"Dammit! I don't even know what to do anymore!" Gillian cried, falling onto the couch.

"I don't even see why the hell you let him in here," Nick mumbled.

"Because Stacy kicked him and he couldn't move. I wasn't going to leave him on the front porch!"

"I would have..." Stacy smiled and sat down beside Gillian. "I want to stay here with you all night and get ice cream and chick flicks and shit, but we both have work in the morning. And I would encourage you to skip work tomorrow but-"

"That would be imature and childish," Gillian finished.

"I knew you'd come up with something. So... I love ya, babe. I'll come by after work. Let me know what he does." She hugged Gillian and then stood up, leaving.

"I should probably go too..." Nick whispered. "You have my number?"

"Yeah."

"Call me... for anything. Even if you... need help with a math problem. I'm here for you."

"Thank you Nick. Good night."

"See ya later." He smiled and left as well.

.:.

"I... I can't even believe you dad. I don't even know what to say. So... until you make things better. Just don't talk to me. You cheated on her twice? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Please... Emily stop. I cheated on her once and that was put behind us."

"Then why'd you two break up this time? Because of something YOU did. I know it."

"Shouldn't you be doing homework or something?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you be loving Gillian or something? Oh, wait... You messed that up. YOu can't hold onto anything in your life! I'm the only woman who has stuck around and that's because I don't have a choice! Mom left! All those other sluts that you had one night stands with left! And now Gillian's leaving. And I thought you two were meant to be, but I should have known that she was way too good for you. You're a jerk."

"Hey! You are not allowed to talk to me like that!"

"Has anybody else?" she asked, walking closer to him. "Dad... Somebody has to do it and we both know that Gillian is too scared to do it because she doesn't want to 'hurt your feelings'... and if it has to come from your own daughter... then so be it. You're a jerk. I'm not surprised in the least bit that she doesn't want to be around you. What the hell did you do?"

"Emily! Stop, right now!"

"Why? Because I have a good point? I can't believe you. Gillian loved you! You've been waiting nine years for something like this... and then you go an ruin it? Who the hell could have possibly been better than Gill? I don't even get this!" She threw her hands into the air and shook her head. "Whatever. I'm done talkig to you... Just looking at you is pissing me off more than I can stand. Good night. Fix. This. I'm so serious. She's not going to want to be in a relationship with you, but at least let her know that you are truly sorry. At least I would hope that you are truly sorry."

"Emily..." he whispered in a raspy voice. Shaking his head, he looked at her and took a deep breath. "Stop yelling at me."

"I did. Are you going to explain? Because I would really like to know what's going on."

"It's hard to explain." It was easy as hell to explain, but he wasn't going to tell her what her mother did. That'd ruin everything. She couldn't have two screwed up parents. "Maybe you should stay with your mum a couple days."

"Maybe I should," she agreed angrily. "See ya later. Let me know when her heart isn't broken anymore. One more thing."

He sighed and readied himself for more yelling.

"You let her believe that you loved her. She fell for you dad! She was exactly how you wanted her to be for so long... and then you went and ruined everything. You broke her heart! Figure this out, because I'm so frickin' pissed with you, it's not even funny!"

.:.

"Listen to me. Please. Just give me... like... like five bloody minutes, alright?" he begged, stepping towards her desk.

"Why do you even care, Cal?" she asked.

"Because I love you." He looked genuinely hurt that she didn't know that.

"You wouldn't have slept with another woman if you actually loved me!" she cried, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. "I can't do this, Cal. Go away."

"I really need to talk to you," he said. "You can do this. Listen, darling..."

"Do not call me that," she said quickly. "I am not your darling. Or love. Got that?"

"Yeah. Okay. But pleast, just listen."

"Talk. Fucking spit it out, Cal!"

He was surprised, but it didn't last. He had a chance to talk. He needed to spit it out. "You keep jumping around the whole 'I don't love you' or 'I never want to see you again' thing because you are scared of hurting my feelings. You are scared of telling me something that I don't want to hear. And you should know... that this hurts like hell. I'm fuckin' dying here and I need you to understand that whatever you do... I'm not leaving. Even if you never want to see this face again, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere and you couldn't give me one good reason. I'm not going to leave it at this."

"At what?"

"I'm not going to let us seperate because of what happened between Zoe and I. You don't know what happened, but I do! I know that I didn't sleep with her... I didn't even kiss her, Gill!" He took a deep breath and his face flashed innocence. "I'm not leaving it like this. I refuse to run away from the situation like I always do. I am in love with you. Tell me everything. Tell me what's on your mind, please. Rather than tell me to just leave... tell me what you're thinking. Please."

She stared at him for a moment and then took a deep breath. "Cal... please just-"

"Don't tell me to leave, Gillian," he said angrily. "I'm not running away this time. I want to fix things. I need your help to do that."

"Why the hell was she even near you, Cal?" He shrugged, and she laughed. "See? That's what I can't do. Don't just tell me that you don't know!"

"This is good, Gill! You're telling me what's wrong and now... I can go figure it out?"

"Alright, Cal. I'm glad to see that you're making an effort here."

He smiled and turned away, leaving.

.:.

Loker quickly walked into her office and said, "I'm sorry for being nosy, but I saw this and... now I need to show you it. You might not like it, but by the end you definitely will." He waved a disk in the air and smiled.

"Put it in," she whispered.

Love Don't Run by Steve Holy