Here you go. Another hard chapter.A lil short i know. Had to get my daughter ready for school. Her first day is tomorrow. Sooo excited..lol. and again, thanks for all the reviews. Keep them coming. Suggestions are always welcome. :) #beasties #batb

Evan stood in the hallway as Catherine walked away and looked at Vincent with disgust. "I know the hurt that you feel right now is more than the pain you'd feel if I punched you. So I won't. My only question is why would you do that to her? I realized the mistake I made when I lost her. She's too good for anyone to hurt her like that." Evan shook his head at him. "Look, I really don't know why I'm even saying this to you, but that girl cares a lot about you. I've never seen her look at me the way she looked at you. If you are able to fix this, don't ever let her go. The next time you hurt her, I will hurt you." He threatened.

Vincent is surprised at what he said. He's a better person than he is. If it were the other way around, Evan would likely be on his way to the ER. He was right about the pain he is feeling right now. He didn't have it in him to respond except he just nodded in agreement.

"If I was you, I'd go after her. Something i regret not doing when she walked away from me. I'll let everyone know in there that you guys left." Evan walked off and headed in the ballroom.

Vincent leaned back against the wall and slid down to the ground. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to go after her but he wanted to respect her wishes. I've screwed up the best thing in my life right now. All because I couldn't trust myself to trust her not to hurt me like Alex. I didn't even give her the chance. He thought about his past relationship. Alex cheated on him because he wasn't paying enough attention according to her. He was trying to balance starting up the new company with JT and his relationship with her. He had to admit, he could've tried harder, but the signs were there and he just ignored it. But Catherine was different, he never had to try to fall for her. In fact, he was against it. But there was this undeniable pull that he felt. He needed her in his life and being that vulnerable again scared the shit out of him. It could be that he looked for an excuse because it was too good to be true. He had no one to blame but himself. He could never forget the pain in her eyes and that he was the one who caused it. She didn't even scream or get mad, she just walked away. He pulled out his phone and tried to call her. It went straight to voicemail. She probably turned it off. He got worried. What if she's hurt? He couldn't just sit there anymore. He didn't care if she would push him away. She needed to know that he would fight for her. He needed to explain. He got up and started running. He needs to see her and now.

The car pulled up infront of her door. She wiped the tears away from her face and took a deep breath. The driver opened her door and she stepped out. She reached for her keys in her purse and opened her apartment. She dropped her keys on the kitchen counter and stumbled, half blind from her swollen eyes from crying, and headed for the shower. She needed to relax. All she could think about were Evan's words that Vincent kissed Tori and spent the night at her place. She really shouldn't be upset because they aren't together. But she felt betrayed that he would do that to her and not tell her. They've talked several times after that night, he had ample opportunity to tell her. She knew she needed an explanation but wasn't sure she was really ready to hear it. Her worst fear would be that he didn't need her or care about her anymore. She brushed her fingers on her lips. She couldn't dismiss the feeling when they kissed. She knew that he still felt something for her. She kept trying to rack her brain for reasons that he would do this but eventually gave up. She leaned back in the warm water hoping that it would wash away the pieces of her shattered heart. She felt a wave of torturous feelings of losing him and the tears started coming. She tried to breathe normally, she needed to find a way to get out of what seem like a nightmare that she was in.

Vincent got out of the cab and is now infront of a familiar brownstone building. A feeling of fear rushed over his body. He didn't know if she was going to push him away, but that doesn't compare to the fear that he would lose her forever. He couldn't bear the thought of never holding her again. Never seeing her smile or hearing her laugh. He needed to know that he did everything he could to keep her. He regretted not telling her when they spoke on the phone when he was in New York, but he didn't want something like this to be discussed over the phone either. He needed to make sure she knows that it meant nothing and he was stupid. The thing that he is sure of is that he wanted to be the only man in his life.

He headed up the stairs and stood infront of her door. He didn't see any light or heard anything coming out of her apartment. Is she not home? He reluctantly knocked on her door and waited for a response. Nothing. He waited again.

Catherine was drying off when she heard a slight sound coming from the door. She was thinking twice about opening it. She is exhausted from tonight's events, but if she was completely honest with herself, there's only one person she would want it to be.

Vincent softly knocked at the door one more time. Please open. He heard sounds and her voice echoed, "Coming!"

Catherine quickly put on a pair of shorts and a flannel pajama top. She reached her door and took a deep breath. It took her a couple of seconds to open as she really wasn't ready to face anyone right now. She was really hoping that it would be ..."Vincent. Hi. What are you doing here?" She couldn't bear to make eye contact so she just kept her head low as she stepped out into the hallway. She wasn't sure that he wanted him to stay.

"Can we talk? I need to explain what happened?" His low voice was anxious.

"You're kidding right?" She grimaced. "You had a week to tell me and I had to hear it from Evan. EVAN! My ex." She was livid. Her voice was so loud. It's like she had become a whole different person.

"I know. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to tell you over the phone. I wanted to do it in person." He said wanting to take away the agony that he sees in her eyes.

"Vincent, we spoke EVERY DAY! I felt distanced from you. Do u know I blamed myself? That I thought I did something wrong. I know I'm to blame that I made you act like my bf, but honestly I thought we had something more than that. And why did you kiss me tonight?"

A nervous elderly lady peeked out of her door from across the hall. "Catherine, dear, are you ok?"

"I'm sorry Ms. Davis. I'm ok. Thank you." She smiled at her. She pulled Vincent into her apartment. She didn't want to cause a scene and worst have her neighbors in her business.

"Sit!" She ordered him and pointed at the couch. She stayed in the kitchen. She was breathing hard again and she needed to stop the tears that were trying to come out. She didnt want to cry infront of him. She needed to calm down. Now that he's infront of her all she feels towards him is anger.

Vincent looked back to her, "Are you ok?"

Catherine walked over to him and sat down. She stayed at the end of the couch avoiding all contact. "Stop! Please stop pretending that you care about me. You want to know why I asked you to not follow me? Because I know I will be upset. Honestly Vincent, right now I'm not going to trust anything you say. I need some time to think, reevaluate what THIS is between us." Her face soften, she felt her anger fading but the pain stayed and calmly she let out a sigh. "Look, I know I have no right to be mad at you because you're not really my bf. I'm just really hurt. I thought we had something and most importantly I'm so confused as to why you kissed me tonight."

"Catherine, I'm ..." She placed her finger on his lips as she sat closer. Her eyes are filled with tears and she tried to hold them back. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek which he brushed off with his finger.

She decided that she was going to lay everything out and just be truthful to herself about how she really felt. If this is the last time they will speak to each other, atleast he'll know the truth. The truth which was something he wasn't able to give her."i missed you so much. I was so excited to see hurt me Vincent. As selfish as it maybe i wanted it to not be true. I thought Evan was just saying that so i would be mad at you. When you didnt deny it then i thought that maybe Tori was the girl you wanted to be with and just couldn't tell me. Then I got angry, angry at you for not picking me over her. I felt like a failure who would never win or deserve for you to love me. That I was someone that was always going to be just a second choice or not even a choice at all. It made me sad that what i felt made my heart physically ache. Right now, I'm asking you for some space. I need you to figure out what you want because I can't go through with something like this again. I like you Vincent, maybe a lil more, but I need to know that we are on the same page. I want you to be with someone who makes you feel the way I feel when I'm with you. Honestly, I don't want you to answer right now because as of this instant I don't even think I can believe anything that you have to say."

She took his hand and placed it in hers. She gently squeezed it and looked in his eyes.

"I told you how i felt because I feel like you should know. You are important in my life and I feel lost without you, but right now im just not ready to hear anything you have to say. Atleast not tonight. Tomorrow is a different day. So, if you care about me at all, you'll say goodnight and leave."

He gently stood up and faced her. She reached out and gave him a soft hug. They walked in silence as she led him to the door.

"Goodnight Catherine" and he gave her a weak smile.

"Goodnight" and with that she closed the door.