A/N - Okay! So it's been a little while since I have posted anything. Sorry, but I've been so swamped with school and work and everything else so... anyway.. here's a new chapter. It's a little bit shorter than the others. I'm going to try to slam out another chapter either tonight or tomorrow to make up for this. The next chapter is much clearer in my head, so it will hopefully be better than this one (I'll admit I'm not a fan of this chapter). This chapter was created mainly to maintain the alternating Tommy/Jude P.O.V's. I was originally going to have two Tommy P.O.V.'s in a row, but I decided against it. So here's a sort of filler chapter. Either way, please review and let me know what you guys think. Thanks so much!

Dust particles fluttered around me, seemingly trapped in the rays of sunlight that pierced through the gloomy room. I quietly let out two small coughs before reaching up and letting my hand blindly travel along the top shelf of my storage closet. Where is it? My hand came into contact with boxes of numerous shapes and sizes. My hand finally reached its destination, settling on an old shoe box, slightly crinkled and ripped from many years of wear and tear. I pulled it towards me, grasping it against my chest as if it held some secret elixir that might grant me eternal youth. No, actually, this meant more to me.

I sat down on the hard wood floor Indian style, gently shaking the top off. Inside lay innumerable photos of us. I rummaged through the box, seeing ticket stubs from every show we ever attended together. Our entire relationship was inside this box. Memories of every holiday spent together, every date we ever went on. It was all here. My fingers touched a cold piece of metal, and I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I pulled out the diamond ring that laid at the bottom of the box and slipped it onto my finger for the first time in months. It was a promise ring that you had given me during the last few months of our relationship. We were having our problems, but it was supposed to be a sign of your faith in us. We could work through this. Your words echoed through my head until this day. God, I was so stupid.

It had been a week since I last called you, declaring my sorrow once and for all. After that, I knew that my nightly calls would end. I couldn't bear to hear your voice after that, to hear sympathy or even anger. I couldn't face the consequences that my actions might have. What else would you expect from me? Yep, that's me, Mrs. Runaway. Now I was truly about to live up to that title.

I looked around my apartment at the bare walls and stuffed boxes. I had to get out of this town. It was eating me alive. Every time I passed a place that we used to go, I felt like I might break down. It was too much for me to handle. If I stayed here any longer, the next time my name appeared in papers it would be followed by the news that I was placed in a mental institution. I couldn't subject myself to the torture anymore.

So many times I had tried to gain closure on us. How could I do that if I stayed in this town, so close to everything that invoked thoughts of you? How could I when I kept this box tucked away in my closet? To truly gain closure, I had to remove myself from the situation as much as possible. I had finally declared that this would be the time that I made a valiant effort to get over you. Not to forget you, because God knows I could never do that. I just wanted to be able to lead a healthy life, something that I hadn't done since we broke up. I didn't know if this goal could ever be attained, but I had to try my hardest, for my own sake.

I wiped my eyes and slid the ring off my finger. It had become a little big over the years, as a result of the malnutrition I had subjected myself to. I looked at it before placing it back inside the shoe box. I slipped the box back on the shelf. I was leaving, and this time, you wouldn't be coming with me.