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Enveloped in Nick’s warm embrace, they sat upon the dock alone together. Jessica tormented herself silently, willing her arms to let go of him. Despite how wrong she knew it was, Jessica didn’t want to ever let go. She wanted the two of them to stay like this forever.
When Nick’s arms surrounded her, nothing else in the world existed. All the pain, fear and sadness that was a part of reality seemed to miraculously fade as he held her. The only thing she knew of the world in his arms was Nick and their love for one another.
Jessica was frightfully aware that the moment Nick let go of her, she would be roughly brought back to reality. All the memories would come back quickly to haunt her without a moment’s hesitation. Everything would begin to hurt and Jessica would feel helpless and weak all over again.
She knew however that she had to be strong. If not for herself then at least for Nick. He had given her so much, she couldn’t afford to be weak.
Her mind flashed back unwillingly to a few hours ago. The disturbing vision of Justin’s menacing face as he pressed the gun at Nick lingered in her mind. She shivered suddenly remembering everything clearly. Taking a deep breath, she drew strength from this image. She couldn’t and wouldn’t hurt Nick any longer.
Her heart aching, she squirmed slightly worming herself from Nick’s grasp. She kept her eyes on the ground as she painstakingly broke free from his grasp.
Her feet shaking and uncooperative, she stood and walked towards the edge of the dock. She stared out at the rippling water below, her eyes glassy.
Nick watched as Jessica walked unsteadily away from him. Confusion took over his face, however, he rose quickly without any hesitation and followed her. He wasn’t about to let her push him away. He approached her from behind, gently placing his arms around her waist.
Jessica winced at his touch, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. She pleaded with him silently for a few moments. “Nick. Please don’t,” she whispered finally, her voice lacking conviction.
“I’m sorry Jess,” Nick whispered in her ear ignoring her pleas. “Sorry I failed you,” he added his voice cracking.
Jessica’s eyes snapped open quickly as Nick’s apology hung in the air. Nick hadn’t failed her - not in the least bit. He’d saved her in every way possible, both physically and emotionally.
Jessica turned her tear-streaked face back towards Nick. “You didn’t fail me at all,” she told him reaching up to touch his cheek. “You saved me from everything Nick. From the pain, the hurt, and most of all from the loneliness. Loneliness that hurt so bad that sometimes I felt like giving up,” she said earnestly as she stroked his soft skin. “You taught me to love and trust again,” she whispered, tears in her eyes.
Suddenly her hand dropped from his cheek as if it were on fire. They couldn’t do this anymore as right as it felt. She turned away from him quickly not willing to look into his eyes again. It hurt so much to even think about it, but she knew that this was the only way things could be. “You should go Nick. You shouldn’t be here. You didn’t have come after me,” she said exercising all her self-control to keep from breaking down.
“Where else would I be Jess?” he asked softly. “How could I not come after you?” he questioned imploringly.
Jessica, ignoring his questions turned to face him. Slowly she managed to bring her eyes to his and held his gaze for a few moments. Nick’s eyes were sad and his face a reflection of distress. It was unbearable for Jessica. “I can’t hurt you anymore Nick. I’ve already hurt you too much,” she said her heart breaking into a million pieces. She stepped forward her legs shaking. “I love you,” she whispered in his ear before she tore herself away from him. “I have to go now. This is for the best.” She wished that Nick could understand her decision. She prayed that someday he would and he would forgive her too.
“If you go, I go Jess,” he told her decidedly. “I’m not about to let you walk out of my life.”
Jessica could feel her stomach lurch as Nick’s words filtered through the air. How she wanted nothing more than to tell Nick that she felt the exact same way. She couldn’t though. Stepping forward, she placed a chaste kiss on Nick’s cheek, her lips lingering there for a few seconds. As his scent overpowered her for the last time, she fought hard to control her tears. “I’m sorry,” she said her voice barely audible as she moved back from him.
She began walking away from him slowly, her body silently screaming with each step she took. She didn’t turn around though as she drifted away from him.
“Jessica!” he called after her suddenly, his voice ringing clearly throughout the air.
At the sound of his voice, Jessica froze completely. Nick watched her silently begging her to turn around. Seconds of agonizing silence passed but finally Jessica turned to face him.
“You can’t go,” he told her his voice thick with emotion. “I need you too much,” he said his eyes moist.
Standing more than a few feet away from him, Jessica’s heart began beating recklessly. Nick’s words were spoken with such sincerity and honesty. All it took was hearing those words for her to know. She knew that Nick was right. Their lives were irrevocably intertwined and would be forever. Try as she may, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stay away from him. Without him, her life would be incomplete. It would be impossible to fight the feelings that she felt for him. Feelings that at times were so intense that she was unable to think of anything else.
She wracked her brain, desperately pleading with it to tell her what to do. Stay or go? Give in or give up? Her body and heart ached to be with him but her mind screamed at her in protest.
She closed her eyes, fighting hard to remain composed. She stood with her eyes closed, blocking out the world around her. She wished that her life wasn’t so complicated. She wished that with a blink of her eye everything would just fade away. The harsh reality of the situation however, was that when she opened her eyes, nothing would have changed. All the complications would still exist, unless she dealt with them.
Her eyes remained closed and unwillingly an image began to formulate in her mind. An intense pair of clear blue eyes stared back at her. The eyes were so sincere and loving that it made her knees weak. They shone back at her magically as if they understood, as if they could feel her pain. They conveyed inexplicable warmth that touched her very soul. Quickly, Jessica’s eyes flew open.
A swift breeze sifted through the air as her mind spun in dizzying circles. All thoughts and rationalizations for leaving him were suddenly gone as if they were swept away by the wind. She started towards him slowly, her body inexplicably drawn to him. Reason and rationality ceased to exist as adrenaline pumped through her body. She began running, her feet barely touching the ground.
Nick ran towards her too and they met in a warm embrace. They stood in the sand, the wind swirling around them, holding each other tighter than ever. “I need you too Nick,” she whispered softly in his ear.
Mya paced the length of her room, furious with herself. She was angry with herself for being blind sighted yet again. She should have known better than to actually believe that for once in her life someone cared about her. She should have known that AJ didn’t really care about her, he was just pretending like all the others. Mya’s life was and always had been full of empty promises and broken dreams.
The only person who’d ever truly appreciated her in any way was her grandmother. As great as her grandmother’s company and support was, Mya always longed for something more. What she wanted was something that she couldn’t share with her grandmother. She wanted to love and in return be loved by someone.
Tired of pacing, Mya threw herself onto the bed. She lay listlessly on her bed her whole body aching. The happiness that she had felt over the past few weeks was gone, now replaced with immeasurable hurt.
A sharp ringing in her ear suddenly shattered her concentration. Startled, she looked up realizing it was the telephone. Her thoughts interrupted, she stared at the phone lifelessly.
The rings were ceaseless as she lay on her bed. Despite the obvious that it was AJ, her mind argued with her body to pick it up. Finally after a second, her mind won and she reached forward. She picked it up gingerly in her shaking hands. Pressing her ear against it but remaining silent, she listened intently.
“Mya?” AJ asked relieved.
“What do you want?” she asked her tone low and biting.
“Please Mya. Just hear me out,” he pleaded. Mya remained silent, her lips pursed in an angry scowl.
“What Elizabeth said to you earlier was totally untrue. That’s not how I feel at all,” he paused awaiting any sort of response from her at all. When he received none, he decided to continue. “You mean so much to me Mya,” he said softly.
Mya listened to AJ’s emotive apology. She didn’t need to hear his lies, didn’t want to be partied to the pretence that he actually cared about her. His words sounded so sincere and so heartfelt but Mya knew better.
She listened silently until she couldn’t take anymore. In one decisive motion, she cut AJ off. She slammed the phone hard into the cradle, venting the anger she felt. Tears tugged at the corners of her eyes, but Mya refused to give in to them. She had lived without love all her life, she could certainly do it again.
A few moments later, the phone began ringing again. The loud droning cut through her thoughts, making it impossible for her to concentrate on anything. She turned her back on the phone hoping that eventually it would stop ringing.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. It continued ringing for almost a full minute after that. And finally, just as Mya had hoped, it stopped ringing altogether.
A frustrated AJ slammed the phone down angrily. Mya was understandably angry with him. He knew her parent’s death was an extremely touchy issue for her.
Infuriated, he gazed distractedly out the window. He was furious with Elizabeth. She had done the unthinkable and hurt him once again. This time though, she hadn’t just stopped at hurting him. She had hurt Mya too. Why can't she just stay out of my life?
Elizabeth's actions bothered him. Why it was that she chose to constantly interfere in his life and hurt him was a complete mystery to him. Just when he thought he had her all figured out, she'd go and do something uncharacteristic like this to aggravate him.
AJ however knew he was hardly one to talk about toying with people’s emotions. He’d toyed with Elizabeth’s not too long ago as well. Maybe this was her sick, twisted way of seeking revenge. It was the only possible rationale that he could come up with.
Whatever Elizabeth’s reasons, AJ knew that he would be left to repair the damage. He had repaired his broken heart many times before, but somehow he wasn’t so sure that Mya’s heart would be mended as easily.
Lila stared in horror at the brilliantly twinkling ring, which Brian lovingly held in front of her. It caught the moon’s light, gleaming and shimmering brightly.
She was aware of Brian’s eager, smiling face as he patiently awaited her response. Brian’s eyes penetrated her attending her acceptance.
His proposal repeated itself in her mind as she stared at the ring incredulously. It broke her heart because she knew that she wasn’t worthy of any of this. Brian deserved so much more. He deserved someone less deceitful and conniving and more loving and trustworthy.
Lila’s breathing became erratic as she took short rapid gasps. She soon began taking in large gulps of air desperately trying to calm the growing lump in her throat. Her throat felt as though it were burning as it tightened and closed in on her.
Her head spun and her vision blurred. She could feel herself losing control – slipping over the edge. This was too much for her to handle. She didn’t deserve to be loved like this, not after what she had done.
The world around her became distorted as it spun crazily in circles. She had to get away. Anywhere but here would be fine.
Oblivious to Brian’s gaping stare, she rose clumsily to her feet. She moved awkwardly, knocking over the champagne glasses in the process.
“Lila, wait!” Brian urged grabbing her arm.
She shook his hand off roughly as she staggered away from him. She began running. She ran with reckless abandon, her footing clumsy and uncoordinated.
Everything was a blur as she moved. Her hair whipped furiously in the wind as the tears coursed down her cheeks. She was completely unaware of Brian’s pounding footsteps as he chased after her.
She approached the road leading away from the beach tired, yet unwilling to stop. Her feet plodded loudly as against the pavement as she ran.
“Lila! Look out!” Brian’s voice suddenly cut through the air. His voice registered in her brain but she didn’t turn back to look at him. She couldn’t.
A sudden searing cramping from the over-exertion forced her to slow for a second. That’s when she saw it, barrelling towards her at full speed. She stood frozen, unable to move as its blinding lights flashed before her.
I’m sorry Brian, was her last though as the truck struck her.
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