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CHAPTER 9

The Reason for Returning.

Murphey was having a quiet night in after a busy day of developing photos and putting them into frames. She had a 6 pack of beer in the fridge and had ordered a pizza. She had put on a movie and sat down with a beer and the pizza.

She hadn't spoken or seen Jem in a month. But what troubled her more, was that her friendship with Claire had gone down the drain after Murphey drunkenly flirted with the guy she'd been seeing. It didn't matter how many times Murphey apologized, Claire wouldn't hear a word of it and Caroline took her side, while Mary took Murphey's, believing everyone was overreacting.

The movie was almost over when there was a knock at the door. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, having no idea who would've been showing up at this late hour. It can't have been Mary, because she would've waltzed right in. Murphey groaned and climbed off the couch, and answered the door, shocked to discover her ex-boyfriend standing there.

"Zach? What the hell are you doing here?" She asked frowning at him.

"I wanted to see you." The tall, burly blonde smirked at her and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

"I don't want to see you!" She glared at him and went to shut the door. He slammed his hand against the door sending it flying back, hitting her in the shoulder. "What the fuck? You asshole!" She spat at him.

"I just wanted to see you again and you're the one who's being a bitch about it!" He growled.

"There's a reason for that and you damn well know it," she slowly backed away from him. "You made a huge mistake coming to Charlestown!"

"I'm not leaving until we talk." He told her.

"Leave now!" She said standing her ground but it made no difference; he stalked forward and grabbed a handful of her hair, tugging her against him.

"I'm not leaving…not until I get what I want." He ran the tip of his nose along her jaw, making her squirm and shift her head away.

"Get off me!"

Zach raised a free hand to her throat, squeezing the delicate flesh when the door was kicked in and Jem stormed in. He ripped Zach away from her, and she jumped away as Jem tackled him.

She watched in shock as Jem pounded his fist into Zach's face. "Stay the fuck away from her!"

When blood started flying, Murphey pulled herself out of her shocked state and ran to Jem's side, using all her strength to pull the shorter man off Zach. "Jem! Stop! He's not worth it!"

Zach muttered under his breath, a smug smirk tugging at his lips before Jem lunged at him again.

"JEM! Please!" Murphey begged struggling to hold his arm, even though a part of her wouldn't have minded watching him beat Zach into a fine pulp. She managed to pull Jem away, allowing Zach to climb to his feet.

"She's not worth it pal! Trust me!"

Jem moved quickly, snatching his gun from the pack of his pants, levelling the barrel with Zach's forehead.

"Not so fuckin' tough now are you? If I see you near Murphey I won't fuckin' hesitate to pull this trigger now fuck off!" Jem scowled and Zach backed away, quickly turning on his heel to leave the apartment.

Once the door had closed behind him Murphey burst into tears, and Jem set his gun down and pulled her into his arms.

"Who the fuck was that guy?" She lightly shook her head, clinging to his shirt. "C'mon Murph, tell me."

"I came back because of him." She whispered and pulled away.

"What do you mean?"

"A year after BU I met him, he seemed like a nice guy so I agreed to go out with him." She paused and released a shaky breath. "After a while he started getting possessive, he didn't like me talking to other men and then he caught me talking to an old friend, he went nuts and smacked me," she glanced away as more tears ran down her face. "He started doing it more often, for little things and then…"

"And then what?" Jem asked quietly.

"I ended up in the emergency room, I couldn't see out of one eye –"

"Motha' fucker," Jem muttered.

"He'd found the locket you gave me. I left him after that and came back here."

"You could've told me."

Murphey shook her head, "No I couldn't. You would've killed him, and he's not worth you going back to prison."

"I should've fuckin' shot him." He mumbled under his breath.

Murphey rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen to grab an ice pack from the freezer. When she turned round, Jem was right behind her. "I got…" She trailed off as their blue eyes met, and he took the ice pack from her grasp, tossing it aside.

He raised a hand to her cheek, gently stroking the smooth skin with his thumb. "I admit there were girls after you, but Candy wasn't one of them." He spoke softly, yet every word carried between them. "But since I saw you at the bar, there's been no one in my bed, I swear to fuckin' god."

Murphey heard his words but the truth was held in his eyes. She leaned close, pressing her lips against his, feeling him stiffen for a moment before his lips moulded against hers. He lifted her up as if she weighed nothing and sat her on the counter, holding her close to him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as his hands went to her lower back, pulling her even closer to him.

They soon pulled away for air but remained close. "I still fuckin' love you, Murph. I never stopped."

"I still love you too, Jem." She told him.

Before she knew it, Jem was crushing her lips with his own. He lifted her up off the counter and made his way to her bedroom. Even though he had only been there once, he still remembered the places she showed him in her house. They were soon between the sheets making love for the first time since before Jem had been arrested.