A/N: Oh my God, I dont know how I could possibly thank you all. The response to the last chapter was incredible, and like I told many of you, there is an update sooner. I love you reviewers and readers, you guys are just like the coolest people ever :)

Sorry for making Nick such a jerk last chapter. It just had to be done.

Longest chapter, but my favorite I think. Dramzzz!

Ten

Later that night

In a moment, everything can change. The person you trust with your life can turn the tables and be the opposite than you expected. It only takes that single moment, that single second, and everything that you know and trust can betray you. In that single moment, a whole world can come crashing down. And it only takes one person to destroy it.

The perfect life that I'd envisioned for so long had been shattered. My family and friends were already disappointed in the person I'd become, and the fact that I couldn't and wouldn't ever be happy again was petrifying. I didn't want to admit I was wrong, but I knew I was. I'd trusted the wrong person and let myself fall into the trap called l o v e.

I wished there were a storybook to life. We grow up, fall in love, and happily ever after. The end. But life isn't like that. It's scary, unpredictable, and there isn't always a happy ending. Sometimes, things just don't turn out the way we expect.

I had nothing left to live for.

xx

They say that right before you die, your life flashes before your eyes, but all that flashed in front of me was his face - Taunting me, mocking me, smirking in a way that only he could make look attractive.

And that's when I knew that I couldn't live anymore. I had to jump, I had to get rid of this life that I'd been subjected to. It had to end. I didn't want to have one more breath come out of my mouth or one more small twitch of a limb that would remind me that I was still alive.

I took a deep breath, and heard a voice call my name. Of course, I wasn't thinking clearly, so the voice had to be in my head. I shut my eyes, and let a tiny tear escape and trail down my cheek. I'd already written my will and notes to my dad, Jackson, Lilly, and Oliver, so I was ready to go.

I flung myself from the tower. I was flying fearlessly, and it seemed like I was never going to reach the ground. I just wanted to die already. I tumbled to the ground, cuts searing through my skin and my bones breaking violently.

And then it all went black.

xx

"Oh my God, what am I going to do?" I heard a voice cry out. I had no idea where I was. My eyes were closed shut and I couldn't open my mouth to speak. I tried to open them both, but they felt glued shut. "Shit, shit, shit. Why did I have to do this? Damn it, I shouldn't have left her like this. Should I call the ambulance?" The mutters were growing louder and more frustrated. "Miley? Miley! Please, please wake up," the voice begged. I immediately recognized it. How could I not remember his angelic voice? And how long had I been laying here for? "Please, wake up. I'm so sorry. Please. Just at least wake up, and you don't have to ever talk to me again, I know how mad you are. Crap. Should I call the police?" His voice was incredibly frantic, and he sounded like he would pass out any moment. I suddenly felt his sturdy arms around my waist, and it felt like I was being pulled off the ground. "I'll take her to the hospital. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Just get her to the hospital, and she'll be fine."

My mouth finally opened to speak, and my eyes slowly fluttered open. Was I really already in heaven? Wait, if I was in heaven, then why was Nick here?

"Nick? Did you kill yourself too?" I mumbled. His head automatically snapped back and his eyes were wide with relief.

"Miley? Miley! You're okay! Thank God!" he breathed. He placed me down on the grass, and sat next to me, his eyes searching my body for a sign that I was injured or hurt. "Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" he asked.

I rubbed my head. "If this is heaven, then why do I feel pain?" I muttered. "Jesus, the pain in my leg is excruciating." It felt like needles were stabbing into the back of my leg. My forehead was also throbbing brutally, pounding against my skull.

"Miles, you're not in heaven," Nick said softly. "You're still here, alive. You're fine, don't worry."

My eyes snapped open. "Alive?" I demanded. "Are you kidding me?"

The night sky was dark but the bright moon illuminated the field with a soft light. I spotted the water tower a few feet away, and I unsuccessfully tried to get up. Nick took my hand and helped me to my feet, which made the pain in my leg pound even more. "You alright?" he asked. "I think you might've broken something."

I nodded, and then slowly stumbled towards the ladder to the tower. I put one foot on the rung, and hoisted my other foot up too. I began to slowly climb the ladder, when Nick shouted my name.

"What do you want now?" I snapped.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled.

"Killing myself, since it didn't work the first time." Another step. I felt a pair of hands wrap around me and try to heave me from the ladder. I curled my fingers around the bar and tried to not let go. "You. Cant. Make. Me!" I shouted through my clenched jaw. I was surprised at how strong he was.

"Miley, let go! Come on, just come down now and we'll talk about this!" he exclaimed.

"No! There's nothing to talk about!" I cried. A lone, hot tear trailed down my skin.

"Please just let me explain!" he pleaded. I could hear the desperation in his voice.

I shook my head fervently. I began tired of fighting, and my body seemed like it was ready to let down on me. I was never going to make it up the ladder without collapsing, so I figured I'd just try again tomorrow.

My fingers slowly unwrapped and I turned around so that Nick was carrying me like a baby. My eyes shut closed. I was exhausted. I felt myself being placed on a soft cushion, and I opened my eyes to see that he'd put me in the back seat of his car. He took one last look at me, and then closed the passenger door and walked around the car to the drivers side. He turned the keys in the ignition and started the car.

"Your friends called me. Well, first Jade called me and told me you had gone missing and that you were beyond depressed. Let me tell you, if I had been talking to her in person, she would've thrown something at me. She was pissed." He let out a low chuckle. I glared at him. "I didn't know what to do, so I just stayed. And then your friend from Malibu, I think her name started with an L, like Leann or something, called me and told me you were a mess. She said that if I didn't get my ass back out to California, that something would happen to you. I didn't think that you'd ever go to suicide measures, though."

"I never though that the one person I loved unconditionally would stab my heart like that. And her name's Lilly," I replied bitterly. He looked at me in the rearview mirror, but stayed silent.

"Where are you taking me?" I demanded a few minutes later. "Please don't take me to the hospital. I don't want anyone to find out what happened."

Nick was silent.

"Um, hello? Mr. Annoying up there? Are you going to answer my question or not?" I insisted.

"We're going to stay somewhere to rest before going back to school tomorrow," he answered quietly. "But you need to see a doctor as soon as we get back. I'm pretty certain that your leg is broken, and we don't know if there's something else that could be hurt. But I'm not leaving you alone for a second. I don't trust you."

"I'll live," I grumbled. He shot me a look. "Okay," I muttered stubbornly. I shut my eyes, ready for sleep to overtake me.

My thoughts were drifting far away, and I was close to sleeping when he asked, "Will you ever forgive me?"

I opened my eyes back up, and looked at him through the mirror. His brown eyes were concentrated on mine. I looked down and inconspicuously wiped the tear that was falling down my cheek. "It depends."

"Depends on what?" he prodded.

I sighed. "On how long you give me."

"I'll give you forever if it means being with you," he whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"Please don't start the cheesy talk. That's not going to get you anywhere," I muttered.

"Miley, stop being difficult!" he snapped. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was clenching his jaw tightly. His hands, wrapped on the steering wheel, were a pale shade of white from gripping it so hard.

"Well stop trying to ask for forgiveness! Just give me time! What did you expect, that right when you came back I'd be waiting for you with roses?" I replied sarcastically. "Give me a break!"

"Well, you were about to die because I left you. Doesn't that mean that you still love me?"

My mouth shot open. "I was about to kill myself because I was done with life! Because of you! Even if I still love you, it doesn't mean I want to be with you anymore! How am I supposed to trust you anymore? Your biggest secret, and you kept it from me? I mean, I bet you knew about the pregnancy this whole time. You were just stringing me along because you knew that once I found out I'd break up with you!"

The tears seemed unstoppable now. I couldn't help that they were streaming down my face anymore. That was the least of my worries.

"I didn't know much longer than you!" he yelled back. "She told me that she was pregnant with my child and I didn't know how to react. What else was I supposed to do? Tell her, sucks for you because I have a better girlfriend? I'm serious, Miley, I wouldn't pull that on you. I would never want to hurt you like that."

I glared at him. "You don't think that leaving me to suffer wouldnt hurt? I don't think I've ever been more hurt in my life! You just left and didn't answer my texts or calls or anything! Right after you told me that you loved me! And then you call me 3 months later yelling at me?" I exhaled the breath I'd been holding in, and let some more tears pour down. "You said that you, you said that you loved me! And what was I supposed to do during that time that I was without you? I had nobody to talk to, nowhere to go, nothing to do. Just thinking about you with her makes me sick. I hated you! I still hate you!" I screamed.

His eyes softened slightly. "Miles, I'm just… I'm just sorry, okay?" he replied in a much softer tone. The night outside was quiet as we drove through the empty field, the only sounds filling our ears was the engine of the truck. "The truth is, I was afraid that if I called you back and heard your voice, I'd come back to you in a second. Every second away from you was nearly impossible. And I needed to be with Hayden. She's having a goddamn child, Miley. But you are right, and I apologize."

"Sorry doesn't change anything," I whispered, and then leaned my head back against the seat and let my tears fall from my eyes. His arm stretched back to where I was rested and his hand brushed my leg softly. "You don't have to do this. You can just drop me off in San Diego and then fly back to Kentucky or wherever. I don't want to hold you back from anything. You should have- you deserve- the world, and I wouldn't forgive myself if I kept that from you."

"Miley, you know all I want is you."

"Really? It doesn't seem like that," I muttered.

"Miles, you just need to trust…"

"Trust?" I echoed, interrupting his sentence. "I'm so embarrassed to come back to my sorority because they all think- wait, no, you are- a man whore! The past few months, even while you were here, they kept looking down at me and whispering about you when they thought I wasn't listening."

"If I knew that all of this would happen…"

"It doesn't matter. What you've done is done. There's no going back now."

"I just wish things could be easy," he said simply but quietly.

"Yeah, that's what everyone says. But its not. It's life, and you have to suck it up. Sometimes things don't go the way you plan, but there's no go-backs in life. Every second of your life matters, Nicholas."

He bit his lip, still looking at me through the mirror. "I've never felt this way for anyone before. It's actually a little scary."

"You didn't even feel this with Malibu Barbie? Is that why you slept with her?" I yelled. His expression softened, and I immediately felt guilty.

We were silent in the car for a few minutes. "What happened to us?" I asked, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. "We used to have such a great relationship with each other, even when we weren't dating. It used to be just fun and playful. Now, I can't even smile when I'm around you."

"I guess… I guess you just have to forgive me and trust that I'm different than I was a few months ago." I coughed. "I swear, that jerk was never me. Besides, Hayden was in the room when I made that call. And Miley, no matter how long that takes, I'll be here waiting for you. There's nothing that you could do or say that could ever change my mind, nothing. Because I love you."

I stared at him. I never imagined that three words could ever feel so good to hear. It was almost like the broken pieces of my heart slowly were mending.

Every part of me wanted to forgive him, to take him back. Every part of me wanted to just forget what happened and be with him.

But I knew that he had someone else now. Even if he wanted to be with me, I didn't want to steal anything from anyone.

But the biggest fear was trust. There was a tugging on my heart, telling me to stay away. He was bad news. He broke my heart once, and it wouldn't be hard to break it again.

Until I found out which feeling to follow, I drifted into a soft sleep, the only sound coming from the hum of the noisy truck. Other than that, it was silent.

A/N: Mmm.. what will happen once they get back? And what ever happened to Hayden? Hmm.. questions that might be possibly answered next chapter (that will come once you review!!)

love yass :)