A/N: I don't own anything other than Alex, Diana, and the characters you don't recognise. Thank you for reading.

Supernova

Chapter 3: "In Your Tears And In Your Blood, In Your Fire And In Your Flood." – Coldplay, Till Kingdom Come

Leah was silent, fuming, all the way down the forest path to her car; I could practically see the steam pouring out of her ears. Once we were on the road, speeding back into Forks, she turned to me, her face accusing.

"Is something going on between you and Jacob?" She asked her voice harsh, demanding.

"What?" I frowned. "No way! What on earth makes you think that? I barely know the guy."

She pondered my reaction, chewing the inside of her lip in thought. What she saw obviously satisfied her. "Good."

I stared in disbelief. "Good? What does that mean? And what the hell was that back there?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." She snapped shortly.

"Excuse me?" This girl was really something. This place was really something. Trust me to come to a small town and get mixed up with the non-drinking, aggressive, giants. Where the heck were the normal kids? The kind that got drunk, stoned, and did not growl at each other. "I know what nothing is, and that was definitely not it."

Leah was tapping her fingers along the arch of the wheel in an agitated rhythm, her eyes darting about the road ahead; her whole posture screamed discomfort. Silence filled the car, and my own irritation combined with hers seemed to have brought the temperature to a sweltering level. I opened the window. With the introduction of a cooling breeze she took a deep, shaking breath. "I… I can't tell you," she said finally.

"Why not?"

She paused. "I'm not allowed. Sorry."

"So, let me get this straight," I clarified. This was just getting plain weird. "You are forbidden to talk to me about what happened tonight, and I'm supposed to just say 'oh, ok, no problem'?"

"Yes."

"Bullshit."

She snapped round to me then, her face fierce in the light of the dashboard. I was certain she was about to decapitate me right then and there in the car. But she didn't, and her expression eventually softened. "Yeah it is bullshit. But that's the rule."

"The rule?" I snorted. It sounded ridiculous like she was part of some secret gang. The La Push Mafia? "Come on."

"Yes," she said, voice hard now, "the rule. Sorry, Alex." As I took this information in her face twisted like her next words were paining her to say. "If you really want to know… you could probably ask Jacob. I imagine he'd be able to tell you."

"Huh? Why Jacob and not you?"

She smirked but refused to give me a straight answer, merely muttering under her breath: "I'm so going to get it from Jake for that one." Pause. "Better her than Bella."

"Bella?" I said out loud drawing Leah's attention from the road. Where had I heard that name before? "Bella? As in Isabella?" Leah nodded, looking a bit confused. "Isabella Swan?"

Another nod. "You know her?"

"I've heard of her…" The cogs of my brain were turning.

"Who hasn't?" Leah scoffed, "Little drama queen."

Then it all clicked into place and my eyes widened. "Oh my god! Jacob Black is the La Push boy… Bloody hell. But he's how many years older? 4?"

Leah laughed darkly. "He's younger actually."

"What, seriously?"

"Uh huh – 16."

"Really? He looks like he's in his 20s at least. Are you all…?"

She shook her head so that her black hair shifted around her face. "No, Jared, Kim, Sam, Emily and I are all older. I'm 19. What about you?"

"16." I answered still trying to wrap my head around the latest revelation. "So what happened?"

"Happened?"

"With Bella and Jacob. And how come she's marrying this other dude even though he ran out on her?"

Leah's eyes were hard as she tried to shrug nonchalantly. "Don't ask me to try and understand what's going on in that girl's head."

"You're not friends then?" I quizzed.

Leah barked out a laugh devoid of humour. "Sure. We're totally BFFs." The sarcasm was hard to ignore.

"So that would be a no then?"

"That's a - Hell no."

We fell quiet after that, and I saw that we were nearing Diana's house. Unsurprisingly the light of the living room was still shining bright in the dark - she was waiting up for me.

That night, as I lay in my bed listening to the strange silence that seeped through the house, I replayed the evenings events over in my mind trying to piece the facts together. But I was too tired to sleep and I was too confused to make any sense of what I had witnessed.

But my instincts let me know, with an unpleasant twisting in my gut, that this place I had labelled dreary not seven days ago was starting to give me the creeps. Something was definitely not right. Behind every sentence, every word, there seemed to be some hidden meaning, an undercurrent of secrecy that made me feel awkward and wish I was back home with my familiar friends, in my familiar house, even with my familiar family.

And the curious intensity that permeated every thing they did, or said, or looked at with their burning eyes, including me, it filled me with unease. Never had I drifted off like I did on the beach. I always remained firmly, stubbornly in the present, in realism, in what could be touched, felt, tasted, I had no place for mystery I wanted reality. Cold. Hard. Facts. But I sure as hell wasn't getting them.

The books were mocking me. It sounded insane but there was no other explanation for it. For why, having spent days neatly ordering them on the shelves of the library, they now appeared in complete disarray. All I could figure was that some time in the night they had all engaged in a thrilling game of frustrate the library staff.

Enid stood next to me with a reproving expression, arms folded under her sagging breasts. "Alexandra," she began with her all too soft voice, "If you didn't understand the way we shelve the books you should have said something. This is a mess. It's going to take you all day (at the very least) to clear up."

My left eye twitched. I did understand. I did exactly what they told me to do. I had no idea how the jumble of authors and titles had come about. This defence obviously wasn't getting me anywhere after half an hour, so I conceded defeat – these librarians were wily little wallflowers when they wanted to be. I took a breath. "Yeah, I'm so sorry. I really think I've got it now. I'll make certain it's done by this afternoon, promise."

My sudden turnabout surprised Enid, her eyebrows rose over the rims of her glasses. "Oh. Ok, then. I guess I will leave you to it."

"Thank you." I smiled – and it was very very nearly sincere. "Sorry again."

She was still shooting me bemused looks as she walked back to the front desk. That was kind of fun. But my smiled dropped as soon as my eyes fell on the mammoth task before me. I took a deep breath. Enid was right; this was going to take me all day.

I was on the phone, skiving from my duties, when my first visitors of the day arrived. Luckily for them (and me) the three hags had decided to take yet another coffee break and were currently hauled up in their shared office with the door shut. This meant that I was only to disturb them in an emergency, i.e. if Satan fired up his chariot and burst through the floor with his hounds of hell and a truly malicious plan to burn the place to the ground.

So, basically, I was on my own – just little old me, and those pesky books – when in strode the three amigos (I would say musketeers but in my opinion that would imply that there was at least one brain between them). At first I didn't realise who it was because I was talking on my phone to my friend Jenny back home trying to explain the hideous book issue, but as soon as they got close enough it was like I could sense them and I spun around, startled, to face two blinding grins, and one more hesitant.

"Alex? Helloooo? Are you still there?" Jenny called down the phone while I frowned at the three guys stood before me.

Jacob, Quil, and Embry. Oh how I would come to loath those names. Quil waved with over-enthusiasm, and a distinctly saucy smirk at my short skirt, which seemed to earn him a rather dark look from Jacob. "Hey Alex!" Quil greeted pleasantly enough.

I glared, dropping the phone from my ear. I was just not in the mood. "What exactly do you want?" I asked shortly.

Jacob opened his mouth to answer when Quil beat him too it. "This is a public library is it not, Alexandra?"

"Jane Austen is two shelves over," I replied pointing behind me, "Help yourself."

Quil flushed a little, Embry giggled (yes it was the most bizarre thing ever). "I do not read Jane!" the boy insisted in his own defence.

"Jane?" Embry hooted, his giggle had now progressed into a fully-fledged, slightly booming laugh. "Oh, man! Are you Mr Darcy to Claire's Lizzie?"

Quil punched Embry's rather large bicep. "Shut it."

"Yeah, Embry," Jacob seemed at first to be agreeing with Quil, "That's a little warped. Besides, he's more like a Mr Knightly."

"Will you two morons just shut up?" Quil demanded.

"You know," I interjected, unable to resist, "I'm beginning to get a little concerned about all the in-depth knowledge of Jane Austen you guys seem to be in possession of. Perhaps you should try a Bronte, or maybe it would be healthier for you to find a Stephen King novel just to get some more testosterone pumping before you all start having fainting spells." They opened their mouths, probably to protest, but I held my free hand up to silence them. Lifting my phone back to my ear I heard Jenny's baffled voice still muttering irritably at the other end. "Sorry about that," I said turning my back on the trio.

"What is going on?" Jenny started.

"Oh, nothing. Just some local guys wanting to branch out in their reading and you know how happy I am to help." Behind me I heard three scoffs that I pointedly ignored. "They're moving on from pictures to words now. Full sentences, isn't that just great?"

She snorted. "Yeah ok. Whatever you say. So, Danny was asking after you today."

"Was he?" I replied in my best bored voice. Teen drama… it crosses oceans.

"Yeah I don't exactly know what he wanted. He was talking to Ellie and she told me to tell you that he says sorry."

"Sorry? What's he sorry about?"

"I think he thinks that it all his fault that your mum shipped you over to America for the summer." She sighed. "Which is a little silly, but you know Danny."

I shifted uncomfortably, heat prickling across my skin; I could feel their eyes on my back. "That is stupid. It wasn't his fault we got caught. Besides, mum was just waiting for an excuse to kick me out, so tell him it's not a big deal, and Forks is hardly boot camp."

She laughed. "Yeah, by the sounds of it you're getting along just fine with out him. He'll be heart broken."

"Oh, come on," I rolled my eyes; I knew she was teasing, but still. "We were never anything serious, he knows that. Or at least he should. And whatever scandalous thing it is that you cooked up in that dirty little head of yours is not true. I'm being a good girl. Maybe you could let my mum know."

"She hasn't called yet?"

"No. Not yet."

"She will." Jenny insisted.

"If you say so."

"I do. Just give her a little time to cool off. I mean that's what this is all about right? Giving you guys some space from each other."

"Sure," I said, scorn evident in my tone. "Cause the Atlantic and an entire country aren't far enough for her? You should have seen her face before I left she was so…" To my own horror I felt my words catch in my throat and that familiar sting at the base of my nose. No way was I about to burst into tears with the three amigos present. I coughed, running my free hand through my hair. "Listen, Jen," I said, thankful that my voice had returned to vague normality, "I'm going to have to go now. The hags will be out to check on me soon. So I'll email you later tonight, ok?"

"Sure thing," she said, "Don't you worry about your mum she'll come around, because she loves you even when you're being a total bitch. Just like me."

I just made a noncommittal noise and said: "Whatever. Speak to you soon?"

"Of course. Miss you," she replied and the phone went dead.

Taking a deep breath I pocketed my mobile and swung around ready to face whatever the three stooges had in store for me. I stopped short. Where two minutes ago three ridiculously muscled 16 year olds stood now there was just Jacob, though his presence easily filled the room, wearing that look on his face like he could see into my soul. Seeing the parts of me I had spent so many years burying as deep as possible. The things I didn't want anyone to see. Things he had no right in knowing.

"Get out." I said, my voice coming out in a hiss, harsher than I had intended.

He was surprised. "What?"

"I said: Get out!" This time it was stronger, more forceful. "Get out and leave me the hell alone!"

"Alex." Soft, confused, he was trying to placate me.

It was too much – it was all too much. This place, the phone call from home, the intimacy of his eyes – I couldn't take it anymore. He was making no moves to leave so I stormed over towards the exit, not caring what Diana would say if she saw me gone knowing only that I had to get away from him. Snatching my purse from where I'd chucked it that morning I charged outside onto the street narrowly missing an old biddy dawdling around doing who-knew-what. My feet pounded the cement as I headed towards the main drag with no conscious clue as to where I was going.

I didn't hear a sound so when a hot hand clamped around my arm I shrieked, jerking backwards into the road. The heel of my shoe caught on the curb and my ankle twisted sharply. A horn blasted – but before I could scramble my thoughts together I was back on the pavement encase firmly in two strong arms.

My chest heaved with every breath I sucked in. "Holy crap!" I closed my eyes, trying to steady my heart rate and prevent some sort of teenage stroke. "Bloody, bollocking hell," I added a little un-necessarily – I was in shock.

"Yeah, that about covers it." Jacob's husky voice agreed from next to my ear causing unwanted Goosebumps to prickle across my skin.

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" I asked. It came out as barely a whisper but we were so close I knew he'd hear me.

"Saving your life?"

"Knocking me off balance," I corrected.

He took a moment to collect his answer. "You mean you're not normally so attached to danger?"

"No." I told him. "I'm not." There was a pause. "Do you want to let go of me now?"

I felt him smile. "Not really." But his arms loosened. "Are you going to run away again?"

"Depends…" I prevaricated. "Will you chase after me?"

"Yes."

"Then what would be the point?" I gave up, flapping my arms in surrender, and he let go of me. "Thank you," I said with all the sincerity I could muster, but as soon as I stepped onto my left ankle white-hot pain seared up to my calf and I fell back leaning on his chest for support. "Bollocks!" I cursed.

"What is it?" he asked with genuine panic in his voice. "You're hurt."

"No shit Sherlock," I muttered, looping an arm over his shoulder and lifting my foot from the pavement. "It's my ankle, I think I twisted it."

He looked down at it, then back at me. "My car is parked down the street. You should get a doctor to check that out."

I wasn't going to argue with him, my ankle freaking killed. "Ok. Lead the way…"

We didn't move. I glanced up at him. "Oh no!" I shook my head. "No way!" He nodded. "Uh-uh, you are not carrying me again! What is it with you?"

"It'll be quicker," he pointed out reasonably.

"You seriously have some sort of hero complex." I muttered, but my resolve was crumbling – he had a point.

"Quicker we get to my car the quicker you get painkillers," he said with a look that suggested he knew he'd won already.

"Fine." I huffed.

"You sure about this?" he asked cheekily.

"Just get on with –" but before I finished my irritated sentence I let out a yelp as he'd swept his arm under my legs and was striding off down the street ignoring the curious looks we were getting. "Smug bastard." I mumbled, glaring at anyone who caught my eye.

The nearer we got to the hospital the tenser Jacob seemed to get. His jaw clenched and his dark brows drew down over his eyes as they stared out at the road ahead. I wondered what it was that had him so wound up. Surely he wasn't this stressed over my ankle?

"Hey Jacob," I said, and he turned sharply towards me. "Chill out, it's probably just a sprain – nothing serious."

This did very little to smooth the lines of his face, he just let out a long breath, returning to watching the road. "Yeah, I know."

Ok, so it wasn't me. "You not a fan of hospitals?" I tried, not sure why I was so bothered by his sombre mood.

This garnered the tiniest up-turn at the corner of his mouth. "You could say that." He answered in the most frustratingly cryptic manner.

I decided to leave it alone. I wasn't going to beg. If he wanted to share I was pretty sure he would.

Suddenly, just like that, Leah's comments from the night before came flooding back to me.

"…You could probably ask Jacob. I imagine he'd be able to tell you."

I never had discovered what she meant by that. Peering at Jacob from the corner of my eye I decided that I was going to test it out… only it would have to wait because we had just turned into the parking lot.

I was still struggling to unclip my seat-belt when the passenger-side door opened; Jacob reached over me, popped the contraption open and lifted me out in one fluid movement. Briefly I wondered how he managed all this without apparently breaking a sweat. Still, I supposed those muscles were probably explanation enough. How the heck did a 16-year-old boy get so ripped?

Jacob carried me over to the front desk and informed the receptionist in a rather clipped tone that I had twisted my ankle. The place was pretty quiet so she just took my name and got a nurse to show us to a bed where we could wait until a doctor was ready to come examine me. Once Jacob had deposited me on the itchy covers the nurse carefully removed my shoe and gave my tender ankle the once over before she disappeared down the corridor.

I looked over at Jacob who was stood like a bodyguard next to me his dark eyes scanning the area. Seriously, what exactly was it that crawled up his butt?

As I was pondering the increasingly weird guy beside me a thought suddenly occurred. "Oh crap!" I groaned.

"What?" Jacob asked.

"Insurance," I said, rolling my eyes to the whitewashed ceiling. "I need bloody insurance here right?"

His eyes widened as the penny dropped. "Oh."

"Yeah." I agreed.

"Do you have any?"

That was a good question. To be perfectly honest it had never occurred to me that I would need any. Most of the details of this trip had been organised between Diana and my mum, all I had to do was pack a suitcase and catch a flight. So if anyone would know it'd be Diana.

"Can you use phones in here?" I stupidly asked – but hey, you never know.

"Uh, no," he said in a 'well, duh' tone.

"Ok," I flipped open my purse and pulled out my mobile proffering it to him. "Could you maybe call Diana for me and find out the deal?"

He took the phone and nodded. "Sure, sure." Just before he started off down the corridor he turned back to me. "I won't be long."

"Alright." I replied. Then, as he moved off again, I called out: "Try not to panic her!" I could just imagine what sort of internal damage finding out I was in hospital from a strange boy would do to my aunt.

Not a minute after Jacob left my side the doctor materialised at the end of my bed with that compassionate smile that all doctors have which was supposed to simultaneously reassure and encourage trust. For a moment I truly wondered how it was that a dreary place like Forks could acquire so many attractive men – it was like a breeding ground.

"Hello Alexandra," he said in the most musical voice I'd ever heard, it was almost hypnotising. He placed a bag of ice on the bed. "I'm Dr Cullen. Nurse Baxter tells me you think you've sprained your ankle. May I take a look at it?"

"Knock yourself out," I shrugged and he smiled at my comment.

"You're English?" he asked.

"Yeah." I eyed him suspiciously.

"I was born in London."

"Wow," I said with a short laugh, relaxing, "your accent is a bit funky now, huh?"

He laughed. "I suppose it is. I've lived here for much longer."

"You weren't all cockney back in the day were you?" I grinned. I liked this guy, but the thought of him with a cockney accent was just too funny to resist.

"No I wasn't," he answered, amused, perhaps he was picturing himself having a pint in the Queen Vic with Peggy Mitchell like I was. "Which part of England are you from?" He took my raw ankle in his cool hands pressing down firmly.

"A small town in Norfolk," I said trying not to wince too much.

"I went to the broads once – along time ago – visited Norwich castle as well. I liked it, very interesting."

"Yeah, it's kind of different here." I mused. "Everything is sort of bigger, more spaced out. Not better, just different. The forests and beaches here are completely gorgeous."

"How did this happen?" he asked referring to my ankle.

"I lost my balance and slipped off the curb."

"Can you walk on it?"

"Not really."

He was nodding with understanding when I hissed sharply in pain. He replaced my foot on the bed with the ice under it and straightened up. "Can you wiggle your toes for me?" I did. "That's great. It suggests that you haven't broken anything, but I would like to take an x-ray just to be sure. On the downside I think you've torn a ligament – it doesn't seem too extreme - but means you're going to need a dressing and crutches for a while."

"Yippee," I sighed.

He smiled at my lack of enthusiasm. "I'm just going to go and arrange everything for your x-ray. Keep your ankle on the ice for the moment. Is there anything you need?"

"Painkillers would be nice." I looked hopefully up at him.

"Do you have any allergies or reactions to anti-inflammatory drugs?" I shook my head. "I'll prescribe you a small dose for the next few days to help with the swelling, but if it can be avoided I'd rather not put you on anything too strong."

"Thank you."

The nurse had come and gone with the wonder-pills by the time Jacob's face came once again into view. He certainly hadn't relaxed any during his phone conversation with Diana. His eyes were even darker than usual and his nostrils flared as he regarded me.

"The doctor has been to see you then?" he asked handing back my phone, but it wasn't really a question.

"Yup," I said, slipping the device into my bag, "nice guy."

Jacob snorted. "He's ok."

I frowned. What was the deal with all the hostility from this boy? "Gave me painkillers so he's alright by me. What did Diana say?"

"She's on her way. You have insurance, so everything is fine." He paused. "Is she always like that?"

"Yeah… picture living with it. Is she mad?"

He almost smiled. "A little. So what did Dr Fan-uh-Cullen have to say?"

"Well. He doesn't think it's broken – so that's good – but I'm getting an x-ray anyway to be sure – which is cool because I've never had one of those before. Of course I'll probably need a bandage and crutches for a couple of weeks – which is not so good."

"Good," he said a little distractedly, glancing down at my swelling ankle.

"You know my ankle isn't normally that fat," I tried to joke because he was just way too intense.

He didn't exactly laugh but his eyes softened. "I'm really sorry," he said.

Now I was completely baffled as to where his mind was. "Uh, for saving my life? Yeah, you should really be ashamed of yourself."

"For making you jump – before – I sometimes forget how quiet I can be. And for last night…" he trailed off so that I wasn't certain which part of the night before he was apologising for. "I overreacted."

"I think you've made up for it." I said in an oddly charitable moment.

He caught my eyes then and the intensity was back, if it weren't for the fact that I was partially immobilised I would have made another run for it. As it was I just shifted uncomfortably, fingering the strap of my bag with jittery nerves. "I haven't yet," he said, his voice dropping an octave, "but I will."

I was about to inform him that there was really no need when his head whipped around so fast I thought he'd snapped it. Very softly, like thunder, I heard a growl rumble through his chest. A flashback of the night before on the beach, the feral gleam in his eyes as he stared Leah down. Except now it was just the two of us and I had no idea what was happening or how to deal with it.

Where was the freaking doctor when you needed him?

A shifting light caught my eye and I turned away to see the blond hair of the Doctor heading towards us, his movements as smooth as his voice. There is a god!

"Jacob," Dr Cullen greeted pleasantly, apparently he hadn't noticed the death-rays that the large guy beside me was sending his way.

"Cullen." Short, sharp. So this was the problem all along, he had issues with the Doctor.

"Did you bring Miss Grant in?" His question was mild, polite. If he felt the hostility that I did he was putting up a good show of ignoring it.

"Yes." Defensive.

"Well I'm sure you will be pleased to hear that she should be fine." He smiled at me but I was too confused to manage to send one back. "The x-ray room is all set." That was when I noticed what he'd brought with him. A wheelchair. "Shall we?" he asked gesturing to the wheeled contraption.

Not daring to glance at Jacob I somehow slid off the bed and one foot I hopped over to where the chair was. It was a relief to be sitting but Dr Cullen requested that I keep my foot as elevated as possible so it wasn't exactly comfortable – especially in a skirt.

"I'll bring her back as soon as possible," he informed Jacob unnecessarily (in my opinion), who was still glowering like a thundercloud.

He grunted in response and Dr Cullen wheeled me away.

Turned out that I had no broken bones and the ligament was only partially torn – if that – so Dr Cullen bandaged it up, gave me some ice, and crutches and sent me home with instructions to keep off it for the next few days. While Diana had initially been cross with me for storming out of the library and not telling her where I was going, she did seem genuinely pleased to see I was ok – which made a nice change. She thanked Jacob and Dr Cullen for all their help, and apologised for me (which I was not happy about considering I didn't exactly do it on purpose) before ushering me out to her car. I really needed a cigarette at that point but Diana was having none of it.

Jacob stayed behind because, despite the freaky vibes they were sending each other, he wanted to have a word with Dr Cullen in private. I was thankful – I didn't really want to see the results of that awkward meeting.

We drove in silence for the most part. I was still mulling over the curious interaction between the Doc and Jacob. What could nice Dr Cullen have done to make Jacob hate him so much? Did he run over his cat or something? I had never felt so much tension in one room.

Oddly enough it was Diana who filled in the missing pieces when she turned to me with a guarded expression and said: "I didn't know you were such good friends with Jacob Black."

I shrugged. "I'm not really. We met at the beach last night."

"He seemed rather attached to you." Oh, I knew what this was about.

"Yeah well," I muttered. "I honestly have no idea what that is."

She looked skeptical. "Are you sure? He looked at you like…"

"I know and I have no clue why. I swear I've done nothing to encourage it."

Her face softened. "Just be careful, Alex."

"Careful?"

Was that embarrassment I saw flicker across her eyes? "It's just that with the wedding of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen coming up I'd imagine he's feeling a little… well, a little… frustrated and hurt. I don't want you to…"

"Mess him around?" I snapped. It was typical of her to think that I was the one playing around here.

"It's just that," she continued obviously getting a bit uncomfortable with where this conversation had ended up, "he's a good-looking boy and I wouldn't blame you, but…"

"Diana," I cut her off, I'd heard more than enough. "This is all irrelevant considering that I met him just last night, and yes I know that's never stopped me before, but I'm trying here. Besides he is just not my type. Way too intense."

Her mouth formed a perfect 'Oh' and I smiled to myself. It was way too easy.

As she turned the car into our street it happened – the pieces slotted together like a giant jigsaw puzzle – the big picture was suddenly clear to me. "Edward Cullen? He's Dr Cullen's son right?"

"Yes."

Bingo. So that was what the issue was. Jacob was having a hard time being in the same room as the father of the guy that won the girl. Yeah, that must sting. I'd never really ever been invested in a relationship, or cared particularly when it ended, so I had no idea what it must feel like for him right now. Though I imagined that Leah would probably be the closest to understanding him – which made the fact that they were at each other's throats all the more puzzling. Surely it is a comfort knowing that they're not alone in their pain?

Who'd have guessed there would be so much heartbreak in such an unassuming town?