And she says, "Ooh, I can't take no more."

Her tears like diamonds on the floor.

And her diamonds bring me down,

'cause I can't help her.

Now, she's down in it.

She tried her best and now she can't win.

It's hard to see them on the ground.

Her diamonds coming down.

-Rob Thomas (Her Diamonds)

He doesn't believe me at first. He just stands there, mouthing gaping open, eyes wide with disbelief.

"What?" he asks. I just look down at my feet. "But, what about Robbie?"

"I don't know," I say. "I've only figured this much out."

"Wow," he says. "Really?" I nod. He steps forward, puts his arms around me, and kisses me. I kiss him back. He pulls away. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I confirm, looking away.

"How do you know?" he asks me.

"I had a dream," I say. "When I woke up, I challenged myself about it, but then I was really happy to see you awake. I was really happy to get to see, to talk to you. I knew that my dream wasn't a lie." He just stands there. "What's wrong?"

"Are you sure?" he asks again. I nod. "And you don't love Robbie?"

"I love you," I say. "That's all I know." I step forward, kiss him on the cheek, and run out of the kitchen. I run out the door and down the hall. I hear him calling for me to come back, but I can't. I just can't.

I reach my home and open the door. I see Robbie asleep on the couch. He wakes up when I slam the door.

"You're back?" he asks. I run up the stairs crying. I run to our room and slam the door. I hear a gentle knock on the door as I sit on the bed. "Rue?"

"Go away," I say. He opens the door and walks in. Note to self: next time, lock the door.

"Rue, what's wrong?" he whispers.

"I don't know!" I yell.

"You don't know what's wrong?" he asks, confused this time.

"I don't know who I love," I confess. I look down at my hands and Robbie looks straight at me.

"What? I thought you loved me," he whispers, tears forming in his eyes.

"I did too," I say. "But now, I don't know."

"Why did it suddenly change?" he asks.

"I learned that if I love someone else, and they love me, that I don't have to marry you," I explain, tears running down my cheeks.

"Do you love him?" Robbie asks. "Do you love Conter?"

"I don't know," I say. "I really don't know." He kisses me and I kiss him back. We pull away. "I still don't know."

"Why?" he asks. "I love you, Rue."

"I can't explain it. He makes me feel special and happy."

"And I don't?" he asks in a hurt tone.

"You do, but he's different," I say. "I just can't explain it. I'm so sorry."

"I need to know. I literally need to know," he begins. "Who do you love?"

I look him in the eyes. I open my mouth to say that I don't know, but we hear another knock on the door. Robbie opens it and I see his muscles tense. It's Conter.

"Rue?" he asks. "What happened?" I can't answer, instead Robbie does.

"What happened was that you messed up her life and made her all confused. We were happy, but you had to come around and try to steal her from me!" Robbie yells.

"Robbie, stop," I whisper. I lean forward and put my hand on his arm.

"Yeah, dude, I didn't mean to do anything," says Conter.

"Are you sure? Because it really seems like you're trying to steal Rue from me!" Robbie yells again.

"Dude, I didn't mean to do anything!" Conter yells back.

"Y'all stop," I say, more assertive than last time.

"You made the first move! You kissed her!" Robbie yells.

"Once! She made the first move this time!" Conter shouts back.

I know Robbie very well, so when I notice the way his fingers are twitching, I'm worried. He's about to do something; something violent.

"You guys!" I scream at the top of my lungs. They both look at me, red faces, jaw muscles tense. "Just stop it, please!" The crying is more aggressive now. "You're not helping at all!"

I get up and storm out of the room. I slam the door behind me and run down the stairs. I run out the door and down the hall. I don't even know where I'm going. I just go.

Then, I know where I'm going. I stop dead in my tracks as I pull up to America and Ricky's house.

"I must be crazy," I whisper as I knock on the door. After about five minutes, America opens it.

"What do you want?" she asks. "Why do you need something this early?" I notice that it's 6 o'clock and mentally punch myself.

"The wedding wasn't legal," I whisper. She raises her eyebrows.

"Really?" she asks. I bite my lip and nod. "Wow." She's astonished.

"I have a question," I randomly blurt out. I wasn't planning to say that, it just happened.

"What is it?"

"Why….. Why do you have that law?" I ask. "The one about us having to get married."

She sighs. "So you won't be alone." So Ricky was right.

"What if… What if I wouldn't be alone?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" she asks, clearly curious.

"What if I loved someone else and they loved me?" I ask. She raises her eyebrows. "Just a hypothetical."

"Well then, I guess you wouldn't have to get married," she explains. "Who is it?"

"I said it was a hypothetical," I tell her.

"I know. Someone once told me they had found an elephant in an oak tree. People lie," she says in her know-it-all voice.

"I'm not sure," I whisper.

"What?" she asks, surprised I answered her at all.

"I don't know if I love the guy or Robbie," I confess. A tear runs down my face and falls off, like a cannon ball, headed straight for the floor.

She just reaches up and pokes my halo. "Remember this?" she asks. I nod. "Who'd you get it for?" I open my mouth to say Robbie, but you put your finger in front of my mouth, as if I was saying SHHHH but was paralyzed in my arms and you were helping me. "Don't tell me. Tell yourself," she whispers, pulling away her arm. She turns around and goes back inside. The door closes and I'm at a loss for words.

Was America just genuinely nice to me?