I have to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken the time to review this story. It really does mean the world to me. I have never gotten this far into any fanfic without giving up so thank you. I really hope you are all enjoying it. To everyone who reviewed, you are getting a sneak peak of the next chapter today. Sorry about falling behind, life has been crazy.

Chapter 7

Miley's POV

I cannot believe I just said that! Way to not think before you speak Miley! I had to get away from Jake as fast as I could. After saying that, anything that could come out of my mouth would only hurt him. He didn't deserve that. I made it to the car and leaned against it. Jake was probably inside paying for everything and being as wonderful as he is, letting me have my meltdown. For what? For telling him that yeah, I want him for the rest of my life? What was so wrong about that? Oh yeah. I don't trust him, or anyone for that matter. Not exactly grounds for a lasting relationship. I let my body sink against the card when the car honked twice, started then unlocked. I smiled and stood up. I couldn't see Jake anywhere which meant he was probably at the cash and didn't want me to roast in 104 degree weather. I was used to living in hot weather but the thing about Ontario is that it's never just hot, it's incredibly humid. So I slid inside the car and welcomed the air conditioner with open arms. I fell onto the back of the bucket seats and sighed happily. I closed my eyes, wanting to forget what I had said. It wasn't that I didn't mean what I had said to him it is just I had no idea where life was taking me. I didn't know how I would feel a week from now let alone twenty years down the road. There was no doubt that I was crazy in love with Jake but I couldn't just string him along. No one deserved that, especially not Jake. I knew he was 'the one' for me but to expect him to deal with my baggage his whole life was just too much. He deserved so much better than that.

I heard the trunk open, sending me back to reality. I sighed and began to head out of the vehicle when Jake told me to stay in the car and keep cool. I smiled; he was always so considerate and always looking out for me. He got into the car without missing a beat, put his seatbelt on, put the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking spot with ease. He was beaming - I knew my slip up had made his decade. I smiled and turned my head to look out the window as the world passed us by.

We drove to Bala, Ontario in absolute silence. It was a peaceful silence with no hint of awkwardness. I was amazed with my surroundings; it reminded me of the small town of Crowley Corners back home, just without the farms. With the town behind us, we drove passed more forests. As made it around a bend in the road, I gasped at the site - it was breath taking.

"Want to stop to take a look?" Jake asked as he pulled the car onto the side of the road. I nodded. "Let me just grab my camera."

I leaped from the vehicle enthusiastically as Jake pulled a semi large camera bag from behind his seat and started assembling it. I walked over to him and raised my eyebrow.

"That's some camera," I stated as he picked it up. It was a lot like the ones photographers use at her shoots.

"I've always loved photography," he smiled. "My cousin Rickie is a photographer and when I was eleven, she taught me how to use a SLR then again when the DSLR's became standard. This beauty is the same one she uses, it's the Canon 5D Mark II, and arguably the best money can buy."

"It's huge!" I laughed. He handed it to me and I laughed harder. It has a large while lens on it that. "Can you teach me how to use one of these things some day?"

He smiled. "I thought you'd say that at some point so," he went into the trunk and pulled out a white and orange bag that said Henry's. He pulled out a box that said Rebel across it. "I got my mom to pick you up a good beginner camera. Something like mine is a little overwhelming if you don't know what you're doing. This is the T2i, best of the Rebel line and used by many armature and semi-pro photographers. Rickie uses it as her spare body at Weddings and it's held its own quite well. It's perfect for you."

I smiled. What a sweetheart. "You didn't have too," I said as I looked at the box. "Teach me tonight?"

He smiled and kissed my forehead. I wrapped my arms around him and nestled my head into his chest. I knew I was blessed to have someone like him in my life. This photography stuff was a hobby of his and he cared enough to think a head and include me.

"Come on, let's take a look at this lake your so fascinated with," he said as he grabbed my wrist and lead me across the deserted street to a rail that prevented people from going over.

It was beautiful. It was a smallish lake with forests surrounding it. Along the sides of it was a railroad track that travelled for miles beyond this piece of tranquility. There was only a single building on the lake, right beside the road.

"This is where many locals come to learn how to wakeboard."

I looked at him and smiled as he took a photo of the area. "Have you taken any lessons?"

He shook his head. "I have not. I was thinking of seeing if anyone else was interested and either book of a few sessions or see if one of the cottagers on my lake is interested. He owns the Cranberry Marsh and his family are champion wake boarders."

"A cranberry marsh?" I asked, he nodded. "Is that why the sign said Bala was the Cranberry capital of Ontario?"

"I think so," he stated. "They have a festival every year. It's always the weekend after thanksgiving. My mom brought me there when I was a little kid and loved it. We always talked about getting a vacation home here but my career always got in the way. I found the cottage I'm in now by accident. I came up here to buy my mom some of the wine she loves from the Marsh and the real estate agent was just putting the sign up for the open house. I drove to the property, took one look at it and told them I'd take it. I didn't even see the inside. The real estate agent laughed at me and told me to bring back my parents. Her boss was there and she nearly got fired. He looked at me and knew who I was - I signed the papers an hour later."

"Jake Ryan always gets what he wants," I smiled.

He smirked, that confident almost egotistical smirk I know all too well. "Perhaps I do."

I laughed. I heard the camera snap a picture and laughed even harder. "You better delete that if I look bad."

"You could never look bad," Jake stated as I blushed. "Let's get going, I can't wait to show you the place."

I nodded and followed Jake back to the car. "How far is the cottage?"

"Five minutes," he stated as he turned over the engine.

We drove in silence as anticipation filled me. We drove onto a dirt road that literally went through the centre of the forest. We turned into another road that was all natural. Any wrong movement of the car and we'd either be in the smallish ditches or become part of the trees. How a vehicle that was any bigger than a smart car could drive through here was amazing.

"Is this why you sold your fancy cars?"

He smirked. "Partly, many of them were too low for these roads. It can be very bumpy sometimes and if a car isn't high enough off the ground, it could do some very serious damage."

I nodded. I went to say something but was caught short by the sight of a large building surrounded by nature. I was at a loss for words. I stepped out of the car, unaware that people were calling my name. I was so transfixed by the sight before me that the world just disappeared.

Jake's POV

"We're here!" I called as I got out of the car.

My mom came running from the car with an apron around her waist and a smile on her face. She wrapped her arms around me happily, being careful about hurting me.

"Come on, Miley, let me show you around," I said with a smile on my face. No response. "Miley?"

I glanced over towards where she was standing and smiled. She looked lost in her own world as her eyes explored the area surrounding her. Judging by the sparkle in her eye, she was happy. She began to walk around, exploring her new world in silence. Lilly and Oliver came outside and laughed when they saw Miley.

"Why don't you go inside and rest up? I got her," Lilly suggested. I nodded and motioned to Oliver to give me a hand with the stuff from Wal-Mart.

"You've got an awesome place here, dude," Oliver stated. "Thanks for letting us stay here."

"It's no problem," I replied with a smile as I grabbed a few bags. "You're being nice to me, I kind of like it."

Oliver laughed. "Yeah, well, despite all the times you hurt Miley, taking a bullet for her kinds trumps all that. I got to respect that. Besides, you never been nothing but nice to any of us despite how much of a hard time we have given you."

"Thanks for turning over a new leaf," I said as I nodded appreciatively to my mom as she held the door open for us. "I really do just want to be friends with you and Lilly."

"I know," Oliver replied softly

We made our way into the main room where everyone was sitting. I got the usual greetings and questions of how I was from each person before I was finally able to escape for a few minutes. I went into my room with my camera and closed the door. I turned to face my bed when everything hit me. My bedroom was in the exact same condition it was when I went with Lilly to Toronto. Not a single article was touched. I took a deep breath and laid my camera beside my Mac and opened it up. The system came to life. I checked my e-mail, amazed at the abundance of get well soon letters from fans I was sure had forgotten about me, notifications of follows on twitter and the like. It had seemed that in my absence, the incident with Leland and Miley had thrusted me into the spot light once again. What interested me the most was a letter from my agent.

Jake,

I attempted to visit you while you were in the hospital in Toronto; however, they would not let me anywhere near you. You cell has also been disconnected from what I am gathering. What a way to revive your career son! I could not pay for this kind of publicity if I tried. You're a wanted man, Jake. Give me a call as soon as you can. Michael Bay wants you in his latest Transformers movie.

Talk to you soon

Rob.

I sat there for a moment, taking the information in. Transformer's was a huge opportunity for me. It would definitely give my career a second chance and you didn't need to be a movie guru to know I needed one.

"You should take it," Miley said from the doorway. "That'll be huge for you."

My eyes lit up at the sight of her. I closed my laptop, ran to the door and wrapped my arms around her. Having her close to me was something I would never get tired of.

"I don't know," I replied into her hair. "There are many reasons why I am probably going to decline it."

Miley pulled away from me and looked quite angry. "Why would you do that? You need this!"

She was yelling at me, I could not believe it. "For one, I probably won't feel physically up to it for a few months at least. Plus, the more I think about leaving the more I don't think I can. When we were together before, I barely ever saw you and missed out on so much. I've also been thinking about going to school and getting a real job. Maybe be a Drama Teacher or something."

"I don't see you being a teacher," Miley smirked as she walked into my bedroom. "This is beautiful, heck, this whole house is."

"Thank you," I blushed. "I always hoped you'd like it."

She sat down on my bed and bounced on it for a second. "It's incredible. Did you know there's a pond by the front door and in the kitchen?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I may have noticed." I sat down beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"Are you really going to give up this movie?" Miley asked her voice quiet.

I nodded. "Yes and no it is not open for discussion. Just let me enjoy my time with you."

What Miley did next, was not something I would have ever expected. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into her. Her lips pressed into mine with a sense of urgency and need. I lost myself in her lips, allowing all my emotions flow freely. We fell back onto the bed and our kiss became even more intense. I was in a blissful state of heaven; Miley and I had made out before and god knows how much I missed it. I was so lost in the moment that I failed to realize that Miley had unbuttoned my shirt, leaving my chest and stomach totally exposed. I pulled her closer to me, her body pressed against mine. It was sending feeling through me that I hadn't quite felt before. Miley's next action sent me crashing into reality. Her hand had found my belt buckle and was working on undoing it. No matter how much I wanted it, how much I craved her, this couldn't happen. Not now, not like this.

"Miley," I gasped pulling away from her. "We can't do this."

She halted her attack on my neck and became stiff. She pulled away and looked at me; the hurt in her eyes would forever be etched into my mind.

"Yes, we can," she whispered. "I want to do this."

I sat up and ran my hand through her beautiful brown locks. "Miley, I love you, more than anything else in this world. I want nothing more than be as close to you as two people can be, but this isn't the right time. You still have internal injuries that need to heal and..."

She stood up, tears in her eyes and began to walk towards the door. She stopped as she approached the cherry wood door and stared at me. "Save it, Jake. I know what this is about. This isn't because of internal injuries or anything of the sort, I'm just damaged goods and you want nothing to do with me. I can't blame you; I mean who would want to be with a whore, right?"

"Miley!" I called after her as she ran from my room, tears flowing from her eyes. Once I realized I was not going to be able to catch her thanks to the searing pain in my back, I punched the wall beside me. "God damnit!"

I leaned against the wall and let the tears find my eyes.

"Jake?" Robbie Ray's voice asked, sounding anything but pleased. "What the Kentucky is going on around here?"

"Miley..." I said before I collapsed onto the floor. My mom came up beside me and wrapped her arms around me, whispering to me to tell her what happened. "We were and I stopped her and she thinks I don't..."

"Oh, sweetheart," my mom whispered looking up at Robbie and Lilly, who had just come upstairs. "Lilly dear, can you go check on Miley for us?"

Lilly nodded, "Yeah, I'll try and get it through her head, ok Jake?"

I forced out a nod. Robbie Ray was looking at us with a completely dumbfounded look on his face.

"What's going on?" Robbie Ray asked.

My mom sighed as she continued to rub my back. "Miley and Jake were kissing in Jake's room and she attempted to take it further and he stopped it. She now thinks that Jake doesn't want her because of what happened."

"Sweet niblets," Robbie said before he disappeared from the hall.

"I've lost her, mom," I sobbed into her small frame. "I know I have."

"It'll work out, Leslie," she whispered lovingly. "I promise."

A sadder ending this time. This is where the story will get a little more complicated. It's hard getting over what Miley went through and sometimes things like this will happen. Keep reading and you'll see what happens. Don't worry Jiley fans, this could just be a minor set back. The next chapter will be split up into two parts. The first will be very short. The second will be more elaborate.