Prove It

Maxie Jones stared at Damian Spinelli with tear filled eyes. Her chin quivered as she looked into her best friend's stormy green eyes that were filled with disappointment and perhaps,even an edge of carefully veiled disgust. "Please....Please don't hate me,Spinelli." She whimpered pleadingly.

Spinelli's eyes softened a bit and for a second. A very split second,he was tempted to wrap her warmly in his arms and tell her how much he loved her. But he had to be strong. He couldn't put himself into a situation where he would be hurt again. "I could never hate you,Maxie. I couldn't even make myself if I tried. But---The Jackal...I cannot stand by,blindly and let you do somethinf that would hurt be again. I cannot let you destroy me because your scared that I might leave or something. So because of that,I have to push you away." He told her,slowly backing away,still looking upon her. "Just---please know that the Jackal loves you and do not think any differently." With that,he turned on his heel and walked away so he wouldn't see his Maximista's crying eyes.

Maxie stood there,frozen in shock. The tears,falling freely down her cheeks as she watched her best friend's retreating back. She'd lost him. She couldn't believe that she'd lost him! Slowly,she hurried to her car and got in,driving home to the apartment she share's with LuLu and Johnny as the tears poured down face. When she got inside,she slammed the door shut and leaned her back against it as she began to sob. She slid down to the floor as her tears soaked her face and dripped down her chin. Somehow,nothing seemed all that important anymore.

Meanwhile,Spinelli was sitting in Jakes with a shot glass full of vodka sitting infront of him.

"Hey player. Want to talk?" Coleman,the bartender asked as he refilled the shotglass.

Spinelli looked up and nodded. "The Jackal let his Maximista fly from his grasp." He said weakly,downing the shot.

Coleman looked at the young man on the stool,waiting for him to talk.

"The Jackal found out that Maximista and The Mob Prince commited an act of infidelity---atleast on Johnny's part. I pushed Maxie away because I didn't want to end up with a broken heart. But it kills me to not have her in my life,it feels empty." The young computer hacker said.

Back at the apartment,Maxie sat on the couch,still in tears when the door opened and Johnny Zacchara walked in.

He threw his coat and keys on the chair sloppily. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw her sitting there. "Maxie?" He asked her,softly.

She looked up at him with red,swollen eyes and her shoulder length,blond hair hanging in a disarry around her face. "Hi" She said shortly.

Johnny sat next to her carefully. "What happened?" He asked her with a sigh. His eyes went to the journal that sat in Maxie's lap. The one that Damian Spinelli had given her back in October for her birthday. She was clutching it as if it was all she had left. It suddenly hit him. "You got in a fight with Spinelli,didn't you?" He asked with a roll of his eyes.

Maxie choked on her tears and nodded,her blonde hair bounced on her shoulders at the movement. "I told him about the limo. I didn't want him finding out about my mistake from anyone else. He didn't react well. Not that I expected him to. He wondered how we could do that to LuLu. Then he became so silent. And when he could finally speak again,he told me that he couldn't be around me and allow me the chance to hurt him. And you know what? Nothing matters without him around. Nothing matters without him beside me!" She said,voice breaking and getting louder with every word. Suddenly she flung herself at Johnny and kissed him harshly,with no love or caring,prepared to completely go into self destruct mode.

After all,it was what she was good at. It was what she did when she was hurt. Using her body to ease her pain or hurt herself even more. Suddenly though,Maxie saw Spinelli's beautiful green eyes in her mind's eye and his sweet smile. She pulled her mouth away from Johnny. She couldn't do this. She couldn't possibly do this! It wasn't like the other times,when she slept with Logan to hurt LuLu or had an affair with Lucky and fed him pills while he was married to Elizabeth. Unlike the other times,Maxie Jones had stopped herself from doing something that she would regret. And it had been because of Spinelli. "I love him." She muttered in realization as she climbed off Johnny's lap,slipped on her ballet flats and grabbed her purse before she ran out the door. She had to find Spinelli! She had to get him back and she had to let him know that she wanted to be with him. She only hoped she wasn't too late.

Next Chapter: Maxie comes up with a plan to get Spinelli back,with Sam's help.