• CH17:
    As soon as school ended I sprinted out the door and through the hallways, not stopping till I was outside. When I got there, I tapped my foot impatiently waiting for Joseph to come. I looked to the left then to the right, to see if I could find Joseph anywhere. It was five minutes later then, that I saw him in the hallways. I ran to him but I saw he didn’t look at me at first.
    “Hey” I said.
    “Hey”
    The hallways had been cleared out and now it was only us.
    “Tell me what you have to tell me already.” He said annoyingly.
    “Joseph look what you saw in the bench was nothing like you thought it was.”
    “Sure.” He said sarcastically.
    “Stop being a bratt and listen to me already.” I said sternly.
    He didn’t say anything.I can just imagine him rolling his eyes.
    “In the bench Jake was explaining the whole story, on how he got drunk and about why he ended up getting drunk in my bed with another girl.”
    “And you believed him?”
    “Yes, but that’s not the point. He was so depressed, when he was telling me I felt terribly bad for him and I held his hand to try to help him feel better. And when I hugged him it was because I thought that any second he would break down in front of me, and I couldn’t let that happen.”
    “Wimp.”
    We both didn’t say anything for a moment, then he said,
    “But what about after the hug? If you didn’t see me, you would've kissed him….”
    He looked down “…. I know it.”
    I looked at him sternly, “No I was not, he was going to kiss me, but I wasn’t going to let him.”
    “How can I know your not just lying to me?”
    “I guess your just going to have to trust me on this.”
    He sighed.
    “And the only reason Jake punched you was because he had been so mad that he lost me because of what he did earlier before, that he started hurting other people, blaming you and me. And punching you.”
    “That little son of a….”
    “JOSEPH!”
    “What?”
    “Control yourself please!”
    He rolled his eyes. Today he was in a real bratty mood, and I didn’t like him like that.
    “And heres something I haven't told you yet.”
    “ok keep on.” He said.
    “When Jake left you on the floor, he took me in the park. He told me he was sorry and everything. But in the end, he kissed me.” I said nervously.
    “I knew it!! It was a matter of time before you kissed him!”
    “He kissed me” I corrected.
    “Did you pull away from him?”
    I looked down,
    “You have to be kidding me.”
    I didn’t know what to say. I looked away, nervously, afraid on how he was going to react. He looked away from me in disgust, trying to make the information sink in.
    He looked terribly sad,
    “Why didn’t you pull back?” he whispered, not looking at me.
    “I don’t know.” I answered.
    But deep inside me, I knew the answer. The answer I refused to accept, I liked Jake a lot, possibly loved him. I would spend times thinking about him during class, denying the way I felt about him.
    Why did Jake have to go and ruin everything? I thought.
    “Jess?”
    “Yea?”
    “I know you have feelings for him.”
    “No I don’t!” I said denying myself once more.
    “Yes you do, I see how you look at him, and the way he makes you smile.”
    I didn’t say anything.
    “Say something for once in your life!” he screamed at me.
    “I don’t know!” I screamed, feeling the water dwelling up in my eyes.
    “Admit it Jess! You love Jake!”
    I looked down and closed my eyes. I cried softly to myself. I wiped the tears away from my face.
    I wanted to just run away from him. He was getting angrier, and the truth was becoming clearer every second.
    “I love you…” He said holding my hand.
    “But…”He sighed deeply and frowned not looking at me. “ its over between us.” He looked to the floor and took his hand away from mine.
    “Im sorry.” He whispered, then walked away slowly with his head bent downward. I stayed there standing for a second.
    Then the pain I felt was so strong that I fell to the floor. I curled up in a ball and cried my heart out. Everything that happened between us, every time he said he loved me. All of that was gone, the only thing left, was my memories. I put my arms around my face and cried harder. My tears spewed down on my arms and part of my shirt. I wiped away some tears with the sleave of my shirt.
    I saw Jake run in, look around, then see him lock eyes on mine and run to me. He looked worried. He came and sat on the hallway floor next to me, with a worried expression.
    “Are you ok?” he asked urgently.
    “No.”
    “What happened?” he asked.
    “My heart broke to a million pieces.” I cried harder and wrapped my arms around him and kept on crying. I heard myself whimper.
    “Im so sorry.” He said. He moved his hand up and down my back to try to comfort me, like he did before when Joseph left me. I pulled him closer to me, like if he was a teddy bear. I needed someone to lean on right now. The love of my life is gone. He will never love me the same way again, and he leaves me here like last time, alone.
    I kept wiping the tears from my face, but I was crying so much that there was no point. Jake stroked my hair and brought me closer to him. I stayed there for about an hour, crying over Joseph. My tears became less and less, my whimpers started to stop. I wiped my tears away from my face once more. Then it was just Jake and I. He stopped rubbing my back. And I leaned away from him. We both sat there quietley for about five minutes.
    “You feel better now?”
    “Just barely.” I answered.
    He stood up and offered a hand to help me up. I took it and stood there still feeling a bit depressed. Then I asked curiously,
    “How did you know I was here?”
    “Well I knew you would meet up with him after school, so I stayed around the parking lot to see what was going to happen.”
    “So you heard the whole conversation?” I asked.
    “No,no, like I told you I was outside in the parking lot. I was just waiting for you to come out and either tell me everything went great or not.”
    “But then how did you know something was wrong?”
    “You were sobbing really loud, I even saw some people around the naborhood look around wondering what was happening. When I heard you crying I ran as fast as I could to help you.” He said.
    “Thanks” I smiled hugging him again once more.
    “No problemo.” He said.
    “Well I better go back home before my parents start worrying.”
    “Yea, your right.” He said.
    “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I said.
    “You got it. Bye.”
    “Bye.” I said in a whisper.
    I walked out of school depressed,sad,alone,hurt, but I had felt better now that Jake came. I smiled when I thought of his name. I frowned when I thought of Joseph. I walked to my car, opened the door, and then went in and drove out onto the street. I thought of Jake the whole way to my house. I was realizing that Jake was a better guy than I thought. Jake had loved me from the start, he was there when Joseph left me on the parking lot, he was there when Joseph broke my heart. He was always there for me. He met my parents, and my parents liked him. Why didn’t I see this before? Was I so caught up in denying how much I liked him, that I didn’t get the chance to see who he really was? All these questions I didn’t know how to answer. I walked into my house and put my backpack down next to the front door. I ate dinner quietly with my family. My mom asked,
    “Whats wrong?” I sighed.
    “Some stuff at school.” I answered.
    “And whats wrong at school?” My Dad asked uncertain. I sighed again.
    “Joseph broke up with me.” As I said the word, I felt little needles plunge into my heart just saying the name.
    “Honey, im so sorry.” My mom said with sad eyes.
    My Dad smiled, “It was about time, that guy was no good anyways.”
    “Shutup Dad, you never liked him from the start.” I said.
    “True” He admitted.
    I put my dinner plate in the sink and walked to my room and opened my backpack to do my homework. I did my homework extra slow, so that my mind would be occupied in something else. I did extra problems and studied twice as much, but I still had extra time in the end. I felt my phone vibrate, I took it out from my jean pockets and looked to see the phone. It was Jake. He left me a text message…
    “You feeling better?”
    “Yea thanks for asking.” I typed back.
    “Hey im gonna call you for a sec I need to ask you something.”
    “Oh alright.”
    I closed my phone. 20 seconds later I heard my cell phone ring.
    “Hello?”
    “Hi Jake.”
    “Hey.”
    “So what did you want to ask me?”
    “Right, so I know its kind of early to ask you, and this may not be the right time. But would you want to go out with me?” he asked uncertain.
    I hesitated, thinking of the right answer.
    “Jeez Jake! Your so desperate, is that the only thing you ever think of?!”
    “Actually, Yes, but that’s not the point.” He said chuckling.
    “Your boyfriend broke up with you, this is my chance.” He said apologetically.
    “Well I cant decide now. Today wasn’t the perfect day to ask me.”
    “Well you never know, maybe some other guy would've asked you tomorrow and I would've lost my chance.” He said.
    I laughed. “ok well I wont accept any guys invitation to go out with me right now anyways.”
    He sighed.
    “Oh Jake don’t do that to me.”
    “What?”
    “You know I hate it when you feel sad.”
    He laughed,
    “Yea I know.”
    I laughed. “Right well I gotta go.”
    “Ya ok well,so, ill see you later then.”
    “Ok Bye”
    “Bye”
    Then I hung up the phone and stared at it and smiled. I tucked the phone in my backpack and then went to my closet to pick out my pajamas. I changed into my pajamas. I went under the covers and fell asleep.

    CH18:
    I woke up and rubbed my eyes. I hesitated, I didn’t feel like going to school today I didn’t feel like seeing Joseph. The little needles went into my heart at the thought of his name again.
    I got dressed and skipped breakfast. I didn’t feel like eating, my parents asked me,
    “Don’t you want breakfast?”
    “No”
    “How come?”
    “Josephs fault.” I laughed and left the house leaving my parents confused. I drove to school looking around for Jake. Once I saw him I could ask him if he could shield me away from Joseph. But instead, the firsts person I saw was Joseph, we both didn’t look at each other. I passed by him and quickly looked for Jake. The moment I saw him I felt relief and I smiled.
    “Hey cutie.” He smiled.
    I rolled my eyes, “Here we go…” I said.
    “Look Jake I need you to hide me when Joseph comes.”
    He chuckled.“Don’t you think that’s a bit stupid?”
    “Hey! Its not stupid, foolish, but not stupid.” We chuckled.
    “Ok fine.” He said looking at me like if I was really dumb.
    Whatever.
    Surprisingly the morning was the only time when I saw Joseph. So I didn’t need Jake. After school Jake walked up to me and asked a question.
    “So have you decided?” he asked me.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “If you want to go out with me.”
    “You are completely obsessed.” I answered.
    “Its hard not too.” He smiled.
    “So is that a yes?” He said with a sly smile.
    I smiled, and came up to him so close that we were about an inch apart from kissing. I saw his body tense when I came closer to him.
    “Yes.” I whispered. I saw him smile brightly.
    He put his hands around my waist, “Finally, your mine once again.”
    He leaned toward me and his lips softly kissed me. I saw him smiling the whole time while we kissed. I put my hands around his neck, and I saw his eyes widen a bit surprised, then he smiled at my reaction. I kissed him long and eagerly. There was a part of me that was hidden that had been dying to kiss him all along. It was unleashed. I leaned toward him so much he started taking steps backward and stopped against one of the lockers. He had his hands moving up my back and pulling me closer to him. Our eyes were closed, cherishing the moment. He pulled me away.
    He grinned widely, looked at me, then said,
    “I knew you wanted me all along.” He said in a sly smile.
    “You didn’t know that, but iv been dying to kiss you I have to admit.” My face turned slightly pink. “Me too.” He said.
    We looked around and we saw only a couple kids left. But they were all staring at us. Both our faces flushed red. He whispered,
    “It mightve been in front of a couple kids, but it was worth it.” He said.
    “I cant disagree.”
    He held my hand. And I smiled warmly at him.
    “I love you.”
    “Jake don’t say that.”
    “Why not? I mean it.”
    “Because it just doesn’t feel right yet.”
    He looked confused. He put his hands in his pockets and waited for an explanation.
    “I JUST got you as my boyfriend, it just seems like your going to quick with this.”
    “But I do love you, I think of you every night, and your always on my mind.” He smiled.
    “Don’t you feel the same way?” He asked.
    “Im not sure.”
    He frowned and looked down, disappointed.
    “Well just so you know, I will always love you, and I have always loved you.”
    I thought to myself,
    Hes such a cute guy. I smiled at my remark.
    I gave him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled.
    “Hey well I have to go to my classes.”
    “Alright, ill see you later.”
    “Kay” I said.
    I turned around and started walking. I headed off to my classes. They were all dreadfully slow. I put my head down on the desk. Then I started leaning my head on my arms that were crossed. Then there was a point wear I started rubbing my eyes and I closed them. The guy next to me chuckled. I sat up streight, my face turned red and I looked away. The rest of the class was back to normal. I headed off to lunch. At lunch I sat next to Jake and his group of friends. Jake was showing off on how he was my boyfriend. The guys laughed and cracked some jokes about Jake. I started laughing too. I looked around the room to see if Joseph was anywhere near site. But I didn’t find him. When school ended I saw him though. But he was far away in a little corner in his locker. I felt pain looking at him, remembering the times we had spent together. We had gone through so much, he had loved me, and now he doesn’t want me. My chest was feeling tight, I closed my eyes, and gulped down, trying to hold down the tears. But gladly I was strong enough, Jake was there to make me feel better.
    “Hey” he said smiling, walking big,long, strides toward me.
    When he saw wear I was looking at he became serious.
    I looked away quickly.
    “I see your not completely over him.”
    “No, I am over him.” I said, while I faked a smile.
    He frowned,
    “No your not over him yet. I cant blame you I guess, he had just recently broke up with you I guess that’s normal.” He said frowning.
    I held his hand, and gave him a quick kiss. Jake smiled and looked in a different direction. He smiled brighter when he caught eyes with someone.I gasped in horror to turn around and see Joseph was looking at us. Joseph’s face turned away, but I saw a glimpse of his pained expression.I felt pain. Jake was smiling.
    “Stop that.” I said sternly.
    He stopped smiling.
    We walked a far distance away from Joseph till he couldn’t see us.
    He took out his phone,
    “Ugh..sorry I have to go. So ill see you tomorrow?
    “Yea.”
    “Great, so bye.”
    “Bye.”
    Then he put his hand on my back and quickly pulled him inward and kissed me softly. I got a small jolt of adrenaline everytime he kissed me. Being this close to him always made me feel secure, and safe from anything.
    He backed away quickly,
    “As much as I would love to stay here and makeout with you, I cant. Sorry ill go see you tomorrow.” He said smiling and running off, waving.
    “K bye.” I said laughing.
    Then I walked away and walked back to the parking lot. One thing got me by surprise, I felt unsteady.

    CH19:
    Joseph was there, next to my car, staring straight at me. No mistake. My heart skipped a beat. I froze there outside as he glared at me. My heart then started beating faster as I approached him. His face was expressionless so I didn’t know what to expect. When I got up to my car, I decided to ignore him and just walk right past him and pretend I didn’t see him. When I opened the car door, he closed it and was glared at me. I looked up slowly at him.
    “What?” I asked.
    “Out of curiosity, why did you kiss Jake this morning?”
    “None of your business.”
    “Everything is my business.” He answered simply, not moving.
    “Move.” I said.
    “No, not before you tell me what your doing with him.”
    “Its…none…of…you're…business” I said sternly.
    I tried to open the door again but his weight was leaning on it and I didn’t have enough strength to open it.
    “Why do you even care?” I asked.
    His eyesbrows furrowed like he was thinking.
    “Because I do.”
    “You broke up with me, its over between us, my busniess is not your busniess anymore.”
    His face started turning red.
    “TELL ME!”
    “WHAT DO U WANT ME TO TELL YOU?!?!”
    “WHAT R YOU DOING WITH THAT PIECE OF SH…”
    “JOSEPH!!!!!!!”
    “WHAT!!” He got so frustrated he threw me back so hard that I fumbled and fell, my back hit against the corner of a car with a loud thud. I fell to the ground limply from the shock and the gravity pulled me down. My head hit the floor. A loud scream came from me/ My head was throbbing in pain, my back felt paralyzed.
    Joseph stood there looking at me. No expression. Then he just walked away to his car. Leaving me there hurt. I couldn’t move because if I did I know the pain would hurt tremendously. I lied there for a while hoping maybe it would feel better. I cried. He had abandoned me so many times. He had hurt me more than just physically, mentally too. A girl saw me on the floor her eyes looked at me in horror.
    “Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!”
    “Not really.”
    She went on her knees and slowly picked me up so that I could stand again. The pain was horrible. I shrieked when I moved. I knew It was going to leave a huge bruise on my back. And for my head I felt blood pumping through my ears and I heard a sharp pitched sound also. She offered me to drive me home.
    “Thanks.” I said.
    “No problem.”
    I told her wear my house was and she followed the directions perfectly. She said she could walk to her house because it was only a couple blocks from here so I thanked her once more. I wrung the doorbell. My dad opened the door smiling, but when he looked at me he was in shock.
    “what happened to you?!?!” he said urgently.
    “It was an accident.” I lied.
    “No it wasn’t, no one causes an accident like this.”
    “Just forget it, can you just bring me some ice?”
    “Not until you tell me who did this to you.”
    I sighed in defeat.
    “Joseph.” I whispered.
    “WHY THAT LITTLE b***h!”
    “DAD!”
    He took deep breaths.
    “I cant believe your still dating him.” He said disgusted.
    “Actually he broke up with me, so I started dating Jake.
    My dad smiled.
    He screamed,
    “HEY HUN! YOUR DAUGHTERS FINALLY DATING JAKE!”
    I heard my mom run toward my father and she was all excited till she found me.
    “What happened?!”
    “Joseph.” I spat out his name as if it had some bad taste in my mouth.
    “We are going to have to talk to him.”
    “NO you are NOT.” I answered.
    “Just trust me on this, don’t talk to him.” My parents look worried and argued with me, but they decided in the end that they wouldn’t.
    I walked up to my bedroom tired and sleepy. My mom came in with a boul of hot soup. I drank it quickly.
    “Well heres some good news.” My mom said happily.
    “I'm not going to let you go to school tomorrow the way your in, so I guess you don’t have to do your homework today.” She said smiling, trying to make me feel better.
    “Thanks.” I said smiling.
    I fell asleep at 8:00 because of how tired I was. At 10:00 am I was still sleeping when my cell phone rang. It was Jake. He was at school for sure, why is he calling me? He could get in serious trouble. But my selfish side picked it up eagerly, wanting to hear his voice.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey Jess.”
    “Hey why are you calling? Arent you at school?”
    Then he answered,
    “Yea but I was worried about you. Why didn’t you go to school today?”
    “Some stuff happened with Joseph.”
    He sighed.
    “What do you mean by some stuff?”
    “Well..um.. he sorta threw me backwards and I fell and hit a car with my back. Then I fell head first on the concrete floor.” I said.
    I heard no sound at all. Nothing. Quiet.
    I heard a small click and I heard in the background the kids all talking. But then I heard Jake's voice.
    “YOU!” he screamed.
    Oh my god! What I have I done! Im not even there to stop the fight! I kept listening in horror.
    “what?” asked Joseph.
    I only heard the kids all talk and then sudden silence as everyone gasped.
    What did Jake do to him!??!
    “WHY THE HELL DID YOU HURT MY GIRLFRIEND YOU LITTLE b***h!”
    Then I heard all the other kids gasp.
    “I swear on my life, you EVER even TALK to her again. I guarantee you wont live to see another day!”
    Everyone was silent. I heard footsteps coming toward the phone.
    “JAKE WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO TO HIM?!?!”
    “I punched him and kicked him in the stomach.”
    “JAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
    “WHAT?!!”
    “OH MY GOSH JAKE. YOU KNOW WHAT?! JUST DON’T SPEAK TO ME FOR A WHILE. OK?!”
    I hung up the phone. I waited half an hour and then I called Joseph.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey Joseph.”
    “Don’t talk to me.” He said.
    “Im SO sorry for what Jake did to you. I really am. It was outrageous and it was not right. Please forgive him he didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    “I will forgive him, but theres a condition.” He said.
    “What?”
    “If you forgive me, for what I did yesterday. It was so rude. SO HORRIFIC, I feel disgusted with myself. I cant even see your face without feeling regret. Please forgive me Jess. We may not be a couple anymore, but please. I am truly, from the bottom of my heart, sorry. I should’ve never hurt anyone in the first place. But to have hit a girl. To have hit you. Is so horrible.” I heard his voice crack, his throat dry..
    “Please forgive me.” He managed to just joke out.
    “Please.” He whispered.
    I sighed, “Apology accepted.”
    “Thank you so much.”
    “No problem. Sorry but I have to go now, So later.”
    “Bye”
    “Bye”
    I lied there in my bed. Thinking about what Jake did….that was just unacceptable, and we would definetley, talk about what he did. I wasn’t going to give him a choice.
    That date that he was planning on taking me, was going to be after we straightened some stuff out.