Disclaimer: I own the storyline but that's about it.

~ I wish I was still a little girl; 'cause bruised knees are easier to heal than broken hearts ~

~ Bruised Knees ~

She looked down at the smashed frame, falling down to her knees, not bothering to avoid the glass that was cutting into her as she picked the frame back up, falling back into the wall and clutching the photograph to her chest as tears fell down her pale face.

A sob escaped her lips, closing her eyes as tight as she could before drawing her knees to her chest, trying to curl up as small as possible. She had no idea it would hurt this much, he was supposed to love her... he had promised he'd never make her cry. But then, promises were always made to be broken when it came to him.

It was one promise she believed, forgetting all the "I promise I'll pick you up at seven." Only to turn up at two in the morning, apologizing and asking her to forget about the date they had been planing for weeks. Or all the times he just never turned up at all.

She tried to forget about all the promises of forever, pretending he never intended to break her heart all along. More tears fell down her face, hitting the photograph she still held close to her.

She kept every single promise she ever made him, she stayed with him despite the rumours he was with other girls, I'll keep you warm and won't ask where you've been. She bit down on her lip, finally opening her eyes to look down at the photograph, slightly shaking her head.

How could she have been so stupid? How could someone like him love someone like her? But then, after five years of believing he loved her, it was hard to believe he'd pretend for that long. The non-famous girlfriend, just a bit of eye candy. She started to wonder if she ever meant anything to him, or was she just for show?

She could feel her heart breaking even more, wondering if that was even possible as she chucked the photograph across the room, watching it crash and slide down the wall, shattering to tiny pieces once again. This time, she didn't bother getting up to get it back, she just stared at it, at the smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around him, and that condescending smirk on his face as he looked at the camera. She noticed for the first time the way his arm loosely gripped onto her shoulder, the way she had her arms tightly wrapped around his waist... it wasn't fair.

She leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes and sighing, she remembered all those times when she was just a little girl, when tears were made for falling over or when the family pet died. A kiss from mommy or daddy always made things better, but nothing could make any of this any better. She'd take a bruised knee over a broken heart any day.

Finally, gripping onto the wall to help her stand, she got up. She swayed slightly, gripping her head as she felt another dizzy spell hit her. She bit down on her lip, the tears falling down her face as she looked around the small apartment.

The words repeated in her head, I don't love you anymore, as she walked through the rooms, finally reaching her bedroom... the one she shared with him when he turned up, which was rare.

She shook the thought of and quickly got under the covers, trying to stop the tears that kept falling down her face. She remembered all those photographs of him with other women, his arm around them as they looked at him adoringly, it reminded her of all the photo's she ever had with him.

She loved him, but he never felt the same way and she had no idea how she could ever get over that, if she could ever get over him. She bit down as hard as she could on her lip when she felt tears brimming her brown eyes again, another sob escaping her closed mouth as she tried her best to stop herself from crying over him. He didn't deserve her tears.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to phone him and ask him why? Why her? Why for so long? Why did he hate her so much? But she'd never have the backbone, she couldn't even say anything when he broke her heart, the way he had looked into her eyes, taking both of her hands and just telling her. He didn't hesitate, he didn't look like he even regretted it, did he even care?

She closed her eyes as she remembered the way she just nodded, her mouth slightly open as she pulled her hands away from his, not exchanging a word as she walked to the door and held it open. She had no idea what made her hold back the tears right there and then, but then the moment she closed the door behind her... the tears came.

Sadness, anger, hate, love; it all happened at once, the tears falling, hitting the ground before she shook her head, angrily wiping them away and smashing everything she could get her hands on, not caring for a moment before she finally fell to her knees, the glass digging into her as she sobbed his name over and over again.

She wanted to understand, she wished she could turn back time and ask him why, instead of just standing there and waiting for him to leave so she could break down. Her eyes remained closed as she curled into the foetal position, refusing to let any tears fall from her eyes.

She bit down on her lip, wondering how she could have thought this moment was so unexpected, deep down, somewhere... she knew that this was going to happen. It was in the magazines, her friends told her, her family had informed her so many times, Shane Gray is going to break your heart, you'll see. She refused to listen – but they had been right all along. And now she was left behind, her heart broken, not knowing how to put it back together again. She should have known.