I apologize for it being so short... I don't mean for a cliff hanger...or maybe I do! But anywho! Please don't forget to R&R if you like what you are reading thus far.

'Stop being so foolish Romulus…I raised you better. You see what lies ahead of you and you know what needs to be done…exactly what could I say to you that will help you realize what you must do? Nothing….exactly nothing. My input would not make things clearer for you…'

He wanted to hit his head against the wall as he felt nothing but guilt and pressure. Sure, the smile and the laughing was a good ploy for the time being until he found himself alone for a moment, but he couldn't hide it anymore. It sucked. Seriously, it sucked because he was supposed to be enjoying time in a different environment and to be satisfied that Purrsephone was happy, but he could feel the beginnings of being smothered.

Too much affection… Too much praise…

It didn't help that his familiar kept invading what little space he had within his head. He really couldn't focus even now as he sat with Purrsephone in sheer silence, the high sun kissing the gentle forest floor through the thickets of lush tree tops. This would be one's time to reflect and relax, but Purrsephone's want for his attention at all times was becoming quite bothersome for him.

"Rommy…pass the grapes." Purrsephone nudged him gently as she lied on her stomach, sporting a small bikini as they rested by the gentle edge of the lake side. She looked up to the grey male through her dark shades and could see the brood upon his face as well as feel it. It worried her. "Rom…" She called again with a little more force before it caught his attention.

"Hm?"

He looked over to her for a moment before giving her a small smile; offering her some grapes before he took a deep sigh.

"Are you not enjoying yourself here with me? Is something the matter? You seem…bothered." Purrsephone asked with some concern as she sat up and rested her head on his exposed shoulder. Deep down… she assumed that he was still thinking about Clawdeen.

"I'm alright…"

But maybe she was right… Clawdeen ran through his mind every now and again, but it wasn't as she was to think. In a way, he felt rather selfish and a bad guy for letting this relationship get out of hand like it did and having to be the one to break it to her. He thought that this was just a phase and nothing super serious would come out of it. He was wrong and it wasn't until the long train ride that he came to realize that he was far deeper than he thought possible.

Purrsephone loved him; it was in the gleams of her feline like eyes as he looked into them. It was the way she smiled to him and clung on to him. He didn't realize how much meaning was behind those words she would whisper to him every once in a while…

'I love you. I need you'. He thought it would dissipate much like teenage love and summer days… More surprised that she hadn't moved on to another like she did sometimes

"…Purrsephone…" The way he spoke her name bothered her. His tone, his demeanor, the slight tenseness in his body…all pointed to something much greater than she was ready to handle.

She looked to him with raised brows; an arm interlocked with his as she planted a loving kiss on masculine deltoids. "Yes..?" She almost too afraid to answer as he looked back at her with those deep green orbs that ensnared her.

It bothered him. It really tore him apart that he was thinking the way he was at this moment; not even a day on the lake.

His silence felt like an eternity to her; she knew. She just knew what was going on in his mind of his. It had been prevalent for about a month or so and no matter how much she would try to make him see only her, she knew his attention was elsewhere… "It's about her, isn't it?"

Romulus looked to her and shook his head gently; sighing as his gaze ran back to skim the calm waters before them. "It is nobody but me… I am just going through some things right now and it wouldn't be fair if I kept you wanting to wait."

The way he spoke felt like scratching to her ears; the way he looked at her made her heart ache and flutter into silence as she tried to catch her breath. "So… you are breaking up with me?" She didn't want him to sugar coat anything for her at this moment for she felt this was coming, but wasn't aware when it would happen. Though she was grieving for having lost something that she worked so hard for so long to keep around, she felt certain anger towards him and he felt it. He understood. "You are going to break up with me and go back to that bitch in New Salem…" Her voice hid venom as she looked at him; gaining distance from him as she now stood with him.

"…There is no need for name calling…"

"No! There is because that is exactly what you are going to do! I can't believe you right now!" She had never been so angry in her life. Her she was-distraught and torn while he kept his cool, not even giving her the benefit to feel her frustration. "Were you fucking her behind my back also, Romulus?! Huh?" She pushed him on the arm a few times as she bit the bottom of her lip.

He took it. Every push and hit she could muster; his attention kept to the calm water as he let her do as she pleased. "You know that isn't true…"

"I don't know! I never knew apparently! After everything I had done for you and said to you…" Purrsephone couldn't help but tear up as she voiced her hurt towards the male who she gave her heart. "You are a lying bastard!"

"Purrsephone…" He couldn't stand to hear her cry. It shattered to hear a woman cry. He turned to face her and brought her into his embrace, but that didn't help. He couldn't comfort her as he should have as a boyfriend and it pained him because he wasn't the type of guy to play with emotions like that. Growing up with nothing but females made that so.

She pushed him away from her as hard as she could; huffing heavily as she kept her cold glare at him. She wasn't going to hear anymore right now…he wasn't going to come out looking like a victim. "Why are you doing this to me?" She asked in disbelief as she realized that this was for real and this was her right now. "If you leave me…then I will have nobody…I won't live with myself knowing that you ran back to Clawdeen. What had she done for you, Romulus? Were you not the one who told me that she turned you down when you told her how you felt…?"

"This isn't about Cla—"

SMACK!

"Enough..I-I don't want to hear anymore!" Purrsephone demanded as she steadied her shaking hand; recovering from the slap she just inflicted on Romulus. Hard… She looked to him wide eyed at what she had just done. She just lost herself and forgot who was before her; a man who was trying to explain himself, but she wouldn't let him and fell apart

He bit the bottom of his lip as he tried to reclaim himself. His face stung intensely; a glowing hot red singed into his flesh, slowly it began to welt. Romulus was shocked. The impact made him think that maybe this was for the better… Maybe what he had been hearing was true from the get-go and he hated himself for not listening a little closer, but he couldn't be mad at her. She was entitled to feel as she was and he understood, but… at this point he couldn't help her any more than himself.

He picked up his shirt from a nearby tree; placing his hands within his pockets before looking towards the sun that reached him from the thick tops of the trees.

Purrsephone watched. All she could do was watch him walk back on the trail to the cabin that the two was going to share on the property… He vanished and that is when she lost it.

...To be continued