I recognized the girl instantly. How could I not? Who could forget the face of the woman that ruined whatever may have remained of my relationship with Brian? Who would forget the face of the woman that they caught their lover cheating with? I still remember finding them in the kitchen, she on her knees and him fucking her mouth like it was nothing. I still remember those few seconds from four years ago. She was the reason I ran. He was the reason I ran.

"Go back inside, Tiffany," he growls, shaking me from my stupor, but my eyes don't leave the ring she wears. He's moved on and I'm still stuck, falling deeper and deeper.

"But Syn, baby," she whines in a small voice. I'm reminded of the three year old asleep in my apartment.

"Do as you're fucking told, Tiffany!"

She pouts, her painted red bottom lip jutting out farther than it should, and I know there's no 'love' there; or, at least, the love that Brian and I once had. The love I still have.

With a huff, Tiffany walks back inside, leaving us to ourselves. The moment she disappeared, and Brian looks back to me, I did the only thing I could think to do after all that had happened. I slapped him.

The surprise on his face was evident, and it made something blossom in my chest. Pride? Satisfaction? Anger? Hope? My palm stings from the contact of skin on skin, but the red print on his cheek makes the thing grow even more. Fear?

"Don't touch me," I tell him, pulling away from his hands. Slowly, as the surprise still sets in, Brian lets his hands drop down to his sides. My palm stings a bright red, and so does the mark of my hand on his cheek. I find my voice again. "You don't know me anymore, Brian."

I turn away from him, and begin to walk back to my car. I have to get to Brianna and leave. Brian knows where I am, and it seems like I'm not even safe three-thousand miles from California. I have to go farther. I have to leave the country. I have to leave 'Becca Lawrence' behind.

"Wait, Becca!" He runs after me, and I pick up my pace, but my ankle has never been the same and the heels don't help. I finally get to my car and just as I get the door open, Brian grabs at me and presses my back to the car. My hands are pinned to the windows. I'm no longer annoyed or fearful - I'm pissed.

"Let me go, Brian."

"No," he tells me sternly, and the red hand print glows in the dark. The front of his tuxedo is ruffled. "I'm not going to love you again."

"Too fucking late for that, don't you think!" I yell, angrily, in his face, trying to free my arms. "I gave you a second chance, and you screwed it up just like the first one!"

"You were going to leave me, anyways!"

The volume of his voice frightens me into going still. Those warm brown eyes are now black, ad his chest is heaving as he fumes. Then, I feel the tears. His hold on me slackens as he notices them, but his expression stays the same. He's still fuming, just as I had been a few seconds ago. Gradually, the black eyes fade into the deep brown. Warmth spreads through my body as he presses his chest to mine.

"You were still going to leave me, Becca..."

I'm not sure of what to say. Is there anything I can say?

His head dips down to my level, and he presses his forehead to mine. For a moment, I think he's going to kiss me. fulfill my deepest dreams of being back with him, no matter how much I deny it.

"Jimmy talked me out of it," I whisper, feeling my heart beat in my throat. I stare at the space between his eyes, not able to make connect. I feel his body relax from the tension he had built up. "Jimmy talked me out of leaving, and I went down to find you to tell you that I was-"

I can't tell him about Brianna. He will never know about Brianna.

"That what?"

I bite my lip.

"I was going to tell you I loved you, and I was sorry for all the things I had said when we had that fight before you left for Sacramento."

He will never know about his daughter. She will never know about her father.

"I love you, Becca," he tells me, gently running a knuckle down my cheek. "I still love you. I'm sorry for what I did and I know you'll never forgive me for breaking your heart like I've done, but I still want you in my life. Please, Becca, let me be apart of your life again."

My life is Brianna. There is no more 'Becca'. It's all for Brianna. He doesn't know it, but he's asking to be a part of Brianna's life, and that will never happen.

My head is screaming 'no', and telling me to tear his head from his shoulder... but my heart simply whispers 'yes'. I know of the hell I'm going to go through if I do follow my heart, and I want to say what my heart whispers to me-

But I can't. I won't put Brianna through that life. I won't let her leave through that pain. It's not about me anymore. It's about her.

"I'm sorry, Brian," I whisper, not able to find my voice. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

He steps back, just far enough to allow me to slip into my car and drive away. The small invisible string snaps and I'm no longer chained to Brian. I'm free; finally uncaged from the prison that has once owned me.

When I get home, I say a small thank you to Mrs. Quinn and watch as she walks back across the hall to her apartment. I don't even bother closing the front door once she's inside her apartment. I go straight to Brianna's bed. She's sound asleep under her felt blanket. Out of my own selfish need, I pick up the toddler and cradle her in my arms. She sleepily curls against my chest.

I can't stop the tears that flow. I have to stop running away. I have to stop being a coward and simply stay here for her sake. I won't run again. I will be more careful now that the guys know where I am. I will be a great mother. I will do what is best for my baby girl.

Sometime after midnight, when I've finally run out of tears to cry, I lay on my side in Brianna's small bed and fall asleep. She's locked in my arms.

I never see the brown eyes looking in on us, nor hear the sound of the front door being closed.

This time, it's him who left.

Notes

the end ...

no, I'm joking. Two chapters left! I know this one is shorter, but it sets up for the ending.
hopefully I'll get it out tonight after work.
Enjoy. :)