Disclaimer: I own nothing.

PS: So sorry for the delay. School is crazy hectic. I decided to make this part of a three part story arc. The third chapter will hopefully be up in a few days. Enjoy!
PPS: PLEASE leave reviews. Nothing guilt trips me into updating than reviews. Thanks for the favorites everyone! And thanks to my wonderful twin for helping me and walking me through the whole process!

I turned on a booted motorcycle heel quickly. Tears rolled down my face as I half-ran, half-stumbled back to where my bike was parked. I wiped at my tears angrily, ashamed at the rate they were falling, and yet unable to stop them.

So this was what heartbreak felt like.

I never really expected it to hurt this much. I thought they were exaggerating in all of the cheesy movies Ruth tried to push on me in her attempts to make me more girly.

I never expected it to feel like a thousand tiny needles shoving their way into my heart.

I turned my attention back to the road, semiconsciously swerving past cars and trying hard not to fall off the bike out of a sheer exhaustion that was now overwhelming me. When I finally got home, I stared at the pavement as if it could give me answers. Why was Rob kissing some blond bimbo? He never said anything about a girl in any of the emails I'd sent. He never did. So why didn't he tell me?

I finally regained control of my limbs and shuffled into the house in a daze, going straight for the shower, hoping that the water could drain away my memories. Yet even as steam curled around me and I could feel my skin burning and going red from the heat, I still felt numb. I replayed the scene over and over. It couldn't have happened, and yet it did. Why would he do that to me? I loved him. Sure, he never exactly said he loved me back but….

That was it. He never loved me. Or if he did, he stopped. That had to be it. That was the only way he could have gone and kissed another girl. He just stopped liking me. Or loving me. Or whatever it was.

That night as I lay curled on my bed, sleeping pills in my system so I could at least attempt to get some sleep, I knew that there was nothing I could do. Rob didn't love me. He liked girls like her now. So I'd accept that and move on. Force myself to move on rather. And it was with that final thought that the pills took hold and I slept the sweet sleep of the drugged induced variety.

That is, until the night terrors began.

Visions of the terrors I'd faced on the battlefield, bombs, men screaming in Arabic at me with detonators strapped to their chests all flashed before me. As I awoke with a scream, tears pouring from my eyes and shaking violently, Douglas flung open the door. He looked around the room in a few quick glances, assuring my safety, and then walked over to the bed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders awkwardly. My shoulders convulsed as I sobbed, and when I finally quieted down, Douglas handed me a tissue silently. I gave him a slight apologetic smile, and rubbed my eyes wearily. Without a word, he hugged me and left the room, not questioning me or probing into the terrors. I lay back down, curled into a tight ball and let sleep once again overtake me, this time not waking up.

The next morning, Douglas and my dad had already left for work. I clamored down the stairs, rubbing my puffy eyes with the back of my hand. I nodded to my mother, giving a muttered "Morning," and grabbed cereal, milk and a bowl, eating it with distaste. Since when had my parents got healthy cereal? I pouted slightly at the box, then rinsed off my plate and walked upstairs to clean myself up and tame my sleep-tousled hair. After that was done, I spent the morning cleaning up my room, organizing all my bags and situating myself.

My mom left to do the shopping, so when the door rang, I knew it wasn't her. I knew who I didn't want it to be though, and of course that was who it was.

I stared at the door for a moment, then, as fury began to rise, I opened it, staring up defiantly at the boy of my dreams, with his Indian purring in the background, and my heart faltered. My eyes burned with rage and hurt as he said one word.

"Jess."