A/N: I have had absolutely wonderful responses to this story thus far! Thank you all so much. I'm going to stick with Lisbon's POV for this one. Pike needs some closure. He really didn't deserve this; he seemed like such a nice guy. As always, Happy Reading!
Disclaimer: Nope, The Mentalist is not mine.
Heartache II
They caught a cab from the airport. Lisbon made sure that there was plenty of space between the two of them. It seemed slightly childish, but she didn't want to accidently touch him and give the man any kind of false hope. An uncomfortable silence grew between them until she wanted to cough just to break it. She tried to think of the best way to tell to Marcus she was taking it all back, but nothing felt right. How do you break off an engagement without causing the other person agony? She knew the simple answer was…you didn't.
The cab stopped to drop them off and Marcus paid the cab driver. She chose to get out and walk in any direction. It didn't matter where they went. What mattered was what she said. Marcus was already on edge, she could tell from his body language. She realized that she knew much less about the sulking man following her than she originally thought she did. Marcus had always asked her questions to get to know her better, but she had rarely reciprocated the interest in his wants and needs.
"I'm not staying, Marcus," she finally told him quietly. She couldn't look at him. She was too afraid of seeing the tears in his eyes and wanting to do anything to make them go away. His crying would not cause her to change her mind, but it would cause her to stay here longer than she wanted to. Call her a coward, but this was the hardest thing she had ever had to do, and she wanted to make it as easy for him as possible. It wasn't his fault she was leaving.
"I guessed that from the greeting you gave me at the airport. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. All I really want to know is why, Teresa. I thought we had something good. Teresa, I have appointments with a realtor to find and apartment for us. I even started to look for jewelry stores…," he said. His voice got softer and softer the longer he spoke. She felt him let the last part hang unfinished in the air. It made the humid air seem stifling. The anguish in his voice was unmistakable.
"I know, Marcus, and when I said yes, I meant it. I really did. I thought you were the best thing for me. Then, well, then I had a chance to make a different choice. Something I never thought would happen, did. At that moment, I knew what choice I needed to make. I couldn't stay with you. I would never truly be yours," she told him. It surprised here when she felt a tear roll down her face. She squeezed her eyes shut to release the tears and clear them before she turned to look at him. His red-rimmed eyes searched her face for something she couldn't identify. They both knew she was breaking his heart; potentially shattering it into little pieces that neither would be able to find any time soon.
"Did you ever love me?" he rasped, his voice thick with tears. The question caught her by surprise. She was quiet for longer than he was comfortable with because he began to move away from her. It was all very overwhelming to her.
"Marcus, I loved you in the only way I knew how. I also now know that it wasn't right. You deserve so much more than I can give you," she tried to explain. It was difficult for her to put her emotions into words. She had love Marcus. At least she thought she had at the time. Her love for Jane had always overshadowed her love for Marcus. It was just that Jane had been distant for so long that she had given up hope.
"Everything changed in less than 48 hours? How?" he questioned her. She gave the man credit; at least he was placating her and trying to understand her frame of mind. He sounded utterly confused. She had hoped she wouldn't have to tell him about Jane.
"I fell in love with someone else," she whispered. He nodded and moved to sit on the nearest bench. She sat beside him and waited for him to gather his composure. She watched as the wheels turned in his mind trying to process everything she had just told him. He put his head in his hands. His elbows made contact with his thighs to hold himself up. He looks completely devastated. She had to stop studying him when she saw a tear fall from between his finger tips.
"It's Jane, isn't it?" he asked.
A/N: Reviews please!
