Lizzie's eyes flashed angrily as she jerked her arm away from him. "After you've worked so hard to pretend I don't exist, you're finally going to talk to me?"

His mouth tightened into a tight line.

Lizzie felt her resolution crumbling. She didn't want him to be angry…Then she remembered the feeling that was spreading all over her. The mind numbing fear. That debilitating moment where she cowered. The feeling she'd had most of her married lift. And in that moment, she knew she didn't want to feel it. Not because of Gordo, or David, or who ever the hell he was, not from anyone. She jutted her hip out and crossed her arms.

He seemed to have been given new life by her shifting of attitude, his lips regained their fullness, and something flickered behind those dark pools of sapphire. "It was a lot easier to hold you head up when you didn't' have to talk about it wasn't it, Lizzie?"

"Not talk about what?"

A smirk crossed his face. A smirk! Lizzie felt a new wave of anger bubbling. It was as though he was mocking her.

"I knew all along."

Now her anger was joined by exasperation. "Knew what?"

"About Danny."

Lizzie heart locked instantly inside her chest. Without it pumping, her blood seemed to turn to ice and a heavy feeling leaked inside her heart. She didn't him to say anymore. She wanted him to leave. Now.

Gordo caught her moment of weakness and he pounced. "That's right Lizzie."

She had the most childish impulse to shove her fingers into her ears and sing loudly. She'd tried to avoid it, she hadn't really meant for things to happen the way they did.

"You broke up with me because you'd been seeing Danny."

There it was, out in the open. And it sounded horrible.

"For a month. When we'd been dating for two years."

Lizzie winced. It sounded awful. "I hadn't been seeing him for a month."

"Really? Was it longer then? Because you must have forgotten that word gets around fast, Lizzie."

"Did you want to talk to me? Or to yell at me?" she snapped. "If you want to yell, go ahead. I can take it. I've had worse."

Gordo stopped, he took a deep breath, the air slipping past his teeth, making a hissing sound as it filled his lungs. "I didn't want to yell at you."

"Really? You're doing a hell of a job…"

"How did you expect me to react Lizzie?" he snapped, shoving his fingers into the mess of dark curls. "One day we're fine, and then you call me to tell me it was over."

Lizzie resisted the urge to sigh. She remembered that day, very clearly in fact. She hadn't slept at all the night before. She'd been out late with Danny. They'd spent the whole night talking, just talking outside of Hillridge as they watched the sun rise over the city. She honestly hadn't noticed the time, but as she looked at him in the early morning rays, it hit her that what she was doing wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to Gordo.

Lizzie frowned slightly at the memory. She hadn't been lying to Gordo, it hadn't been going on for a month, but it had for two weeks. Danny had first offered dinner as a thank you. She'd accepted only at his persistence. From there they'd realized they had a lot in common and talked, and when the time ran out, they switched phone numbers, and the conversations continued. She'd found herself looking forward to Danny's calls, and feeling slightly disappointed when it was someone else's number on the caller id. She wasn't sure what had happened. Danny never kissed her until after she broke up with Gordo, but somewhere along the line, the thrill of Gordo had died.

So she fought with herself all that morning. She must have picked up the phone at least a dozen times. She hadn't been sure how to end it, and a feeling nagged her for doing it in the first place. Somewhere, she'd found the strength. But it hadn't lasted through the phone call. Tears had cascaded down her cheeks as the words flooded out of her mouth. She hadn't had the chance to explain, just to explain that they were over. And she was sorry.

There had been so much confusion in his voice, and hurt. He'd never been able to hide his hurt very well, not from Lizzie. And that hurt had remained when he'd first seen Lizzie and Danny out as a couple. But, it faded. Like any remains of friendship they had faded.

She'd invited him to the wedding, and he went. But that was it. They talked, they'd been civil, polite, everything society required, but that was it.

She bit down on her lip and look at him. "I don't know how I expected you to react. I didn't do it to hurt you. I did it so I wouldn't hurt you."

"You broke up with me, not to hurt me?" he echoed.

"Nothing happened," she stated, meeting his eyes. "Absolutely nothing happened."

His eyebrows rose into anything other than what could have been an appealing expression. His mouth was twisted into a sneer. "Obviously something did."

Lizzie's fingers twitched. She wanted nothing more than to bring this swinging up across his cheek. It wasn't what he said, but it was in that sneer. That sneer that very obviously read his opinion was of her was no higher than a street walker. "I happen to have to more respect for you than that. But after a comment like that, I almost wish I didn't."

His eyes flickered again, and Lizzie felt herself at a loss to read his emotions. "No, your taste for men seems to run for the more manly type."

Lizzie's fingers almost flew to the now unmarked skin on her face that had shown the mark of Danny's manliness. She kept them restrained at her side somehow.

"Why don't you say what you're really thinking Gordo? Instead of just hinting at it."

He actually considered this, his lips twitched.

Lizzie plunged forward, filling the space he left open. "You think I'm a worthless whore who got what she deserved."

Another flicker in his eyes. "I never said that."

"You haven't said anything. For someone so intent on talking, you're doing a hell of a job not saying a damn word."

"I'm trying to think about what I could say. Anything I start to say, you fill in the blanks for me and make it as worse as you possibly can." He snapped. "Yes, I'm pissed off at you. Yes, I have been for a while. And its not because of what you did its how you handled yourself. You were afraid, and you ran away."

Now it was Lizzie's turn to be confused. "What was I afraid of?"

"Of having to work through a big problem," he stated. "If you're telling the truth, and you didn't do anything with him, you took the easy way. We were having problems, and there were no problems once you were rid of me."

"I wasn't trying to get rid of you!" she snapped.

"You weren't? Then why couldn't you ever talk to me about it before hand? Why did you sneak around with him?"

"I—I don't know," she snapped. "I don't know Gordo! It was a long time ago! What does it matter?"

Something about her response seemed to weaken him. His shoulders slumped and his head drooped. She could see his tongue run along the inside of his cheek. "You're right, Lizzie. It doesn't matter. It was a long time ago. And we're here now. You're on the run from Danny and I'm getting married—"

"To Kate," Lizzie snapped under her breath.

Gordo had heard her though. He raised his eyebrows and smiled. "You're right. I'm getting married to Kate. And things are very different now. So, we've talked. Have a good night, Elizabeth."

He plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled firmly on the door. He realized it was locked, and his exit was hindered as he had to flick the lock but he still managed to slam the heavy door behind him.

Lizzie glared after him until he was no longer visible in from the store windows. She stumbled back against the counter, her legs gave out. Her fragile body slid along the counter until she was hunched on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest, tears falling onto her knees.

Well, I'm back! I made this chapter as long as possible without dragging it out. Thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed and kept faith for my return. Here I am, and here it is! If you like it and want me to continue, you know what to do!

Next chapter…another twist in Lizzie's new life.