It took more time than Claire would have liked for her visitor's pass to be processed but they finally let her go and she reached Jake's barracks without speeding too much.

She sighed.

Clare was running on little to no sleep. When Jake called around two in the morning she was just wrapping up on her studies. She took an hour to get ready and convince Terry that it wasn't such a bad idea to drive out of town in the wee hours of the morning. Her best friend reluctantly let her go, though part of her knew Terry was worried about Jake as well.

So here she was, sitting in a Marine Base cafeteria waiting to Jake.

Think of the devil.

Jake stepped into the cafeteria then, and Clare barely held in the urge to run up to him. She chose to stand up instead and wait for him to reach her. He looked bad. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his sea-green eyes held no trace of his usual lively energy. His usually held back shoulders were slumped, making him look smaller. All in all he looked like hell, and he wasn't meeting her gaze. Opting instead to look at anywhere but her.

When he didn't pull her into a hug as soon as he reached her, Clare's heart squeezed a bit. He slid into the seat across from her, and she sat back down. Now he was staring at the table. Her eyes started blurring with tears as she kept her eyes on him. She didn't know Pete that well, having only met the guy once when he gave Jake a ride to her dorm because Jake's car needed new tires, but she did know that he was Jake's best friend. They've stuck together during Hell Week, always had each other's back, and was quiet the combination on the battlefield, according to Jake.

"What are you doing here, Clare?"

His cold tone made her jerk back a bit, as if he physically hit her. She reminded herself that he was grieving. "I thought I'd...be here for you."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

He didn't reply.

"Look...Jake, you just lost your best friend...you're not fine, and I want to be here for you."

"Well I don't want you here." This time, his gaze met hers, and she almost shivered at how icy and hard his once warm eyes were. "I'll deal with this on my own."

Clare could feel her heart breaking, but she pushed on. "I may not have been in a relationship before, Jake, but I know for a fact that when someone you love is hurting, you have to be there for them. It doesn't have to be physical or anything but just let them know that-"

Jake's hands came down and slammed on the table top, making Clare jump and gasp at the small spark of fear that zapped through her. Jake had stood up, glaring down at her. "I don't know what romance novel you read made you think that way, but let me tell you something, Clare. I can deal with this on my own. I. Don't. Need. You."

Everything suddenly felt cold, and as Clare watched Jake turn his back on her and walk away, she felt a hole in her heart start to open and it only got bigger the farther he got. Clare doesn't remember standing up and exiting the cafeteria or the building for that matter. She didn't know how she got to her car and started driving away, because the next thing she knew red and blue lights were flashing behind her, signalling her to pull over.

She did, almost numbly and just sat there, waiting for the police officer to tell her what she did wrong.

When the elderly looking man that reminded her of a kind grandpa tapped on her window, she rolled it down, only to be sprayed by rain.

When did it start raining?

"Ma'am, please step out of the car."

She didn't hesitate to do as was told, and as soon as she did, the police officer pulled her into his arms and pressed her face to his warm chest. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. Whatever it is, you'll get through it."

That was when Clare realized her cheeks were wet not from the rain, but from the tears that had been flowing down her face ever since Jake left her.

Jake left her.

The reminder had her gripping the officer's uniform in her hands as she bawled her eyes out, her throat aching as she cried out. The officer didn't seem to mind the rain that was soaking through their clothes. He just continued to hold and soothe her.

***

Oooh, thing's aren't looking so good in paradise...what will happen now??

I'll try not to keep you guys in too much suspense...hehehehehe...yeah, Nishsai_V, I'm going crazy.

Look Rora_chan14, I wrote angst!! Kind of...lol!!

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