Sorry it's been ages since I've updated this. My life has had a lot going on and I lost the passion I had for writing. But I'm back now. I hope people are still interested in this. Either way, I'll be updating this more. Thanks for your patience.

Dad walked into the living room where Alan had slumped onto the couch in defiance. "Are you really that mad that I invited Aurora to stay here?"

"Of course I am." Alan tried his hardest not to raise his voice. The last thing he needed was for Josh to hear an argument and get curious. "You know how I felt after everything that happened. I mean, you witnessed it with your own eyes. But you still bring her here and expect me to be perfectly okay with it. It's not gonna work that way."

"Believe me, I do know how you feel. But what you fail to see is that I've witnessed the whole thing from the outside. You were both at fault in that break-up. Whether you want to admit it or not." His Dad had never looked so serious as he crossed his arms and stared down at Alan.

Before Alan got a chance to make a remark, Aurora walked in, a curious look on her face. "Josh is wandering around the kitchen saying something about his blood sugar. I'm not sure how to handle that."

Dad, letting out a deep breath, walked towards the doorway. "I'll fix it. But, before I do-" Before he even finished his sentence, he grabbed the handles to the sliding doors that separated the living room from the rest of the house.

Alan jumped from his seat faster than he thought he could. "Dad, open this door. Now!"

"Not until you two can at least talk to each other without looking like you'd rather be dead."

oooOOOooo

Slamming on the door, Alan cursed under his breath, "Open the door, Dad." He waited for a response. "Dad!"

"I should've seen this coming." Aurora kept her back to him, her head hung low. "He'll do anything to get what he wants." She walked over to the couch and slammed her head back against the cushion.

Alan gave up his assault against the door. "Yeah, you should talk."

Aurora looked over at him, stunned. "What? What's that suppose to mean?" She waited a moment for an answer. He was acting just like he did when she said that it was over. Instead of telling her exactly what he meant, he shut down and gave her the cold shoulder.

"It's nothing, okay." He didn't even bother to turn around.

"No, tell me. Tell me everything you have to say, Alan." She scooted to edge of the couch. "You obviously see me as some...horrible excuse for human being. It's obvious. You won't talk to me. It's all you can do to look at me. And, when you finally do say something, it's hateful. So go ahead. Tell me."

While they sat in silence, Aurora could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She honestly didn't want to hear what he said because she knew it would hurt. She knew her heart and soul would be crushed into a million pieces when he was finally honest with her. Still, she couldn't blame him for hating her. She hated herself. The whole thing made her sick and she knew he wouldn't believe her when she told him why she ended it. Why should he?

Slowly turning around, he looked her. "So, you want the truth?"

"Yes, I do."

"Fine. I'll tell you the truth. You broke my heart, Aurora." He took a few steps forward and Aurora wasn't sure what was going to happen. "You were the love of my life for 3 years. I thought it was gonna be us forever. Instead, you go ahead and tell me it was probably for the best if we just went our separate ways. You went off to a whole other country and left me here. I thought things were great but I guess you felt different. Obviously. And now, you want me to act like nothing happened? I can't do that, Aurora."

She waited a few moments, waiting for him to say more. Instead, he sat on the other end of the couch and buried his head in his hands. Her heart raced faster as she tried to take in his words. She tried to collect her thoughts but they all started to jumble together. Instead she took a deep breath and decided to wing it.

"Everything was perfect. Being with you was...the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. As a matter of fact, I was already planning a wedding and picking out our kids names." She paused a moment, preparing herself. "Then, I got accepted to study in Egypt and it threw a wrench in all my plans. You'd just been accepted to college. A college you dreamed about going to. Our dreams were coming true but-but they were completely different."

She felt him looking at her, waiting. "At first, I had planned on turning down the offer and following you to school. But, I was too...selfish, I guess. I wanted to go so bad that I couldn't bring myself to give it up. You were so happy, there was no way I was going to ask you to give up on your dream to follow me to a country you'd never really thought twice about. You would've been so unhappy there and I knew it. But I know you, Alan." She looked over at him, "I knew that the moment you heard my thoughts about giving everything up, you'd decide that you wouldn't let that happen. You would follow me and give up everything. I didn't want that. I wanted you to be happy."

"So, you broke up with me?" He continued to stare at her, waiting. "What did you think that would do?"

"I know," She let out a sigh. "it sounds stupid. It sounds like an excuse so I don't look like the bad guy. But, it's not. It's the truth. I knew that if we weren't together, you'd go your way and live your dreams. It's all I wanted. If you want the truth, I didn't even go to Egypt."

That was enough to catch his attention. "What? I, I thought-"

Aurora let out a slight chuckle, "They 'decided to go in a different direction' and choose someone else. They said I didn't fill the standards they needed at that time."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He straightened out. "You know you could've told me, right."

"Could I, Alan? I broke up with you out of selfishness and couldn't even do what I had dreamed of. I was ashamed of myself. I knew you hated me and I didn't blame you. I hated me too. That night after I left your house, the first thing I wanted was to run back to you and tell you everything. I never wanted to leave you. You were my guy and I wanted you forever." She wiped away a tear. "I still do but I know you don't trust me anymore. I don't blame you. But, could you at least forgive me enough to be my friend again?"

As she finally let the tears go, she felt his arms wrap around her. "Of course I can." He squeezed her tighter as she sobbed into his shoulder.

oooOOOooo

"What good did it do to lock them in there?" Josh asked through bits of a peanut butter sandwich.

Dr. Hyatt let out a short, hushed laugh. "It did plenty."

"But, they're not back together. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I think that's too much for now." Dr. Hyatt switched off the intercom. "At least they're talking. It's a start."