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Nicole's View

Closing the door behind me, I fumbled for the light switch on the wall. I hope Maddy is home, I really have to talk to her. I set down my car keys and purse on the table.

"Maddy?" I called, taking off my jacket and hanging it on the coat hanger. "Maddy, I need to talk to you."

I made my way to the kitchen and turned the light on.

"Boo!"

Screaming, I turned around and found Maddy laughing.

"You're a jumpy one aren't you?" she smiled opening the refrigerator.

"You would be too if someone grabbed you out of no where," I said taking an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter in the kitchen.

"What's up? How'd tonight go with Brian?" she asked.

"Pretty good, we talked a little and watched Casper. He's doing really well. He's a lot happier now that he has everything out in the open," I said taking a bite of the apple.

"That's what I heard. In fact, he's doing so well..." she stopped and smiled widely at me.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"We get to go home next Monday," she grinned jumping up on the counter.

"Wha...what? But Maddy, that's 3 days away. He's really that much better?" I asked in shock. She nodded her head vigorously.

"But..."

"But what?" she asked narrowing her eyes.

"I just...Maddy we can't leave," I shook my head unbelievingly.

"You mean you don't want to leave," she stated bluntly. She didn't phrase it as a question. She said it as if she already knew.

I shook my head slowly, "No, I don't."

"Why?" she asked staring at me intently. I set down my apple and took a deep breath, "I don't know."

"Good reason."

"Lay off the sarcasm Maddy," I said a little annoyed.

"What is up with you Nikki?" she asked looking at me strangely. Was that worry in her eyes?

"I don't know Maddy, I'm just really confused right now," I said.

"You seem upset," Maddy said. My head snapped up and I quickly said, "I do?"

She nodded her head, "I guess that's normal. Some people get attached a little too much, but once they head home they ease off a little."

"Oh," my heart beat was racing but it slowed down at her words. They were comforting but not as comforting as I would have hoped. There was something else that she didn't know, something that I couldn't explain.

"I know you're going to miss him honey but it's not like we can stay here forever. We gotta move on to bigger and better things. You did a great job with Brian, now you can go on to harder cases," she said getting off the counter and walking over to me. I looked down at the floor absorbing everything that she was telling me. She's right. I did my job and now I have to go home and wait for another. This is how my life, if that's what you want to call it, is.

I shook off the feelings that I was having at the moment and decided to just go with the flow. That's really the only thing I could do in the position that I was in.

The Next Day

Brian's View

"Aren't your closets full?" I asked as I eyed AJ's bags in his hands. He shook his head and said, "Nah."

I shrugged and said, "Okay then."

"Oh oh oh oh! Stop!" Nick exclaimed zooming in front of me and rushing into the store to our left. I looked up and found it to be a video game store. Apparently they were having a sale on all Mario Games.

"What you should be asking, Rok, is if he already has all existing Nintendo games," AJ grumbled as he walked into the store after Nick. I couldn't help but laugh.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" AJ burst as we left the store. Nick looked over at him and his goofy grin wiped off his face. "What do you mean?"

"Are you ever going to grow out of those?" AJ questioned motioning toward the bag Nick was gripping. Nick's smile formed on his face again and said, "Are you crazy? Never!"

"Hey guys, could we stop by the jewelers really quick?" I asked as I spotted the jewelry store at the corner.

"I suppose so," Nick sighed heavily. I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of him.

"You suppose so? You're getting ready for an ass whooping that's what I suppose!" AJ said pushing Nick.

"Man, lay off, I was only joking!" Nick exclaimed. He was getting angry, that was evident.

"Stop before you guys attract too much attention," I hissed looking at the both of them. They nodded and walked the rest of the way quietly.

"What are you looking for?" Nick asked eyeing the many different cases. I shrugged and just said, "Something nice."

"For Nicole," AJ whispered to Nick.

"I heard that," I said looking at the rings.

"You aren't going to propose to her are you?" Nick asked seriously. I laughed and looked over at him weirdly.

"What? I was just asking!"

"Just 'cause I'm in here doesn't mean I'm going to buy an engagement ring Frack," I laughed shaking my head.

"Yeah, besides, they aren't even a couple," AJ said looking at the necklace cases. I just nodded.

"Jeez, I was just asking," Nick mumbled. I walked over to where AJ stood and knelt down examining the necklaces more closely. AJ said something to Nick and they both moved to the back of the store looking at ridiculously large diamonds.

"Hello, can I help you?" I heard a female voice ask from above me. Startled, I stood up quickly and looked up at the girl. My mouth dropped open and my eyes got wide. She did the same.

"Leigh..." I breathed out in shock. She stared at me in complete bewilderment.

"Brian...I...uh..." she shifted her eyes away from mine nervously and bit her lip.

"Wha...what are you doing here?" I asked fidgeting with my hands and licking my lips repeatedly.

"I work here. It's just part time until Charlie gets me another gig," she explained softly. I nodded and started gnawing my bottom lip.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. It was a stupid question really, but what else was she supposed to say? What was I supposed to say?

"Just looking around I guess," I said stuffing my hands in my pockets. She nodded slowly, her long hair falling over her shoulders. God, she's beautiful.

We both grew silent, our eyes not meeting one another.

"Brian..." she said, breaking the silence. I looked up at her and into her eyes. She was staring at me sadly. "I'm sorry."

"About what?" I asked. Another stupid question. Wow I'm just rolling along aren't I?

"About leaving you. I was just so angry. What I did was irrational, I know that," she said. I didn't know what to say so I looked down.

"I miss you," she said quietly. I looked up at her and saw her eyes start to water.

"Then why didn't you come back?" I asked. "Why didn't you call?"

"I was scared and still upset," she said.

"Oh and like I wasn't?" I asked getting angry. "You left me out of the blue!"

"It wasn't just out of the blue! What you said came out of the blue! I didn't know how to handle it!" she exclaimed. She had started crying and I knew soon enough I was going to end up crying also.

"You didn't have to leave me over it!"

"What was I supposed to do!? Just nod my head and act like it didn't bother me!? What was I supposed to do with what you said!?"

We were now causing a scene, drawing attention to us. People walking by the store looked in curiously, and the people in the store were staring at us wide eyed. AJ and Nick both had their mouths open in shock.

Tears started to pour out of my eyes after what she had said.

"So it's my fault that you left!? It's my fault that I plummeted into a depression!?" I yelled. "I admit I don't know why I said what I did, but I said it and I can't take it back! I didn't want to keep it from you!"

I could see her shaking, or was it because I was shaking too?

As I stood there crying like a baby, arguing with my ex-girlfriend about why she left me, the events that happened when she left game rushing back to me.

~Flashback~

"Okay, I just got off the phone with pizza hut. I can't believe how hungry I am," Leighanne said plopping down next to me on the couch. She kissed my cheek and grabbed my hand, leaning her head on my shoulder. I kissed the top of her head and stared blankly at the TV.

"How was your day?" she asked. I shrugged and mumbled, "Same ol' same ol'. Had lunch with an old friend."

"Oh yeah, how'd that go?"

I nodded, "Good."

She smiled, "I'm glad. I went to the mall with Amanda and got a couple new shirts. They're really cute. I could show them to you before we go to bed. I wanna see what you think."

I slowly nodded my head and still stared at the TV, not knowing exactly what I was watching.

"Pepperoni is okay with you right? I know you like cheese but I've been craving pepperoni," she said. I only nodded my head. She took her head off my shoulder and stared at me concerned.

"Honey, are you okay?" she asked. I looked over at her and slightly smiled.

"Sure," I said.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

"A lot of stuff," I shrugged.

"Like what?" she pushed.

I sighed.

"Leigh baby, I need to tell you something," I said turning serious. She stared at me and said, "All right, what is it?"

"I...I don't really know how to explain it," I frowned.

"Well, try the best you can honey," she said kissing my hand. I sighed and then opened my mouth to speak.

~End of Flashback~

That was it. Well, it wasn't, but that was all I could remember. Well, that wasn't true either. I remember her shocked face, the way her eyes filled up with tears, the way she started screaming, the way she pulled away from me as I tried to touch her hands, to hug her, the way she ran up the stairs bursting into our bedroom, the way she pulled down the suitcases from the closet and threw them on the bed, the way she opened every drawer, throwing everything she could into the awaiting suitcases, the way she screamed at me to shut up...to leave her alone, the way she pushed past me, rushed down the stairs, grabbed Litty, grabbed the keys, ran out of the house, threw everything into her car, and drove off. The only thing I couldn't remember was what I had said to her, what I had said to make her leave.

"You didn't have to tell me you weren't in love with me and never could!" she exclaimed. "You said it so casually! You said it as if you didn't care for me at all!"

I said that? I said that I didn't love her?

"I...uh..." I stumbled over my words.

"I hope you're happy with that Nicole girl!" she was completely hysterical.

"Wha...huh...how did you know about Nicole?" I asked shocked. That did it.

Screaming at me, tears flowing out of her eyes like a hard down pour, her arms flailing, "How did I know!? Don't you remember what you said to me Brian!? You said she was the only reason why you could never love me!"

With that, she turned and stormed away, crying hysterically. I stood there with my mouth wide open, tears still falling out of my eyes, staring after her in complete and utter bewilderment. What she had just said confused me to no end. What she said couldn't possibly have come out of my mouth, just couldn't. I didn't even know Nicole existed until a month or 2 ago, and Leighanne left me 2 months before that. Even though my mind was telling me that what she just told me wasn't true, that I never said it, my heart was telling me something different. My heart was telling me that what she had said was true. What frightened me was that I didn't believe my mind. I believed my heart.