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"Amy, Amy?" I distraughtly call as I step through the left-open door.

The deafening silence has me stopped behind her. She's not moving; she's standing still, and in front of her is Erin wearing a bathing robe, and Jake who springs up from a couch in only shorts, snatching his shirt from the small coffee table spread with so many drugs atop.

"Amy, come let's go." I reach for her hand, and she yanks away.

"I-I have to know," she stutters.

I thought all these days that Jake touching her was the greatest pain I'd live in, but now my chest hurts worse than it ever did.

"Amy," I beg her, but it isn't me that she wishes to speak, it is Jake, who is pacing back and forth and pulling on his hair. I wonder if he'd rather I help him rip it off along with his brain.

He's causing her sorrow, he's hurting her.

"They said-They said you didn't have a job at the company. Where-what have you been doing all this while that you were away?" Her small voice breaks; she croaks and covers her mouth with her hand to stop herself from crying.

"It is not what it looks like, I swear, Amy." Jake rushes across the room to her, and she steps back, coming to me, grabbing my hand unexpectedly.

She's choosing my side, my support. She needs me. My body tensed, but I held her to me closer. If he'd stepped nearer for her, he would know what dying feels like tonight.

"Do not," I growl, warning him with a glare, and he abruptly stops.

"What are you doing here, Jake? I offered to skip school today and look after you." She shudders, and I feel a raw crushing feeling in my gut at what she said.

I have to listen to the voice in my head reminding me it isn't about me, to quell the bitterness of knowing she cared for him so much. If she will give me an inch of how she felt about him, I will give her my all. I will treasure her more than he can ever do. I will never hurt her or let anyone hurt her.

"Amy, I am sorry. I swear you mean so much to me." He starts lying.

"But not your wife, isn't it?" Her voice breaks, her body visibly trembling. She paused and swallowed. "I need you to answer honestly. Whose child is Erin pregnant with? Who's the father, Jake?" You can hear in her tone the pressure she had to put to voice out her question.

Jake rubs his face, blowing out a puff of air, "Amy..."

"Answer me, Jake." She insisted, although gentle, her voice was barely above a whisper. She might be the first person to ever handle cheating heartbreak so delicately.

She didn't deserve this feeling. No one does.

"Amy, you were so young; we couldn't do things because you were underage." Jake dares to defend himself. What does he expect? That she feels bad and takes the fault for his selfishness. I am here to make sure that never happens. I will remind her what an asshole he had been to her every day if I have to. "And when you finally came of age, I gave you a ring hoping you would trust me, but you still weren't ready; you wanted to wait until marriage. And I can't bargain with you. I can't make you do what you don't want to. I thought if you love me, you will come around, but you couldn't."

Unbelievable. He should be apologizing; not that he merits forgiveness or a second chance, but he should be apologizing at least for the proper sake of being at fault-for hurting an innocent person. That's what a normal human would do in this situation, not be defensive and stand against the obvious truth.

"These things are what you discuss with your partner, not go about and cheat on them. There is no excuse for cheating, Jake. Not once did you confront me about it. You always say yes to everything I say. You don't challenge me; you don't oppose me. You took advantage of me all those times, but in your heart, I wasn't here. Last night..." her voice cracks, and she pauses, letting go of my hand and pulling on her hair. I know she regrets it. "Oh my god. You just wanted to punish me." She whimpers, gasping profoundly.

"I never wanted to hurt you. I was going to talk to you."

For fuck's sake. My fists clench involuntarily, fingernails digging into my palms as I fight the urge to physically intervene.

"Oh my god. I gave up everything to come to you." She is hyperventilating, I want to reach over to hold her, but I know she needs to voice out all that is inside her. She needs to know, as she said. So I hang around, watching her hurting and unable to do anything about it. "I thought you loved me, but you were cheating even before I came here, Jake."

"I do love you." He retorts.

What does that even mean? He should be quiet and ashamed in his case.

"No," Amy shakes her head; her hair is a mess as her shaky fingers are running through and ruffling it.

"I came back for you; I gave up my work for you. I wanted us to work. I tried." He went on, his voice unstable and a burning anger simmers within me, directed not only at Jake but also at myself for failing to protect Amy from this emotional doom.

"Do not even lie," Amy fires at him, her voice hoarse. "She's three months pregnant; all those times you could have told me I was living a lie. That the man I love isn't going to be mine, but you kissed me, you laid with me, you led me on for what has no purpose. You brought her to me and I trusted you." She cries and stoops, holding her knees. It was hard to swallow, watching her like this. "Oh no... of course, he's right. He's always been. Love doesn't exist. Love is some deception from our dreams that we hope for. And the possibility of hopes coming true is one percent. What was I thinking." She mumbles to herself, but I heard, and I know those words were mine.

I told her that the first time we met, and now it sucks that she believes it because I enjoy it back then when she disagrees and defends what she believes. He destroys that part of her.