The next night, Thayer was working on his latest app when he heard the doorbell. He really couldn't afford a distraction right now. He was already behind on his work and he really needed to get it all done. Nevertheless, he was the only one home that night. Mads was out with Ryan again, so it was up to him to figure out who the hell was at the door at this time of night.

He put his computer down on the couch and stomped into the hallway just as the doorbell rang again and then again. He knew that pattern and he prepared for who he knew was standing on the other side of the door.

"Sutton," he greeted, "What can I do for you?"

"Can we talk?"

"About what?"

"Yesterday at the tennis court. Why were you pushing me so hard?"

"Because you needed to be pushed, Sutton," Thayer stated almost irritated. He really needed to work on his app. Instead, he was explaining to Sutton why he pushed her so hard.

"Not that hard," Sutton defended.

"Sutton, you're not going to get any better if you don't push yourself."

"Pushing is one thing. It was almost like you were punishing me."

"Sorry I believe in you more than you believe in yourself."

He slammed the door behind him and walked into the kitchen, frustrated. How could she not get it? He pulled the fridge open and grabbed a can of soda. When he turned back around he jumped back about a foot when he saw Sutton standing three feet away from him.

"What the hell, Sutton?"

"I'm not leaving until I get some answers."

"Answers to what?"

"Why you're acting the way you are? You didn't used to get mad at me like that. You were the only person I wasn't afraid to cry in front of. You were the only guy who'd never let me down. I knew I could trust you, but now I'm not so sure. Yesterday you yelled at me and stalked off of the court like a five-year-old who didn't get the toy he wanted."

"Back off, Sutton."

"No Thayer. Yesterday was not the first time you've acted that way. It's been happening more and more and I don't know why. You used to be someone I could count on. I could call you and know you would be there as soon as you could. I could be having the worst day of my life and you could find a way to make it better. You were always there for me and maybe I wasn't there for you as much as I should've been, but—"

"You're right, Sutton," Thayer interrupted. If she was going to push him to be honest with her, then that's exactly what she was going to get, "You weren't there for me. You never have been and maybe I'm a little tired of it being that way."

"What do you mean?"

"I loved you and all you did was use it for your own personal vendetta. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. I mean it's not like you've ever treated me like anything more."

"That's not fair."

"What's not fair is that I have always been there for you and you have never given me the same courtesy. When you went missing I was the only one who was on your side. I even accused Emma of doing something to you to get rid of you. I have always fought for you and all you've done is beat me down. I gave you my heart, Sutton, and all you did was break it."

Sutton looked away as if she'd been slapped in the face. In an hour or two he'd probably regret what he'd say, but for now, he felt good about it. She wanted him to be honest. It wasn't his problem that she couldn't handle it. She sniffed her nose and wiped a tear away from her eye.

"Well if that's how you feel then I guess we're done here."

She turned to leave and Thayer found himself wanting her to stay, "So you're just going to walk away in the middle of a fight?"

"I'm finally being honest with myself, Thayer. Maybe you should too."

She stepped out of the room and it wasn't until he heard the slam of the door that he realized what she meant. She wasn't coming back to him and she didn't want him to go to her. She had realized what he'd been denying for so long. They were too different to ever get back to what they used to have. Suddenly, he couldn't breath and he had to clutch the edge of the counter to keep from falling over.

Sutton heard Mads call to greet her as she walked down the hallway, but she refused to acknowledge her. It was already taking everything she had to hold her composure and having to explain to Mads what she was doing here would probably break her. She pushed past her and out the front door without ever saying a word.

She slammed the door behind her and cursed at the rain that had begun to fall. This was Phoenix, Arizona. It wasn't supposed to rain like this. She took a deep breath and made a mad dash for her car. It was only fifty feet, but by the time she reached it she was already soaked.

She unlocked the car and slipped in the driver's side, intent on getting home without shedding any tears until she was in the sanctity of her bedroom. The car roared to life and she pulled it out of the driveway in the direction of home.

At the first stoplight, Sutton slowed the car to a stop and tried to hold back the tears. Her resolve had been breaking ever since she pulled out of his driveway. The more and more she thought about it, the more and more she wanted to just crumble into a million pieces.

It was the longest light of her life. As she sat there and waited and waited, she found herself more and more upset. She kept willing it to change and it just stayed the same, kind of like her relationship with Thayer. That was her breaking point. The tears rolled down cheeks and she slammed her hands on the steering wheel in frustration. This was not how it was supposed to be. It wasn't supposed to end like this.

The light finally turned green and Sutton wiped the tears from her eyes. She had to focus. She had to get home and crying her eyes out while it was pouring rain was going to make it that much more difficult. She pulled her foot off of the brake and eased it onto the gas, hoping to make it home before the waterworks started again.

Ted Mercer walked out the front door of the hospital, fully prepared to be heading home. He didn't even care that it was pouring rain outside and he didn't have an umbrella. Today had seemed like one of the longest shifts of his life and he couldn't wait to get home for some time with his family. Things were going well. He didn't plan on ruining those by working too many late shifts.

He was just about to call Kristin when the ambulance pulled in. His friend, Johnny Collins, had been expecting them. The doors burst open and two paramedics started to explain the situation: car accident victim, unconscious at the scene, been in and out for about ten minutes. He couldn't see much from where he was standing, but he knew that car accidents were never fun to deal with. Johnny leaned over to get a better look at his patient and Ted headed for the parking lot, thankful he was done with his doctoral duties for the night.

"Ted," Johnny's voice called.

He turned back to face Johnny and felt his heart sink. There was only one reason Johnny would be looking at him the way he was and it was the last reason he wanted Johnny to be calling his name.

Emma stepped into the kitchen and asked, "Has anyone heard from Sutton?"

Kristin was standing in the kitchen working to finish dinner. Laurel was finishing setting the table and Ted was supposed to be on his way home from work. The only person missing was Sutton, and she'd promised to be back twenty minutes ago. She knew she'd gone to talk to Thayer about the day before and she had really wanted to know how it had gone before dinner started.

"Not since she left," Kristin responded.

At that point, the home phone rang and Kristin reached to pick it. He took a look at the caller ID and then accepted the call, "Hey Honey. What's up?"

Emma couldn't hear what Ted said, but it got Kristin worried.

"Uh yeah, just give me a second," she said and then put her hand over the receiver, "Emma, can you watch the stove? I'll be back in a minute."

Emma nodded and Kristin walked out of the room without saying another word. Emma took her place in front of the stove. She stirred the tomato sauce and checked the pasta, before glancing up at Laurel.

"Wonder what that was all about?"

"Dad's probably running late," Laurel responded with a shrug.

"Have you ever seen her walk out of a room like that because Dad was running late?"

"It looks like we're about to find out," Laurel responded, looking behind Emma at the doorway.

Emma glanced behind her to see Kristin walking back into the room, looking a little distant and really concerned, "Mom," she called, "Is everything okay?"

Kristin looked up at her two daughters with a grave expression as she explained, "Sutton was just brought into the ER."