He watched as the tears welled in her already bloodshot blue-green eyes, and couldn't believe it, couldn't believe he broke her trust, broke her faith in everything... he broker her, simple as that. She'd already been crying because he broke up with her, but he couldn't let her find out after it was too late.

"Cloe, I-"

"No, David, don't even. I don't want any apologies. Just... just go," she managed to choke out through tears.

He couldn't believe what he'd done, how badly he'd hurt her. The entirety of yesterday flashed before him as he watched her break down in front of him.

*Yesterday Afternoon*

"Cloe, are you sure you're okay?" David asked the blond woman as he stood at the end of the couch next to her head. His own blondish-brown hair was spiked slightly this particular day, in the way that made Cloe giggle and comment that it "looks like sex hair after sleeping after sex for a few hours."

"Does it look like I'm okay?" Cloe retorted, looking up into the dark gold of his eyes. "My head feels like it's imploding and exploding at the same time and I can't breathe through my nose."

"But what about the movie? We were supposed to go see The Wolf of Wall Street tonight."

"I'm sorry, honey, but I'm not going when I won't be able to focus on it and enjoy it."

Disappointed, David nodded in understanding. She never made him do anything when he didn't feel good, and he felt bad whenever she did something for him willingly when she didn't feel good. He wasn't about to force her to go when she was in her own Hell. But he really did want to see that movie.

Almost as soon as he thought that, his phone vibrated in his pocket and his text tone of an explosion went off. Fishing the device from his jeans, he touched the screen to select the text he saw from Taylor, Cloe's cousin. She asked him if he was still going to the movie tonight. Quickly thinking of a plan, he looked down at his girlfriend, who was still laying on the couch breathing through her mouth in an attempt to clear out her nose.

"It's alright if I go without you then, right?"

"Yeah, I'm not your mother. I don't need to go everywhere with you. You can still go see the movie, don't let me being sick stop you from having a good time," she told him, smiling up at him as she said it.

"Great, so I can bring Taylor?"

Cloe paused when he said that, but didn't say no. She didn't want to stop his good time, he knew that. He also knew she wasn't entirely comfortable with Taylor coming with him, but if she didn't blatantly say no then he wasn't going to not go with her. If Taylor wanted to go with him, then they were going to go to the movie.

"Is that a yes?" David asked her. Cloe only nodded and rolled over on the couch. David kissed her cheek.

"Thank you."

"Yeah yeah, just come home on time, okay?" Cloe said, lightly pushing his shoulder and smiling slightly.

"See you tonight, honey," he said then left the house.

*After the Movie*

He looked out of the car windshield at the sunset on the ocean. He knew he was going to be late coming home, but she'd said it herself; she wasn't his mother, she shouldn't really care. He felt a hand touch his arm and he turned to look at her, the hazel eyes and brown hair jumping out first, followed by the smile he probably would never be able to forget. Something settled in his belly as he realized what this really meant, something both good and bad. He had been sitting out here with this woman for hours, just talking, something he and Cloe hadn't done in a long time. He felt the connection before he was willing to acknowledge it.

"David, there's something I need to tell you..." Taylor's voice floated through his head as she spoke. Then the seriousness of what she said registered, and he looked at her.

"What is it?" He asked when she didn't say it right away.

"I.. I think Cloe's planning on breaking up with you..." She bit her lip as she looked at him, her hand wringing in her lap.

David stilled his movements as the statement settled in. Cloe, planning on breaking it off with him? But, he thought they were doing so great... The hurt from the situation set in, and anger quickly took its place.

"I don't know why she would, but I don't doubt it. If she wants to be like that then fine. I'll just end it before she can with me. I don't need her!"

He looked over at Taylor as he said it, and realized something that made his heart tighten at the entire situation. Then she spoke.

"For the record, I would never leave you.. You're... you're everything I could ever want in a guy, and Cloe doesn't know what she's giving up..."

Before he knew it, they were kissing and fighting for the backseat, clothes coming off and lips on skin that would otherwise be covered.

Cloe paced her living room as the clock continued to tick, her worry escalating with every click the clock made. She felt nausea rise in her throat, and the bathroom was the next place she was, looking into the white of the toilet bowl as her small dinner swirled in the clear water in the bowl. Tears began streaming down her face as she realized David wasn't coming home tonight, and with no word from him as to why, her mind jumped to the worst.

Hoping his sister and her best friend, Ashley, knew what was going on, Cloe grabbed her phone and called the woman's number. She answered on the third ring.

"Hello..? Cloe do you know what time it is?" Ashley's tired voice sounded from the other end. Cloe managed to hold back a sob before answering.

"D-David's not h-home yet.. Do.. do y-you know where h-he might b-be?" Her voice shook too much, she wasn't entirely sure Ashley understood her.

"Cloe? Are you speaking English? What's wrong?"

Cloe took a deep breath before trying to answer that again.

"David hasn't come home yet.. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?" She asked again, this time slower to prevent hiccups.

"David's not home? I haven't heard anything, no. Last I knew he was at a movie. I thought he was going to be home two hours ago?"

"That's what I thought too, but that didn't happen..." Cloe answered, cracking her thumb the way she only does when she's nervous and feels like something is her fault.

"He's a grown man, Cloe, I'm sure he's fine.. Don't worry too much, okay? If he's not home by tomorrow, then we'll search for him."

"Okay..." Cloe answered, sniffling as she ran through the possibilities of where he could be, skipping over one in particular because she refused to believe he would ever do that to her.

"Good night, Cloe," Ashley said as she hung up the phone.

Cloe put her phone down and sat on the edge of the bed, the one she'd be sleeping alone in tonight, and as it would turn out, every night after that.