A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! And a special thank you to an anonymous reviewer who identified themselves only as "me". Thanks so much for the great constructive criticism, "me". It really helped me out in setting one of the mood themes for this chap. :-)

Chapter Eight- Sydney's POV

My conscience was weighing me down. I wasn't sure what I was doing. I knew that what I had done was wrong. Digging to find out a secret that Vaughn obviously didn't want to share. But Vaughn was my confident. I told him everything, and until now I had thought there were no secrets between us.

When I realized he was keeping something from me, it hurt. It hurt badly. And pain, especially from someone you care about more than anything, can make us do strange things. And what pain makes us do isn't always right.

I felt as though I were in one of those sitcoms or kids' movies. You know, the ones with the little angel and devil who sit on the person's shoulder when they're trying to make a decision? The angel and devil always argue and fight. The angel is pure and white, always with a golden halo and sparkling wings. The air shimmers around it. The little devil is in a bright red body suit with curved, pointy horns and a wickedly sharp tail. Evil radiates from it and it speaks in a deep, intimidating voice.

They argue and try to persuade the person to choose they're side; the angel is the right choice and the devil is the wrong one.

The angel always wins.

Inside my head, the angel and devil were screaming.

The angel said *~Sydney! Vaughn doesn't want you to know about this! He'll tell you when he feels ready. Don't go prying into personal matters! You hate when Will does that! Don't go to that house, Sydney.~*

The devil retorted ^~Come on, Syd. Don't listen to that goodie two shoes. You know what you want to do. You want to find out why Josie's in a safe house. You want to find out what Vaughn is avoiding-~^

*~You also want Vaughn to like you. You know you like him. You want the feeling returned. How do you think he'll feel about you if you go behind his back like this?~*

^~ But Syd, think about how much he'll like you if you find out what's bothering him and you can comfort him! Just like when you found about your mother, Syd. You know what you want. Do the thing you want, Syd.~^

*~ Do the right thing, Sydney.~*

I didn't know what to do. Both the angel and the devil were… right. Too right. The angel was supposed to win. I was supposed to be a good girl and listen to the angel so that both characters disappeared in a puff of glitter and fire. But my life never went the way it was supposed to.

So I scribbled a note about another trip, grabbed my coat, and headed out the door for the airport.

5 HOURS LATER

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door of 74 Alpine Road. No one answered. I didn't hear a sound.

"Hello? Anyone home?" I called softly. "This is umm… Courtney Vaughn. We spoke on the phone." I blurted the first name that came to mind, not wanting to give my real name just in case.

There was a small rustling from inside and the door opened just a crack, only wide enough for me to see one of the clear blue eyes I recognized from the picture.

I stepped into the house and she shut the door quickly behind me and locked it.

I glanced at her face and noticed that though it was clear that she was the girl in the picture, she looked very different. Reddish circles curved under her eyes, frowning against her pale skin. Her blonde hair was matted and darkened, as though it hadn't been exposed to sunlight in years. The bright smile in the picture was merely a memory now, for it was gone from her lips and replaced by a thin line. The sparkle had faded from her crystal blue eyes, which now held only fear and loneliness.

This was what came of going into hiding, or maybe losing a love. I didn't particularly want to experience the first and certainly not the second again.

"Josie Geller?" I asked, though it came out more as a statement than a question.

"Yes." So much emotion radiated from that one word and it sounded as though she had experienced all of the world's suffering and pain. Glancing at her and listening to her speak could make a person who hadn't been through the pain I've been through break down into sobs.

"My name is Sydney Bristow. I came here to hear a story and discover a truth. But… I don't think I can go through with it now, seeing you up close and… I'm sorry to bother you like this, barging in on your personal life," I said slowly. I was about to turn towards the door but Josie touched a trembling hand to my arm.

Her eyes filled with hope and longing as I turned back around to face her. "No… don't leave. I've kept all this to myself for too long. I need to talk to someone. Just… stay. I'll tell you everything."

And so began an amazing and devastating story.

THE END…

A/N: lol jk jk jk. It's not the end. Far from it. We've still got a way to go. I just like torturing the readers. Mwahaha. Lol. Review please and tell me how you think the meeting's going so far!