A/N: I just couldn't wait to post this chapter so double update goodness for you all :)

Disclaimer: Nope...still don't own it.

Chapter 9

Annie sat up suddenly in bed, wondering what had woken her. The question was soon answered by an insistent knocking at the front door. It was 1am and Annie was unaware that she had invited anyone over. The banging at her door continued though so she got out of bed to yell at the insensitive person who thought 1am was an appropriate time to visit.

"Annie, please open the door." Auggie? What on earth was he doing here.

"No!" she yelled back at him. No. No. No. No! He did not get to just walk in and out of her life on a whim. If he wanted to talk to her he better have a damn good reason.

His voice came through the thick wooden door again, low and husky. The voice of a soldier who was used to being obeyed. Except this time his pride was broken and he was not in charge anymore. She was. After all he had put her through lately, it felt good. He didn't sound drunk, his words weren't slurred. He did however sound like he was in pain. Good. He deserved to be. Maybe she would just let him beg a little before sending him away.

Auggie put his palms on the side of the door, head lowered and looking down at the ground between his arms. He closed his eyes and let out a breath through his nose. He had expected her to be angry but he was hoping she would at least let him in. He spoke slowly and evenly, "Annie, please. I know you're still there, I can hear you on the other side of the door. You're mad at me, and you have every right to be, but I promise if you let me in I can explain everything." How could he sound so sure of himself even when he knew she never wanted to speak to him again? He seemed sincere, but that wasn't enough to make up for what he had put her through lately.

She opened the door purely to get rid of him. He was wearing a tight dark blue t-shirt and jeans that fit perfectly in all the right places which momentarily distracted her from her mission to break his heart the way he had broken hers. Then she remembered his cold detachment of the past few weeks and her anger came rushing back in full force.

"No, Auggie, I don't wanna hear it. You don't get a second chance. You don't seem to realize how much you hurt me. I let myself trust you, I let myself open up to you, and you just shut down on me. Just like every other guy in my life. Second chances never work, people don't change. You'll do the same thing to me again next time things get hard. So. No, Auggie, you can't come in, we can't talk about this, there's nothing to say, I'm done. Clear enough for you? Can you please leave now so I can get back to sleep."

"Annie. Stop." That was the tone of voice that Auggie used to order entire squads to do as he commanded. Calm, firm, strong. He was no longer begging for her to listen to him. This was the soldier Auggie, giving her no choice but to obey him. It was unfairly sexy.

Auggie took advantage of her lapse in anger to step into the room. He stood defensively with his legs at shoulder width and arms crossed over his perfectly built chest. She recognized that posture, he used it when training her to fight - his feet were firmly planted and no matter how hard she pushed he wasn't about to go anywhere. She turned her head away from him, looking at him caused her too many conflicting emotions.

Then he sighed and she realized that as much as his body language was strong and grounded, his eyes showed that he was hurting just as deeply as her. Every protective instinct in her wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be okay. It was unbearable to see Auggie so close to breaking down. His body language was not that defensive for no reason, he was prepared for her to try to hurt him, ready for her to throw all her pent up anger at him. He was here and he would let her say whatever she needed to say even if it shattered him in the process. But once she was done he would still be there, and ultimately he would get his chance to explain.

She couldn't decide whether to slap him or jump him. He was making it really hard to hate him.

He stood there for a couple of minutes saying nothing. The room was silent except for both of them breathing heavily while cars drove by in the distance. She slowly turned back to face him, and her anger deflated. This was Auggie, her best friend, she couldn't stay mad at him for long.

"Auggie you really hurt me..." she began softly. Tears were already threatening to spill from her eyes no matter how hard she fought them.

"I know. Annie I'm so sorry. When they said you had gone missing I thought I was going to lose my mind. I hadn't let myself admit how much you meant to me. You cut through to the dark parts that I had tried to hide from the world, and even myself. I wanted to let you in completely. You're the first person who I've felt that way about since I went blind. You made me face my deepest fear - that if someone knew me fully they would not like what they saw. I've done some awful things Annie. The first year after I went blind... I did some things I still can't talk about. And then I pushed down the guilt attached to those events and tried not to think about them. But you... You made me want to be whole and complete again. I found myself driven to face my personal demons so that I could be worthy of you. And it scared me. It scared me so much I pushed you away, convincing myself that it was better for you that way - even though part of me knew I was hurting you. But I can't keep pushing you away. I've tried. My problem is, I love you. I know I've caused damage that can't be healed anytime soon, and I know I don't deserve another chance but Annie I'm sorry. I screwed up. Forgive me?"

Annie had melted inside before he had finished his first sentence. He still cared. Her heart did little somersaults of joy. But she couldn't just let him off the hook. How could she know he wouldn't push her away again. He needed to earn back her trust over time. She replied, "Look. Auggie. As a friend, sure, I forgive you, we all make mistakes. But it's 1am and you're telling me you love me after practically ignoring me for a couple of weeks. I just need some time to process all this." She gave herself a mental pat on the back for not jumping into his arms and telling him she loved him too. She was stronger than that. He would not get the chance to walk all over her. She needed to make sure he knew that.

"That's fine, take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere." Auggie's face showed disappointment that she wasn't ready to fully accept his apology, but he did look less miserable than he had when he arrived. He now had some hope that all was not lost. He put his hand on her arm spoke directly to her.

"We'll talk in the morning?" It was more of a statement than a question. Time to sleep on it. Good. Maybe she could make the butterflies in her stomach stop dancing. How did the mere sound of his voice have this kind of effect on her?

"Yeah. Goodnight Auggie." He lifted his hand off her arm, then turned and walked out the door, pulling it shut behind him. Her arm felt strangely bereft.

Damn him. It should be illegal to be that charming.