A/N

Gasp! Many of you are shocked at what happened in the last chapter.

I bet you're feeling so sorry for David, while you want to rip Bryan from limb to limb, or whatever.

Well, let's see what Sam is going to do about all this.

Don't miss the Sneak Peek at Chapter Ten at the end!

XOXO

Chapter Nine

David just stood there, staring.

As for me, I didn't know what to do except glare back at Bryan, who was smirking evilly.

The three of us were silent.

I looked back at David helplessly, at a loss for words.

Finally, David walked into the studio.

"David…" I whispered almost pleadingly.

He just brushed right past me without a glance nor a word.

My right shoulder, which David's arm had brushed against, felt numb.

Behind me, David muttered, "I forgot my sketchbook," and picked it up.

He walked past me again, this time heading for the door.

"David, wait…" I pleaded.

He walked out the studio without a backward glance.

I ran after him, leaving behind my canvas bag as well as Bryan.

I caught up to him halfway down the stairs. I grabbed his left arm in desperation.

He finally stopped.

"I have to go back," he murmured. "My aunt is waiting for me in the limo."

"She has Susan to talk to for a while. David, look, I can explain…"

"Explain what?" David shouted. He whipped around to face me, and his green eyes bore into mine.

Seeing at how taken aback and frightened I was at his sudden outburst of anger, David softened and said softly, "I'm sorry."

Tears were now filling up my eyes. I didn't know how to handle this. "Sorry for what, David? You shouldn't be sorry. I'm sorry. But back at the studio, with Bryan, that wasn't my fault. You saw how I refused him. I'm not cheating on you, and I never will. Don't misjudge me for what that jerk did…" I rambled, hoping to steer clear of the last bit between Bryan and me, about me not loving David.

David wasn't fooled. He got right to the point. Quietly, he asked, "True or false, Sam loves David."

I froze and looked into David's eyes. What was I supposed to say to that?

I could tell that he had been clearly hurt by what he had heard back there. Could I afford to pretend to love him? Could I bandage his wound just for now, while knowing in the corner of my mind that it had the chance of bleeding again if this kind of situation recurred? Or could I just end it now, inflicting him with a deeper wound that would slowly, but surely heal over time?

Could I put up with hurting David again?

Did I have the guts to hurt him a second time?

"False. I'm sorry, the answer's false. I don't love you… not anymore," I choked, looking down quickly, afraid to see David's expression. "But I really did love you at first, David. I want you to know that I never dated you because I wanted to toy around with your feelings. That was never my intention…"

"You felt sorry for me. That's why you kept this relationship going," David ended the last part of my sentence I never planned to say out loud. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry I was such a burden to you, Sam. I think it was smart of you to tell me honestly now. I'm sorry for making you waste your time with a guy you didn't love…"

The iron grip of guilt and shame squeezed my heart tighter and tighter with each word he said. "No, David, it wasn't your…" I started to say.

"And I'm sorry for wasting my time with a girl who didn't love me back," he finished.

The grip of guilt disappeared as an icicle was driven through my heart instead. I was wasting his time… He thought the time spent with me was a waste…

When I looked up, David was already gone, and I was alone in the stairwell.

"Well, well, well…" A voice pierced the silence.

It was Bryan. He descended the stairs one by one until he was three steps above me, his tall height casting a shadow on the wall.

"It seems the first son has been rejected. Aren't you so glad that you got him off your back?" He talked as if I had just completed a task I'd been putting off until now.

"Have you been eavesdropping all this time?" I inquired coldly.

"Maybe. Strangely, you don't seem very happy with the fact that you got rid of him. It's probably just a temporary side effect. You'll get over it soon enough," he answered casually, inspecting his fingernails.

Anger rose inside of me, engulfing the remorse I had just felt a minute ago. I've never been much of a violent person, really. The most I ever did in a fight was to chuck a dictionary at Lucy, which missed her by a mile anyways. But when I punched Bryan as hard as I could, I felt satisfaction as I watched him go sprawling across the stairs.

Ignoring his groans, I stormed out of there and saw Theresa pull up.

XOXO

As I stood in the kitchen, icing my throbbing knuckles, the satisfaction of punching Bryan was long gone. Instead, it was replaced by a feeling I couldn't quite name.

Emptiness? Somehow, it didn't feel right breaking up with David.

You didn't love him, I reminded myself. You're only feeling sad because you just lost a dear friend. You never meant for it to happen this way, but at least now it's over.

Yet, I could still hear David's words echoing in my ears. He thought the time with me had been a waste. I wasted his time by enslaving him to me when he could have gone out and found another, much better girl.

He probably hated me now.

All I could do was to repeat over and over again inside my head, it was for the best. Now David's free to find a girl who'll love him as much as he deserves, and I'm no longer worrying about what to do with him.

But I still couldn't get rid of that feeling. It was like when your stomach hurt when you were really hungry… except the pain wasn't physical, it was emotional.

You'll get over it.

"Why do you look like you've just been deprived of a common necessity, of that which your body needs and lacks?"

It was Rebecca.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"It's just something I'm working on for school. I'm writing a report on this character of Greek & Roman Mythology who is condemned to eternity at a place where he can't get water and food although it's right in front of his eyes," Rebecca explained.

"You sort of look like you've just been denied something you really need. Did Theresa ground you or something?"

It was hard having a genius for a little sister.

But Rebecca's comment led to a thought. Do I look like I need David right now? Is that why I'm feeling empty?

Do I love him?

…

Nah.

But still…

Just as Rebecca grabbed some cookies and was about to go back to her room to contact the mother ship or whatever, I called out, "Hey, Rebecca."

She turned around.

"Can frissons be… um… gone for periods of time? You know, can a person not feel frisson for a while when they love someone?" I tentatively asked.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at me inquiringly.

"Just out of curiosity," I quickly added.

"Of course they can," she replied.

"Really?"

"Yes, frissons can be dormant for some time, and just reoccur again. It's very strange and random. No one knows why. But often, when frisson is dormant, people often wrongly believe that they have fallen out of love, or something. That's why people break up and regret it later on when the frisson comes back. Some people say that the whole frisson-on-and-off theory is why Brad Pitt keeps going back and forth between Angelina and Jennifer, but that's just a guess…" Rebecca lectured very scientist-like.

Rebecca's explanations left me breathless.

Was that what happened to me?

My frisson was just… dormant?

Did I actually love David after all?

Lightheaded, I stumbled into my room while Rebecca stared at me curiously.

I collapsed onto the bed.

If what Rebecca said had been true and my frisson had just been dormant, I would regret breaking up with David for the rest of my life.

XOXO

As I was lost deep in thought, Lucy and my parents entered the house.

Squealing with joy, Lucy danced into the living room. She hugged mom, then dad, yelping, "Oh, thank you, thank you, and thank you! I promise I won't let you down! I love you so much!" Then, she hugged them tighter a second time, and skipped into my room.

I didn't even notice her presence until she hugged me so tight that I was gasping for breath when she finally let me go.

"Congratulations. I see you got to keep your job," I remarked, forcing on a smile.

"When they went to the agency with me, and met all the people, they still weren't really convinced. But when the people there offered them a chance to see me actually doing a photo shoot, and saw the pictures of me, they agreed that I could work there as long as school came first," Lucy explained excitedly.

"They signed the release form, Sam! They signed it right there! My photos can be published!" She squealed and hugged me again. "Thank so much Sam. I'm still keeping my promise about taking you shopping with my first paycheck!"

Then she skipped out of my room to dance around the living room a little bit more.

I was really happy for Lucy, I truly was.

Now, Lucy was happy with the model job, mom and dad were satisfied that Lucy found a motivation for studying, Rebecca was always happy that she was getting closer to contacting extraterrestrial life, and David was probably happy that he was now free from me.

So why was I the only feeling lonely and bare inside?

XOXO

A/N

Poor Sam…

Here's a sneak peek at the next chapter:

xxx

There was David, inside the Burger Palace, eating… but he wasn't alone.

A girl was sitting across from him. A blonde girl. She was tall, skinny, and very attractive. She looked like the perfect girl for David.

She wasn't David's sister. David was an only child. Somehow, it angered me to see them together.

They were talking, eating burgers and fries… then suddenly, the blonde girl got up.

She went over to David's side of the table, sat down close to him, and hugged him.

My mouth fell open in shock. What are you doing, David, pull away! Tell her you're my boyfriend! Just then, I was reminded that David wasn't my boyfriend anymore.

Still, my heart was gripped by anxiety as I expected David to gently pull away, explaining that he had just broken up and wasn't ready to meet a new girl yet.

At first David, just sat there, being embraced by this blonde girl… then he lifted his arms… and he hugged her back.

He rested his head on her shoulder and held her close, as she tenderly stroked his head.

xxx