Alright so, life has been a struggle.. but I got it up, don't you love me!

Disclaimer… Need I repeat it… You have it 8 other times before this

-Mici

ENJOY FEEDBACK PLEASE!

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"Pain is something that is not easily gotten over. It lingers on for minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades… Some people can get over it easily. Others… They can't, it stays there, pestering them till there is nothing left, but a hole in a persons heart, where that one important thing that caused the pain, had been, before the pain was caused…" Mark said from behind his camera, working on his new documentary. It had been a few months since Melissa had run off. And he was speaking mainly of himself with that video.

His heart ached, to say the least, at the one time when he thought he had found someone that was near perfect for him- she was gone. He had almost decided that it was time to give up on love all together, as it never seemed to work for him. The New Years Eve had been a lonely one, and the long since passed Valentines Day had been even worse.

The last person to have been in contact with Melissa, Collins, had lost track of her- she having vanished from the school. It wasn't like much could be done, the girl was 18, and no matter how many times Mark had gone to the police, they told him the same thing. She most likely ran away… A lot of girls her age do. She may return, she may not, I wouldn't hold your breath though.

That had almost killed Mark, as it sent him into a downward spiral, depression taking over in his life. It almost hurt now to get up in the morning, and go to bed at night, not to mention, try to make his way thru the day without the pain getting increasingly worse.

Roger dubbed it a broken heart.

His life had turned into his work though. He worked from before sunrise, to after sunset; only taking a break at mid-day to eat lunch, and that was when he was pretty much forced to do it by his co-workers. Many times it was a struggle to keep it down, his already thin frame had gotten even worse, his face becoming gaunt and him becoming even paler. Everyone around him worried.

It had been near 10 at night when he had made his way home one day in mid-March, it was dark, eerily dark, on the street. He had made it to the front door of the complex, thanking god once again, that he wasn't mobbed or ambushed or anything of the sort. He was safe to this point.

A noise in the alley at the side of the building drew his attention away from getting his key into the lock of the door. It was like someone had been there, hiding… Or living. The latter of the two being rather common, but not usually until the summer, as the police had come about taking the homeless to the shelters that were spread across the city.

Curiosity had struck as Mark rested his bike against the doorframe, and headed over towards the alley, only to be stopped by a voice, pleading for him to not come any closer. The voice almost rattled his insides. It was a soft, feminine voice, the one that had once filled that current hold in his heart.

"Melissa?" he said softly into the night, trying not to sound angered, as if in fear that he would say the wrong thing and she would vanish for good this time.

"Yeah… Is he gone?" she asked her voice equally as soft, but almost as if it had been through traumatic events. She stepped into the dim light of the street- only coming from the light that was on the side of the apartment complex that she had once occupied. Her cheeks were smudged with dirt and she looked as if she hadn't slept in years, and had aged at least a couple of years.

A sigh of relief came from Mark, a sight that sounded as if it had been there since Melissa had left- and in all honesty it had been. Mark shook his head," He's still here, but you'll be fine with Roger and I, he won't even have to know." Mark stepped forward, finding Melissa's hand with his own," Come back."

It wasn't much of a struggle, she went willingly, not wanting to be out on the streets anymore. She cuddled up onto Mark as they walked up the steps- Mark having locked up his bike right inside the door instead of dragging it up the steps.

It was an odd silence when they walked into Mark and Rogers place though, looking around, they noticed why, Roger and Mimi had fallen asleep on the couch. Words hadn't been exchanged between Mark and Melissa, as neither of them knew what to say, each was at peace with the other though, because they knew that they would be together, even if it were for the shortest amount of time. Silently, Mark made his way around the apartment, shoving Melissa silently off to take a shower.

Mark didn't know whether his heart was mending or breaking even more. He only knew that the pain was subsiding for the time being. And as he lay in bed, with Melissa next to him, only a mere hour after they were reunited, he finally smiled, glad to have her there at least, he just didn't know what to expect of the future…