I'll grow when you grow

Let me loosen up the blindfold

I'll fly when you cry

Lift us out of this landslide

Wherever you go

Whenever we part

I'll keep on healing all the scars

That we've collected from the start

I'd rather this than live without you

For every wish upon a star

That goes unanswered in the dark

There is a dream, I've dreamt about you

Without you, Eddie Vedder

"You came back?" Ada's voice was barely above a whisper but her eyes held his in an unbreakable connection.

Tony was held hostage by her intensity. Taking a deep breath he exhaled slowly and finally tore g his eyes from hers breaking the bond. This confession might cost him the small progress he'd made with Ada. He might be about to lose everything again, but he wanted to trust that bearing it all might also buy him some grace. So he forged on.

"Yes, I came back. Two years ago." He looked at her then, trying to decipher her mood. She motioned with her head for him to continue.

"I was standing outside when you had your grand re-opening." He stopped then, trying to gauge her reaction, assessing how much damage he was causing, and he saw it in her eyes. The pain and hurt he saw reflected back made his heart hurt so much he rubbed his hand over his heart to ease the pain.

"You were there? So...? How? Why didn't you…approach me? What's changed?" Ada's voice was climbing with every word. Tony could see her emotions flickering across her face but there was one emotion that shone over all, she was angry, and rightly so.

How could he explain why he didn't stop their pain two years earlier? How could he come out of this with a semblance of hope for them?

"I...was planning to Ada. My intentions were to come to you and apologize for leaving, for not fighting for you." He looked at her with pleading eyes, trying to convey the tumultous thoughts and feelings we was battling. His pleadings were met with confusion and hurt.

Ada wanted nothing more than to forget everything, throw caution to the wind and let Tony capture her in his arms, but that couldn't be now. If she thought she knew what this conversation was going to be like, she was completely wrong. Two years ago she had been climbing out of the hole Tony created when he left, had just moved out, bought a music store and was tasting freedom from her father and aunt's overbearing hand. Yet, if Tony had come for her she would have given it all back just to be with him again, and where would they be now? Now, she was facing a man who left twice and came back, and had purposely done things that hurt her. She needed answers, and she was getting them today.

"Then what happened? What stopped you?" Ada asked again, her face unreadable except for the fierceness her eyes latched on to Tony's every move.

"I…I…uh, well, I had been keeping tabs on you through Parker. Well, not tabs per se, it was more like he knew I needed to know how you were so he made it a point to inquire from mutual friends you shared. That's how I found out you were buying a music store, that you had bought a condo, that you were moving on." Tony's eyes were focused on a point above her, as if he was reliving the events of two years ago. Yet she couldn't stand to know he had taken such pains to track her movements but had not the decency to contact her himself.

Tony knew he needed to be completely honest with Ada if they had any chance of coming back from past events. Yet, he knew it was going to get worse before it could get better, if it got better. It all hinged on Ada's willingness to forgive him.

"I came into town a few days before your event. I wanted to see you, talk to you, tell you how happy I was for you, proud, even though I had nothing to do with your triumph." He looked at her then, hoping against hope she would see the next confession as a weakness he was trying to overcome.

"I have to admit, it was easier said than done Ada. Two days before your event, I stood waiting outside your store, waiting for you to open. That's when I saw you and John." He'd been looking at the trees, trying to find strength in their branches, strength to fight for the woman he loved. He heard her gasp and found her eyes, now narrowed at him as if sensing where this story was headed.

"I didn't know who he was then, so please forgive me for what I'm about to share. I saw him hang out with you all day, I admit I followed you two, and you seemed to spend every minute by his side. You two went to lunch, with who I know now as Frank and Anna. Then, I watched as he accompanied you to various stores. I imagine, to purchase things for your store opening." Tony stopped then, now wanting to admit that he'd not only been virtually stalking Ada but took it even further; made assumptions that cost them both years of possibly being together again.

Ada was quiet. She imagined the numb feeling came from shock. She couldn't begin to understand Tony's behavior. It sounded like a fiction story, or maybe horror. She remembered the days leading up the re-opening of her story. She remembered all the time spent with John, and the culmination of it being his expression of love and her expression of regret. They had moved on from then and become comfortable friends, or so she had thought. In hindsight, she should've seen John's true motives since then, but she'd been blind by her own broken heart, trying to make something of herself to be proud of, to be someone that stood on her own two feet.

"You're wrong." She said, her words coming out slow and calm, belying her internal turmoil.

Tony stared at her then, hoping her calmness meant she would not hold his assumptions completely against him. "I know I was wrong about you and John, Ada. I'm so sorry I didn't just come up to you. You have no idea how sorry I am. So many things could've been avoided. John would have never gotten so close that he could hurt you. And we could've resolved our issues long ago". He saw her eyes flicker and moisten, he knew she was trying not to cry by the way her hands were clasped together and her thumbs kept fidgeting. He wanted to go to her and hold her in his arms. Make all these confessions and unpleasantness disappear, but he knew one move on his part would end this conference and he'd lose his chance to explain.

"No," Ada's voice became louder, "I mean, you're wrong that you had nothing to do with my triumph." She looked at him straight on now. She wanted to deliver the next words with the full meaning of her heart. "I made all those decisions with one though in mind; to prove to you that I could stand on my own. That I would not let anyone sway my mind again. I wanted you to know, if you ever came back, that you didn't break me. That even though you left me after promising love forever, I didn't need you to survive, to live. It might end up taking longer for my heart to forget you, but in my mind, you were long gone." Ada stood up then, keeping her laser focus on Tony. She saw him flinch and the pain run across his face. Oh well.

"I don't need to hear the end of your story, believe it or not, I can figure it out on my own. You saw me with John and decided not to do the mature, adult thing and approach me. Get the story from me. Instead you chose to believe what you saw, believe you were still the injured party, believe that my love for you could be so fickle I could forget all about you." Her hands were trembling now, she needed to be alone. Holding on to her tears was taking the little energy she had left.

Tony wanted to scream, this was not what was supposed to happen. They were supposed to fix everything. He was supposed to make amends and win back the love of his life. Instead, he stood there frozen, watching as Ada ended his poor attempt at redemption.

Ada turned just before going inside the house, she was done. "I thank you for taking care of me the last few days. I thank you for being honest with me, and I'll be very grateful if you left my home now and didn't come back. We have hurt each other enough Tony, I don't want to do it again. Take care and I will only add, God bless you."

For those of you still following my story, Thank YOU. I've been completely blocked but I thought I'd try again. I really don't want to leave this undone. Hang in there with me. I've already started the next chapter.

Please review. Constructive criticism is welcomed!