2brown-eyes rocks!

No song so...

Love Will Lead You Back—Taylor Dayne

I jerk awake when it's just starting to get light outside, and I take a minute to study my sleeping visitor. Scruff covers his jaw and chin, and his pink lips are curved into a soft smile. His hair is wild and crazy, and his brows are furrowed as if he's deep in thought.

He's still the most beautiful boy I've ever seen.

Man.

He's a man now.

My eyes burn, but I push that away and get up. Whatever the day may bring for him, he's going to need sustenance so that's what I focus on. Eggos hit the toaster and sausage fries in a pan, sizzling loud enough to wake the dead.

I expect him to show any second.

But it doesn't stop me from jumping when he finally does.

"I'm sorry," he says from the doorway into the kitchen. His voice is gruff and he's all shy and maybe a little perplexed. "I don't remember much, but what I do, it wasn't pretty."

"It's okay," I reply, giving him a soft smile. "Have a seat at the bar. This is almost ready."

He doesn't move. "I don't think that's the smartest idea."

I nab the last two sausage links from the pan and move it off the burner, switching off the knob before turning to him. "You've already fucked up, might as well go home full and ready for battle."

"Probably." He huffs a laugh but doesn't move. "But I don't know if I could live with myself if I betrayed her any further."

I nearly double over, his words hurt so much. "Damn."

"I didn't mean it like …" He trails off because how else could he have meant it? "I shouldn't have come here, B. And I damned sure shouldn't have said some of the stuff I did."

My stupid eyes, they burn so badly. "Was it true?" My voice is small and I'm only hanging on by a thread.

"That I miss you? Hell yes," he says with a definitive nod. "That it makes me sick to watch him paw all over you? Yes, again." He takes a deep breath and releases it as he claws a hand through his chaotic hair. "But this is like waking up with that sorority girl all over again. I feel sick. I cheated on Bree without actually cheating, and it's fucking killing me."

A tear rolls down my cheek, and I nod. "You're right. You shouldn't waste another second here."

"Leaving you is going to kill me, too," he says, and it's a rough whisper. "I didn't accomplish anything I set out to do."

I suck it up, taking a shuddering breath and pulling my arms around my torso to hold myself together. "What did you set out to do, Edward?"

He stares at me for a long ten seconds before his eyes fall to his feet. "It doesn't matter." He kicks at a loose tile near the wall. "My Smirnoff bravery has completely dissipated."

My mouth pops open to demand he spit it out, but I snap it shut just as quickly. With a nod, I turn back to the food and make myself busy. With two Eggos and three sausage links on my plate, I grab the syrup and cover the entire thing. I don't look back toward the doorway as I push the plate across the bar, nor when I grab a glass and pour some milk.

It isn't until I'm seated on the stool with my fork in hand that I finally chance a glance.

He's gone.

Three bites in, and it feels like lead in my stomach, so I drop my fork. And then my head. Wetness gathers in my eyes, and I'm just on the cusp of a good hard cry when the front door opens.

I jump from the stool, hoping he's come back.

He hasn't.

It's Alice.

And she has some explaining to do.

So not what you wanted, I know.

But she's getting there.

See ya tmr :)