I found myself looking at the doors with tears burning behind my eyes. I was scared and angry but at the same moment I was compelled to move forwards, to find out what I had missed after all these years.

Standing five feet away from the door of Chez Whitney was all that I could do. Was I ready to move the short distance and accept that I had forgiven him? Accept that maybe I was not as strong as I once believe I was? To finally give into that empty thudding in my chest that had attempted to pull me back here for the last ten years? My mind, my conscious, my hope had all been misplaced I guess, I was never meant to get away, no matter what I had done, I would've been coming back here eventually.

Slowly I took the first step towards the door and my mind froze, could I really do this? Could I really face him after so long of ignoring the truth? Just sit down beside him and pretend everything was fine? Could I trust that he would never hurt me again?

"I know Trunks will never hurt you."

It was quiet and gentle but it was that sweet voice I had longed to hear, the one that made my knees tremble and make me want to fall to the ground and scream but instead I just sighed her name and squeezed my eyes tight, "Marron…"

If she had so much faith in him maybe it was time for me to borrow some of it, to show her that she meant the world to me… to show her some much I owed to her. She was the last piece of my true life that I desperately held onto.

I took the last few steps and my hand rose towards the door but stop with the quiet words spoken behind me, "Kyle Rice?"

I sighed quietly and turn around to see a young woman leaning against a black prius, "Sorry you must have me confused with someone…"

She didn't let me finish; she cut me off with a second question, "Would you prefer if I called you Son Goten?"

I dropped my hand away from the door and took a few steps towards her, "Sorry, do I know you?" I asked trying to look as pleasant as I could while the anxiety was strongly growing in the pit of my stomach, "If you are just looking for an autograph, I don't do that crap, I am not a star…"

"You are really self conceded aren't you? I guess I should've expected as much from the asshole that ran out on Mr. Briefs ten years ago," She said without a tone of remorse as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back onto the care behind her.

"Excuse me? How the hell do you think you are and what exactly do you want?" My words were shaking as the sting of her words reach the emptiness of my heart.

"My name is Maria, I'm Mr. Briefs' private chauffeur for when he doesn't want to be seen in the public eye," Her words were smug and as I glanced over the car the tinted windows seemed to stand out, it seemed like I had seen the car repeatedly since I had been home.

I leaned my weight onto one foot and stuck my hands into the pockets of my Armani slacks, "And why am I having such the pleasure of meeting you?" My words came out as a hiss.

"I'm suppose to give you a lift to your lunch date with Mr. Briefs, he would prefer something more suitable to the taste of you two."

I felt the smile pull up at the corner of my lips, "So basically, I dressed up for a nice lunch and instead I'm going to McDonald's in an Armani suit?"

"There's a change of clothes in the back seat, if you would be so kind as to get in," she hissed towards me, it was as if she was hateful towards me and I wondered exactly what her relationship with Trunks was.

I removed my hands from my pockets and climbed into the car without a fight, I had just come to the conclusion that I would do this for Marron; it was pointless to delay the inevitable.

The car ride seemed to feel as if it had taken hours but in reality the ride was just long enough for me to finish struggling out of my suit and into the jeans, plain black t-shirt and the shoes that were left in the back seat. Although the time lasted forever in my mind it was impossible to prepare me for what I knew was coming, for the moment that I forgave him. Would I be able to look at him would I be able to put all the doubt out of my mind that had infected it through the last decade? Would I be able to remember the moments of happiness I had with him?

"And I want to know, what makes your world go round."

His angelic voice was playing through my head, the last precious moment where I knew that for certain that he loved me, that he would want me as much as I wanted him forever. Was this what I had missed? Was this more then just for the bet? Was it really him showing me how much he truly loved me?

"Can you get out of my car?" Her words were calm but I could feel the icy hatred emanating off each syllable, I couldn't help but wonder what Trunks had said that would make her hate me this much.

Without a word I stepped out of the car leaving my suit behind and shut the door just before the tires squealed behind me and the car took off leaving me standing in front of my old school.

A wave of flashes wrapped around me and I couldn't help but want to run… but I couldn't do that, I was here for Marron and pleading for her strength.

I slowly made my way across the parking lot; unaware of wear my feet were taking me but fallowing my instinct. I wanted to get this over with now fully aware that I wouldn't be able to forgive Trunks; he'd broken me, utterly and completely. I was damaged, deranged, forgotten. I was that house on the street behind yours; the one that is falling apart would've been dazzling if it had the care it needed.

I moved forward and stopped upon seeing Trunks just outside of the parking lot on the field. The place where I had carried him when he passed out, the place where he laid so quickly as my guardian angel…

Trunks slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the face of Goten. He was laying on the soccer field with his head resting on the other's lap.

"What are we here for?" He asked as he attempted to sit up but fell back in pain.

"After you passed out in the hallway, I carried you down here in hope that you would wake up before we got to the car but since you weren't awake, I sat down here and waited." Goten said looking out into the distance.

"I really am sorry…" Trunks whispered out as he stared up at Goten.

"Shhh…." Goten said as he ran a hand through Trunks' hair, "just relax, I will get up in a moment and we can go."

I didn't want him to get up, I liked him lying there in my lap, I wanted him to stay there forever. However distorted his intentions were, that was the moment I fell in love with him; the moment he became my everything.

I moved forward cringing at the pain that was filling my chest, the pain that was threatening to spill tears from my eyes. I have cried enough tears over him, it's time for me to sit down and face reality, tell him everything.

Reaching the grass I noticed the blanket and basket just before he looked up at me and shot my mind back into fight or flight. I needed to think this through, how would this all play out? Was it really worth it? Maybe at the end of this I would be free to live my life? Free to be alive again.

"Trunks," I said as I moved and sat across from him on the blanket, "This was not what I was thinking was meant by lunch…"

He stared at me with those piercing blue eyes and I swear the emotions I saw in his eyes were contradicting each other. I could see love and remorse but at the same time I also saw pain, fear and something else that reminded me of betrayal.

"I'm sorry if you were given the wrong intention," He said his eyes locked on me.

I sat and waited for him to begin this conversation that he wanted to have and began to count the seconds but his words did not come. Fear was running through me as my eyes stayed frozen to him, why was he taking so long? He'd been fighting desperately to talk to me over the past few days and now it was total silence, what was the reason for me being here then?

"Trunks, you wanted to talk?" I asked pulling my eyes away and looking down, the painful thudding in my chest picking up speed.

"I just need a second to think," his words were soft and muttered, clearly lost in thoughts.

I swallowed hard and prayed for some of Marron's courage, "I'm not here to let you think, I'm here to hear what you have to say that is so important."

"Well, I'm trying to figure out why I don't hate you," his words were not calculated like how I expected them and hearing his words sent new shocks through my heart breaking off more pieces.

"I don't believe I've done anything to make you hate me, I believe I should be the hateful one…" I spoke calmly as possible keeping my eyes low, trying to keep my voice even as my mind broke into a mad dash telling me to run; telling me there was no waking up this time.

"No, I don't think you should be the hateful one, I think I have my fair share of things to be hateful for…" his words were gentle but still his piercing gaze was burning me, "You were the one that left me, hurt me, destroyed me in a sense. You left me standing there in the parking lot. I stood there for hours searching for you. I waited every day for you to come back to me and never even got a word from you. I read every letter to everyone else and was never mentioned. I fallowed you to California and saw you smiling at everyone else but couldn't speak to you because I didn't want to hurt you. You've embarrassed me, humiliated me, hated me, hurt me, held a grudge against me and pulled my family into your vindictive plan to get revenge upon me…" His words were tense and angry then suddenly he became silent causing me to raise my head just to see what he was doing.

His fingers were pressed to the bridge of his nose and his eyes were closed as if he was fighting with his thoughts, as if he was trying this time to calculate how to say the next part, "And for the life of me, I just can't figure out why I love you still."

His hand dropped and his eyes opened to meet mine again. Could his words be sincere? Could he actually still feel this way after so long? I know that the painful throb in my chest proved that I loved him but wasn't I the victim in this whole mess?

"You've caressed each thought in my mind for years because of the doubt I feel whether you'd ever return, whether you'd ever hear my apology and whether you could ever love me like I've loved you for so long so now my doubts have come to rest…" he turned his attention away from me but my eyes stayed locked on him, he was fighting with himself again, "But I need to hear it, do you still love me?"

I stared towards him. His eyes were locked out in the distance, he lip was between his teeth and I could see the tears shining in his eyes, the tears that threatened to spill over at any moment. He was hurting but could the scars of the past ever truly be forgotten?

The throb in my chest was not hurting but my heart had leaped into my throat. I knew what I had to say and the pain would be gone forever. I would never wake up again to the nightmare of him hurting me, to the nightmare of losing him. I just had to tell him how I felt. Whether it was possible for me to ever forgive him.

Next chapter is currently being written. I know it has been ages since I worked on this story and to be completely honest, I was going to give up on this story because DBZ is a dieing fandom but As much as those readers want to know how this ends, I guess I do to because I have yet to figure it out.

I have been working on another story, hasn't been posted yet but I think my next fandom will be Uragirl wa boku no namae wo shitteiru. If you haven't checked out the anime, do so, it's great.