AN:

Thank you for caring about Melanie. I know the poor girl is suffering right now. More things will be revealed, so I hope you stay tuned <3

***

The grip on my phone tightens as my eyes travel around my empty house. I'm still trying to absorb what's happening when my phone rings. When I look at the caller, I'm so surprised that I almost drop the phone to the ground.

Jake.

Inhaling a deep breath, I lean back against the front door before slumping onto the ground, my legs giving up on me. I press the button, answering the call.

"Hi, Mels," Jake's voice echoes in my ear, and suddenly, I feel like crying.

I miss him so much. I want to pour out all that's inside my heart, all the pain I'm feeling right now. I want to tell him about his best friend whom I've fallen in love with.

But the words won't come out, stuck by the lump in my throat.

How am I going to tell him? Vaughn has just broken my heart into pieces, all over again.

"Hey," I say, my voice hoarse.

"What's with the voice?" Jake playfully asks. "Still sleepyhead?"

I let out a fake small laugh. "Yeah. Kind of."

He laughs. "I wish I could lie down on my bed now, but you know, things are super hectic now in the office." He sighs, and I hear him saying thanks to someone over there for making him a coffee.

I imagine him already behind his desk now, probably fiddling some papers and turning on his computer while still finding ways to catch up with me.

"How are things over there?" I ask first before he can ask the question.

"Well," he says. "Challenging, I must say. Tiring as hell, but energising as well, if that makes sense."

A small genuine smile forms on my lips, knowing that it's the way he's saying how much he enjoys it.

"The deadline for our big project is next week, so I'm going to be super occupied, Mel," he says. "But after that, I guess I'll have much free time. I'm thinking about coming over there."

Now, I'm taken aback. Coming over here? Next week? I wish things were less complicated and less confusing between the three of us. But I don't know how that's possible right now, because things are just getting out of hand.

For the first time, I don't want to see my brother yet.

"Is that so?" I ask, trying to sound excited. "That's really nice."

There's a few seconds of silence before he talks again, "Speaking of that, I heard..." he falters, and somehow, I suddenly have a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Some rumors--"

"Jake, I think my friends just arrived in front of the door! I'm sorry, can I go fetch them first? I-I'll talk to you later, okay?"

What a lame excuse to end the call. I hate myself. Jake must have known that I was trying to escape the conversation.

After hearing him saying something like 'Okay', I abruptly hang up and bury my face in my hands, my heart beating fast inside my chest.

I open my eyes, waking up to the exposure of sunlight on my face. It's morning already. I sit up on the bed before slowly getting out of it without glancing back, knowing that it's always empty. That I'll never find him there.

It's been exactly a week since Vaughn left after we made love that night, and until this day, he hasn't come back.

I've been forced to sleep every night, without him by my side, while still missing him and still having nightmares about the stalker breaking into my house again. Vaughn said to me that he would protect me, but I don't know how he would be able to do so if he's not even here with me.

I walk across my room toward the door, feeling numb as usual when the vision of him emerging from the bathroom crosses my mind. He would come out in shorts and a towel around his shoulders, his hair still wet as he gives me a good morning kiss with that lopsided smile of his that always creates butterflies inside my tummy.

Coming into the hallway, I slowly walk along it, seeing flashbacks of Vaughn and I making out against the wall while laughing, and him carrying me to my room as we messily kiss each other.

I step into the living room, and my eyes lie to me as they find Vaughn in the kitchen, making pancakes and omelette. He looks at me and smirks, shrugging. This is the time when I usually smile and totter toward him to give him a kiss on the cheek. But now, I realize that there is nothing but thin air.

I'm starting to wonder whether I'm going crazy because I still see him everywhere in this house. Every corner of it reminds me of him.

His words still ring back in my ear, over and over again.

I love you, Mel.

I'm not losing you.

Can't you just trust me on this?

I stare blankly at the view outside the back patio of my house, the ocean and the blue sky above it. Maybe, this is all just a bad dream, and one day, I'll wake up. But then, I've never felt the pain so real that I know I'm not in a dream. It feels as real as the salty wind blowing through my skin now. I inhale it deeply and wrap my arms around my waist, my heart clenched inside my chest as I think of him and only him.

I step on my campus, holding the straps of my backpack as I walk along the corridor, passing other students who are chatting with their friends and joking around.

If one thinks that Vaughn disappeared only from my sight, then they are wrong. Everybody is now looking for him, wondering what might have happened to the brilliant college student and the star quarterback. Now that he's been missing for a week, rumors start to spread. Some of them say that he's following his ex-lover, Camila -- I have nothing to say about it. And some others also say that I'm the girl who is left behind. From what they saw back then outside the club when Vaughn and I were arguing, I can't blame them if they think so.

Then what about Jake? It's about time that he knows it too. I guess that the company's huge project he was talking about has indeed consumed his mind and much of his time. He might haven't got the chance to figure out more, but I know that he's coming here. Soon.

I come to a halt when I pass the football field. My eyes seem unable to stop looking for him, but no matter how hard I try, I still don't see him. Now, right in front of me, I only see his football teammates and their coach. They don't look good. In fact, the coach is yelling, the frustration and disappointment on his face is clear. Of course. They have just lost Vaughn.

Austin catches sight of me, and he rushes to me. When he stops in front of me, he pants. "Have you heard from him, Mel?"

I shake my head, signalling that I haven't.

He's been out of reach. To me. To his friends. And to the rest of the world.

It's like Vaughn Cooper never exists.

Austin curses, looking frantic before rushing back to his team.

I let out a long sigh and look down. It's hard to breathe. My hand shoots to my chest, gripping it, as if it can make the pain go away.

Is this how you torture me, Vaughn? Is this how you felt when she was gone, disappeared before your very eyes? Is this how much pain you've been feeling all this time?

And just like Camila left him without a word, Vaughn has left me. Leaving me standing here like a fool, heart shattered.