Ace was sitting on the edge of his bed when she awoke the next morning, he was in the middle of buttoning up his daddy-o shirt, she crawled over behind him and wrapped her arms round his shoulders, she could feel the tension in his chest and she knew then that he was back to his usual ways.

Her heart sank as he passed her the dress she had worn last night.

"Did you mean it when you said you needed me last night?" She asked, hoping for something more then a small response.

He smirked. "Think we both had too much to drink, A guy will say anything to get laid." He replied, he was lying, he had only had one beer last night.

Disappointment rushed through her body.

"C'mon get dressed, I'll drive ya home." He commanded as she slipped the dress over her head. "I got work."

She hummed a reply as she got off the bed and began to straighten out her dress.

He drove her home in silence, he chewed a toothpick while she plucked her eyebrows with a pair of tweezers, the car came to a stop once they had reached her house and she put the tweezers in her purse, he pulled her in for a kiss.

The kisses they had shared last night had been warm and gentle, she thought maybe they would stay that way but the kiss he had just given her was as cold as ever.

She got out of the car and shut the door about to tell him something but he had already driven off the moment the car door shut.

She watched him drive off, the gentle Ace that had appeared last night had disappeared along with his car, she had lost him.

Christmas had come and gone and the day was New Years Eve.

Rebecca had gotten herself a job at the local grocery store, she sat on the counter, bored as ever, as she smoked a cigarette not caring if her boss was watching or not, she saw Billy Tessio walk in.

"Alright, Chambers?" He asked as he placed a loaf of bread on the counter as she hopped off and went to the cash register.

"Same old." She replied. "That's ten cents." She asked holding out her hand and he took out two nickles from his pocket and placed them in her hands. "You with Ace?"

"Nah I got to get ready for my hot date with Connie tonight, think it might be the night."

"You say that every time." She chuckled and he shot her a frown.

"You'll see." He winked at her as he grabbed the loaf. "You spending tonight with Ace?"

"Probably. Like I do everyday." She sighed watching him as he gave her a wave and walked away.

She leaned her elbow on the counter and put her chin on her fist, she was bored, not just today but from everyday. It seemed all she did in life was work and then see Ace, where they either went to Irby's, played chicken or fished, they never really talked.

As she finished up at work and locked the doors, Ace's Cadillac was parked outside but he was nowhere in sight, she looked around for any sight of him but he wasn't around, she grunted as she walked a little further until she reached the alley-way to the back of Blue Point Diner, she saw the back of him leaning against the wall and the switch-blade in his hand, he was threatening someone.

She walked closer towards him and his victim hoping to see who it was, she let out a small breath of shock as she saw Charlie Hogan standing there with a freshly bloody nose, she ran towards the pair.

"What are you doing, Ace?" She yelled, grabbing at his arm. "Stop it."

"Leave, Rebecca. This is between me and Charlie." He warned her. "I told Charlie what I would do to him if he ever came back and he hasn't listened."

"Look, Ace. I was just picking up a few things." Charlie responded, gulping at the sight of the knife.

"That why you were watching her, huh?" Ace asked, the knife inches away from Charlie's face.

"Stop it!" Rebecca yelled grabbing at his arm, he pushed her away and she was met with the back of Ace's right hand, she yelped as she felt the stinging, it had been an accident but he looked like he couldn't have cared any less.

"I told you to leave." Ace simply stated, spitting at the ground.

"Don't touch her." Charlie glared.

An 'Oooh' came from Ace's mouth as it formed an 'O'. "Don't tell me what to do, Charlie." He put the knife to Charlie's cheek and gently dragged it down, blood seeped out and Rebecca and Charlie winced. "Now that's your final warning, Hogan." He smirked as he took it away and put the knife back into his pocket

Ace grabbed Rebecca by the arm and pulled her away, she looked over at Charlie and gave him a sympathetic smile as he looked at the ground and kicked his feet.

"Why did you do that?" She asked as she got into his car. "How could you?"

"Not in the mood to play twenty questions, Rebecca." He responded as he started the engine of his car. She folded her arms and sat back as they drove to the back-yard of his house, joining Vince, Fuzzy and Tess as they drank the new year in.

She sat on the bonnet of the car as she watched Ace carve another snake onto Vince's arm much to Tess' annoyance.

"You guys need to grow up, you can't sit around and do this all your life, can you?" Tess asked and Rebecca wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah we can." Vince shot her down. "We're Cobras, we do what we want."

Rebecca watched as Ace grinned, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"What's up with you?" Fuzzy asked noticing how fed up she was.

"It's probably her time of month, Fuzz-Ball." Ace replied for her as she shot him a glare. "If you're going to be like this all day, Rebecca. You might as well get your ass home, sure your father has stuff for you to do."

"Yeah go make him a sandwich or something, we don't need you here." Vince laughed and the boys all grinned together.

"Well I don't need you." She shot at Ace as she grabbed her jacket and left. "Not any more." She muttered to herself as she stormed out of the yard.

The next morning she woke up in her bed, "Happy Fucking New Year, Rebecca." She told herself as she got up, going into the bathroom she turned the shower on and stepped into the bath, the water was freezing and if she wan't awake when she awoke she sure would be now. As she washed her hair she thought of Ace and how cold he had been to her, her heart tried to make excuses for him but her head knew he would never change.

She would be stuck in this town forever, doing the same thing day by day, watching Ace bully and control everyone around him, as she towel dried her hair her mind wandered to Charlie Hogan, she wondered when he was leaving, he said he would be gone soon, they hadn't spoken to each other in months and yesterday was the first time she had seen him for what seemed like a long time ago, she had been distracted by Ace's brother, who she hadn't seen since he walked out of the diner last month, so many questions were running through her head, where had he gone? And why wasn't she questioned about boosting his car?

She couldn't ask Ace, he didn't like questions especially when it involved his brother, he'd just push her to the side and Jack Mudgett wouldn't be any use either. Knowing that she would never find out, she grabbed a pair of peddle pushers and a blouse and put it on, before grabbing her shoes and running down the stairs, she sat on the bottom step as she slipped the shoes onto her bare feet.

She saw her brother Chris walk through the door holding the mail. He waved a letter in front of her face and she snatched it off him.

"Thanks." She heard him sarcastically say, she would have hit him round the head with the letter but she wasn't in the mood, she folded the letter and put it in the front pocket of her peddle pushers along with a carton of cigarettes. "Where you going?" She heard him calling out, knowing that her chores hadn't been done.

"Out." She called back to him, swinging the front door open and stepping out.

She looked at Ace's old Ford that had been parked at the drive way, debating if she should drive or walk, she decided she would give her legs some long needed exercise. It didn't take her long to get to the Hogan's residence, she knocked at the door.

"Hello, Rebecca," Mrs. Hogan greeted at the front door.

"Is Charlie home?" Rebecca asked. "I wanted to see if he's okay." She wasn't sure if his mother had seen his face or not.

"Oh he's fine, he was a little shaken up, it's not everyday you get mugged but he's fine, much to my protests he won't go to the station and report it." His mother sighed and Rebecca gave her a sympathetic look.

"Is he in or is he up there?" She asked referring to Castle View.

"Oh he's here, he's packing the last of his things. Why do boys always leave things to the last minute." She told her as she motioned for Rebecca to get inside. "Would you like me to fix you something to eat?"

"No thanks." Rebecca sweetly replied, feeling sick at the mention of his mother's food, she remembered the last time she ate it. "I'll go get him for you." Rebecca gave her a smile in appreciation and it disappeared as soon as his mother left the room, she couldn't stand acting sweet and innocent.

"Rebecca?" Charlie asked, his eyes widened as he walked from out of the kitchen, his mouth half full with his breakfast.

"Wanted to see if you're okay." She told him, looking at a plaster that was stuck on his cheek. He smiled and nodded his head slightly. "So when are you leaving?"

"Today."

"Today?" She repeated back. "You weren't going to say goodbye?"

"C'mon, Rebecca. You told me you never wanted to see me again." Charlie scratched the back of his head.

"I was angry." She frowned.

"Well I was going to but that's when Ace found me." He told her, grabbing a box and putting a few of his belongings inside. "He was pretty angry."

"I saw that." She replied and then sighed. "So you need help packing?" She offered, she wouldn't really help but she had nothing planned for the day so she figured she'd just stand there and watch him load his stuff into his mother's car.

"Okay." He smirked as he shoved the box in her hands, she frowned and grunted as she nearly dropped it. "It's not that heavy."

"I know, otherwise you wouldn't be able to carry it." She shot at him and they sniggered together.

She stood there watching as he put boxes in the trunk of the car, out of all the cobras Charlie would have been the last person she expected to leave, she thought he'd be here forever, he always used to say that he wanted to stay here and have a family. Not in the mood to say a final goodbye she excused herself and walked home.

Her mind wandering all over the place but she was interrupted by Charlie who had driven up to her in the car.

"Charlie?" She asked.

"Get in." He told her, he leaned his body forward and reached over and opened the car door, she got in. "It's not too late, you can come with me."

"What?" She asked, taken by surprise, it wasn't like him to be this straight forward. "Don't be silly, my whole life is here."

"What life?" He scoffed and she couldn't answer. "You want to spend the rest of your life sitting in the passenger side of Ace's car or do you want to be the one in the driving seat?" She looked at him, it was one of the most meaningful things she had ever heard and she wondered how it had came from Charlie's mouth.

"Uh-" She stuttered as he carried on.

"He'll never be who you want him to be, you know?"

"And how do you know what I want?" She spat back.

"You want someone who will let you in, that will love you and tell you how they feel." Charlie answered, she looked away from him. "You'll never break through to him. He'll never break."

She knew what he was saying was the truth, she couldn't sit around and wait for him to let her in, who knows how long she'd be waiting for. But she couldn't leave with Charlie, she didn't love him, she had to be selfish.

"I can't, Charlie." She opened the car door and got out. "Have a nice lonely life." She slammed the door.

"You're gonna be the lonely one." He muttered to her.

She slammed the door shut as soon as she got into her bedroom and threw herself onto the bed, she laid there watching the ceiling, her dad was out so she knew she wouldn't get caught smoking in her room so she took the pack of smokes from her pocket and put one to her lips. About to light it with a match from the corner of her eye she noticed the letter Chris had given to her, she had forgotten all about it.

Deciding now was the time she ripped it open and as she read the words the unlit cigarette fell onto the bed, if it was alight it would have started a fire. Her face turned white as she got up from the bed and she felt like she was floating, she grabbed her small suitcase and shoved whatever she could find into it and ran down the stairs and jumped from the porch to the gravel, her feet running as fast as they could until she reached Charlie's house.

He was there and about to get into the driver's seat, Billy stood by the car about to watch his best friend leave town, he smirked when he saw Rebecca walking towards them.

"Guess what?" He grinned like he had won the jackpot at bingo. "I did it! Me and Connie finally did it. I told you."

"Good for you, Billy." She replied throwing the suitcase to the ground, Billy looked at it.

"You going somewhere, Rebecca?" He asked, tensing up a little.

She didn't reply, Charlie turned to her.

"That offer still stand, Hogan?" She asked and he grinned and nodded his head.

"What offer? What's going on?" Billy frowned, looking back and forth between the two.

"Shut up." Charlie and Rebecca both told him in unison.

She took out a set of car keys and placed them onto Billy's hands. "Can you give these to him?" His eyes widened as he looked at the key to the Ford, she trusted him, she knew he wouldn't take off with it.

"Rebecca, you can't leave, he'll kill you, think he'll even kill me if I tell him." Billy whined, she placed her hand over his mouth and gave him a hug, he looked at her strangely that was the closest to affection that they would ever get.

"It was nice knowing you, Billy-Boy." She smiled before she picked up the suitcase and threw it into the boot before jumping into the passenger side.

"But?" Was all Billy could say, he had been shocked to the core, Rebecca Chambers was leaving town with Charlie Hogan!

She was leaving and she didn't know if she was ever coming back.

Charlie gave Billy a manly hug and they said there goodbyes before he hoped into the driver's seat.

"You really wanna do this?" He asked, giving her a questionable look.

"Yep." She stated as she chewed hard on a piece of gum. "Let's go."

He started the engine and they drove past the town that they had grew up in for the last time, he suddenly stopped the car and she looked at him.

"What are you doing?" She questioned, her brow furrowed.

"You sure you wanna do this? 'Cause there's no turning back." He asked and then he nodded his direction to the left, he had parked outside Pop's Tyre Shop and she could see a pair of legs sticking out from the bottom of a car. "You want to talk to him?"

"No." She replied as she watched Ace roll out from under the car and proceeded to walk over to a tool box and take out a wrench. He had grease all over his white shirt and the buckle of his belt was undone, he was completely oblivious to the fact that she was out there.

"You sure?" Charlie asked again.

"Yeah."

Charlie started the engine again and she took one good last look at Ace as he drove away, would that be the last time she ever saw him? She didn't know, they drove through the bridge, she looked through the rear view mirror and studied the town long and hard before it had disappeared into the distance

"I don't need him any more." She whispered to herself looking down at the crumpled letter that was in her hands, she threw it out of the window and it landed on the side of the road.

As soon as she read the words she had to leave. The letter that would change her life, the letter that confirmed she was pregnant with Ace Merrill's child.

The End

This chapter and story was inspired by Cher's Believe.

Sequel - Officially Tied

Ahhh the cliffhangers of all cliffhangers, review!

Big huge thank you to every one who has supported this story reviewed/favourited/alerted it really does mean the world to me without that I don't think I would have carried on, so thank you! Shout out to the reviewers SpeshaSpak, m-fashion, BRSGurl, dreamer 3097, KL inc, girlmosh, xcobrasqueenx3, JustAnotherGoofball, skelterhelter, Nurse Ansalong, LadyLee87, Someone in the Shadows 13, EMMAYOUKNOWWHO, Sky Santana, Hollywood Angel, Hollie, Me, Nightcrawlerlover, Aurelia'sLove, cherryflavour, StandxByxMe17, Lovely, WolfxAngel, crystal300, HermioneandMarcus, KailynnandTatum251, Tazz, XOlovelyladybugXO, xTribeFanx, Katy, Helena, Spellbound Slave, MrsAceMerrill, Chailyn Kamaria, vampangel25, Izout, CastleRockGirl, Guest, WithLoveForever, Silver-Assassin7 Whoa that took ages haha and yes if you kindly review this story I will go back and put your name on the list :D

Summary to the up and coming sequel: 'But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing's changed at all? And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before?' It's been years since she had stepped foot in this town, years since she had seen that face. Rebecca returns to Castle Rock but she's not alone..

(The words in Italics are from the song Pompeii by Bastille)