Prologue – Breaking up is hard to do

"Niiiccckkkkk!" Her voice rang loud and clear throughout the apartment and abruptly woke him from his slumber. Initially, the haze of sleep still rested over him and he didn't know where he was or when it was. Turning, he sat up and saw he was in his room, fully clothed and lying on his bed. He picked up his phone and looked at the time, 5:00pm. He inwardly groaned as the realization hit – he had overslept.

Quickly scrambling out of his bed, he rubbed his face in an attempt to wipe away the last of his drowsiness. As he reached for the door of his room it swung open, nearly hitting his face and he was confronted by the sight of a very angry, very flustered Jess. He swallowed as he tried to remember what he had done wrong – the fog of tiredness still clouding his mind and his memory, but before he could ponder on the subject for too long she spoke.

"Nick, where the hell have you been?" she breathed heavily as she spoke – she was clearly maddened.

"I, er…" he began, still wracking his brain for what he had or hadn't done.

"I waited for you at school and when you didn't turn up I had to get a cab but it was too late!" she said, her large eyes moistening slightly as she spoke. Slowly, realisation dawned upon him. Shit, I was supposed to pick her up.

"Aw, Jess, I'm sorry, I guess I fell asleep..." he replied, feeling intensely guilty.

"You fell asleep? You fell asleep? On one of the day of the most important interview I've had in a year?"

Tears were now beginning to fall freely from Jessica's eyes as her breathing began to be wracked with soft sobs. He longed to wrap his arms around her and comfort her, as he always did when she was upset. Moving towards her, he went to take her in his arms when she placed a firm hand upon his chest and pushed him away. "What are you doing? You can't just pick me up and make this all better Nick!"

Lost for words, he didn't know how to respond. He had borrowed Jess's car, as his was not working – nothing unusual there. That day he had taken her to work and headed to the bar for inventory and was meant to pick her up from school at 3pm and drive her to an interview. The interview. Placing her head in her hands, she slowly slid to the floor, leaning her back on the doorframe of his room. Matching her pose, he moved to sit down on the floor next to her and waited, scared, for her to speak again.

"That was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I blew it. Those kinds of jobs hardly ever come up. It was my dream…" His heart broke as he saw the hot, salty tears fall from her eyes and splash upon the cold, hard floor.

"I'm so sorry Jess, I was tired so I took a nap and I guess I slept through," she kept her head down as he spoke, avoiding her gaze, "Look, I'll fix this. Surely we can get you another interview?"

"You don't understand," she said, finally looking at him, "I had to pull in some huge favors just to get this one. It's impossible. I've always wanted to work at Jefferson, it's the leading arts school in the state Nick!"

The gravity of his mistake hit Nick like a ton of bricks. He sharply took in a breath of air as he racked his brain for some way to make this right.

"Maybe if I called them and explained, said I was ill or something…"

"When you didn't call I took a cab there, I arrived just as they were closing up. They said it was too late," she shook her head as she spoke, wiping her face on the sleeve of her cardigan. She started to stand up.

"Look, Jess, I'm sorry. I screwed up," he looked up at her with pleading eyes.

"Yeah Nick, you did," she said sadly as she walked away.

Worried, he quickly got to his feet and followed her into her room. She was sitting on her bed, staring at the floor.

"Jess, I'm so sorry, I mean, I've just been working so many shifts lately. I'm so tired all the time. I know it's a lame excuse but it's all I've got," he stood in the doorway and watched her apprehensively.

"Yeah, it's pretty lame. But really, what should I have expected, you're not known for your reliability Miller," she said bitterly. The bleakness of her voice was like a cold slap in the face to him. All this extra work, all his attempts to improve himself had been for her. For them.

"That's a bit harsh Jess, I have apologised," he said. She looked up at him, her face crumpled in concentration.

"Yeah Nick, you always apologise. Every time something goes wrong you say, 'I'm sorry' and me, the fool I am, just give you a kiss on the head and say it will be alright." A cold chill began to run through his veins – worried where this was heading.

"What are you trying to say Jess?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing…I mean, I don't know…" she sighed heavily, pausing for a moment "I don't know if I can do this anymore Nick. I need a man, someone reliable, someone I can count on…" His heart skipped a beat.

"Jessica, everything I have been doing for the past year has been to make myself better – for you. All the extra work, the night classes, it's all been for our future," his voice began to slightly rise as anxiety began to flood his body.

"Yes, and what difference has that made, Nick? We're still in pretty much the same situation we were twelve months ago," she ran her hands through her hair and fixed her eyes upon his in a cold stare. His mind went blank. He wanted to tell her that he was interviewing for the manager's position at the bar next week, that he had been saving for her. To buy her something – an engagement ring to be exact. But the words would not come.

"What do you want from me Jessica?" he asked.

"I don't know Nick. Maybe you can't give me what I want. What I need," her voice began to shake.

"But Jess, I love you… I'd do anything for you," he said, his own words cracking under the strain of his emotion.

"Sometimes that's not enough though is it?" she looked up at him with her glassy, reddened eyes and his heart began to tear in two. "Look, can you leave me alone for a while? I need to think."

Silently he nodded as he left the room, closing the door behind him. He rested his back on the hallway wall as panic began to descend. It was over, he knew it. Maybe she hadn't said it exactly, but he was certain in that moment that he had lost Jessica Day forever.

Would you like me to continue? (I have a plan!) Please let me know!