It was still snowing the next morning, the puffy white flakes falling gracefully to the ground just outside the large window at the end of the hall. Julie sat on the floor of her vacant home, quietly picking up the pieces of the broken glass picture frames that used to line the hallway walls leading to the bedrooms. One picture of their wedding day, one picture of their honeymoon, and one picture from last Christmas that Greg thought he looked good in now lay shattered in glass on the hardwood floor. Julie gingerly moved the broken frames into a pile before continuing to sweep and pick up pieces with her bare hands. If she didn't get every piece up and Greg stepped on one, she'd be hurting more than she was now and gloves didn't allow her enough movement to get it all. The glass stuck under her nails and left small cuts and slivers but the pain was nothing compared to last night. Looking up from her daunting task, her hair covered the bruises now beginning to form on her left cheek from Greg's unblockable backhand. Her hair held some blood residue she was unable to wash away and her body ached from the abuse. He had become angry with her the night before because he thought she had been hiding something from him. Maybe she did deserve it, she hadn't told him she'd lost her wallet until he slammed her against the wall, nearly breaking every bone in her body. She was now seated at the bottom of that very wall, looking to the indentation her body had left in the sheetrock. The vibration for the jolt had caused all the pictures to come to a crash landing on the hardwood floor below and angering him more. She sighed, slowly retracing the events of the prior night over in her mind again. At least he hadn't found out about Adam, she could be thankful for that. Sitting back on her heels, she wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head on them. How many more times would he do this, how many more time did she have before he finally just killed her in an angry rage? Maybe it would be a blessing, at least she wouldn't have to live this way anymore, at least she wouldn't have to face the shame and disgrace of her family if it ever came out how screwed up her life had become. Slowly standing from her position, she collected the paper towels of broken glass and dumped them in the garbage can around the corner before bending again to collect the pictures that had broken. Running her finger down the lifeless face of her husband on their wedding day, she placed the stack of framed photos on the kitchen counter, as she entered. She'd have to get new glass for them eventually but it would have to wait. He had been back to the sweet Greg she knew this morning, apologizing for the event and promising to do better, the sad thing was that she almost still believed him. The window she glanced out of had fogged over, preventing Julie from looking out but there was no movement to speak of anyway, unless you counted the falling snow as signs of life. Julie had never felt so alone in her entire life, she was always been surrounded by her family and then by at least one of the Ducks, every minute of her day. She was loved, now she wasn't so sure.

Adam rolled over in the tangled motel sheets from his sleepless night and let out a loud sigh, letting his arms fall out to his sides and away from his chest. His eyes transfixed on the ceiling and counted the specs of dirt as his contemplated what he would have to do today. It was 11 am already, or so the clock on the bedside table informed him, reaching for his cell phone and the scrap piece of paper, tucked not so neatly in the fold.
"Hopefully it's not too early..." He muttered to himself, trying to focus his eyes on the paper in front of him. "756..." He muttered as he completed the number sequence and held the phone to his ear. The phone call last night had given him his confidence back that the Ducks didn't hate him, they had actually been wondering what had happened to him in the past 7 years since the last time they saw him. The line rang a couple of times, Adam wasn't sure how many as he yawned into the receiver before it was picked up.
"Hello..." The voice sounded tired but Adam couldn't not recognize it.
"Hey, Guy?" Adam questioned, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Yeah, who's this?" He asked, same old Guy, always sounding slightly confused about what he was doing.
"It's Adam...Hey, is Connie home?" He asked, finally sitting up from the bed and swinging his legs over the side.
"Yeah, she's just putting Hailey down for a nap. What's been happening with you? Suddenly you're too good for us?" Guy joked, a slight laugh escaping his lips. Adam smiled to himself,
"No, just full of myself is more like it..." He had to admit, he had been rather self-absorbed until he had run into Julie the day before.
"Either way, how you been?" Guy asked from the other end of the line.
"I've been okay...surviving..." Another laugh from the other end of the phone,
"Yeah, surviving on your 2.5 million a year..." They both laughed this time. "Anyway, Connie's coming down the stairs now so here she is..." Guy said before handing the phone off to Connie after a small whisper of who it was.
"Adam!" She exclaimed, taking the phone.
"Hey, Cons..."
"I can't believe this! We haven't heard from you in like forever! You missed the wedding!" She sound really happy. It seemed almost like no one had changed in the few years he'd been away.
"I know, look, Connie...I'm trying to find Julie..." The line was quiet suddenly and Adam wondered if they'd lost the connection. His phone was still in calling mode. "Connie..." He asked as he heard her move from wherever she was to another room with the click of a door handle.
"Adam...Julie..." Her voice trailed off and Adam could feel the uneasiness in her voice.
"Connie, I ran into her yesterday at the airport, there's something not right about her...I need to find her and I don't know how..."
"Adam...Julie hasn't called me in almost three years, since she married Greg. He...He always gave me an uneasy feeling and well, I'm afraid of what he's turned into." Her voice was now trembling.
"Connie, I know she's in trouble, I can feel it, I just need to find her." The line was silent again before she sighed.
"The last address I have for them is 46 Norris Hill Road..." Adam flipped open Julie's abandoned wallet and glanced at the address, it was the same.
"Yeah but how do I get there?"
"Just take Highway 8 south until you get to the town of Beckford, you'll have to go through town on Sawnson's Lane until you get to the edge of town. It's an old dirt road, they're the only ones that live out there..." Her voice was low again.
"Connie, how come if you knew that she was in trouble and you knew where she was...Why didn't you ever try to go and see her, try to help her?" Adam wondered out loud.
"Because, I was scared of what I'd find. Was she okay when you saw her?" Adam sighed, contemplating the question.
"She wasn't the same Julie. It was like she wasn't there at all." Connie sighed to keep from crying.
"Adam, just bring her home. She loved you the day she married Greg, she just thought you'd given up on her." Adam nodded absently, this was all his fault.

Julie didn't even bother to turn on the radio as she finished cleaning up the kitchen, she wasn't in the mood for music anyway. Not having the radio on, created the peaceful silence that Julie needed at the moment to collect her thoughts. She couldn't leave him, he'd find her. She'd thought about it a million times but came to the same conclusion. He'd hurt her and anyone she went to for help. Besides, she had no way to get away. She had no money, no car, no friends, he'd completely isolated her from everything she knew, dropped her into this little unknown town with no one but him within a hundred miles. This was her life; for better or for worse, she had to admit it sometime and stop hoping for some hero to come to her rescue. It wasn't going to happen, she'd waited too long as it was. She needed to focus on what needed to be done here, today. Looking back down at the counter, she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to the happiest time in her life and how she let it go..

3 months had passed since that night on Valentine's Day weekend when Adam had told her he would be leaving after graduation to play for New Jersey. Time had passed so fast, 18 year old Julie Gaffney thought, walked across campus to find the rest of the Ducks before the graduation rehearsal. They were right where she'd expected them to be, in the cafeteria, pigging out on the food the school was supplying for the students. Goldberg loaded his plate, piling Jell-O on top of the pastries he had already collected. Julie groaned, thinking back to that time in freshmen year when he made her eat so much she got sick. The taste of vomit still came to her thoughts every time that story came up. Scanning the room, she eyes locked with his and she smiled as much as a person as nervous as she could do. He pulled out the chair next to him and she sat, leaning over to kiss him chastely on the lips as he sat back down to finish the food that was on his plate.
"You okay?" He asked, rubbing her back with his hand in a reassuring fashion.

"Oh, What if I mess up my speech, what if I say something wrong. Everyone will remember me as being the girl that screwed up the most important speech of my life." She mumbled on before he laughed, leaning over to kiss her reassuringly,

"You'll be fine, just breathe." He coached, touching her cheek with a smile. Julie tried to smile back but she couldn't get her lips to stop shaking with nervousness. Adam put down his fork and stood, reaching for her hand, she was more important than any food.

"Come on, let's take a walk."

Julie brought herself back with a shake of her head, refocusing on the counter in front of her. No, she couldn't live in the past. She couldn't go on thinking like this, it made her want it back more than she already did. She wanted the fights and the bad times even. She just wanted to be free again. Was she wrong to want to be loved again? Was she wrong to want to feel like she was beautiful again? The memories of Adam holding her in his arms wrapped itself around her mind and she sudden felt at peace with the situation. She had protected Adam, Greg didn't know about Adam and it would stay that way.

A small car came to a stop at the only gas station within 50 miles and Adam Banks stepped out into the heavy snow, his designer shoes crunching against the blacktop. He looked at the street sign that was nearly obscured with drifting snow and sighed in frustration. He had been on this Swanson St for the better part of an hour and still no Norris Rd had come up. Greg must have really planned this one out, he thought with a groan. Turning the collar of his jacket up, he quickly hurried inside and grabbed a few things off the shelf, noticing the old man at the counter staring at him with intensity. There was a TV perched behind the counter on an old filing cabinet and New Jersey was playing against a team Adam couldn't make out but it looked like they were leading in goals. The man still continued to stare at Adam as he finally decided and brought his purchases up to the counter. The man looked at him oddly before leaning back off his stool to start ring up what Adam had brought up. A pack of snowballs, how very fitting in the current weather, two packs of chips, one of those disgusting sandwiches they try to pass off as food and a bottle of Pepsi. Hey, he was hungry, he hadn't eaten anything since his parents house the day before. Glancing back at the television, he reminded himself he was supposed to be at that game but instead was here, in the middle of nowhere trying to save a girl he'd been in love with since he met almost 12 years ago.
"$8.53.." The old man's voice broke his thought and he handed him a credit card. The old man looked down at the small item of plastic.
"Don't take credit cards." The man grumpily shot back at Adam as he opened his wallet to retrieve cash. He handed him a fifty, placing his card back into its place in his wallet. The old man looked down at it as if he'd never seen one before and back at Adam,
"I don't have change to break this." He said in the rudest tone Adam had ever heard. Adam grumbled just slightly.
"Keep the change." He motioned with his hand and collected the bag from the counter. Jeez, this really was the middle of nowhere. No wonder the man couldn't break his money, he probably got so little business. The snow just added to it. He swung open the car door and threw the bag on the passenger's seat, before starting the car with a rumble.

Julie had moved from the kitchen to the hall and was now mopping the floors slowly to make sure she got every little section. It was a daunting task but Greg wanted it done. Why did everything always come back to Greg in her mind? He was her every waking moment, her every thought. She hated this, she hated what she had become from him. She felt the tears forming in her eyes and she violently threw the broom to the floor and backed against the wall, finally letting her tears run free. She was all alone and no one would see her cry. This was all her fault, she could be with the most loving and caring man in the world but instead she was here, being a maid to a man who claimed to love her but hit her instead. She slowly slid down the wall until she was swatted against it, arms wrapped around her knees. How did all this happen? She let it happen, she made it happen, she reminded herself.

The campus was pretty much dead after the ceremony, the night moon beginning to shine brightly through the maple trees that lined the lake. Julie stared nervously down at his hand that was interlaced with hers, their fingers gently sliding together as they walked. The same thought had been running through her head all week and now that graduation was over, she could finally let herself speak. Could they make this work? Could they be 5000 miles apart and still be committed to only each other? She wanted to but was it possible? Would she just become another chain holding Adam back? The girlfriend back in Minnesota that he saw on the long weekends and holidays. Did she really want that for herself? She knew what was best for him and she had done her part to get him there, now she needed to think about herself. Her room had been packed and she was ready to head back to Maine for the summer with her family. She should do this now, she told herself, before it became a dear John letter, which wasn't her at all. She tightened her grip on his hand and turned to him quickly, stopping their pace across campus.
"Adam, we need to talk." She started, hoping he wasn't going to hate her for this. He looked at her intently, a small smile on his lips as he reached for her.

"Jules, what's up?" He asked softly touching her cheek, why did he have to be so damn cute when she was trying to the realistic one in this situation. She leaned into his hand a little and closed her eyes for a moment before continuing, she just wanted one more moment of him not hating her. She sighed deeply and let go of his hand, turning to walk towards the lake on the East side of the campus. She couldn't do this with him looking at her that way, she couldn't do it with him touching her that way. She was trying to save him, trying to be good to him. She stopped and stared at the moonlight on the lake.
"Jules. what's up?" He asked finally reaching her and wrapping his arms around her waist, gathering her to his chest. God, he wasn't making this easy.
"I've been thinking. I know we said that this whole long distance thing was going to work but maybe we're fooling ourselves..." His eyes changed to one of disbelief when he turned her towards him. She hated herself for doing this, doing this to him, to them.
"What do you mean, Julie?" His eyes showed his confusion and Julie turned towards the lake.
"I mean, I don't want to be the on-the-weekends girlfriend. I don't think that's going to be enough for either of us. I think maybe we should just put things on hold for a while and we'll just wait and see." Her eyes scanned his for reassurance.
"Why do we have to wait? I know how I feel about you. I want to be with you! I want to..." He scoffed loudly turning away from her. She could feel the conversation getting more intense with every new sentence.
"Adam, if we're still crazy about each other after this than nothing can tear us apart! I just don't want to spend four years waiting around for you and wondering what you're doing." She grabbed his shoulders to make him look at her and tried to convey through her eyes that this wasn't a break up but a time apart. "I know how selfish that sounds but I'll be constantly waiting for you to come home to get five minutes with you before you leave again. It will be an endless cycle! I won't be able to concentrate on school when I'm wondering what you're doing all the time. I don't want to become a jealous girlfriend and I want to trust you but 5000 miles is a long way to cover up lies."
"What, so you think I'd cheat on you?" Adam's face reddened with anger. "Julie, can't you just understand I love you! I would do anything to be with you! I didn't even want to go until you told me it was okay!"
"I still say it's okay. This will be okay but I don't want to be attached to you like some ball and chain. I thought it's what you wanted! I just want you to be happy and I should come second to that. You want this...so go." She stated pushing against his chest lightly.
"I want you more!" Adam confided, taking her face into his hands again and cupping her chin in the palms. Julie tried to hold her emotions, she wanted him to think she was all right with this.
"Julie, just tell me you love me and I'll stay, I'll make it work! I'll just play here on the college team. Just tell me you love me and I'll stay.." He whispered, his eyes pleading for a response. Julie's heart was breaking into a million pieces as she held her silence and looked down to avoid this unwavering stare. She wanted more than anything to say it but she couldn't do that to him. The silence was unnerving to him and he finally let go of her and slowly backed away.
"So this is the way you want it?" He asked, suddenly angry with her. She nodded, not looking up from the grass she was staring at intently.
"Adam, please just go, this is your chance to get out of here and make something of yourself. To finally prove your father wrong." She promised, holding back her tears. His eyes darted out on the lake and he sighed,
"Just tell me, if you don't love me, what have these past 3 and half years been? A joke? Some game? Every time we made love, you were just pretending?" He asked angrily. She scrunched up her face at his sudden tone, how could he think that when he knew how she felt! She had shown him how she felt even if she could never say it.
"Adam, please. I didn't want it to be like this!" She pleaded again. Adam backed away from her outreached hand as she tried to comfort him.
"No, Julie! These past three years have been nothing but a lie! You've just been waiting to get rid of me!" He turned away from her and began to walk away.
"Adam! I..." Julie started but he was gone before she could bring herself to say it. She did love him, she wanted it to work but just as she had tried to save him from being hurt, she'd hurt him more than anyone could.

Julie's thoughts were broke as the door bell sounded into the emptiness of the house. It chimed with an echo that remained in her head for a few more seconds. Julie looked around with a sudden freight. Who could be there? No one would come out in this horrible storm to see her. All the neighbors wives would be a home cooking and preparing for dinner, it was nearing 3 o'clock, lucky for her, Greg wasn't done at work until 5 and then would be home a quarter to 6. She had plenty of time to still think about dinner. Again, her thoughts ran back to Greg as the door bell rang again, the person must be impatient. Julie quickly cleaned up the cleaning supplies she had been using and wiped her face with her hand to remove the wet tears before smoothing her pants over her thighs and straightening her shirt to go to the door. She fixed her hair on her way to cover her bruises in the hall mirror before she started for the door. She was almost to it when the bell went off again. Someone was really impatient, she thought, finally reaching the door and grasping the handle in her hand. She slowly unlocked the door and turned the handle, it was cold to the touch from the weather outside. The snow was really heavy still when she opened the door to find Adam Banks standing on her front porch, wallet in hand. the smile that she had prepared to greet whoever was at the door faded and she scolded at him.
"Adam! What are you doing here? How did you find me?" She was suddenly so agitated, she forgot about the bruises lining her face and pushed the hair out of the way in frustration.
"What the hell!" Adam started pushing her back into the door with a bit of force. Julie quickly realized what she'd done and pushed the hair back into her face to cover the offending marks.
"It's nothing, I fell..." She tried to explain away, turning away from him.
"Yeah, what'd you fall on, a concrete block...face first?" He asked, reaching out to touch her face. She backed up, once she say him coming, not letting him touch her face.
"Adam, what are you doing here?" She asked again, taking her wallet back and looking inside for the contents.
"No, I didn't take anything. Jules, you got to get out of here..." He said following her into the kitchen, leaving wet shoe prints on the floor as he walked.
"Adam! I just cleaned that!" She practically yelled, quickly grabbing a mop from the closet to get up the water before it stained the floor.
"Sorry.." He quietly mumbled.
"Greg gets mad when the house is dirty..." She mumbled more to herself than him, returning the mop to the closet and making him clean his shoes with a towel.
"Julie, listen to me. You got to get out of here. He's dangerous...look at your face!" Adam said trying again to touch her face. This time she didn't see him coming and he placed his hand over the bruises, touching them lightly with a soft hand.

"Greg didn't do this... I'm just a klutz.." She said thought she wanted to cry. Just the touch of his skin make her want to die rather than live the way she had been anymore. It would be so easy to just run, run with him, that was what he was asking. She looked up at him,
"Adam, what are you asking me?" She asked, looking up at him as he rubbed his thumb against the part of her cheek that wasn't bruised.
"Julie, leave with me, I'll take you home. We'll go back to Minneapolis and find the ducks..." She cut him off,
"No, I will not bring other people into my problems.": She turned away fast, going about her business in the kitchen. "This is my home, Adam. I'm not leaving." His face reddened a little and he followed her into the living room as she continued to clean up. She was like a robot in her meticulous observations.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd leave now." Her voice was soft and blocked by the hair that had fallen back into her face. No, he wasn't leaving her here and at that particular moment, he didn't care what she said. He was out of the room and up the stairs before she even looked up again. The banging of doors on the second floor was the only thing that signaled where he had gone and Julie cursed softly, heading up the stairs after him.
"Adam Banks!" She yelled at him, a bit of her old self returning if only for a minute. She came to stop in front of her bedroom where he had a suitcase out on the bed and was piling her clothes into it. "Get out of my house! Now!" She cried with aggravation.
"Not without you..." He mumbled softly just audible enough for her to hear as he continued to the closet.
"Adam, I'm not going with you. Now would you put that back before you get me in more trouble." She yelled, covering her mouth with her hand. She realized what she had said as it escaped her lips and he looked up at her with a deep hurt. She turned her face away, trying to find something else to look at. He knew what he thought was happening here but now he was sure. He heart felt like it broke at that exact moment and he wanted to take her in his arms.
"Oh, Jules...He did this, didn't he?" Adam asked softly, touching her bruises again. Julie felt her hard exterior that she tried so hard to kept up, crumble to the floor when she realized he knew. It wasn't a scared break down but a relieving breakdown knowing she wasn't alone anymore in her struggle. She gripped his jacket clad arms in her hands and let out a sob.
"It's okay, Adam. There's no getting away from him. He'll find me no matter where I go. It's hopeless..." She said, looking down. Adam's face hardened,
"No, it's not. I'm getting you out of here." He said sternly, letting go of her face and finishing packing her suitcase before he closed and zipped it up.
"Adam, you can't be serious! I'm married! You have to leave here without me!" She said, finding some composure and drying her eyes. Could this really be happening? She thought silently. Adam shook his head, removing the suitcase from the bed and looking around for anything else she might want to take, it was all his, from what he concluded. Julie owned nothing but what was on her back. Julie looked up at him, eyes still red but now in shock. He went to move to go out the door with her bag and she blocked him.
"He'll come after us.." She tried to reason, she didn't want him involved.
"Let him." Adam was unwavering, cupping her face in his hand. Her eyes were unsure as he brushed his hand across her cheek again in a reassuring fashion.
"Julie, do you trust me?" He asked looking into her eyes. She nodded only slightly.
"Trust me now..." He whispered as she finally nodded in approval and went over to the closet to grab a small box before exiting the room. He followed with the suitcase, shutting the door behind him to buy them some time. She was at the door, coat on, box in hand when he caught up to her. Her eyes were unsure but she nodded at him in approval and they left the house for the wintery blizzard outside.