Jessica sat frozen on her bed, tears pouring down her cheeks. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably as she grasped the pictures in each hand. She quivered with fear as her eyes stared blankly at the pictures, her tears soaking them. Her body shook as the sobs took it over. She had been sitting rigidly on her bed unable to move for the past hour.

Jessica was vaguely aware of their hushed whispers as they stood watching her from her bedroom door. Elizabeth had woken up awhile ago to Jessica�s sobs, which echoed throughout the house. Unsure of what to do, she had immediately called Nick hoping Jessica would be able to take comfort in his presence.

Nick moved towards Jessica quietly, careful not to startle her. Elizabeth left them alone closing the door. �Jess. I�m here,� Nick said softly as he sat down gingerly next to her. Jessica leaned against him taking comfort in the warmth of his embrace. He wrapped his arms protectively around her body rocking her back and forth. Her sobs continued as she gave in to Nick�s embrace.

She had thought that it was finally over. That the nightmare she had been living for the past year was a thing of the past. She had been wrong. In her heart, she had always known that wherever she went, he would follow her. If not in person, then surely in her thoughts and dreams. He�d be there waiting to pull her world out from under her. He�d wait for the perfect moment and then he would strike. That was exactly what he had done.

As Nick caressed her gently, her sobs only grew louder. With each sob, Nick could feel all the fear and hurt she possessed flow out of her. It was as if she was crying a river of eternal tears. Nick�s eyes canvassed the room searching for the possible cause of her misery. There was none to be found.

As Jessica�s sobs quieted, she was suddenly overcome with fatigue. She was completely worn out from crying. Her head began to feel heavy as her eyes drooped with exhaustion. She succumbed to her tiredness gently laying her head down in Nick�s lap. As sleep took over her body, she loosened her grasp on the pictures. As they fluttered onto the bed, Nick noticed them for the first time. As he stared at them, the all too familiar faces leapt out at him. The two people in the once intact picture were he and Jessica.

Justin sat deep in thought at his makeshift desk. He�d been sitting there for hours trying to get his thoughts down on paper. Somehow nothing came out right. In the past, writing letters to her had seemed so natural, yet today for some reason it was different.

Around Justin lay balls of waded up paper filled with lines upon lines of writing. None of it had been any good though. He had to make sure it was perfect. Just like Jessica. She was perfect in every way imaginable.

Justin had always regretted leaving her. It had been necessary though. That night, he had done something that in his mind he�d thought she�d always wanted. He had hoped that she would understand why he did it in the manner that he did. He had been angry. Angry with her for so many reasons. Looking back now he realized that his anger had not been warranted. She had never done anything wrong.

Jessica however, had not understood his actions that night. She had just made everything more complicated for him. In the end, it was all the complications which led him to his decision. After that night, he made a decision to vanish without a trace. He hadn�t seen her since then. All that would change soon enough.

Grasping his pen tightly, he stared down at the blue lines which ran across the page. The lines called to him, willing him to fill them up. Jessica, he wrote in his crude almost child-like handwriting. Even the mere writing of her name sent shivers of anticipation up his spine.

Justin suddenly began writing quickly eager to get all his thoughts down on paper. The nights are long and days are cold without you by my side, he began. He soon became lost in his writing as thoughts of Jessica danced throughout his mind.

As the days passed by, AJ and Mya continued to see more of each other. In the time they spent together they acted more like friends than anything else. The more time they spent together the more infatuated AJ became with her and the more Mya tried to deny her feelings for him.

Denial was one of Mya�s �specialities�. Just as she had denied coming to terms with her their death for almost a month, she was now denying that she wished she and AJ were more than friends. She took comfort in the one thing that she knew would always be there for her. Painting. Whenever she picked up her paintbrush, she was transported into another world. A world where pain, sadness, loss or hurt didn�t exist.

AJ and Mya�s favourite activity was talking. They talked about things, which in the past had seemed so trivial and simple but became meaningful and important when they were together. It amazed Mya how intently AJ listened to her and how he hung onto her every word.

After a few so-called �dates� where nothing remotely even intimate happened between the two of them, Mya and AJ had developed a beautiful friendship. She looked forward to their long daily walks up and down the beach.

As much as AJ had wanted to, he hadn�t taken their relationship to the next level. It seemed like that would be like violating their friendship. Without Elizabeth in his life, he was beginning feel like Mya was the only friend who truly understood him.

The only mystery about Mya was her family. She never allowed AJ to pick her up. She always convinced him into letting her meet him somewhere. He had no clue that she now lived under the watchful eye of her grandparents. AJ had no idea that her grandparents, actually lived on the beach quite close the guys� beach house.

Both Mya and AJ were oblivious to the fact that often her grandparents watched them from their front window as they walked together up and down the beach. They had both noticed a significant change in Mya since she had met AJ. It was as if he had breathed the life back into her. Whenever Mya excused herself to go meet AJ they never questioned her. They were simply glad that she had finally found someone to talk to.

It was getting late; almost 10:00 o�clock. Elizabeth walked alone down the deserted beach. The beach was bathed in moonlight as the luminous moon shone brilliantly. Since she and AJ had broken up, she had spent most of her time cooped up at home. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed the outdoors. The beach was one place she�d always loved.

As she walked, she thought of AJ. It had taken her a while, but she had finally come to the realization that she�d ended things to prove a point to herself. She�d always feared that she wouldn�t be able to survive on her own. She worried that without AJ in her life, she�d be totally lost. One of the reasons she�d ended it was to prove to herself that she was wrong. That she could survive in the real world without him. How wrong I was, she thought to herself bitterly. Being without out AJ this past month had made her realize what an integral part of her life he had become.

Sighing deeply, she continued walking. There was a bench just down the beach that she knew of where she could sit and just stare at the water for hours on end. AJ had introduced it to her. She smiled to herself as she remembered the many heartfelt conversations they had shared as friends there.

As the bench came into view, she realized that it was already occupied. Her curiosity peaked, she walked towards the bench. As far as she could remember, she had never seen anyone sitting there. As she drew nearer to the bench, she stopped in her tracks. Sitting upon the bench, tears streaming down her face was Mya.

Elizabeth�s first instinct was to go over to her to see if she was all right, but something held her back. What would she say? She didn�t even know her name. She�d only seen her secretly from the guestroom as she watched her and AJ from behind the curtains.

She watched as the girl�s slender frame shook with sobs. The girl sat slightly hunched, with something in her lap. From a distance, Elizabeth couldn�t tell what it was. It appeared to be some sort of book, but she couldn�t be certain. Elizabeth watched her for a while, her heart going out to her.

In one swift motion, Mya suddenly snapped the book closed. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and took a few deep breaths before she got up from the bench. Tears still running down her face, she began walking slowly in the opposite direction. As she walked, a small piece of paper fluttered from the book landing in the sand. Elizabeth wanted to call after her, but for some reason her voice wouldn�t work.

Elizabeth watched in silence as Mya walked away from the bench, her pace increasing with each step that she took. She stood watching until Mya�s figure became a tiny dot in the dark night. Slowly, she made her way over to the bench kneeling down in the sand beside the piece of paper. Like a child doing something wrong, she looked around before she picked it up. At first glance, she quickly noticed that it was a newspaper article. Elizabeth noticed that it had been carelessly ripped from the newspaper.

She stared at the paper in her hand, observing the small title in the corner. It was from the �Local News� section of the London Times Newspaper. It was a very short article, only a few lines accompanied by a small picture of a couple. Elizabeth began slowly reading.

In a tragic series of events, local legend Dr. Victor Winters along with his wife of 20 years, Olivia Winters were tragically killed last night in a car accident. The couple was hit by an oncoming drunk driver speeding out of control. The driver of the vehicle as well as Mr. and Mrs. Winters were killed instantly. The Winters were survived by their only daughter Mya Winters, age 20. An asset to the community, Dr. Winters work with the sick and injured will surely be remembered for years to come.

Elizabeth finished the article, completely stunned. The pain in Mya�s eyes now made sense to her. The pain was a result of her parent�s death. [Next Chapter].[Table of Contents].