"Why do you have to go?"  Brooke cried, "It isn't fair, I know I'm being selfish but it isn't fair."

Kevin sat with her on the edge of her bed, his big arms wrapped around her as she cried on his shoulder.  He hated to do this to her, especially after the stuff that happened with David last week, her ankle was still healing and every night he had helped change the bandage that covered the wound in her arm, the wound that had taken twenty-three stitches to close and that had caused  her to pass out because she had lost so much blood.  He stroked her hair and rocked her gently as he remembered walking into her apartment and seeing her lying on the floor.   He thought she was dead when he saw all the blood that soaked her shirt, and he wanted to kill David for doing that to her, but she refused to call the police and press charges.  It wasn't that bad, she said, and he didn't mean for the picture to hit me.  She still felt horrible for what they had done to David, Kevin felt bad too, but he and Brooke were supposed to be together, and she shouldn't be with someone who treats her the way David did.
But here I am breaking her heart just as much, he thought.  I don't want to go back to Florida but I have to.

    "You aren't being selfish Brooklyn, I know it isn't fair, but I have to finish what I started."  He sighed.  "A month isn't that long, I'll be back before you know it."  Kevin assured.

    "I know.  I'm sorry for being this way, I'm just making it harder on you."  She pouted, looking up at him, the blue of her eyes only looking bluer in the bloodshot whites, and attempting a smile.   He only hugged her tighter, kissing the top of her head.

This sucks, just when I can finally be with her I have to go.  She can't lose her job to come with me, that wouldn't be fair, and I have to go down and secure the deal.  Kevin's thoughts jumbled in his head, this was going to be a hard month, especially knowing he had Brooke to get back to.

    "Come on, this is our last night together for a little while, what do you want to do?"  He asked, not letting  her start crying again.  She took a deep breath to calm herself, and stood up.

    "You decide, okay!" She said glumly.  He pulled her towards him by the haunches of her hips, kissing her gently on the stomach, resting his forehead in the same spot.   He stayed there for a moment, then looked up to her face, giving her a sly grin and standing up.

    "Okay.  I know exactly what we'll do tonight."

    "What?" She asked, slowly cheering up.

    "You'll see." He said, finally making her smile.

    "Well can I have a hint?" She begged.

    "Hmmm all that I can tell you, is I have to go get something ready, and YOU have to be ready in one hour." He said, standing up from the bed and making his way towards the front door.

    "kevin wait!" She yelled, going after him.

    "You at least have to give me a little clue about what to wear."  She whined as he started opening the door,  turning around with a little gin.

    "Warm." He vaguely said exiting the room and leaving Brooke standing there clueless.

    "Warm he says, warm.  How am I supposed to know where we are going when the only clue I have is WARM."  She laughed as she walked to the bathroom, turning on the shower and still pondering where Kevin was taking her. This is my own fault for letting him decide, she thought.  The only thing Brooke could think about as she was showering was the fact that Kevin was leaving in the morning.  They hadn't even had a chance to really be alone yet,  since she had left the hospital he had been with her, but other people had always been around.  Her friend Jessica insisted on staying with her for a few days, just in case David decided to turn stalker, and today was the first real day they were alone, and that's all they were going to get.   She knew Kevin had put off telling her he had to go back to Florida for as long as possible, and Brooke tried to hold off her tears to no avail.  She was so emotional where he was concerned, and she wasn't sure if she liked that part of her being brought out, she had never been like that with David.
 
 

Kevin showed up right on time, and laughed when Brooke opened the door.  She stood before him wrapped in a sleeping bag, only her head poking out of the end.

    "You said warm!"  She said with a sarcastic grin.  He gave her a playful shove, toppling her on her feet as she screamed, but he caught her before she went very far.

    "Funny Brooke."  He snapped nicely as he carried her to her bedroom, throwing her down on the bed and telling her to finish getting ready.  She unzipped the bag and stepped out wearing tear aways and a T-shirt.

    "Now that I know what you are wearing, I can get dressed."  She pushed him out of the room, quickly pulling on a pair of faded Jeans, a deep burgundy turtleneck sweater and her navy blue gap vest.   She twisted her hair up and put a clip in it opening the door to Kevin, she could see he was surprised she got dressed so quick, but Brooke wasn't the type to spend hours getting ready.

He took her by the hand and she snuggled up against him, the subtle scent of his cologne clung to his sweater and she inhaled it deeply. not knowing what kind it was, but loving it never the less.

    "So where are we going."  She begged, locking the door behind them.  He took her by the hand entwining his fingers in hers and staying silent the whole walk to his car.  She got in the passenger seat and he got in himself.

    "Okay, you have to make me a deal, either you close your eyes the whole way and promise to keep them closed or I blindfold you!"

    "I'll keep them closed."  She promised.  He brought his hands to her face, closing her eyelids and running  it across her face before he started up the car.  Kevin turned up the music as they drove to wherever he was going, he stayed silent the whole trip, but listened to Brooke hum along to the Prince CD that was playing in the car.

    "Are we there yet?"  She finally blurted out, interrupting "Purple Rain" .

    "Patience."  He said, patting her on the hand and  leaving it on top of hers.  He saw the annoyed look on her face and he couldn't help but smile. She'll love this, he thought, at least I hope she will.  They finally arrived at their destination and Brooke was ushered to keep her eyes shut until he said she could open them.  Kevin helped her out of the car and walked a little ways, finally telling her to open her eyes.  They bright glare of the sun shining on the snow hurt her eyes, but she adjusted and looked around, even more confused.

    "Why are we at someone's farm?"  She smiled.

    "I grew up here.  This is my mom's place."  He stated, and saw Brooke's eyes get wide, His mother! She thought, a little worried about her first impression.  Kevin sensed her apprehension.

    "Don't worry, she isn't home, she's visiting my brother in Texas.  But she knows we're here, I asked her this afternoon."

    "So why did you bring me here then?"  He wondered, and he took her by the hand walking towards the huge barn.  They walked inside and Kevin gave her a hug, finally answering her question.

    "I wanted to be alone with you, no distractions, no people, just us."  Brooke jumped as a horse neighed and Kevin laughed at her.

    "...and the horses.  Com'on I'll introduced you to Amos."

    "Amos?"

    "My horse, I've had him since I was little."  He pulled her along like a kid in a candy store, she could see how happy he was here, and she couldn't help but smile.  Brooke was brought to Amos and after a few minutes getting acquainted with him Kevin turned to her.

    "So are you ready to go for a ride?" Brooke nearly choked on the gum she was chewing.

    "What?"

    "Come on, he's gentle."

    "I've never been on a horse before.  What if I fall."  She said, her heart starting to race,

    "You live in Kentucky and you've never been on a horse."  He teased.  "Don't worry, you won't fall, I'll be holding onto you."

    "I was born in New York Kevin, remember."  She glared at him, " And besides not everyone in Kentucky has been on a horse, just you country bumpkins."

Kevin shook his head, and poked her teasingly in the side,  preparing the horse for the ride.  He helped her into the saddle and she sat a top Amos tentatively,  until Kevin got on as well, making her feel secure.

    "Ready to go?"  He asked after they had Amos warmed up.

    "As ready as I'll ever be."  She said, he could still hear a bit of fear in her voice, and wrapped his arms around her grabbing onto the reigns as they began their journey.
It was a relatively warm Kentucky evening as they rode out of the barn, and across the grounds of his house.  Kevin led them through a fence and down a trail in the snow he had been down hundreds of times before.  Brooke looked up at the trees, the snow covered branches creating a canopy over the trail and each flake seemed to sparkle in the fading sunlight.  She had never before seen something so beautiful and forgot how scared she was to be on the horse, shutting her eyes and breathing in the fresh air.

    "So how come you never taught me how to ride a horse at Wyatt?"  She asked, leaning back into Kevin.  He set his chin down on her shoulder and held her tighter,

    "You never asked."  He sighed, and they continued their silent ride.

By the time they returned to the barn, the sun had set and it was becoming cold out.  Kevin lifted her from Amos' back, proceeded to cool the horse down and put him back in his stall.  Brooke wandered around the stable, looking at the horses and finally leaning against the wooden wall and watching Kevin, a grin of happiness coming over her face.  I don't know how I was living without him in my life, she thought, they had only technically been together a few days, but as cliché as she knew it sounded, she felt so complete with him.

    "Whatcha thinkin' about?" Kevin said, Brooke practically jumping out of her skin he had scared her so much.  She brought her hand to her heart trying to catch her breath.

    "Don't do that!"  She laughed.  "and I wasn't thinking about anything."

    "Liar." He said, moving his hand to her waist, tickling it.

    "Stop Kevin."  She jumped, she was very ticklish.

    "Not until you tell me what you were thinking about."  he laughed grabbing her farm behind and pinning her arms down tickling her cruelly.  Brooke was screaming with laughter, telling Kevin she's never tell, breaking away from him and darting off to hide in the stable.  He caught her quickly,

    "Nice try." He said, attacking her again, she squirmed to get away, finally toppling him into a mountain of hay that sat in the corner of the barn, but he still didn't let up.  He grabbed her by the belt on her pants and yanked her backwards, tossing her in the hay as well.

    "I still won't tell!"  She laughed, throwing a fistful of hay at him.  He spit out a piece of it, and a look of revenge came over him.

    "This means war!"  He quipped, jumping towards her and throwing hay at her like they were having a snowball fight.   Brooke fought back with all her might until she couldn't take anymore.

    "Okay mercy Kevin, please!"  She cried, and he stopped, both of them out of breath.  They both continued laughing until his face grew serious.

    "So what were you thinking about?"   Brooke lay on her back and Kevin leaned on one elbow next to her, his hand still on her waist, although the ticking had stopped.  She just smiled, what a sight they must be right now, covered head to toe in hay.

    "The truth?"

    "Of course." He said, picking twigs of hay from her hair.

    "I was thinking, that I don't know how I lived without you."  She blushed.  Kevin gave a half smile, brushing the hair from her face and leaning in to kiss her, stopping just before his lips brushed hers.

    "I thought the same thing."

His lips met hers, kissing her with a soft caress to her cheek and a gentle touch to her hip.  He explored her face, kissing the tip of her nose and her eyelids.  Brooke opened her eyes after he had kissed them, and broke their serious moment with laughter.

"What?" Kevin said with paranoia in his voice.  Brooke just laughed more and reached up pulling a huge piece of hay off kevin's head that was sticking up like a horn.  She showed it to him and tossed it to the side as he started laughing as well, burying his head into her neck. Tickling her through the sweater with his nose.

    "It's going to be hard leaving tomorrow."  He mumbled, his face still on her shirt.

    "What?" She asked.  Kevin lifted his head, and repeated what he had said, immediately regretting it.  He saw her eyes fill with tears and he could tell she was trying to hold them off so he didn't mention he noticed.

    "Come on." He said, sitting up and pulling her off the hay stack, brushing the straw from her back and pulling strands from her hair.  She was still holding in her tears, and he put his arm around her waist walking her to the door of the barn.  Kevin made sure everything was locked and secure and shut out the lights, returning to Brooke.  He caught her wiping the tears from her cheeks and took her by the hand before heading towards the house.

The inside of the house was a typical country mothers house, very beautiful and quaint, but very livable, Brooke immediately loved it.   She smiled at the thought of a little Kevin running around with his big brothers, and looked at the pictures of them his mother had placed all over the house.

    "Cute."  She said, pointing to a picture of the three boys in the bathtub, hair spiked in mohawks and other crazy hairdos.  She saw him blush as he pulled her away from  the incriminating pictures, "What's the matter?  You were a cute kid." She laughed, as Kevin frowned at her out of embarrassment.

    "I can't believe she still has that picture up."  He grumbled, moving her away from the wall full of photos his mother had hung.  He told her to sit down and went to the kitchen, doing some secretive thing.

    "So if your mom is in Texas who's taking care of the horses and stuff?" She asked, still glancing round the room at all the interesting things.

    "She has some people that take care of the stable, most of the horses belong to them, except Amos of course, he's ours."  Brooke nodded as he came back into the room, walking to the mantle of the fireplace and kneeling down to light it,  carefully arranging the wood and before long a roaring fire was lit, warming Brooke's face where she sat.

    "Now what?"  Brooke asked, wondering what he had planned, because she knew something was, she could see it all over his face.

    "You'll see."  he vaguely said, as Brooke swayed back and forth on the rocking chair she was sitting in, watching Kevin attentively.  He walked to a tall case, opening it's doors and revealing a small stereo system.  "Now do you want to chose a CD or shall I?"  Brooke practically leaped off the chair, as Kevin handed her the small cd holder he had brought in from the car, than she sat down to peruse it.

Prince, no we listened to that on the way here. Shania, I wonder if he's a big country fan?  Aerosmith, no too fast.  Bryan Adams, hmm maybe.  Mariah Carey,  no.  Celine Dion?

    "Kevin why do you have a Celine Dion CD?"  She asked, trying not to laugh.

    "I dunno, I thought you might like it."  He covered.

    "Um, no. not a big Celine fan." She laughed, continuing to search.  Maxwell, ooh I like that.  Tim McGraw, Janet Jackson, too dirty.  She laughed to herself.  Oh Brian McKnight, I love this CD, she decided pulling the 'Anytime' album from the cd book.

    "Okay all done."  She said handing him the cd, he looked down with an approving nod,  placing it in the CD player, and pausing it as he took off again.   Brooke sat back down in the chair, staring into the fire and almost lulling herself to sleep with the soothing movement of the rocker.

    "Don't fall asleep on me now."  He said returning with armfuls of blankets.  Brooke opened her eyes, she wasn't even aware she had shut them, and raised an eyebrow at Kevin.

    "Are your intentions less than honorable Mr. Richardson?"  She asked with a sly grin, a grin that only got bigger when she noticed the blush come over his face.

    "I was, uh, just uh, setting something down for us, to uh sit on."  He stuttered, as Brooke began laughing, she hadn't meant to embarrass him.

    "I was kidding." She said.  He smiled at her and  continued his task, Brooke getting more and more impatient.  He laid the blankets in front of the fire, tossing down a few pillows too,  Brooke watched him intently, she could see how perfect he was trying to make things. Perfect for what? she thought, as he finally finished.

    "Okay, come have a seat."  He said, as Brooke stepped towards him.

    "Oh wait, let me  take off the vest, it still has hay all over it."  She said, setting it near the door, and sitting down on the blanket Indian style.

    "Now what?"  She asked.

    "You are so impatient."  He said shaking his head and continuing,  "Well I thought we'd do something a little reminiscent of one of the first times we met."  Brooke racked her brain, what did they do at the party, they talked and danced, are we going to dance?  She wondered.  He walked to the stereo, putting on the Brian McKnight CD and grabbing a big bowl of something she couldn't quite see.  He tossed the stereo's remote onto a pillow as he sat next to her, Brooke's face broke out in a huge grin as she saw a bowl full of marshmallows and two sticks.  She then realized he meant when they had met at Wyatt.

    "I haven't had these since camp."  She laughed, quickly grabbing a stick and putting a puffy white marshmallow on the end, Kevin doing the same.  They sat side by side and twirled  the marshmallows over the heat of the fire, Brooke burning hers slightly, just the way she liked them.    She watched Kevin brown his perfectly and pull it from the stick, popping it in his mouth, she couldn't get the grin off of her face as she picked at the burnt crust of her marshmallow, licking it off her fingers and placing another on the tip of the stick.   Kevin noticed her smiling as she stared towards the fire, setting his stick down on the hearth of the fireplace and turning towards her.

I'm going to miss her when I'm gone, I haven't even had the chance to learn everything about her yet. he thought.   I have to make every minute count tonight, I don't even know how I'm going to manage saying goodbye, the only thing I want to do when I see her cry is hug her and never let her go, and I know she'll cry tomorrow, hell I'll probably cry.

 Kevin didn't even notice Brooke had been trying to get his attention, he just snapped out of his thoughts and re-focused on her .  She had pulled her marshmallow off the stick and  took a small bite off of it, feeding the rest to Kevin.  He couldn't help but smile at the happy look that had come over her face and ate the marshmallow with a grin, eating every ounce that still stuck to her thumb and forefinger, letting her finger linger on his mouth.

    "You have a little on your lip." She said, placing another marshmallow on her stick.  Kevin licked around his lips trying to find it, with no success.

    "Here let me get it."  She said, sitting up on her knees, leaning towards Kevin and licking the corner of his already wet mouth, tasting the sugary remnants on his lips.  Her lips hovered over his and he could feel her breath mingling with his, his eyes staring directly into the striking blue of hers.  Brooke's lips grazed his gently, and she kissed him softly as their lips parted slightly, slow kisses full of emotion and love.  Brooke broke suddenly from the kiss,

    "Shit!"  She yelped as they both turned towards the flaming marshmallow on the end of the stick, it started falling off the end and Brooke unconsciously stuck her hand out, the flaming ball landing in her palm.  Brooke didn't even know what to do as the searing sugar burned her skin, but Kevin reacted quickly pulling it off and tossing it into the fire.   He could see the pain in her face and took her hand blowing cool air across the burn, relieving some of the pain.  He licked his thumb and used it to wipe off the remaining marshmallow on her hand, a red circle the only thing remaining in her palm.

    "Are you okay?"  he asked as continued to blow on the burn, and she nodded.

    "I think it's okay now."  She said, but he didn't let go of her hand, he just held it in his, running his finger tenderly across it, finally kissing it.   When he looked back up at Brooke a look of pain was on her face.

    "I'm sorry did that hurt."  he said so caringly.  Brooke shook her head,

    "It's not enough time." She whispered, the tears that were burning in the back of her eyes finally falling.

    "What's not enough time."

    "Tonight.  Tonight's not enough time for us."  Kevin nodded and pulled her into the ever familiar comforting hug as she continued talking through her tears.  "It's not enough time to be with you, when we can finally be together."

Brooke was saying everything Kevin had thought within the last week, and he couldn't do anything but hold her close.  He rubbed his hand along her back, resting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes, the only sound coming from Brian McKnight and the crackling fire.

    "I'm sorry Brooklyn.  I'm sorry tonight couldn't be wonderful for us."  Brooke sat up abruptly.

    "No Kevin today's been wonderful, you are wonderful, I'm just sad cause it has to end soon.  I never want it to end."  She emotionally cried, as she laid her head against his chest, lying against him as he stroked the side of her face.  They sat silent again, both of them trying to get a grasp on their feelings,
 

Kevin leaned down and kissed Brooke again, cupping her face with his hand as she turned her face up towards him.  The kiss became intense and passionate, Brooke eventually lying on Kevin as he fell backwards, her body molding to his embrace.  His hand was moving  up the skin on her waist, his touch like fire to her, warm and welcome.  As they descended deeper into their passion Brooke started to laugh, and continued as Kevin looked at her with quizzical eyes, until she told him why she was laughing.

    "We can't do this in your mother's house Kevin, it's too weird."  Kevin kind of nodded, understanding her point, and getting a little freaked about it too.

    "Yeah, let's go home."

    "Your home or mine?"  She asked, standing up and straightening her shirt, and helping to pick up the blankets and pillows as Kevin put out the fire.

    "Yours I guess." he shrugged, making sure the last of the embers was extinguished and gathering the blankets to return them to the closet.  Kevin shut out all the lights and carefully locked up before they both walked to the car.  Well tonight sucked, Kevin thought as he started the engine, upset that he had let Brooke down.

    Brooke thought deeply the whole way home, he's leaving at eight, that's only nine hours until he's gone, she thought, her heart racing at the fear of it.  The long ride to town seemed sort and Brooke swore time was speeding up just to spite her, but they finally arrived.  Kevin walked hand in hand with her up to her apartment, stopping at her door.  She unlocked it and went in, but Kevin stood standing in the doorway.

    "Do you want me to stay?" He asked, and Brooke looked at him with disbelieving eyes.

    "Of course I do."  She practically yelled, encircling her arms around his waist and pulling him inside, shutting the door behind him.  She looked up into his eyes and finished.  "I never want you to leave."

Kevin kissed her sweetly on the forehead, trailing down to her lips,

    "I don't want this to feel like a one night stand."  She mumbled as he continued to kiss her, "I couldn't take it Kevin, knowing that tonight I had you, but tomorrow I'll be alone."  She continued responding to his lips on hers, but she was scared about the pain losing herself to Kevin again would leave in her heart tomorrow.

    "Brooklyn, listen to me.  We don't have to do anything if you don't want to, but I want you to know that just because I have to leave, it doesn't make anything less special to me.   I love you too much to make you feel that way!"  Just that small phrase put her heart at ease and she kissed him before he could continue speaking, promising herself she wouldn't interrupt again.

They moved from the doorway to the bedroom, clothing being shed in a trail along the way, but they weren't rushed.  Every touch, every kiss was gentle and lingering, like each caress would be their last.  For once that evening time slowed down for Brooke and Kevin, allowing them the pleasure and love they both deserved from each other.  They fell asleep comfortably in Brooke's bed, her head resting on his bare chest, the rhythmic beating of his heart lulling her to sleep.
 

She awoke in the morning, the clock the first thing she saw.  Nine O'clock?  That can't be right, she thought, sitting up and looking around.  Kevin was gone.  A horrible feeling of regret swept over her, this is the feeling I didn't want to get, She sighed, but the feeling left when she notice what lay on the pillow next to her.  She picked up the lone yellow rose that lay on the navy blue pillowcase and smelled it as she picked up the note that went along with it.
 

My Shining Star,

I didn't know if I'd be able to leave if I woke up with you in the morning, and I didn't know if I would be able to say goodbye.  Please don't be mad at me, I'll call as soon as I get to Orlando and I'll be back before you know it.  I love you Brooklyn.

Kevin
 
 

Brooke didn't know whether to cry or smile over the note, she just knew this was going to be the start of the hardest month of her life.
 
 

         Annie sat in her dorm room watching Taylor flitted about as if she were being chased by some invisible force.  Annie stared at her, but never said anything.

    “Okay, I think I’m ready for class…goin’? questioned Taylor.  Annie nodded her head no and curled up back in her bed.  Taylor rolled her eyes at Annie and said a quick goodbye before heading off to her 8:30 class.  Annie didn’t do much anymore.  She rarely left her room, and if she did she never stayed away long.  The only time she would ever leave was if Nick drug her out.  Things with Nick were still good, but she felt weird around him.  Nick had saved her from getting raped practically, and she just didn’t know what to say to him or how to act around him.  Nick would constantly try and think of things to do with Annie, but she never really seemed interested.  In crowds she would recoil; alone she was just very quiet.  Nick was running out of ideas. However, he knew she needed time and that was something he had a lot of.  He hoped she’d return to being the Annie he loved, but he didn’t know if that girl would ever return.  Nick hated Paul for what he had done to Annie, again.  ‘How can someone be like that?’ Nick often wondered.  He never could imagine being so angry that he would lash out at Annie the way Paul had done.  Paul stole Annie’s innocence and the girl that she once was.  Nick often wondered what Annie was like before Paul.  He imagined her being bubbly and laughing a lot because he would occasionally get to see that side of Annie.  Sometimes she’d be playful and really loving, and he loved that about her.
 

    “Ya know, not everyone is lucky to have a friend like me, Carter,” Annie told him.  Nick would roll his eyes and play along.

    “Oh yeah, I know Whitten.  I’m so incredibly blessed to have smashed into you while jogging that day.  Thank goodness for wanting to stay fit!”

    “Dude, you so know you’re thankin’ your lucky stars for me,” she said.  She went on to say,

    “Cuz, I thank all my stars for you and your friendship.”  She would smile at him, and go about her day.  Nick loved that feeling of being special; Annie made Nick feel that way.  Nick made Annie feel like she could be whole again.  He made her feel like she could trust again, as well.  It seemed Annie was slipping further and further away from Nick now.  ‘What can I tell her to make her see that she’s okay?  What can I do to make her feel good about who she is?’ Nick didn’t have an answer and it killed him to know he might not be able to help her.
 

        Annie was laying in her bed when her phone rang.  She tiredly fumbled for the phone and answered it.

    “Hello,” she said lazily.

    “Annabelle,” her mother said.  Annie’s stomach twisted into a knot as she said,

    “Hello mom.”  She couldn’t understand why her mom was calling her dorm because her mom never called her.

    “What’s up?” Annie asked inquisitively.

    “Well Annabelle, you’ve received some mail from the school, and well, I opened it,” her mother said.

    “Mother, why did you open my mail?” Annie asked a little beyond pissed off, but she remained calm.

    “I’m your mother, I deserve to know what’s going on with you,” she spat out.  Annie bit her lip.  She didn’t need a screaming match with her mother after just waking up, and on the phone no less.

    “Annabelle, it says you are being put on academic probation because you are failing two of your classes and it looks as though you are barely squeaking by in one other one.  What is going on?”  Annie closed her eyes and sighed loudly into the phone.  She had hoped her mom wouldn’t find out about her not going to class, but obviously since she was so nosey, it wasn’t going to happen.  Annie had basically stopped going to class.  She didn’t want to be there and felt she didn’t really need to be there.

    “Mom, I’m just having a hard time with classes, that’s all,” she said.

    “Well, what are we going to do about this, Annabelle?” her mother said bitingly.  Annie’s mind was screaming,

    “WE aren’t gonna do a damn thing!!! This is not YOUR problem, and I just don’t give a fuck!” But she told her mother,

    “Don’t worry, I’ll get it under control,” it was lie, and she knew it.

    “Well, you’d better young lady.  Get over yourself and think about your future,” her mother snapped.

    “Mom, I’ve gotta go.  Talk to you later,” Annie said glumly.  She hung up the phone and threw the covers back over her head.  Just as she was about to drift back off to sleep Taylor came bounding in.

    “Hey Annie, rise and shine!” she said very perky like!  Annie remained quiet.

    “Annie, get your butt outta bed and actually go to class for once,” Taylor said in a demanding voice.   Annie pulled her head from under the covers and said,

    “Taylor, mind your own fucking business.”   Taylor just rolled her eyes and said,

    “You certainly look like shit today Annie.”  Annie glared at Taylor, but she knew she was right.  She rolled over in her bed and pretended to fall asleep.  Annie was crying. ‘I need to talk to Brooke.  I miss her so much.  I don’t know what do anymore, she thought as she quietly shed tears.  Annie was sinking fast and she didn’t know how to stop herself.
 

        Later that day, Annie sat on the floor of Nick’s room and flipped through a Sports Illustrated.  She wasn’t really reading it, but it gave her something other than Nick to look at.  Everytime she looked at Nick she just wanted to cry.  She was embarrassed about the whole situation with Paul and nothing had really been said about it since it happened.  Annie threw the Sports Illustrated across the room and found another magazine, GQ, to flip through.  In the magazine there was an article about men who beat their wives.  Annie was intrigued by the topic and began reading it.  She read about the wives and how they couldn’t leave their husbands because deep down they knew their husbands really did love them.  Annie was identifying with the women.  She hated what Paul had done to her, but she always thought that his apologies and kisses were sincere.  Annie felt so stupid.  She stopped reading the magazine and looked up at Nick.

    “Nick?” she asked.  He looked up at her,

    “Yeah?”

    “Why do men beat their girlfriends?” Annie questioned.

Nick didn’t know what to say.  He didn’t know why men beat up on women they supposedly loved.

    “I don’t know Annie,” was all he could say.  Nick wanted to give Annie some amazing answer to say that some men were just incompetent in their own masculinity and needed to take their frustrations out on someone.

    “Ann, people are assholes.  Some men just don’t appreciate this amazing gift of a person they have in front of them,” Nick said as he crawled over to Annie.

    “Nick, why did it happen to me?” Annie asked him as she fought back tears.

    “Is it because I’m weak?  Was it because I did something wrong?” Annie seemed to be going off on a tangent.

    “Was it because I looked at him weird one day?  What day exactly did he wake up and decide that he hated me?” she questioned.  Nick had no answer for her.  He was stunned at her outpouring.  They were both sitting next to each other, shoulder to shoulder.  Nick had one arm wrapped around Annie’s shoulders and he just listened to her go on about Paul.

    “Nick, what did I do?  What did I do to him?  Why did I have to find someone like him?”  She was crying now.  Nick wanted to comfort her, but he couldn’t find the right words.  He wanted to try though.

    “Annie, don’t blame yourself.  If you keep blaming yourself it’ll destroy you,” he told her.  Annie looked at Nick and said point blank,

    “I’ve already been destroyed.”  Those words shot through Nick like daggers.  He actually flinched when she said those words.

    “I don’t know what to tell you Annie,” said Nick as he hung his head down defeatedly.

    “Not all guys hit their girlfriends, I can tell you that much,” he said trying to comfort her.

    “I know you’d never hurt me like that Nick,” Annie sighed.  Nick looked at her and kissed her forehead.

    “Never Annie.  Never…” he shook his head.  They sat together as  Nick held Annie in his arms, never wanting to let her go.