p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"A/N:/span/strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;" Thank you so much for the wonderful comments/reviews. I CAN say that there will be an "I love you" very very soon!... but I want the moment to be emperfect/em. I hope you understand. /spanspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Wingdings;"J/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Quite a few song references in this chapter. If you recognize it (or if it's a song title with the artist's name beside it) it's not mine. I hope you like it. I know there is a great amount of drama and emotion in this chapter… so if you need it feel free to grab a tissue or two. Also, know that I am sending e-hugs to everyone reading this chapter whose heart it breaks seeing things so sad./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Ten – The Hard Goodbye/span/strong/p
p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"The two weeks flew by faster than I thought they would, and I still hadn't talked to Jai about how I felt. Keleigh and I talked a lot about it, and we became very close friends, but no matter how badly I wanted to tell Jai how I felt I just couldn't bring myself to do it. As I finished packing the rest of my stuff, including the things Jai had bought for me over the last two weeks, I was thankful Keleigh was in here with me and Jai was downstairs talking to Miles as I let a tear fall down my face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Do you really have to go?" I heard the concern in her voice and realized she noticed the tear. I wiped it away and sniffled before answering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Unfortunately," I replied with so much strength. It took more than I thought I'd had to hold it together. "I have to get back to my job or it won't be there for me when I emdo/em go back." I looked up at her and could tell there was something she wasn't telling me. "What is it?" I asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Jai told Miles – in confidence so don't tell him I told you – he doesn't really want you to go." I was so surprised by her words I couldn't even process what she just said to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""He said that?" I asked in disbelief. She nodded and I sat on the bed next to my suitcase dumbfounded. How could he feel this way about me and not let me in on it? "Why didn't he tell me?" I heard the words come out of my mouth, but I didn't recognize the emotional tone that came with it. I felt a lump in my throat and immediately knew that the rest of the day was going to be difficult./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""He's a softie, but still has a habit of hiding his deeper feelings," she explained. "Usually those are the only feelings he confides in Miles with." I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I processed everything that I'd been told. It was hard to walk away from a man who felt that way when I felt the same way about him. I knew I loved him, but I still hadn't told him, and today wouldn't be a good day to tell him either since I'm leaving. Why does this have to be so complicated?br /I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and I wipe my tears away, quickly getting up and walking to the bathroom to put water on my face. As I'm drying it with a towel, I happen to hear Jai's voice asking Keleigh if I got all my stuff packed up to go down to the car. She tells him yes, and I hear nothing else. I poke my head out of the room to see Keleigh sitting on the bed alone, but my suitcase is gone. He'd taken it downstairs. Five minutes later I see Jai in the doorway./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You ready?" he asks me, concern a clear emotion on his face. I nod and Keleigh and I follow him downstairs and the four of us get into the car – Jai in the driver's seat, me in the passenger, and Keleigh and Miles in the back seat. I took a deep breath, watching the scenery as we start heading for the airport. Jai put on the radio and I heard the song Say Goodbye by Skillet playing. emOf course. Typical karma./em I thought. Fuck, man. Why did this have to be harder than it already was?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Don't say goodbye, 'cause I don't wanna hear those words tonight./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"'Cause maybe it's not the end for you and I./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"And although we knew this time would come for me and you./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Don't say anything tonight, if you're gonna say goodbye./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I felt the tear slide down my face and I quickly wiped it away, hoping Jai wouldn't notice. I think he did, though, because he slid his hand over mine and gave it a caring squeeze. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to hold it /emC'mon Kayla, keep your shit together./em I thought to myself. Easier said than done. Why in the world did shit have to be this hard? Wasn't life already hard enough throwing me into a relationship with a man who I used to tell my friends was the perfect eye candy? Who'd have thought he'd turn out to be the perfect man, too? I know I didn't./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"When we got to the airport, he walked me as far as they'd let him – Miles and Keleigh came in with us as well but trailed behind a little bit to give us a few minutes alone while we said our goodbyes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Well, this is it," I said, not sure what else emto/em say. He put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm gonna miss you." he looked deeply into my eyes as he spoke. That was all I needed to hear, and I fell apart. He pulled me to his chest as I bawled my eyes out, shaking so violently that it felt as though he was shaking with me. Dammit! He had gotten to me and broke down my strength with four of the simplest words in the English language that put together meant the world when said with his gorgeous Australian accent. You'd like to think that at that moment I'd tell him I love him, right? I wish I had. With a tear-stained face, I pulled away from Jai, forced myself to calm back down again, hugged Keleigh and Miles, and then gave Jai a hug and the best, most passionate kiss I could possibly muster before I picked up my stuff and walked towards security, and eventually the gate I needed to get to so that I could go back to LA. I couldn't possibly have said goodbye to him, it would have hurt too much. I couldn't even tell him that I'd see him soon or later or anything else because any words from my mouth would have been far too painful coming out and it already hurt enough having to leave him here in /When I boarded the plane and sat down in my seat, I hit play on my MP3 player. The song that started was Warrior by Demi Lovato. I let myself cry, silently. I didn't want to draw attention to myself. My heart was feeling empty, and I felt numb. I even felt nauseous and contemplated grabbing the barf bag in the pocket in front of me. This was worse than any feeling I've ever experienced after a breakup, and I couldn't understand why it hurt so bad. We didn't break up, we were still together… so why did this feel so horrible? Almost 5 hours later, I was home in LA, and getting ready to exit the plane. I didn't want to be back home. I didn't want to even get off the plane. I wanted to go back to my boyfriend and be in his arms. I wanted to spend time with Keleigh and watch her and Miles giggle and comment about how adorable Jai and I were together. I wanted to go back to seeing him protective of me like he was at the grocery store. I wanted to see that fire in his eyes again that I'd seen the first time we had sex. I wanted to go back to when we met and do it all again. I wanted to fall in love with him all over again and to be on the other side of the continent from him killed me. I couldn't see his smile, I couldn't watch him laugh as I did something cute or silly, or chuckle at him as he did something funny. I couldn't see his reaction when I soaked both of us with a water balloon filled with ice-cold water. They say 'home is where the heart is', and that quote popped into my head at this very moment. This place didn't feel like home anymore. LA was no longer home to me. My heart was with Jai, to me that was where home was. And right now that was in /I kept walking until I heard my phone go off in my pocket. It was a text message from Jai. It read:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Be brave, Kayla. I know this distance is going to be hard on you, but we can get through it. Just don't hesitate to call me if you need to talk. I will always answer my phone for you. xoxo – Jai/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I walked over to a group of seats to my right, sat down, and cried with my head in my hands for a little while./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Miss, are you okay?" I shot my head up to see a guy with a name badge. Based on his appearance, he looked to be a pilot. I quickly wiped my face before answering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, I'm okay, just missing someone." I didn't know why I was telling this to a stranger, but right now I didn't really care. "I just had to leave my boyfriend to fly back home so I don't lose my job and he couldn't come home with me because he had to work."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""That's gotta be tough," he sympathized. "Long-distance relationships are very hard, but if you truly love them you'll get through it." he encouraged. "And judging by the way you had to come and sit down and cry in public after a text message I'm assuming was from him, I think it's safe to say the love you two share is unlike any other, and you'll overcome this distance together." I sat there to think about his words after he walked away. After a little thinking, I stood up and went to collect my belongings from the baggage claim. Things might be rough right now, but maybe in time, they'd get better. I had to hope so, for the sake of my relationship I had to be positive and had to be strong./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"A month had passed since I'd gotten back from Charleston. Everything bad before I left to go to Australia had gotten worse when I got home. My roommate was a total bitch all the time, and we were almost brawling each other nightly. To make matters worse, I was in deep shit with work, and a lot of people were spreading rumors about me. I hadn't told my roommate, nor anyone at work that I had a boyfriend, though Jai and I Skyped almost nightly when my roommate wasn't home./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I got home from a very long and overly shitty day. Normally I didn't drink on nights I had to work the next day, but tonight I was making an exception with some sweet red wine. My roommate and I had gotten into it again before she stormed out of the apartment in her usual fashion, slamming the front door so hard it knocked a few things off the wall. I'd have given anything to be in Charleston with Jai tonight. I'd had enough of the bullshit of being home with everyone acting like complete dicks. I sat in my room, the bottle of wine on my bedside table beside my half-full glass, waiting for him to call me. When I heard the call come in, I was holding my glass and answered the call with my other hand./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hi beautiful." he smiled at me. "You're drinking?" he asked, surprised./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I had a really ugly day," I said simply before taking a sip of wine. "And half the bottle is already almost gone," I added./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wanna talk about it?" he asked, and just as I was about to answer him my roommate let herself into my room./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What the hell are you doing?" I snapped at her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I wondered why you were never on your computer when I was home!" she grabbed it from me. "Now I know why!" what the fuck was this bitch doing? Oh yeah, asking for an ass-whooping. "Who is this guy? Hi!" she looked from me to Jai. "Who are yo-" she didn't even finish her sentence before it registered and I saw her face change. "Oh my gosh you're Jai Courtney!" she exclaimed and I slammed my palm against my forehead. "Wait a minute, how the fuck do emyou/em know Jai Courtney?" she asked me in a snotty tone./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Jai, I'll talk to you later! I love you!" the words slid out of my mouth before I had time to think about what I'd said as I pounced my idiot roommate and closed my laptop, glaring at her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You emlove/em him, huh?" she asked, reminding me what I'd just said. In my mind, I was kicking myself and calling myself a stupid fuck for letting the words come out. Maybe I could redeem myself later. But right now, I needed to stand up to my roommate and not let her see that my saying it to him was an accident./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yes," I replied stiffly. "emI/em stronglove/strong him," I emphasized each word as I said it back to her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What the hell would your stupid ass know about love? Doesn't he know you're just some obsessive fan?" she sneered./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""He's my emboyfriend/em, you twat-waffle." I said flatly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Bullshit." I watched her let out a nasty laugh. "I bet he's just looking to get laid and go onto the next girl. No one would ever want you for more than just a simple, pity fuck because you're a sleazy, skanky ass hoe bag." I didn't even have to think about what I was about to say to her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Pack your shit and get the fuck out of my apartment. You're no longer welcome to stay here." I went to pick up my computer and she tackled me to the floor, grabbing my hair and slamming my head against the tan carpet floor. I quickly moved my hands to break her grip on my hair and I punched her in the nose. She fell off me and I quickly stood up, grabbed my laptop and my cell phone, and took off to the bathroom, locking the door behind me so she couldn't get in. I quickly called 911, and as I explained what was going on, I also sent a message to Jai on Skype letting him know that I was dealing with roommate drama and that I would call him either later tonight or we'd talk sometime tomorrow. I didn't mention the words I'd uttered before closing my laptop on him because I didn't want to think about it. I certainly didn't want our first 'I love you' to be through a Skype call, either. I heard pounding on the bathroom door and my roommate yelling, "open the door, bitch!" as my laptop started making noise. Jai was calling me. Shit. What do I do? Before I have enough time to think, the ringing stops and I hear a ding. I read the screen and see that Jai had messaged me wondering what was going on. I sent him a quick message that said I'd tell him later but couldn't talk right now and sat, waiting for the police to come. When I heard a pounding on the door, and a faint announcement informing me it was the police, I yelled as loud as I /"Come in! She has me locked in the bathroom and she's perched outside the door waiting for me!" I hoped they heard me. I heard my phone go off and noticed a text from Keleigh asking the same thing Jai did on Skype and I sent her a quick message back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Please tell Jai not to worry. My roommate has gone psycho and the police just got here. I'm okay, my head hurts a little but once I can get medical attention I'll be fine. I'll call Jai after the police leave./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Just as I hit send, I hear a knock on the bathroom door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Miss! Are you in there?" I hear a male voice. I unlock the door and open it to see one of the officers standing in front of me and the other, a female officer, restraining my idiot roommate. They must have heard me yelling from in /"What is going on here, ma'am?" he asked me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""She," I pointed to my roommate. "Tried to beat the shit out of me after I told her to get out of my apartment. Legally I can kick her out whenever I want as her name is not on the lease. I have a copy as proof." I told him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I see. Will you be pressing assault charges against her?" he asks me as his partner calls for an EMS team to come and take a look at me. They could tell that I'd been attacked, or at least that's my guess. I nod and watch as the female officer arrests my roommate and reads her rights to her. EMS came, checked me out, and told me it was a minor concussion and to take it easy for a few days. They also suggested I go see my doctor the following day before telling me to take care of myself and leaving. The officer had taken down some information and then walked back over to /"I'll see if she has anyone that can come get her belongings tomorrow. If not, when she is released we will send an officer here to ensure your safety when she comes to get her things." I nodded, thanked them, and walked them out after he took down a little bit more information./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"After locking the door behind them, I was beginning to feel overly touched out on being in LA. None of this shit would happen if I was in Charleston with Jai, and I damn well knew that – it pissed me off to not still be there with him. Remembering that I promised to call him back, I grabbed my laptop out of the bathroom and went back into my bedroom. Lucky for me, he was still on Skype, so I clicked his name and initiated a call. He picked it up after two rings./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Kayla, are you okay?" I see Keleigh on the other end. I give her a half-assed nod and yawn – all the drama has me exhausted. I hear her call to Jai and tell him that I'm on Skype and hear him rush over to the computer on his end./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Baby what happened?" he asked me. I could tell he'd been very worried about me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""My roommate is a psychotic bitch." I muttered, grabbing my head and wincing from the pain./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Okay, that's it. I'm getting on a plane and coming to be with you." Jai was not enthused in the least bit that he had to see me so unhappy, and I could tell. Time to be brave./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Babe, I'm fine I promise. It's just a minor concussion." I told him and saw his eyes grow wide. Shit. Guess I shouldn't have mentioned that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What the fuck did she do to you?" his voice heightened as he spoke./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""She slammed my head on the floor a few times and tried to beat the shit out of me when I told her to get the fuck out for being a rude and nasty bitch." I explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Are you sure I don't need to come out there?" his tone was concerned. I assumed Miles and Keleigh weren't within earshot because neither of them said anything./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm sure babe, just stick with what you're doing okay? I'm rather touched out on everything here anyways." I told him, looking away from the computer for a minute./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What do you mean?" I could tell I'd have to explain because there was confusion in his voice./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I mean I'm sick of all the bullshit going on here," I began. "My roommate had been a bitch since I got back, and work is not much better." my voice cracked. "I'm tired of dealing with all of it and I know none of it would be this way if I was there with you." I couldn't hold it back anymore, and I broke down. "I'm so sick of dealing with people's bullshit and to realize that it's only been a month that I've been away from you doesn't help me at all," I said through my tears. "I'd rather be there with you and tell my boss to go fuck himself," I added as I wiped my face because my eyes were so blurry it was impossible to see Jai on my computer screen./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Do you have vacation time?" he asked amiably./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Not for a little over a month yet, no." my tone was unintentionally whiny as I wiped the tears away again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""So, October then? How much time do you get?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Not nearly long enough." I took a deep breath. "Two weeks." I exhaled, trying to relax./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Take the last two weeks of October off, I'll make the arrangements so you can fly out here and let me make you feel better. Plus we can spend Halloween together." he smiled sympathetically at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'll put in the request for time off tomorrow when I go in," I told him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Good, now smile beautiful. You know it kills me to see you in tears when I'm too far to hold you in my arms." I heard the heartache in his voice and it broke my heart as /"I have to ask you something though," he hesitated. The way he said it, I had a feeling it was about what I'd said before I closed my laptop when my roommate went insane on me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""If it's about what I said earlier please can we not talk about it," I said quickly. "It slipped out and I don't want to talk about it." I know that made it sound like I didn't mean it, but I didn't want our first 'I love you' to be over the internet. It just doesn't feel as meaningful that way, to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Oh," he said simply, and I could tell he was feeling dejected. I felt bad, I truly did… but at the same time, I really didn't want to talk about it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Kayla!" I heard Miles in the background and Jai slid to the side a little bit so I could see him. "I got everything situated for Jai so that you can come the last two weeks of October." he grinned at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""We're excited to see you!" Keleigh smiled at me with her arm around Miles and her hand on Jai's shoulder. I knew she was trying to make him feel better because it was clear he looked down in the dumps, but I also knew he looked that way because of me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I can't wait to see you, baby." Jai smiled at me suddenly. I thought I saw the gears in his head turning, but I wasn't certain. I shrugged it off and smiled back at him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""The last two weeks of October can't come fast enough, trust me," I told him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"A/N:/span/strongspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" Emotional and dramatic chapter right? Let me explain why Kayla's roommate is so nutso… okay? When I originally started writing this fic, I had the idea that her roommate needed to be a complete bitch and give her more stress and fuel her reason for spending the summer in Australia, as well as not wanting to be home. The more stuff she hates when she's home, the more fuel she has to want to be with Jai because he makes everything better in her mind. Okay? I feel like I owe all of you that explanation, so there it is./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Quite a few song references in this chapter. If you recognize it (or if it's a song title with the artist's name beside it) it's not mine. I hope you like it. I know there is a great amount of drama and emotion in this chapter… so if you need it feel free to grab a tissue or two. Also, know that I am sending e-hugs to everyone reading this chapter whose heart it breaks seeing things so sad./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Ten – The Hard Goodbye/span/strong/p
p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"The two weeks flew by faster than I thought they would, and I still hadn't talked to Jai about how I felt. Keleigh and I talked a lot about it, and we became very close friends, but no matter how badly I wanted to tell Jai how I felt I just couldn't bring myself to do it. As I finished packing the rest of my stuff, including the things Jai had bought for me over the last two weeks, I was thankful Keleigh was in here with me and Jai was downstairs talking to Miles as I let a tear fall down my face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Do you really have to go?" I heard the concern in her voice and realized she noticed the tear. I wiped it away and sniffled before answering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Unfortunately," I replied with so much strength. It took more than I thought I'd had to hold it together. "I have to get back to my job or it won't be there for me when I emdo/em go back." I looked up at her and could tell there was something she wasn't telling me. "What is it?" I asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Jai told Miles – in confidence so don't tell him I told you – he doesn't really want you to go." I was so surprised by her words I couldn't even process what she just said to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""He said that?" I asked in disbelief. She nodded and I sat on the bed next to my suitcase dumbfounded. How could he feel this way about me and not let me in on it? "Why didn't he tell me?" I heard the words come out of my mouth, but I didn't recognize the emotional tone that came with it. I felt a lump in my throat and immediately knew that the rest of the day was going to be difficult./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""He's a softie, but still has a habit of hiding his deeper feelings," she explained. "Usually those are the only feelings he confides in Miles with." I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I processed everything that I'd been told. It was hard to walk away from a man who felt that way when I felt the same way about him. I knew I loved him, but I still hadn't told him, and today wouldn't be a good day to tell him either since I'm leaving. Why does this have to be so complicated?br /I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and I wipe my tears away, quickly getting up and walking to the bathroom to put water on my face. As I'm drying it with a towel, I happen to hear Jai's voice asking Keleigh if I got all my stuff packed up to go down to the car. She tells him yes, and I hear nothing else. I poke my head out of the room to see Keleigh sitting on the bed alone, but my suitcase is gone. He'd taken it downstairs. Five minutes later I see Jai in the doorway./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You ready?" he asks me, concern a clear emotion on his face. I nod and Keleigh and I follow him downstairs and the four of us get into the car – Jai in the driver's seat, me in the passenger, and Keleigh and Miles in the back seat. I took a deep breath, watching the scenery as we start heading for the airport. Jai put on the radio and I heard the song Say Goodbye by Skillet playing. emOf course. Typical karma./em I thought. Fuck, man. Why did this have to be harder than it already was?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Don't say goodbye, 'cause I don't wanna hear those words tonight./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"'Cause maybe it's not the end for you and I./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"And although we knew this time would come for me and you./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Don't say anything tonight, if you're gonna say goodbye./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I felt the tear slide down my face and I quickly wiped it away, hoping Jai wouldn't notice. I think he did, though, because he slid his hand over mine and gave it a caring squeeze. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to hold it /emC'mon Kayla, keep your shit together./em I thought to myself. Easier said than done. Why in the world did shit have to be this hard? Wasn't life already hard enough throwing me into a relationship with a man who I used to tell my friends was the perfect eye candy? Who'd have thought he'd turn out to be the perfect man, too? I know I didn't./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"When we got to the airport, he walked me as far as they'd let him – Miles and Keleigh came in with us as well but trailed behind a little bit to give us a few minutes alone while we said our goodbyes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Well, this is it," I said, not sure what else emto/em say. He put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm gonna miss you." he looked deeply into my eyes as he spoke. That was all I needed to hear, and I fell apart. He pulled me to his chest as I bawled my eyes out, shaking so violently that it felt as though he was shaking with me. Dammit! He had gotten to me and broke down my strength with four of the simplest words in the English language that put together meant the world when said with his gorgeous Australian accent. You'd like to think that at that moment I'd tell him I love him, right? I wish I had. With a tear-stained face, I pulled away from Jai, forced myself to calm back down again, hugged Keleigh and Miles, and then gave Jai a hug and the best, most passionate kiss I could possibly muster before I picked up my stuff and walked towards security, and eventually the gate I needed to get to so that I could go back to LA. I couldn't possibly have said goodbye to him, it would have hurt too much. I couldn't even tell him that I'd see him soon or later or anything else because any words from my mouth would have been far too painful coming out and it already hurt enough having to leave him here in /When I boarded the plane and sat down in my seat, I hit play on my MP3 player. The song that started was Warrior by Demi Lovato. I let myself cry, silently. I didn't want to draw attention to myself. My heart was feeling empty, and I felt numb. I even felt nauseous and contemplated grabbing the barf bag in the pocket in front of me. This was worse than any feeling I've ever experienced after a breakup, and I couldn't understand why it hurt so bad. We didn't break up, we were still together… so why did this feel so horrible? Almost 5 hours later, I was home in LA, and getting ready to exit the plane. I didn't want to be back home. I didn't want to even get off the plane. I wanted to go back to my boyfriend and be in his arms. I wanted to spend time with Keleigh and watch her and Miles giggle and comment about how adorable Jai and I were together. I wanted to go back to seeing him protective of me like he was at the grocery store. I wanted to see that fire in his eyes again that I'd seen the first time we had sex. I wanted to go back to when we met and do it all again. I wanted to fall in love with him all over again and to be on the other side of the continent from him killed me. I couldn't see his smile, I couldn't watch him laugh as I did something cute or silly, or chuckle at him as he did something funny. I couldn't see his reaction when I soaked both of us with a water balloon filled with ice-cold water. They say 'home is where the heart is', and that quote popped into my head at this very moment. This place didn't feel like home anymore. LA was no longer home to me. My heart was with Jai, to me that was where home was. And right now that was in /I kept walking until I heard my phone go off in my pocket. It was a text message from Jai. It read:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Be brave, Kayla. I know this distance is going to be hard on you, but we can get through it. Just don't hesitate to call me if you need to talk. I will always answer my phone for you. xoxo – Jai/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I walked over to a group of seats to my right, sat down, and cried with my head in my hands for a little while./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Miss, are you okay?" I shot my head up to see a guy with a name badge. Based on his appearance, he looked to be a pilot. I quickly wiped my face before answering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, I'm okay, just missing someone." I didn't know why I was telling this to a stranger, but right now I didn't really care. "I just had to leave my boyfriend to fly back home so I don't lose my job and he couldn't come home with me because he had to work."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""That's gotta be tough," he sympathized. "Long-distance relationships are very hard, but if you truly love them you'll get through it." he encouraged. "And judging by the way you had to come and sit down and cry in public after a text message I'm assuming was from him, I think it's safe to say the love you two share is unlike any other, and you'll overcome this distance together." I sat there to think about his words after he walked away. After a little thinking, I stood up and went to collect my belongings from the baggage claim. Things might be rough right now, but maybe in time, they'd get better. I had to hope so, for the sake of my relationship I had to be positive and had to be strong./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"A month had passed since I'd gotten back from Charleston. Everything bad before I left to go to Australia had gotten worse when I got home. My roommate was a total bitch all the time, and we were almost brawling each other nightly. To make matters worse, I was in deep shit with work, and a lot of people were spreading rumors about me. I hadn't told my roommate, nor anyone at work that I had a boyfriend, though Jai and I Skyped almost nightly when my roommate wasn't home./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I got home from a very long and overly shitty day. Normally I didn't drink on nights I had to work the next day, but tonight I was making an exception with some sweet red wine. My roommate and I had gotten into it again before she stormed out of the apartment in her usual fashion, slamming the front door so hard it knocked a few things off the wall. I'd have given anything to be in Charleston with Jai tonight. I'd had enough of the bullshit of being home with everyone acting like complete dicks. I sat in my room, the bottle of wine on my bedside table beside my half-full glass, waiting for him to call me. When I heard the call come in, I was holding my glass and answered the call with my other hand./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hi beautiful." he smiled at me. "You're drinking?" he asked, surprised./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I had a really ugly day," I said simply before taking a sip of wine. "And half the bottle is already almost gone," I added./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wanna talk about it?" he asked, and just as I was about to answer him my roommate let herself into my room./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What the hell are you doing?" I snapped at her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I wondered why you were never on your computer when I was home!" she grabbed it from me. "Now I know why!" what the fuck was this bitch doing? Oh yeah, asking for an ass-whooping. "Who is this guy? Hi!" she looked from me to Jai. "Who are yo-" she didn't even finish her sentence before it registered and I saw her face change. "Oh my gosh you're Jai Courtney!" she exclaimed and I slammed my palm against my forehead. "Wait a minute, how the fuck do emyou/em know Jai Courtney?" she asked me in a snotty tone./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Jai, I'll talk to you later! I love you!" the words slid out of my mouth before I had time to think about what I'd said as I pounced my idiot roommate and closed my laptop, glaring at her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You emlove/em him, huh?" she asked, reminding me what I'd just said. In my mind, I was kicking myself and calling myself a stupid fuck for letting the words come out. Maybe I could redeem myself later. But right now, I needed to stand up to my roommate and not let her see that my saying it to him was an accident./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yes," I replied stiffly. "emI/em stronglove/strong him," I emphasized each word as I said it back to her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What the hell would your stupid ass know about love? Doesn't he know you're just some obsessive fan?" she sneered./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""He's my emboyfriend/em, you twat-waffle." I said flatly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Bullshit." I watched her let out a nasty laugh. "I bet he's just looking to get laid and go onto the next girl. No one would ever want you for more than just a simple, pity fuck because you're a sleazy, skanky ass hoe bag." I didn't even have to think about what I was about to say to her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Pack your shit and get the fuck out of my apartment. You're no longer welcome to stay here." I went to pick up my computer and she tackled me to the floor, grabbing my hair and slamming my head against the tan carpet floor. I quickly moved my hands to break her grip on my hair and I punched her in the nose. She fell off me and I quickly stood up, grabbed my laptop and my cell phone, and took off to the bathroom, locking the door behind me so she couldn't get in. I quickly called 911, and as I explained what was going on, I also sent a message to Jai on Skype letting him know that I was dealing with roommate drama and that I would call him either later tonight or we'd talk sometime tomorrow. I didn't mention the words I'd uttered before closing my laptop on him because I didn't want to think about it. I certainly didn't want our first 'I love you' to be through a Skype call, either. I heard pounding on the bathroom door and my roommate yelling, "open the door, bitch!" as my laptop started making noise. Jai was calling me. Shit. What do I do? Before I have enough time to think, the ringing stops and I hear a ding. I read the screen and see that Jai had messaged me wondering what was going on. I sent him a quick message that said I'd tell him later but couldn't talk right now and sat, waiting for the police to come. When I heard a pounding on the door, and a faint announcement informing me it was the police, I yelled as loud as I /"Come in! She has me locked in the bathroom and she's perched outside the door waiting for me!" I hoped they heard me. I heard my phone go off and noticed a text from Keleigh asking the same thing Jai did on Skype and I sent her a quick message back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Please tell Jai not to worry. My roommate has gone psycho and the police just got here. I'm okay, my head hurts a little but once I can get medical attention I'll be fine. I'll call Jai after the police leave./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Just as I hit send, I hear a knock on the bathroom door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Miss! Are you in there?" I hear a male voice. I unlock the door and open it to see one of the officers standing in front of me and the other, a female officer, restraining my idiot roommate. They must have heard me yelling from in /"What is going on here, ma'am?" he asked me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""She," I pointed to my roommate. "Tried to beat the shit out of me after I told her to get out of my apartment. Legally I can kick her out whenever I want as her name is not on the lease. I have a copy as proof." I told him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I see. Will you be pressing assault charges against her?" he asks me as his partner calls for an EMS team to come and take a look at me. They could tell that I'd been attacked, or at least that's my guess. I nod and watch as the female officer arrests my roommate and reads her rights to her. EMS came, checked me out, and told me it was a minor concussion and to take it easy for a few days. They also suggested I go see my doctor the following day before telling me to take care of myself and leaving. The officer had taken down some information and then walked back over to /"I'll see if she has anyone that can come get her belongings tomorrow. If not, when she is released we will send an officer here to ensure your safety when she comes to get her things." I nodded, thanked them, and walked them out after he took down a little bit more information./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"After locking the door behind them, I was beginning to feel overly touched out on being in LA. None of this shit would happen if I was in Charleston with Jai, and I damn well knew that – it pissed me off to not still be there with him. Remembering that I promised to call him back, I grabbed my laptop out of the bathroom and went back into my bedroom. Lucky for me, he was still on Skype, so I clicked his name and initiated a call. He picked it up after two rings./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Kayla, are you okay?" I see Keleigh on the other end. I give her a half-assed nod and yawn – all the drama has me exhausted. I hear her call to Jai and tell him that I'm on Skype and hear him rush over to the computer on his end./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Baby what happened?" he asked me. I could tell he'd been very worried about me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""My roommate is a psychotic bitch." I muttered, grabbing my head and wincing from the pain./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Okay, that's it. I'm getting on a plane and coming to be with you." Jai was not enthused in the least bit that he had to see me so unhappy, and I could tell. Time to be brave./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Babe, I'm fine I promise. It's just a minor concussion." I told him and saw his eyes grow wide. Shit. Guess I shouldn't have mentioned that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What the fuck did she do to you?" his voice heightened as he spoke./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""She slammed my head on the floor a few times and tried to beat the shit out of me when I told her to get the fuck out for being a rude and nasty bitch." I explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Are you sure I don't need to come out there?" his tone was concerned. I assumed Miles and Keleigh weren't within earshot because neither of them said anything./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm sure babe, just stick with what you're doing okay? I'm rather touched out on everything here anyways." I told him, looking away from the computer for a minute./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What do you mean?" I could tell I'd have to explain because there was confusion in his voice./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I mean I'm sick of all the bullshit going on here," I began. "My roommate had been a bitch since I got back, and work is not much better." my voice cracked. "I'm tired of dealing with all of it and I know none of it would be this way if I was there with you." I couldn't hold it back anymore, and I broke down. "I'm so sick of dealing with people's bullshit and to realize that it's only been a month that I've been away from you doesn't help me at all," I said through my tears. "I'd rather be there with you and tell my boss to go fuck himself," I added as I wiped my face because my eyes were so blurry it was impossible to see Jai on my computer screen./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Do you have vacation time?" he asked amiably./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Not for a little over a month yet, no." my tone was unintentionally whiny as I wiped the tears away again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""So, October then? How much time do you get?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Not nearly long enough." I took a deep breath. "Two weeks." I exhaled, trying to relax./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Take the last two weeks of October off, I'll make the arrangements so you can fly out here and let me make you feel better. Plus we can spend Halloween together." he smiled sympathetically at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'll put in the request for time off tomorrow when I go in," I told him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Good, now smile beautiful. You know it kills me to see you in tears when I'm too far to hold you in my arms." I heard the heartache in his voice and it broke my heart as /"I have to ask you something though," he hesitated. The way he said it, I had a feeling it was about what I'd said before I closed my laptop when my roommate went insane on me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""If it's about what I said earlier please can we not talk about it," I said quickly. "It slipped out and I don't want to talk about it." I know that made it sound like I didn't mean it, but I didn't want our first 'I love you' to be over the internet. It just doesn't feel as meaningful that way, to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Oh," he said simply, and I could tell he was feeling dejected. I felt bad, I truly did… but at the same time, I really didn't want to talk about it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Kayla!" I heard Miles in the background and Jai slid to the side a little bit so I could see him. "I got everything situated for Jai so that you can come the last two weeks of October." he grinned at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""We're excited to see you!" Keleigh smiled at me with her arm around Miles and her hand on Jai's shoulder. I knew she was trying to make him feel better because it was clear he looked down in the dumps, but I also knew he looked that way because of me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I can't wait to see you, baby." Jai smiled at me suddenly. I thought I saw the gears in his head turning, but I wasn't certain. I shrugged it off and smiled back at him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""The last two weeks of October can't come fast enough, trust me," I told him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"A/N:/span/strongspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" Emotional and dramatic chapter right? Let me explain why Kayla's roommate is so nutso… okay? When I originally started writing this fic, I had the idea that her roommate needed to be a complete bitch and give her more stress and fuel her reason for spending the summer in Australia, as well as not wanting to be home. The more stuff she hates when she's home, the more fuel she has to want to be with Jai because he makes everything better in her mind. Okay? I feel like I owe all of you that explanation, so there it is./span/p