A few nights later, Jude sat on her couch in her favorite pair of sweats, staring at a blank computer screen. She heard the light rain hitting her window outside, as she attempted to write a few lines of her article.

"It all began in 1998 when four friends decided to form a band."

Scanning her first line over quickly, she groaned and hit delete, clearing the screen.

Too cheesy.

"The music scene in New York City welcomes its newest member, The Blazing Cannons—"

No, delete again. Too cliché.

She had been trying to write the article all week and had been sitting in the same position on her couch for at least three hours. It was Saturday night – a night when she should be out to dinner with Rob, but instead, was staring at her computer trying desperately to keep her focus on the article. She was having difficulty concentrating on the task at hand, not being able to escape the same lingering sense of sadness she had endured for the past couple of weeks.

Trying to clear her mind, Jude took a deep breath and stretched, her eyes returning to the screen. But behind it, she couldn't help but notice her cell phone sitting peacefully on the table. The power was on but it had not rung in hours. Rob was out with friends from school, Sadie was still on her honeymoon, and Tommy…well, she still hadn't heard one peep from Tommy since the wedding. Not one phone call, no emails, no text messages—nothing.

"Good," she said aloud to herself with a reassuring nod.

But she couldn't help but feel upset at the thought of not hearing from him again. She had pushed for him to leave her alone, but she couldn't believe it was actually happening. Was he really giving up? Would she really never see him again? She felt a lump form in her throat at the thought that all of her resistance had actually proven to be successful.

Not letting the tears fall, she stood up, shaking her head to rid herself of the guilt.

"I did what I had to do. It was all necessary," she reminded herself aloud, pacing the living room. "He can't be part of my life anymore. He's with Jessica. She loves him. He loves her. She said so herself! So what if they're going through a rough patch? He asked her to marry him and they are going to be together. I just need to let it go…to let him go…"

She suddenly stopped pacing as an idea came to her. Her eyes drifted back to the coffee table, where her notebook and pen sat with all of her notes for the article. She bit her lip in anticipation, the wheels spinning rapidly in her head.

In a matter of seconds, she bolted back across the room, grabbing the notebook and pen. She slumped down on her living room floor, feeling the rough carpet against the back of her legs, tore out a blank page from the book and touched the pen to the page.

As the ink met the paper, she began to write furiously, line after line, one verse, then two, and then a chorus. Every emotion was transferred through the pen—every thought, every fear, her need to find closure with her decision. The clocked ticked later into the night, but she didn't care. The music had suddenly taken over her whole system—grabbing hold of her and not letting her go until the song was complete.

Two hours later, she stood up and walked quickly to her bedroom, towards the closet. She carefully opened the door, peering into the dark corner, knowing that her long lost friend was back there, waiting for her. Reaching in, she fumbled through hanging clothes, her hand finally resting on her destination. She felt her heart race as she gripped the smooth surface, bringing it towards her. Suddenly, the moonlight shone on the edge of the wooden surface, emerging fully from the closet.

My guitar, she thought, looking at it warmly like a gift on Christmas morning. She brought it closer to her, examining the strings and running her hands over it. She couldn't help but smile, feeling comforted and soothed just by the feel of it.

She sat on the floor of her room with the torn out notebook page covered in words, and lightly began playing. Her eyes lit up hearing the sound and feeling her fingers move gingerly against the strings. She started playing the song that was in her head, feeling her way around the chords and jotting down notes as she continued.

An hour later, her hands shaking from writing and then playing so intensely, she let out a huge breath and closed her eyes. Letting the emotions rush back to her, she began quietly playing the song that had invaded her heart.

Of all the things I've believed in
I just want to get it over with
Tears form behind my eyes
But I do not cry
Counting the days that pass me by

Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on toI still get lost in your eyes
And it seems that I can't live a day without you
Closing my eyes and you chase my thoughts away
To a place where I am blinded by the light
But it's not right

Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to

And it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time
I want what's yours and I want what's mine
I want you
But I'm not giving in this time

Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to

And when the stars fall
I will lie awake
You're my shooting star

Flattening out the crumpled piece of paper with the lyrics, she couldn't help but smile. The sadness was still there but she felt calmer, more relaxed. All she needed was to get it out—get the music out that was hiding inside her.

For the first time since she had come to New York, she truly felt proud of herself, proud of the first song she had written in years. She couldn't help but think about the one person who would appreciate this moment as much as she did…but he was the one person that she was saying goodbye to. He was the one person she couldn't call, couldn't talk to, and the one person she promised to never give in to again.

Glancing over at the clock, she saw that it was just about 2:00am. Still hearing the rain against her window, she took a deep breath and stood up, setting her guitar against the wall. She slowly walked back to the living room, ready to clean everything up and go to sleep. She turned her computer off, vowing to work on the article the next day, and switched off the lamp. She turned off the light in the kitchen and walked over to the door to lock it.

As she approached the door, all of a sudden, she heard a light knock. She froze in her place about three feet from the doorway, wondering who could possibly be visiting at 2:00am. If it had been Rob, he would've called first. Unsure of what to do, she just stood there, hoping whoever it was would go away.

But she heard the knock again, only a little louder, more eager this time.

Taking a light step forward on the tips of her toes, Jude made her way to the door, pushing herself up to look into the peep hole, trying to be as quiet as possible so whoever it was wouldn't know she was home.

And that's when she saw it. Saw him. Standing there, looking slightly anxious, leaning against the other side of her door. It might have just been coincidence, but she instantly became alarmed by his appearance right after she had completed her song. It was as though he had heard it. Or even scarier, that he wasn't going to let her say her goodbye.

A/N: Michelle Branch owns the song, not me. Hope you all enjoyed!