"Well that's all the questions I have." Mr Elidees grins, slapping his folder shut. I nod, the smile pinned to my face, my back straight as it can be, hoping to make a good impression.

"I have one more." His assistant says and I nod, my heart pounding against my ribcage.

"Of course." I reply, my feet shaking in the uncomfortable black heels that my sister lent me. I'd travelled back into the city for my interview, dressed up in a black pencil skirt and pale pink blouse.

"Why did you choose English?" She asks and I inwardly relax, having practised this exact question last night with Alex.

"Isn't everything in the modern world based on words?" I ask, "Every little thing we do is shaped by something that is written for us. Google only knows what to recommend because someone has written about the best place to get a burger in the city." I take a deep breath, "Our world has evolved. I enjoy reading classic books from the 1800's because they have shaped the world of today." I shrug, "Who knows where we would be without them?" I comment, "I chose to do English because it'll give me a variety of skills. I've given presentations, I've written essays, I've assessed arguments." I continue, "But ultimately I chose it because nothing is going to stop me from doing something that I enjoy." I finish and Mr Elidees grins. His assistant nods, noting a few words down on her pad.

"Well then!" Mr Elidees jumps up and I follow. "We have a few more candidates but if I'm honest, your application and references have placed you way ahead of the others." He continues, "I'd be feeling pretty confident if I were you Miss Hurst." He finishes, holding his hand out and I grin, giving it a shake.

"Thank you so much for seeing me." I say and he nods.

I leave their giant office building with excitement and adrenaline rushing through me. Digging out my phone as I jump in the elevator, I am determined to call Brett before suddenly remembering that we aren't on talking terms anymore. Shoving it back into my bag I grimace. It's okay... I can wait until I get back home and tell Elle!

Walking out onto the street I pray that I don't fall over in the heels, already struggling with their height as I turn the corner and shove my arms through Elle's black blazer, the Spring wind a little chilly. My eyes trail back to the path in front of me and I stop suddenly, eyes widening in disbelief at the boy walking in my direction.

"Haydon!" I can't help but exclaim, startled by the fact that he's in the city, let alone the one where I attend college.

"Savannah." He greets with a small smile, stopping in front of me.

"It's good to see you." I acknowledge, gesturing towards him. He looks good, his black hair swept under his classic cap, a red checked shirt adorning his body. His green eyes glint in the sunlight as he nods and I feel my heart skip a beat at the sight. So what? A girl has eyes and Haydon is damn hot!

"You too."

"Becky tells me you have a job in Edgemont." I continue politely. It feels strange, having spent my entire senior year of high school talking to him freely about his life and aspirations to now end up as strangers. It almost breaks my heart.

"Yeah. I finally found someone who likes my writing." He grins.

"Well good! I'm happy for you."

"Thanks." He exclaims, digging his hands into his pockets, "How are you doing?"

"Not bad." I admit, smiling slightly, "I'm... I'm sorry for what happened."

"I'm sorry too." He apologizes. "I never should have reacted that way. I should have let you explain."

"I was the one who treated you poorly. You had every right to react that way." I retort, crossing my arms across my chest.

"We just weren't suited Sav!" He shrugs.

"Oh?" I blurt out, startled by his sentence. I guess we weren't... "Well I'm still sorry." I admit, smiling sheepishly at him.

"It's okay." He assures, "I forgive you." He smiles and I can't help the grin that spreads across my face as I look back at him, his smile always having been infectious. I betrayed him and I treated him badly. He didn't deal with any of it in the right way but he was still my first real boyfriend, the boy who clapped as I graduated from high school, the boy who celebrated with me when I got into Christlington College. He held me in his arms as I was rejected from Stanford, he helped me see that there were other colleges, that my parents would still be proud. He was good for me.

"Haydon!" I hear, barely having time to register the voice before a small red haired girl appears at his side, before turning her attention to me. She looks so much like Kate Winslet from when she was in Titanic that I nearly glance around and look for Jack Dawson. Oh... right, there wasn't enough room to save him too. Instead she got Haydon.

"Savannah, this is Grace. My girlfriend." He introduces, and my heart falls even further into my stomach. Thanks for the warning Becky. "Grace, Savannah." He gestures and I force a smile at her. How does anyone look like that? Is she Kate Winslet's secret love child? Oh my god, maybe her and Leo really did...

"Nice to meet you." I smile and she nods, clearly attempting to paste a fake smile over her face. She knows who I am.

"You too!" She exclaims.

"Grace, could you give us a second?" Haydon mutters.

"Sure." She smiles before turning and walking into the cafe next to us.

"Sav, we only got together..."

"Haydon. It's fine." I cut him off, "It's been over two months."

"It is?"

"Yeah." I smile, "How did you meet?"

"Oh... uh..."

"Aphrodite's Palace." Grace grins, reappearing beside him. "I work there."

"Oh." I manage, "So you met how long ago?"

"Back in December." Grace grins.

"I see." I mutter, feeling my face fall.

"We were only friends then." Haydon rushes out and I nod slightly, a lump forming in my throat. "I never cheated on you. She was... someone to talk to."

"Because you could never find the courage to pick up the phone and talk to me?" I accidentally snap. Grace crosses her arms, her eyes wide.

"It wasn't like that." Haydon retorts, "Becky didn't know..."

"Of course Becky didn't fucking know! She would have told me." I laugh before shaking my head and taking a step back, "Well, this has been lovely but I have to get to Edgewater for a dinner with Aunt Lara." I blabber, clapping my hands together.

"I don't envy you." Haydon laughs, and I grimace, remembering how she grilled him last year at dinner. "I hope you and Brett have fun." He smiles.

"Brett?" I blurt out, eyes wide, "Oh, no! Brett and I aren't together." I reply.

"Oh!" Haydon exclaims, looking surprised. "Sorry, I assumed..."

"It's okay!" I reply, waving his words off. "It was lovely to meet you Grace." I smile at her, before walking around them and further down the street, a slight stabbing feeling in my chest.

He'd been messaging another girl whilst he was still with me. But I couldn't be angry - how could I be when I did the same thing to him? God, my life is so fucked up.

*~*~*

"Come on Anna!" Elle yells at me, an amused grin spread over Alex's face.

"I don't want to!" I moan and Elle rolls her eyes.

"You came home Savannah." She shrugs, "So you can come and enjoy the torturous meal with us." She grins as she pulls the door of the restaurant open and walks inside. I shoot Alex one more pleading look before he shakes his head and walks in after his girlfriend, leaving me to follow. I managed to avoid Aunt Lara's last visit in September, Elle telling her that as I'd just gone off to college it wasn't fair to drag me back home for dinner. My darling sister.

Immediately spotting my well-done-up Aunt, I cringe inside as she grins, my sister hastily walking towards her, smiling with fake excitement.

"Girls!" Aunt Lara squeals, jumping up. "Savannah, I can't believe it's been over a year!"

"I can." I mutter.

"Aunt Lara, it's good to see you!" Elle grins, stepping back and gesturing to her slightly intimidated looking boyfriend. "This is Alex."

"Lovely to meet you Alex." Aunt Lara smiles before shooting me a look, "It's nice to see that one of my nieces has bagged herself a man." She continues and I immediately open my mouth to retort.

"You must be Peter!" Elle exclaims, cutting my imminent tirade off and glancing at the middle aged balding man already sitting down.

"Hi!" He nods.

"Shall we?" Elle asks, gesturing for Alex to slide into the booth.

"Of course!" Lara claps her hands, sitting down next to Peter as Elle slides in beside her, "I chose a different restaurant to last time. I couldn't stand all that pasta at the last place."

"That's a shame." I retort, sitting down last so that I'm on the end. Easy escape, you see. "I love pasta."

"It'll stay on your hips forever." Aunt Lara chastises.

"Good." I scoff. I would love to have pasta on my hips forever. Like an endless supply or something? Fantastic.

"Anna's doing really well at college." Elle pipes up, "She had a job interview this morning."

"Should you be doing that? Do you have enough time to study?" Aunt Lara asks and I nod.

"I think so. It'll help me out with money." I smile, surprised by her interest.

"Life isn't all about money girl!" She snorts and I grit my teeth together at her ignorance.

"So, Peter, you're an architect?" Elle interrupts, smiling.

"Yes, he is!" Aunt Lara exclaims, "He built our house out in Spain!"

"Wow!" Alex grins, "That sounds amazing."

"It is!" Aunt Lara exclaims. Can this man not talk for himself? Poor guy, I wonder if Aunt Lara tells him what to wear every morning, what he can eat...

"Alex is a Doctor." I pipe up.

"Wonderful..." Peter finally chirps up.

"That's excellent." Lara cuts him off, before turning to face me. "So what happened with Haydon?"

"It didn't work out." I shrug.

"He was such a lovely man." She tuts, "And now you're single again."

"Nothing wrong with that." Elle points out and I shoot her a grateful look.

"Of course not, but Haydon was from a very respectable family." Lara retorts. If only she knew about my connection with Brett Winters.

"I don't feel well!" I announce, suddenly standing up from the booth.

"Ann?" Elle asks, her eyes worried.

"I'm going to go home." I mutter, "Sorry Aunt Lara. Peter."

"That's a shame." Aunt Lara grimaces. "What's wrong?"

"Time of the month." I blurt out, attempting an excuse. Alex nearly chokes on his water as Elle smirks slightly. "Bye!" I exclaim, before turning and shoving the door to the restaurant open and walking back out into the center of Edgewater Valley. No amount of food is worth sitting through that.

Turning left, I walk down the road to get away from the busy streets, away from the roads where people I know may spot me. It is a small town after all.

The cheek of Aunt Lara. There is nothing wrong with being single. It's my choice I'm not with anyone, I was the one who made the decision to leave Brett and be on my own. He lied to me and I am not going to be taken for a fool any longer.

Spotting what looks like Dean up ahead I quickly duck down a sidestreet, not willing to engage in pleasant conversations with the old football captain today.

What does Aunt Lara even know about me? For all she knows I could be a lesbian. God, I wish I was. I wish I was attracted to Becky or Zara or Elena. That would make life so much easier, knowing that they are trustworthy, that they'd treat me well.

But no. Instead I'm attracted to some cocky boy who wants nothing more than to tear my life into pieces. That's all he keeps doing anyway.

Somehow I find myself in the woodland, heading up the familiar path that I used to run during my junior year of high school. It became harder to come here after Brett, finding myself up by the waterfall only twice after he left.

Exiting the well trodden path I walk passed the big oak tree, and up the hill towards the trickling sound of water. As I enter the clearing I smile, the sight as beautiful as I remember. It's Edgewater's best spot, and it's all mine. No-one else comes up here, no-one else knows about it. Brett shared it with me, and it's the only thing I'm thankful for. Well... admittedly there are a few other things.

It's the same as when I was last here, the water flowing peacefully down to the deep ravine of water at the bottom, the trees rustling in the breeze. My favorite place on Earth.

I take a step closer, my eyes travelling towards the fallen tree that I always sit on, stopping short at the sight in front of me. It can't be...

"Brett?" I exclaim, grimacing as I cross my arms across my chest. His head immediately shoots around, eyes widening as they land on me. He instantly stands up, taking a step towards me.

"Savannah!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demand, taking a step sideways to look out towards the water.

"Elena said you came home for a few days but after two weeks passed I couldn't stand it any longer. You weren't answering my calls." He replies and I roll my eyes, unwilling to turn around and face him.

"Because I don't want to talk to you jack-ass."

"You don't mean that." He calls out and I smirk slightly at his confidence.

"I do." I reply bluntly, "You lied to me."

"I was going to tell you that evening."

"Sure." I scoff.

"I was! My Dad sprung it on me that morning. I woke up and you had gone, he rang asking me to help him out." He grabs hold of my shoulders, whirling me around to face him, snapping my eyes away from the calming waterfall. "I was going to tell you as soon as I got home."

"I don't believe you." I mutter, finally staring up into his hurt filled eyes.

"Then that's all there is to say." He replies, voice sounding defeated as he takes a step back.

"What?"

"I am sorry Sav." He explains, "I really am." He reaches up and runs a hand through his hair. "I'm still new to this relationship thing, I'm bound to make mistakes." He shrugs slightly, "But if you don't believe me then you clearly still don't trust me." He continues, his face solemn, "You have to have trust to have a relationship."

"Don't put this on me." I warn him, "You did this to us, not me!"

"I know." He bows his head, "But if we don't have trust then..." He trails off, looking back up into my eyes, "I know I'm not the only one who feels this bond between us." He gestures and I bite my lip, looking away. He's right, he knows he's right, hence why I cheated on my God damn boyfriend with him. Brett Winters is like my kryptonite, but I can't get rid of him.

"I... I need time." I stutter.

"I'll be waiting." He whispers back, reaching up and gently caressing my cheek once, before stepping back and walking back into the trees, away from our waterfall.

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Sorry this chapter was a bit longer - I had so much to cram in!!

So... Haydon didn't 'cheat on her' but....... Thoughts?

Can Sav and Brett come back from this?

I see you all pop up in my notifications on Wattpad, every single one making me smile as you comment, vote, follow and add my book to reading lists! YOU are why I'm still here!! 💙

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