A/N Hey! I got an update up here relatively quickly - right? Seeing as I had to write it as well, now my notebook has ran out of chapters. I hope this one is OK. Things are about to get exciting! Thanks to all who reviewed - I hope I replied to them all.

To/ Meg (HiddenInBlueIce), Amy (amyloubee), and Maz.

Chapter 32

"Jake-" I began, but I was interrupted.

"How dare you!" roared Jake, as he threw Brad against the wall by his collar. "She's my girlfriend!"

"Oh yeah?" asked Brad, a devilish grin on his face. "Wanna bet?"

Jake turned to me sharply. "What the hell does he mean by that?"

"I..." I began. "I..."

"I'll tell him, shall I Suze?" asked Brad, adjusting his coollar. "Let's start by saying that Susie has been a very bad girl."

"Brad, no," I whispered, but Jake silenced me.

"No," he said. "Do continue, Brad."

Brad smirked. "Well," he began. "How long has she been in Carmel now, huh? Two and a half months?"

Jake twitched. "Three," he corrected.

"Yeah," replied Brad. "And you wanna know what she's been doing these past months? In fact, I think the question is better rephrased as... who she has been doing?"

"Brad, shut up!" I yelled, and Jake lunged at him, hitting his nose hard.

"You broke my nose!" grunted Brad, sliding down the wall. "Bastard!"

"Who?" demanded Jake, angrily. "Who is he talking about?"

"Jake, I-"

"Who, Susannah?" snarled Jake. He grabbed me by my wrists and pushed his face right up close to mine. "Any time this century."

"Paul!" I spat his name out, like a bad taste in my mouth. "OK? It was Paul!"

"And..." urged Brad, from against the wall. "Tell him, Suze."

Jake shook me hard. "Would you like to share something, huh, Suze? Come on, its not healthy to bottle things up."

Something in his tone scared me, so much that I began shaking, without the help from Jake's motion.

"And?" he demanded. "Spit it out!"

"B-B-B...Brad!"

Jake dropped me, staggering backwards. His feet hit Brad's legs, and he turned around. "You," he whispered.

He picked up his brother by his collar again, and punched him in the face. "Never!" he yelled. "Don't you ever do this to me again! Ever!"

Every other syllable was dealt with a sharp hit to the face. Blood was flowing steadily from Brad's nose, and Jake's fist was becoming covered in blood.

"Jake, stop it!" I shrieked. "Please! You're hurting him!"

Jake stopped, and turned to face me sharply. Brad fell loosely to the floor.

"You care about him being hurt, but you don't care about me?" he said. "Touching, Suze, it really is."

"Jake." My voice cracked. "I didn't mean it like that. You know that. And I'm so sorry I hurt you-"

"Bullshit!" yelled Jake, and he slapped my cheek hard. "Bullshit, Suze!"

I gasped, and held my cheek with the palm of my hand. I was speechless. I couldn't face another minute of Jake. He was out of his mind. I turned and ran, as fast as I could, down the corridor until I found stairs.

xxx

He hit me. Jake hit me. My boyfriend. He was meant to love me. He'd lost it, and it was all my fault.

These thoughts pounded against my skull as I was running down the corridors and the stairs. I'd sent him over the edge. I'd ruined him.

I had to get out. Out of Carmel, out of everybody's life. I had only meant heartbreak and confusion for the residents of California. It was my debt to them - I had to disappear.

"Suze!" Someone yelled behind me. Jake's voice echoed off the walls as I kept running. I wasn't about to turn back. I couldn't. Not now.

"Suze!" he repeated. "Geez, Suze, I am so sorry. Nothing you could have ever done deserved that. Baby come back. Suze, I'm so sorry!"

I couldn't answer him. I just had to keep running. It was for the best. For him... and for me.

I had reached the lobby. Paul's grandfather had just entered through the main doors, with his assistant - who was carrying coffee.

"Susan!" cried his assistant. "Coffee?"

I ran straight into him, sending coffee cups and hot liquid everywhere.

"I am so sorry!" I cried, finally finding my voice. "Oh my God, I'm - can I borrow your car?"

"What?" The assistant looked a little taken aback. Dr Slaski had just began drooling.

"Your car," I repeated hurriedly. Jake was going to be catching up with me any moment. "Can I borrow it?"

The assistant laughed. "I don't think I sould be loaning it to a seventeen year old," he said.

"Fine," I said, angrily.

"Suze!" yelled Jake. He had just come skidding down the stairs, into the lobby. "Wait!"

I turned to Dr Slaski's assistant.

"Sorry Kyle," I said, and I punched him hard in the mouth. He fell backwards, hitting his head hard against the tile floor. I searched urgently in his pockets, and found his keys.

The recpetionist shrieked, and instantly, a group of nurses attended to Kyle, lifting up his head, checking his pulse, pushing me out of the way.

"Suze?" said Jake, running to me. "What the hell are you playing at? You just knocked Mr Slater's assistant unconscious!"

"And?" I said. "Get away from me."

I began running again, straight into the parking lot.

"Miss, you come back here right now!" screamed the recpetionist. "I'm calling the cops, you hear? I have a description, and witnesses!"

I ignored her, and kept running. I found Kyle's car near the doors, and got into the driver's seat.

"Suze!" growled Jake. "I think you've lost it. You can't drive!"

"Watch me," I spat, and I slammed on the accelerator. The car went squealing into action, and Jake was left standing stupidly in front of the hospital.

I sighed in relief. I was going home, back to my Mom, back to pancakes, and pizza - I turned a corner uneasily. This driving thing wasn't that great-, back to...

Oh my God.

My dad?

"Hey, watch it, kid!"

I swerved, but it was too late. The possibility of my dad had lifted my concentration. I hadn't been watching the road. The road lining the coast isn't great at the best of times, but without careful consideration and concentration ... it was fatal.

My tyres slipped off the road, and the car tilted. I screamed, letting go of the wheel. I clutched at the seat, shutting my eyes. The heavy car banged against the cliff, eventually, flipping over and rolling. Shards of glass came flying through the open window as the windshield smashed against the trees, and scratched my cheek. I hit my head as the car took a final tumble, then became stationary.

I breathed heavily, and released my grasp of the cushion. I was holding tiny pieces of glass that had worked their way into the palm of my hand during the crash. Carefully, I moved my head to see out the window. The car was on a single limb - one sharp movement and it would be in the sea. I breathed in, my whole body shaking.

"Oh my God..." I whispered. I tried shouting, but I was too weak. I was too scared to try and exit the car. The wind was fierce near the sea. It could easily hurl me and the car straight into the ocean. My only option was to lie still until somebody found me.

I could hear the swishing of trees by here. I'd seen, on my way down. just before I'd shut my eyes, that there were a few strong trunks on the cliff. I heard them too, as the Volvo had splintered them. There was a soft creaking, too, as if one was about to fall.

That was OK though, right? It was too far away to my car. Anyway, someone will have found me before it falls.

Right?

"Oh my God, Joey, look at this mess!"

I was right. I had rescuers already!

"Yeah, Jim, and look at that tree! Ready to fall any second."

"Lets get this girl out of the car then, and into hospital. I called an ambulance. They'll be here soon."

I heard their footsteps become louder and louder, yet so did the wind and the creaking. Hurry up...

"Jim! The tree! Move!"

"No, the girl-"

CRASH.

I felt the trunk dent the roof of the car, and crush my body. All the breath left my body in a sharp gasp.

Then everything around me became black.