"Pick up your phone, Drake." Carly growled into his voicemail. "I know you know it's going off. Call me back."

She hung up, sighing as she leaned against a wall. An idea popped into her head, and she rolled with it. She dialed Drake's number one more time, this time blocking her own.

Drake answered on the third ring. "Gotcha!" she cheered. "Wait- no- don't-"

She rolled her eyes at the click of his hang up and tried her trick again. This time, he answered on the second ring.

"Wow! That worked on you twice? That's bad, Drake, even for you."

Click.

Carly winced. Okay, she had earned that one. But, she was smart enough to have a back up plan, too. She shoved her phone in her pocket, and marched over to Drake and Jade's.

X

"Go away." Drake hissed when he saw her, but he left the door open, so she invited herself in. "I'm not going to try to fix things with Jade. Why is this so important to you, anyway?"

"Because she's my cousin, and I care about her," Carly snapped, her arms crossed in anger. "What is wrong with you? Why can't you just let this crap go?"

"She took pleasure in my pain!" Drake growled. "I haven't had peace in my own life since she appeared. It hasn't even been that long- but I feel like she's been living here since forever. Like, if this is 2013, then it feels like it should be 2017 or something."

Carly arched a brow. "Are you drunk? Do you really not know what year it is?"

"No! I'm not drunk! I'm just mad. I'm very mad! I- she makes me feel like such a fool."

"Drake, she can be tough, but she's not that bad-"

"I don't even care about that." He caught her in his hands, one on each of her arms. He looked at her, really looked at her, begging her to understand, but also praying she somehow wouldn't so he wouldn't risk being exposed. "Now that I know why she is the way she is- it's like reliving my worst mistake every time I look at her. She's a walking reminder of every wrong I ever did to you."

Carly's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't been expecting to hear that. "Drake, I'm okay- really. I'm fine now, and I'm engaged to Eric. I've forgiven you."

"I didn't. I never have." Wildness rose in Drake's eyes, and for a moment, she saw the passion that they had once shared before it faded into sadness. "She told me what you went through. I thought I had put it behind me, but hearing about that made it all come back."

"She told you that?" Scarlet raced across Carly's cheeks. Embarrassed, she shook loose from his hold and turned away, facing the wall.

"You don't know how much I went through, too." Drake's broken voice reached out to her, but she couldn't bring herself to turn around. "Carly. The worst thing I have ever done was cheat on you. Not a day went by that I didn't wish I could take it back. You were everything to me. After you left, it was all I could do to stay alive. I dragged myself through every day just to not die."

She shook her head in disbelief. She was past all of this- she had no need to think about it ever again, and here he was, bringing up crap she had dealt with and pushed down inside her soul, never to see the light of day again. "Stop, Drake."

"I can't." His voice trembled. "Carly. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry I put you through that. I'm sorry I didn't try harder to fix things. I'm sorry I got drunk with whatever her name was, and did what I did. I still wish I could take it back."

"Then why did you do it?" Carly's voice shook, whether with rage or pain Drake couldn't decipher. "Why wasn't I enough?"

Any hold he had left on himself shattered. "You were. You were more than enough. You were everything. I wasn't. I was weak, I was stupid. I was every terrible thing Jade has ever called me. I failed you. There is no excuse for what I did, and I don't expect you to forgive me. But please know- if I could undo that day, if I could do anything to make it up to you… I would. In a heart beat."

"You know, there is something you can do."

"What is it?"

"You can leave me alone."

With that, she left, her reason for coming over long forgotten. Drake sank onto the couch as the door slammed shut after her, feeling the blow of the same heart break repeated for the second time.

His head in his hands, he steeled his jaw. It had taken a split second to make up his mind. Drake ripped open the door and ran after her.

He caught her before she made it outside. "Carly! Stop!"

"Go away!" she shouted at him. "I don't want you to follow me. This isn't a movie. You have to leave me alone!"

"Carly!"

"Just leave me alone!"

Rain came down hard, eating her words. Both Drake and Carly were soaking wet, despite having only been outside for a second or two. He was only a few feet behind her now. Blinking hard to expel rain from his eyes, he reached for her. "Carly!"

She shook her head, her hair plastered to her body. He would never know if she had been crying, or if that had just been rain in her eyes. She took a step into the street, and for a moment, the whole world stopped turning.