his arms around her she had felt so protected and safe that she had known he was the one for her.

Turning to face Nick again, Jessica realized that there was so much more that she wanted to tell him. Biting back tears, her mind transported her back to that unfortunate night. Images flitted throughout her memory as she remembered how she had cried through the whole ordeal. She had cried so much that when it was finally over, she had no more tears to cry. The image of her lying on the deserted beach alone in pain flashed through her mind. She had lain on that beach alone for hours afterwards unable to move out of fear.

As all of these horrid memories flashed through her mind, she moved closer to Nick taking comfort in the safety of his arms. She pressed her face against his chest hugging him tightly. Beneath her grasp she could feel Nick stir. She loosened her grasp on him slightly but kept her face buried in his chest.

�You okay?� he whispered softly in her ear.

She nodded a silent affirmation, without lifting her head. They sat in silence for a while as Nick played gently with Jessica�s hair. His touch felt so good against her skin. So right.

Nick continued to play with her hair, is touch sending shivers up her spine. She gazed over his shoulder and out of his bay window watching a swell of waves as it crashed against the rocks of the pier. She loved the beach. It used to be her home away from home. A place where she could go to get away from all of the trials and tribulations of her life. Ever since the incident though, she had shied away from the beach. The once warm sand and cool inviting waters now both seemed so frigid to her. She never went to the beach anymore unless she was in a group with people she knew and trusted. She had ventured out to the beach alone only once and probably would have quickly returned if Nick had not been there.

Suddenly Jessica longed to feel the warm sand beneath her. She had the urge to just dig her feet into the soft, squishy sand. She wanted to walk along the beach and not be scared, not remember what happened there.

�Nick?� Jessica inquired her gaze never leaving the window. There was only one way to conquer her fear. �Can we go down to the beach today? Just you and me?� she asked. She knew that Nick by her side she�d feel safe and secure. She wouldn�t be so scared while he was there.

�Sure Jess. Anything you want,� Nick replied kissing her forehead lightly.
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