Nick stirred slightly in his sleep. With his eyes closed, he instinctively extended his arms to wrap them around Jessica. However, all he managed to his get was a fistful of air. His eyes snapped open quickly and he immediately noticed the empty space which Jessica�s warm body had occupied mere minutes ago. The sheets suddenly became very cold and lonely without her.

The room was still shrouded in darkness, only a small stream of light flitting through the door that Jessica had left slightly ajar. �Jess?� Nick called his voice thick with sleep. He was answered with silence. �Jessica?� he called again, urgency creeping into his voice. He waited in desperation for a sound, a movement, anything. There was still no answer. He threw back the covers hastily practically falling out of the bed.

He staggered towards the light shielding his tired eyes as it assaulted them. He stumbled down the bright hallway, his heart beating anxiously. �Jess?� Where are you?� he called his voice faltering slightly.

Tiny beads of sweat formed upon his brow and his hands felt icy cold as he picked up his pace. �Jessica!� he yelled, his feet propelling him recklessly down the stairs. His footsteps echoed loudly behind him as he ran throughout the empty house. He searched every inch, every room, and every corner of the house hoping and praying to find Jessica somewhere.

Nick stopped breathless, the realization that she was gone hitting him like a ton of bricks. He ran a hand worriedly through his thick blonde hair as a lump formed within his throat. If only I had got to her sooner, was yet again his silent scolding.

He had promised her that he would protect her, that nothing would hurt her ever again and that she was safe with him. Gazing around the empty house, Nick realized that he had failed her in the worst sense possible. He hadn�t protected her, hadn�t shielded her from the pain and most importantly he hadn�t kept his promise.

Jessica guided her car aimlessly throughout the streets. Darkness was setting in and she could see the sun disappearing over the horizon. She had been weaving her car in and out of streets for the past hour or so. Her mind was a complete blank and her face stony, yielding nothing.

She heard and thought nothing � only felt. She felt fear and loneliness in the deepest recesses of her heart. The loneliness consumed her body allowing her to feel nothing else but the biting pain that accompanied it. Despite the feelings that were slowly taking over her body, she remained calm. She willed herself not to cry.

She wouldn�t let Justin get the best of her yet again. He was gone now. After all, she was strong. At least that�s what people kept telling her. At that moment however, she didn�t feel strong. She felt weak and helpless. She wondered why people always told her that she was strong. She wasn�t in the least bit. Justin was always there reminding her of just how weak she was wherever she went. He was always there telling her that it was no use fighting him that he would always win.

Her foot faltered against the pedal and her car slowed to a stop. She watched as cars whizzed by her blaring their horns before they disappeared off into the distance. Her eyes glazed over as she stared at the street in front of her.

Suddenly she felt as though she couldn�t move. She wanted nothing more to take off like those cars and leave the past behind her. She knew though, that wasn�t possible. She couldn�t leave the past behind her because she knew it would follow her wherever she went.

Knowing that she would never be able to rid herself of Justin�s voice, his image, and all the pain that he had inflicted on her scared her. It terrified her down to her very core.

Wrapping her arms around herself as if in comfort from the emotional pain and memories, she rocked her body back and forth slowly. She wanted to believe that one day she�d be all right but she knew in her heart that she wouldn�t be. The pain would never ever disappear.

Elizabeth sat in her car across the guys� beach house. She�d been feeling guilty since her episode with AJ earlier this morning.

She had circled the area surrounding the beach blindly all day. Day had slowly evolved into night, but Elizabeth had been oblivious to that. All she saw was AJ�s face. The expression on his face as she had bluntly waved off his concern had been so intense. It was an expression she couldn�t quickly forget.

She had been sitting in her car for the past ten minutes trying to work up the nerve to go ring AJ�s doorbell. She wanted to apologize for her behavior earlier. AJ didn�t deserve to be treated so rudely.

As much as she knew she was wrong, her overwhelming pride wouldn�t allow her to admit it. What would she tell him? That she was jealous? That she was still hurting? Or maybe that she wanted to be with him more than anything? She had no clue. All she was certain of was that the manner she had dismissed him in was totally inappropriate. After all, up until a few weeks ago he had been one of her closest friends.

Summoning all her courage and squelching her pride, she stepped out of her car slamming the door determinedly. She was willing to put her pride behind her. At this point, she would do anything to salvage what was left of her ever-deteriorating friendship with AJ.

She marched up the stairs dreading having to apologize, but knowing it was necessary. She rang the doorbell, her fingers trembling from nervousness.

Finally, the door gave way and creaked open ever-so slowly. Elizabeth silently braced herself holding her breath. However, the breath was released in a whoosh of confusion as she realized it wasn�t AJ standing before her. She came face to face with a piercing set of intense blue eyes. She recognized them quickly.

Mya regarded Elizabeth stonily, her face devoid of any emotion whatsoever. �Can I help you?� she asked coldly. Mya found herself unable to look at Elizabeth. How could she after she�d witnessed the way Elizabeth had treated AJ earlier?

�Is AJ here?� Elizabeth asked miraculously managing to disguise her surprise. Despite herself, she could feel twinges of jealously creeping up on her. She hadn�t realized that AJ and this girl were already so close.

�He�s not here. He�s out running errands,� Mya stated her hand already upon the doorknob.

Before Mya could close the door however, Elizabeth reached up to stop her. �I�ll wait,� she informed her. She pushed past a slightly flustered Mya smugly. As she entered the beach house, it became apparent to her that neither Brian nor Lila were there. She led herself towards the den and surprisingly Mya followed her, watching her every move like a hawk. It was as if she didn�t trust her or something.

Elizabeth made herself comfortable on the leather sofa, stretching languorously. She knew everything she did was driving Mya nuts. Mya hovered around the couch for a few moments obviously wrestling with whether to sit down or not. She finally did, scrunching her tall slender frame as far away from Elizabeth as she could.

Elizabeth watched her jealously. She was breathtaking. She had that exotic look to her. One that many others attempted to achieve but never succeeded in pulling off. Mya however pulled it off seemingly effortlessly. She�s everything I�m not, Elizabeth silently admitted.

It wasn�t that Elizabeth was unattractive at all. She was quite beautiful in her own special way. Elizabeth�s uniqueness was self-brought on. Her style of dressing and her mannerisms were what set her apart from the crowd. She was considered by many to be attractive, but in a different way than Mya. It was often her daringness that was so appealing to others.

�Why are you here? I don�t remember you telling me,� Mya questioned suspiciously.

�I didn�t,� Elizabeth told her. She watched surprised, as Mya�s face remained blank. Her composure suddenly faltering and jealousy getting the best of her, she couldn�t resist. �AJ�s one real nice guy isn�t he? I mean to have this much compassion for a person,� she paused dramatically. She watched secretly pleased at the confused look which crossed Mya�s face. �I never thought it was possible. Even for someone as caring as AJ,� she finished with a catty smile.

Mya regarded her inquisitively, uncertainty sweeping her features. �What are you talking about?� she asked her voice low and even.

�Well, you see, you and AJ are what you call� different. You�re not his type - not by a long shot,� she said eyeing Mya critically. �Frankly I was surprised to hear that you two are even together.� She smiled innocently making Mya�s stomach churn.

�And I suppose someone like you would be more his type? I forgot that you know so much about AJ and his likes and dislikes,� Mya retorted sarcastically. She wasn�t about to let this girl get to her. Just who does she think she is?

Elizabeth remained silent for a few seconds inwardly flustered. She sat silently fuming, regaining her composure. �I just never thought AJ would fall for a girl with such a troubled past,� she watched triumphantly as Mya�s face clouded over. She knew instantly she�d hit a nerve and for a mere second she was slightly remorseful. Her remorse however, quickly vanished as she remembered just how important AJ was to her.

�What do you know about me or my past? You don�t know anything about me at all,� Mya informed her coldly.

�I know more than you think Mya Winters. And apparently so does AJ,� she paused again before moving in for the kill. �Of course your parent's death would be hard on you. Your emotional state must be ever so fragile I imagine. AJ must feel that way too. Why else would he be with someone like you? He obviously feels pity for you.�

Mya�s body tensed up at Elizabeth�s words. She had touched upon the one and only thing that bothered Mya. Her parent�s death was a subject that was sure to always bring tears to her eyes.

Mya�s mouth dropped open slightly as the hot stinging tears burned at the corners of her eyes. AJ was the only person she�d told about her parent�s death. The tears threatened dangerously to spill now as she realized that AJ must have been the one to tell Elizabeth. How else could she possibly know? If AJ talked this over with Elizabeth of all people, then that must really be how he feels.

Devastation took over her body now as she realized that the only person she�d ever trusted or cared about was only with her because he pitied her. If possible, that realization hurt just as much if not more than her parent�s death had.

AJ arrived home sooner than he�d expected somewhat tired from running errands. Those irritating telephone companies were always hassling him about his unpaid bills. He�d recently racked up quite a hefty sum on his cell phone.

He whistled as he walked jauntily into the den. The whistling and the bounce in his step however ceased completely as he entered the room.

To his surprise, he found Mya and Elizabeth sitting across from each other. Mya wore an expression of pain whereas Elizabeth appeared to be calm and collected. �Liz? What�s going on here?� he asked suspicious of the seemingly innocent smile that was plastered across Elizabeth�s face.

�Nothing. Mya and I were just having a nice little chat,� she smiled sweetly.

�Is everything all right?� he asked doubtfully directing his concern in Mya�s direction.

Her eyes on the floor, Mya rose unsteadily to her feet. �No everything�s not all right,� Mya told him her voice relatively calm. Inside however, she was silently dying. She had thought that AJ actually cared about her; that maybe she had finally found real love. All those hopes and dreams now had been shattered.

�What�s wrong?� he asked in confusion reaching towards her. Mya backed away from him raising her hands to shield herself from his touch. It was wrong of her to jump to conclusions, but what else what she supposed to think? There was no way Elizabeth could have known about her parents unless she had spoken to AJ. Obviously they had spoken and Elizabeth�s words had some truth to them. She was nothing but a charity case in AJ�s mind. It hurt to think that she had thought she was so much more. She should have known that she could never be so lucky. Real honest love of the purest sort was something she would never encounter.

�I have to go,� she mumbled almost incoherently turning on her heel before AJ could say a word. She moved quickly, subconsciously biting her lip to keep her tears from falling. She bit hard and it was only when she tasted blood that she realized what she was doing.

AJ watched her go silently, very confused by her attitude. The familiarity of the situation tore at his heart. He turned back to Elizabeth eyeing her dangerously through slit eyes. He didn�t know what had prompted Mya�s sudden attitude, but he was sure that Elizabeth had something to do with it. This time he wasn�t going to just let someone he cared about walk away from him. Not without finding out what was wrong first. Mya was too important to him.

�What did you say to her?� he asked accusingly.

�Nothing. I just�� Elizabeth voice trailed as AJ interrupted.

�You just what? What happened?� AJ demanded his voice threateningly low.

Elizabeth stared at him, her eyes wide and her heart thudding maddeningly against her chest. As she looked at AJ, she realized he was serious. His mouth was set in grim determination and his eyes flashed with a hint of anger as he awaited her response.
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