"Tommy…"

"Hi," he said timidly. He opened his mouth to say something else but Jude cut him off not noticing he was about to speak.

"What are you doing here?" She said it more forcefully than she had planned. She was now realizing that she was angrier than she had thought about his disappearance.

"I want to come home, Jude. I want to be back here…with you." He wasn't sure what her reaction would be, he figured he couldn't escape her being angry with him. He just didn't know what he was up against; regaining her trust would be one hell of a task.

"A little late don't you think?"

"Maybe I-

"Look I was actually on my way to my sister's apartment, I really need to tell her and Kwest something," she had no emotion in her voice like she used to. He remembered it being filled with love and hope and excitement. Now she showed none of those feelings to him and maybe he deserved it. He knew he deserved it.

"There's alot of things I need to say to you, Jude. Things we need to talk about that have been left unsaid for too long."

"Tommy, like I said I have to go. I don't have any time to get into this right now with you." Her words were cold and distant but he kept his composure and knew if he wanted to be back in her life it was going to take time. He knew he would wait as long as it takes, he wasn't going anywhere.

"I guess I could just talk to you when you come back," he said with desperation in his voice as if he didn't talk to her soon he would fall apart into itty bitty pieces. She didn't notice the need in his voice because he worked so hard to keep his real emotions hidden underneath his cool exterior. He wanted to break but he had to stay strong for her.

"What will you do until then?" She didn't want him to wait for her because she wasn't sure if she even really wanted to talk to him. She had found herself waiting for this moment for so long, but now that it was finally here she felt as though she would rather puke than give him the satisfaction of knowing that he could leave for months without any word and she still loved him just as much as when he left. She despised anyone that wanted to disappear without so much as a good reason why then waltz back into her life and expect to be instantly forgiven.

"I was thinking I could go see a friend and I could come back later when you're home." It was kind of sad how he was almost begging to talk to her. She wanted so badly to tell him that she loved him and have him take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay. She wanted to tell him never to leave again and have him stay with her forever.

That was exactly what she wanted. The problem was he had made a mistake and that couldn't go without being dealt with first so she had to know if he was here for good or if he was going to leave again. She didn't want to fall for him again and then have him up and leave and never come back.

"Okay, well I shouldn't be too long so maybe I will call you later."

"Jude, I could just come by your house later," he said quietly.

"I don't think that's a good idea, look Tommy it's great that your back but I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk to you about this. When I say this I mean everything, you leaving, coming back, wanting to be with me? That's the thing that throws me off the most."

She brushed past him shutting her door behind herself and heading towards her car. He was unsure what to make of what she had just said. What threw her off? He turned to watch her leave but before he could find the words to ask her what she had meant she stopped suddenly at her car door and turned to look at him.

"If you loved me, why did you turn your back on us?"

She had visible tears in her eyes and he had no idea how to respond to her question. It killed him that he couldn't take back the time he had left her but it wasn't his decision and he couldn't reverse time. He was bleeding inside, bleeding for her because he knew how much pain she was in. He wanted nothing more than to apologize a million times and have her say everything would be okay. He knew it wouldn't be that easy, but he was back for good now and wanted to give them another try, all he had to do was convince her.

He exhaled loudly and she turned to leave not saying another word she got in her car and drove off.

Jude drove through the narrow streets quickly, never looking in her mirrors, not wanting to see past that was behind her. She loved Tommy and she did want to be with him but she had to know that his feelings were real this time. She couldn't lose him again and even though she feared what would happen when she left for Maryland, she knew if he really meant what he said this time that he would wait for her. She couldn't bring herself to go to Sadie's house now, there had been too much going on in her head and Tommy's return brought on a lot of drama, ruining her once excited mood. She pulled out her cell and dialed her sister's number.

"Hey Jude," Sadie attempted to sing the popular song.

"Wow Sades, that never fails," she said sarcastically.

"Sorry I couldn't resist. What's up?"

"I was wondering if we could meet up tomorrow, something came up that I need to talk to you about," she changed tones when she said it, making it obvious that the situation that "came up" was not one she wanted to deal with.

"What's wrong, Jude? Do you want me to come over? You sound upset," Sadie was always so quick to assume Jude was upset, but this time Sadie didn't know how right she was.

"Well what is the worst thing that could happen to make me upset…Tommy's home." Even Jude was surprised at how nonchalant she had broken the news of Tommy being back. She was angry before but now that she was away from him she seemed to have calmed down and showed almost no emotion towards his arrival. She honestly wasn't sure how to feel. How does someone react to a situation like this? It was confusing and she wanted to delay getting to the subject of Tom Quincy for as long as she possibly could.

"Jude! He's back?! Well what are you going to do? I mean he made you so depressed when he left, your not going to give him another chance, are you?"

"Sadie…"

"Listen Jude it's up to you what happens with you and Tom, but be careful. I think you should think this over before you do anything."

"You don't have to worry Sadie, I haven't made any decisions yet. I don't know what I'm going to do but I just want to go home and sleep on it."

"I know you'll do what's best for you, even if it does mean giving him a second chance," Sadie said in a reassuring tone. "But yeah we can meet up tomorrow and you can give me all the details of what happened and we can talk about what you're going to do."

Jude was thinking over what she would do tomorrow when she was face to face with Tommy and had to tell him she was leaving in a few days and wouldn't be back for a couple months. She still hadn't even told Sadie. She would get around to it, but for now she had to go home and make some important decisions.

"I know I'll have plenty of time to think about it, Sadie."