After the dinner-time meltdown, Melissa helped Jackson up stairs and waited in her room while he took a shower and changed into the sweatpants and t-shirt Evan had retrieved for him. He finally emerged from the bathroom scrubbing the water out of his hair with a towel, the t-shirt hanging around his neck. He looked better even though his blue eyes were still red and watery from all of the crying he had done. She figured it was good for him to get it out of his system.

"Feel better?" Melissa asked him, closing her laptop and turning on her bed to look up at him.

He nodded and collapsed on the edge of the bed before leaning his elbows on his knees and scrubbing his face with his hands, "I don't know anymore, Bella."

"Don't know about what?" Melissa questioned, moving over to him.

"About anything." He scoffed with a sarcastic smile and a shake of his head. He raked a tired hand through his hair and looked over at her. "I'm sixteen Bella, I shouldn't feel like this."

"No," Melissa agreed with a sad sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder. "No you shouldn't. Not at sixteen."

Jackson looked down at the purple carpeted floor and let a sarcasic chuckle escape, "You know sometimes I think...?"

"Think what?" Melissa encouraged, raising her head from his shoulder.

"I think that maybe this whole mess could have been avoided, had I let her be late." Jackson admitted softly, "I was helping her get ready. She didn't want Dad to see her in her new dress so she asked me to help her put her necklace on. They were going to be late so I rushed her out of the door to meet him before they were too late."

"You couldn't have known that they would be at that stop sign at that time." Melissa shook her head, "Where does blaming yourself get you?"

"I know but...what if I hadn't of rushed her? What if I had taken a minute longer to clasp that necklace?" Jackson sighed sadly.

"The what ifs will kill you." Melissa nudged him slightly, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what?" Jackson asked her softly.

"Today, you basically snapped. What happened? It's more than what you told me earlier, why did you break? Was it the foster home or just you remembering what happened last year?" Melissa asked him softly, placing a gentle hand on his back.

"It's everything, Bella." Jackson admitted, looking over at her. "For one it's that stupid foster care!"

"What happened?" Melissa asked him.

"My court ordered social worker, Joanna, is abusive. Not physically but verbally, she borders on being a psychopath. My other social worker, the one that actually cares, Belinda is on vacation and all of the other women up there are snobs with sticks so far up there as-"

"Okay, I get it." Melissa cut him off with a shake of her head. "Yea, honey, mental images."

"Sorry but anyway, it's just that they don't really care. They're just there for the money which can't be very much considering how crappy it is up there." Jackson grumbled to her. "Bella, I don't want to go back."

"I don't know what other choice we have, Jack." Melissa sighed softly, "I don't want you to go back but

what we can do? Runaway?"

"We could-"

"We have no money, Jacks." Melissa pointed out, "No money, no car, no place to go. Running isn't an option."

"So what do we do?" Jackson asked her sadly, reaching for her hand.

As his warm hand slipped around her much smaller hand, she looked up at him with teary brown eyes. "We tough it out. Together."

"Together?" Jackson whispered unsure.

"Together."

xxx

The rest of the night was spent in complete silence. Neither one of them slept because of the impending separation come daybreak. They just laid on her bed, curled up with one another, relishing in the fact that for a few hours they had each other back. Even for just a few hours. When the sun peeked through the curtains, neither one of them was any rush to move because they knew that if they moved then that meant it was real. That they were losing each other once again.

"I don't want to get up." Melissa whispered into his t-shirt.

"Me neither, Bella." Jackson kissed her head.

He chose not to mention how good it felt to have her soft, warm body pressed up against his or how good to felt to have her soft skin easily accessible to his hands. He left out how good it felt to have some sort of physical contact with her or how he wanted to roll them over and kiss her senseless until neither one could breath.

"I don't think we have a choice." Melissa mumbled into his shirt, pressing into him a little more, trying to get as close as possible. "Not close enough."

"Breakfast," Evan smiled sympathetically as he walked in with a tray. "I figured you might want to eat in here."

The sight that met his eyes was not as shocking as it should have been. Seeing the teenage best friends huddled on the bed to avoid having to separate was sad and he just wanted to tell Jackson to stay but he knew it that it wasn't possible.

"Bella," Jackson mumbled into her black hair. "Bella, we have to eat."

Melissa nodded and moved to sit up. She took the tray from her mother and settled it over her legs. Two glasses of her mother's iced tea, two plates with blueberry syrup and maple bacon was set in front of them and despite that, neither one could work up the appetite to eat.

"Jackson, I called your social worker, I have to have you back by eleven." Evan told the sixteen year old, "So feel free to shower and do whatever it is you need to do to get ready."

"Thanks Evan." Jackson nodded, absently stroking his best friend's hair, combing his fingers through the silky black Cherry scented hair.

Evan nodded solemnly and left the room. His daughter was in more pain than he had ever seen her in and knowing that there was nothing he could do was breaking his heart. The best friends, who had been inseparable since the day they were born, were forced to separate and it was slowly killing them both.

xxx

By eleven, they had managed to eat and get ready for the long miserable day ahead of them. When eleven rolled around, they walked downstairs with solemn expressions, clinging tightly to each other and unable to keep the tears from leaking from their eyes. Evan mumbled a short goodbye to his wife who was glaring at them from the stairs and ushered them to the car. The twenty minute drive to the foster care facility seemed short and as they walked in the door, it was painfully obvious that they didn't want to be there.

"I'm going to miss you," Jackson muttered to Melissa as Evan went to sign him in at the desk.

"I don't want you to leave me again." Melissa whimpered into his chest, nuzzling her face in his t-shirt. "I'll miss you too much."

"I'll miss you too, baby." Jackson whispered pressing a kiss into her soft black hair. "I love you, sweet girl."

"I love you too." Melissa sighed, tears pooling in her eyes as she pulled away from him.

"Please don't cry!" Jackson whispered, brushing her lower lashes with his thumb, tracing the tears from her eyes. "I don't like to see you cry."

"I'll try to come visit you more often." Melissa promised, looking up at him.

"I'm counting on that." Jackson chuckled quietly, pulling away as the soft click of heels echoed behind him. "I have to go now. Bye Bella."

"Bye Jack." Melissa mumbled tearily, watching turn toward his social worker.

Without another word, Melissa turned toward her father and let him lead her out of the foster care facility and to his car. Evan watched his daughter curl up in the passenger seat and lean her head on the cool glass of the window. When she cried the whole ride home, that was when he knew that something had to be done.

This wasn't just killing Jackson. This was killing both of them.

So, Dally2, my wonderful friend, this is the answer to your question of what made Jackson completely lose it! For my other readers out there, if you haven't read the last chapter, you'll have to read that one to understand this one :)

Anyways, the trailer for Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows was released on iTunes the other day and it was FREAKING AMAZING! Robert Downey Jr. dresses like a woman, which he should never do again! He's adorable and I love him but he would make a horrible cross-dresser, he's simply to built for it!

'Collide' by Howie Day was my most played song while writing this chapter...at least the second half of it anyway :)

Enjoy my Loves,

RobertDowneyJrLove