So this took longer then I hoped to get to, but I am not giving up on this story! Sorry the chapters come so rarely, I'm going to try to be better on the next one! Hopefully I still have a few readers left, and if so I hope you enjoy this chapter! It would be awesome if you could leave a review to let me know you're still there! Thanks so much to Mary2175, Marla's Lost, Eyeon, ImNotGIJane, Kasi, and Gondelaurier and koralina for reviewing the last chapter!

Sarah


What's up?

Where was he supposed to start. His dick, for one. That was definitely still up. And then how much he wanted to move closer, to touch her face, hold her hand, to brush her lips with his own.

How much he wanted to absolutely attack her, to lunge at her and rip off her clothes and take her right then and there.

How much he wanted to tell her everything. To say what the fuck are we doing? He wanted them to laugh at how childish and competitive and stupid they've been. I'm sorry. He could try saying that. And then they could talk about how ridiculous Miles looked when they had to work the early shift and he just stared with his mouth hanging open and his eyes glazed over at the screens. He'd tell her about Phil's crush on Rosie and they'd joke about all the ways they could hold that over him. They'd talk about how much Jin's English has improved and how much happier he seems, but how the they still have to keep an eye on him because he still spent half the day searching for Sun and they've begun to realize she probably wasn't coming back. She would ask how that made him feel, about Kate, and he would say fine. He would tell her the truth like he did when they first ended up in this house together. He'd tell her that Kate, who he used to fall asleep thinking about every night, wondering what would have happened if he didn't jump, had disappeared. And I've got you to thank for that Blondie. You, Juliet, have taken her place.

"How are you?" He asks back.

How is she? She almost laughs.

"I'm fine, James. Is that the talk you wanted?"

"No it ain't, Smartass. I just…" he gestures aimlessly, circling his wrist. He goes for honestly. "I miss talkin' to ya."

She sighs. "I know. I miss it too. I guess we're getting caught up in our own things."

He stares at her. Getting caught up in their own things? Is that what she's calling it? You know what, no. No, he's done. He's done being gentle about all of this. She's been putting him through hell. Ignoring him, being the ice princess to turn him off. But all it really did was make him realize how much she turned him on and he can't do anything about it. And all because she is too much of a damn coward to look him in the eye and tell him that this isn't working.

I mean Jesus, he thinks, how do you play double/triple agent, stay alive when everyone else on the island wants to kill you, join a group where all but one were determined to shut you out. How does she have it in her to do all of that but can't just say one of us needs to move out. She must be used to using those cold stone eyes (and dammit why does he find them so intimidating and so god damn sexy?) and tricking people into trusting her motives until she gets what she wants.

Well guess what Sweetheart, he thinks bitterly, I have sixteen years of practice.

But he's done being the charismatic businessman here to seduce her. He's done trying to be break her by being too close and too nice. He's angry and she damn well deserves to know it.

"Yeah, we have been 'getting caught up' haven't we? I've been getting caught up trying to give you a ride home from work, trying to make conversation at dinner, trying to set up game nights and invite you on a walk so that you have a reason to talk to me, because you ain't doin' that unless you've got a damn good reason, huh? And then you've been getting caught up in ignoring me, walkin' away from anything we do together, locking yourself in your room so you don't even have to see me. I mean, son of a bitch!" he over exaggerates a shrug, lifting his hands to his head in mock confusion. "I don't know how we are letting this happen!"

She stares at him, her blue eyes iced over.

"Still can't talk?" He yells. "You really still got nothing to say to me!"

She's silent for a moment. Then, softly, "It's been hard for me."

"Oh don't even try that Juliet," He interrupts. "Don't act like this is so much worse for you, that that's an excuse! Jin has a pregnant wife he'll probably never see again, Dan watched his girlfriend die, Miles might be schizophrenic, and of course Kate is who knows where!" He looks for a reaction, knowing that wasn't fair of him, but he only she's the faintest flicker of her eyes. It makes him even angrier that there wasn't more. "And here you are, saved from Ben and your other Others Buddies, finally free like you always said you wanted and-"

"Right," she cuts in sharply. He finally got something out of her. He should feel proud. "Of course when I said I wanted to leave the others I meant getting trapped in the seventies instead. Where Ben still flirts with me, along with his alcoholic Dad. After three years of being stuck on this island, away from my sister, I'm still here! Only now there is no way of getting back to her, except of course for her bitchy thirteen year old self. I told you, I wanted off this island."

"So you should have gone!" He screams. "That first sub, you should have left. I'm sorry I ruined everything and asked you to stay, I'm sorry I keep making you do things you don't want to do. Not that this is me. You could just fucking ask me!" He's cracking. She's got that stone hard face again and here he is falling into pieces. He waits for her to respond but she doesn't say anything.

"You know what," he continues. "I'm done. You win. God dammit!" He knocks the book off her nightstand and it slams into the wall. She doesn't move. "I can't believe I put up with living like this for this long anyway. Do you think this was fair to me Juliet? So congratulations, I'm going to put you out of your misery. Because I know how hard this has been for you. How hard it is to live with someone like me and pretend you like it." What he's saying doesn't make sense anymore. Nothing makes sense. He wants to keep screaming, he wants to walk out, he wants to destroy the room, he wants to kiss that look right off her face. She still hasn't moved and he thinks he might hate her but he also thinks it would destroy him if he never talked to him again. He wants to calm down, wants to talk this out but he is so wound up and she still hasn't moved, hasn't apologized, hasn't said a thing. Does she care at all?

"No," he says softly. "No, I'm done."

And he walks out the room, down the stairs, and doesn't bother to get his shoes.

She sits on the bed, heart pounding, unsure if she could speak if she tried, if she could even twitch a finger without breaking down, and listens to the front door creaking open and then swinging itself shut.