Chapter 25

Six months had passed and Jalyse was finally back to her old self again. She was going to school and working part time at a local diner, just across the way from school. The tips were great and they didn't make her work the graveyard shifts, which she was thankful for. It was a beautiful night as Jalyse walked out of her apartment and down the street toward the diner. She had on her black and red uniform with a white apron tied around her waist and her hair was pinned up in a messy clip. The uniform matched her red streaks that she'd put in her hair, after hearing that she'd gotten this job. She walked in the diner a few minutes later and smiled at Sandra her boss, who had become a fast friend.

"Hey Sandy, how's business tonight?" Jalyse asked cheerfully. It was a Saturday night, one of the nights Jalyse didn't have school so she volunteered to take the shift, needing the extra money.

"Actually it's slow. Though, give it another hour and you'll be jam packed. You got Susie's normal section tonight." Sandra replied, busy at the register, going over the last shift's receipts.

"Figures that girl never shows up anymore, does she?" When Sandra just shot her a knowing look, Jalyse laughed and got to work. She walked over and got a pitcher of coffee ready, pouring the contents in the pot, and hummed softly as country music played from the nearby radio. She smiled when customers started coming in and immediately got to work, taking their orders and whatnot.

By nine o'clock, the place was jam packed, but Jalyse was making some mean tips. Finally, it got to the point where there was only one person in the diner and Jalyse was busy bussing tables, cleaning them off and whatnot. She would be going home in an hour with a pocket full of money and a bright smile. Suddenly, the radio began playing a song and Jalyse smiled as Why by Jason Aldean began to play through the speakers, immediately turning it up. It reminded her of her and Mark's relationship, but she'd moved on from that and was focused on making herself happy now.

He leaned against the counter, watching her. Jalyse was so intent on what she was doing and the song that played that she hadn't even noticed him. He smiled, peering at her over the top of his yellow tinted glasses. Yes, the man did own a pair of them. He was clad in a tight pair of jeans that fit all the right places with a denim vest. His hair was pulled back into a braid with a bandana around his head.

"Guy down there asked for a cup of coffee." Sandra said as she passed Jalyse, heading towards the office.

"On it boss lady." Jalyse replied with a smirk, sticking her tongue out when Sandra shot her a look, and laughed. She turned around, carrying a really heavy tub of plates and silverware, not looking up, and placed it in the back. She then walked back out, pulling a pot of coffee from the burner, and walked over to the customer. She turned the cup over so that it was face down and poured him a cup, still not looking up as she listened to the song.

Mark shook his head, reaching out to take the cup with one hand and gently stopped her from walking away with the other. "How much do I owe ya, darlin'?" He asked in a low drawl.

Jalyse's eyes widened in shock when she heard his voice and felt his hand on her wrist. She slowly looked up and stared back at the man she hadn't seen in six long months, watching him sip the cup of coffee she'd poured him. Her teal eyes held nothing, but shock as she held the pot in her other hand, seemingly frozen in place. She finally blinked when Sandra walked up to her, asking if she was alright, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is Jenny coming in?" She quietly asked, still frozen solid to the ground, not moving an inch.

"She's on her way now." Sandra replied, staring up at Mark suspiciously. "I don't know who you are, but you need to get your hand off my employee before I call the cops." She threatened softly, not appreciating the way this man had a hold of Jalyse's wrist.

Mark glanced down at her, tearing his eyes away from Jalyse reluctantly and instantly released her wrist, taking a step back to show he didn't mean any trouble. "Can we talk, Jalyse?" He asked softly.

"It's alright, Sandra. I know him." Jalyse informed her boss just as Jenny walked in, causing her insides to start quaking, and managed to force a smile out. "Hey girl, you missed it tonight." She laughed as the other girl said something incoherent. Jalyse wasn't hearing anything right now and hugged her before handing her the pot of coffee. "See you ladies later." She announced, waving at them, and grabbed her jacket before walking out of the diner, already knowing Mark would follow her. She had no clue what to say to him. How did he find her? Shit, he was famous, he probably hired a private tracker or something!

Mark sighed, halting when Jalyse didn't say anything, reaching out to lightly tap her shoulder, wincing when she tensed. "Please darlin', just talk to me." He pleaded. "Jalyse please."

"What do you want me to say, Mark?" She quietly spoke, taking the clip out of her hair, and shook it a little. Red streaks could clearly be seen that was mixed with the black, but she didn't turn around to face him. What could she say to him after six months? She'd finally moved on and gotten over him. What the fuck was he doing here?!

Mark sighed, moving so he was standing in front of her, gently tipping her head up by her chin so he could stare down into her eyes. His yellow glasses were pushed up on the top of his bandana covered head. "I'm sorry, Jalyse. I should have never said what I did. I never wanted to hurt you." He said softly, his green eyes shining with remorse, which was pretty much the normal for him these days.

Her teal eyes were slowly building with tears as she stared back into his emerald green orbs, her heart breaking all over again at how much remorse she saw. Just like she had six months prior on the internet with that interview. "I know you didn't and it wasn't your entire fault." She finally said, dropping her head away from his hand, and raked a hand through her hair. "I didn't know what to think when we woke up…like that." She sighed heavily and finally turned to face him. "What are you doing here?

"I came here to see you." Mark replied simply. "I wanted to apologize fer what I did that night. I'd of come a lot sooner, but uh, somethin' sorta came up." He cleared his throat awkwardly. Six months of physical therapy actually. That and it took him a long time to work up his courage, afraid she'd refuse to see him.

"Steve shattered your leg with the steel chair." Jalyse told him and turned around to see his shocked expression, her arms still wrapped around herself, and sighed heavily. "My room mate, Jessica, she's a huge fan of yours. She showed me your interview you did…" She took a few deep, calming breaths to slow her racing heart, raking a hand through her hair, and sighed heavily. "Mark, I'm not angry anymore about it. I'm not angry at you, even after everything that happened." Her voice was low and quiet, not holding the same edginess.

Mark recovered from his initial shock that she heard about that, blinking when she mentioned seeing his interview. He hadn't expected that one. He stuffed his hands in his front pockets, staring down at her intently. "How do you feel towards me, Jalyse? About me?"

"What do you mean, Mark?" She asked, staring into his green eyes intently, and sighed as she pulled her hair back up in the clip, driving her nuts since it kept falling in her face. "You know how I feel towards you. You're a jagoff and I'm a stubborn wench." She shrugged her shoulders. "That's how it's always been between us and it won't change."

Sighing, Mark reached out as if to caress the back of her cheek, but thought better of it, stuffing his hand back in his pocket, not wanting to piss her off. "What about all the good times we shared?" He asked softly. "Those don't mean nothin' to you?"

"Mark," She paused with a heavy sigh and felt her bottom lip quivering as she sniffled a little. The tears streamed down her cheeks freely as she looked up at the midnight blue sky, the stars twinkling down on them, and didn't turn to face as she wiped her tears away. "Do you know what I kept thinking about these past six months? To keep me going instead of falling?"

Mark felt his heart break at her tears. Then the pieces started dancing around in his chest, a million shards of glass at her words, afraid of what she would say. "No, Jalyse I don't." He whispered, wishing he could do or say something to ease her tears. "What did you think about?"

She shoved her hands in the front pockets of her uniform and actually laughed a little, allowing the tears to keep falling, and cleared her throat. "I kept thinking about that night on the hilltop. The night we went camping together and I fell asleep in your arms. It all made sense then. It all seemed so right and perfect. Just that one night has kept me going these past six months. Jessica asked me something that really cemented everything into place. She didn't really ask me, more like stated it, but it made me realize exactly why I was so scared to take that extra step. That extra jump."

Mark still had no idea who the Hell this Jessica was, but assumed she was a friend of Jalyse. He wondered if her being a fan of his had hurt him or helped him when it came to Jalyse. He stared down at her, green eyes full of some unreadable emotion. "What was it she said to you, Jalyse?" He finally asked, waiting breathlessly for her answer, almost afraid to hear it.

"She said that you were a very private man and that you never did an interview like that one, but what did she know. Then she said," Jalyse had to pause and closed her eyes, dropping her head forward, and sniffled a little more, regaining her train of thought. "She said, 'Not like you loved him anyway'. Those six words put everything into place and made me realize why I was so scared." She turned around to face him, her teal eyes filled with tears of hurt. Of regret. Of sorrow. More important, they were filled with unconditional love. "It made me realize that I fell deeply in love with you."

Mark's broken heart seemed to repair itself just so it could make the attempt to leap out of his chest. He stared down at her, reaching out to catch a tear that fell. "Jalyse…I love you." He whispered, placing his heart in her hands, for her to either cherish or rip to shreds. "I know I'm a…jagoff…a hard man to deal with, but I love you and I want you." He took a slow step towards her. "I've spent six months away from ya darlin', without you, and it seems like it was six eternities. Each month worse than the next. Give me one chance, Jalyse. Let me show you sunrises and sunsets again."

Just hearing those words made Jalyse's heart want to jump out of her chest as she stared back into his eyes, knowing he was telling her the truth. She didn't say a word, just walked into his arms, and buried her face in his chest, her entire body trembling, and started sobbing uncontrollably. Six months away from him had been horrible, but she'd thought she'd moved on. She was hiding the pain and sadness of being away from him behind her school work and job. "I love you so much, Mark." She croaked out, her voice cracking with pressure because of how much emotion was coursing throughout her body at the moment.

Enfolding her in his strong embrace, Mark buried his face in her hair. He wanted to whisk her off right then and there, but knew he couldn't. She still had her life here, school to finish. He inhaled raggedly. "How much more schoolin' ya got left, darlin'?" He asked huskily, bending down lower so his mouth was near her ear.

"I'm finished with it." She softly whispered and stepped back as she pulled out her diploma. Her graduation was earlier on that day as she waved it at him, a smile on her face with tears in her eyes. "I only needed to finish six months. My graduation was early this morning." She informed him before slipping the diploma back into her uniform and smiled as she raked a hand through her hair, placing her hands on her hips. "Tonight was my final night at the diner as well."

Mark felt sad that he'd come a day too late. He would've loved to have attended her graduation. Though that didn't do nothing to dim the pride and admiration he felt for her. "I'm so proud of ya darlin'." He murmured, bending down to lightly kiss her. "What're yer plans now?"

"I'm up for anything at this point." She answered honestly, hearing the sadness in his voice, and sighed deeply. "Don't feel bad, Mark. The graduation was short, sweet and simple, nothing to get bent out of shape about." She winked at him and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she stood before him.

"You feelin' up to returnin' to Texas with me, darlin'?" He asked softly, placing his hands on her shoulders, staring down into her eyes. "I know a certain mutt who'd be damned glad to see ya."

Jalyse giggled softly, knowing exactly which dog he was talking about, and nodded softly as she raked a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I want to see the sunrises and sunsets with you." She then brought his lips down on hers, passionately kissing him, and squealed when he lifted her up in his strong arms, immediately wrapping her arms around his neck, and pressed her forehead to his.

"I love you, Jalyse." He whispered, holding her tight to him, afraid if he let go, she would disappear out of his life again.

"I know, I love you too, Mark." Jalyse replied and ran her fingers through his hair, smiling softly. She knew she'd made the right decision by giving him a chance at her heart. She'd given John a chance and he'd shattered it, but she had a feeling Mark would take his chance and run with it. She also knew Mark had given her his heart and she planned on cherishing it for the rest of her life.

They both were given chances at each other, both wanted just one chance, and after the smoke cleared and the dust settled, they were finally together for all time.

The End.