"I'm Amanda Clarke."

Jack just stares at me shaking for what seems like five minutes, but in reality I know it was only a few seconds.

I can not help the tears that roll out of my eyes upon seeing the anguish in his. I knew from the minute the words "I'm Amanda Clarke" left my lips that he would never be able to forgive me, but I did not have time to think about the aftermath, I just needed to get him under control and out of there.. fast.

Without giving him enough time to process what I was doing, I snatched the gun out of his hand. It wasn't much of a fight given his current state of shock. He looks down at his empty hands and then back up at me, and that's when I see it. The anger.

Before he can begin yelling and screaming at me, I mumble something about needing to get out of there. I can't even recall what my exact words were. I dismantle the gun with ease, and stuff it in my jacket. My mind switches to escape mode as I quickly begin to plan our exit. Jack stares at me as if I have grown another head.

When I see our escape route, I grab Jack's hand to lead him in the right direction, but he quickly pulls it away. I feel more tears form in my eyes, but as quickly as they appeared, they were gone. I keep moving toward the exit, doing my best to keep my head down. I don't want to be recognized, I just want to escape. I finally reach the door and feel relief, but it's splitting. As soon as my feet hit the pavement and the door is shut, I turn around to see Jack, but what I find stops me in my tracks.

The man standing in front of me isn't the same boy I remember so vividly from my childhood. Not the same boy who used to let me bury him in the sand, not the same boy who would spend an entire afternoon playing dress up with me, just because it made me happy. No, the man standing in front of me was broken. Jack looked like he had aged fifteen years in only a day, and it was killing me.

I sucked in a deep breath. "Jack..." I wanted to explain everything to him. I think about the moment in time that I was willing to tell him everything, to expose myself to him, just to be with him forever, but that dream was quickly shattered when a very pregnant Amanda came back into the picture. "Don't" he says sharply. "Just don't. How...How could I have been so stupid." He's starting to get louder, and I look around nervously. I don't see anyone nearby. "Jack, don't do that to yourself.." I begin to say. "NO" he yells, "Do you have any idea what you have done?!" I look up at him and I feel the tears forming in my eyes again. "What is wrong with you, what happened to.."

I thank God my phone begins to ring, stopping Jack from his tirade. I look at the caller ID..."It's the police station." I say quietly. "I had better take it." Jack throws his hands up in the air and mumbles something under his breath that I don't quite catch. "Hello?" "This is a collect call from Mason Treadwell, press 1 to accept this call." Normally I would ignore it but given the circumstances, I'm happy for the distraction. "What do you want Mason?" I don't have time for pleasantries today, plus he knows better than to contact me. I made sure of it. "Well done, Ms. Thorne. And here I thought I had seen the worse in you." "What are you talking about?" I snap. "Wait you mean...you don't know?" I can hear the smile in his voice. "Mason, I am about five seconds away from hanging up on you." "Okay, okay" he says amusingly. "It's not like I get that much phone time anyway." "One..." I begin to count. "Listen, just turn on the news, because if what I am hearing around the grapevine is true. I think this book is about to get a lot more interesting." "Mason I do not have time for this, just tell me whatever pathetic thing it is you need to tell me and.." I don't get to finish my sentence. "Well isn't this a new perspective. Me getting to crash your world into the ground." "Two..." Mason sighs. "Rumor has it that I have a new inmate. A pretty famous cyber legend to be more exact." "Mason, the falcon has been in custody for a while. Your news is old, goodbye." I start to hang up, but his next words stop me dead.

"I'm talking about Nolan." When I don't say anything, he continues. "You know your best friend, partner in crime, pain in my ass… ring a bell?" "You're mistaken." I immediately say. I'm pacing faster and farther away from jack than I mean to, it's a nervous habit. "Why would anyone arrest Nolan? He couldn't hurt a fly." "Tell that to the NYPD that just had him incarcerated for, what would you know, taking down a flight…. Flight 197 to be exact?" I hang up the phone with lightning speed. "Nolan's been arr..."

I turn around to find Jack Porter gone...