All I wanted was to kick Matt's ass for this. Zack and Johnny were both standing at the door with their arms full of blankets. I shot them a inquisitive look but none of them showed any emotion.

"What the fuck are you waiting for? Get the fuck in.", the guy behind me snarled impatiently.

They did as they were told and got inside the gallery and joined the other hostages.

"Whazzz up? Johnny Christ at your services... The name is Christ for a reason, I can make miracles happen.", Johnny introduced himself cheerfully after he set the blankets onto the table.

"This is a hostage situation...", I slapped the back of his neck. "You just became a hostage. Why are you so happy about? Dumbass...", I scolded.

He turned to me and for the first time since he crossed the front door he actually took a look at me and frowned at the sight. "What happened to your face?", he asked worriedly.

"I'm just not one to shut up and watch quietly as they do as they please.", I said plainly loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Sounds like something you'd do...", he muttered and smiled at me.

"What is Matt thinking? He's putting all of you in danger! First Brian and now you two... Does Jade know Brian is here?", I asked him in a low voice as I watched Zacky crashing onto the floor next to Brian.

"Jade, Dana and Savannah they all know and they're all outside with Matt. Jade is pretty pissed, but she and the baby are alright. Stop worrying, Hay. We've got everything planned out, we know what we're doing.", he assured me quietly.

"What the hell is Matt doing here anyway? Shouldn't he be locked away in some church or something? Jade should give him hell for getting Brian involved in all this, the guy is going to be a father for God's sake!", I asked curiously in a quiet voice. Matt's presence bothered me, even though I hadn't even seen him yet. After all those years without even a word he shows up at my gallery and talks to me over the phone as if he cared about what might happen to me.

"Oh, trust me... Jade is giving him hell. And as to what he is doing here... You don't need to be a genius to know the answer to that, Hay. Matt loves you! He might try to deny it, but that is as clear as water. He's here to rescue you, he does not want you hurt, Hay.", he replied.

"Too late for that, JC! He was the one who hurt me irreparably years ago... Eight years is far too late to come back and rescue me. I don't need a saviour, I can take care of myself, that's what I have been doing since he broke up with me.", the venom in my voice was evident despite it was just a soft whisper.

"Still holding a grudge, huh? Everyone makes mistakes, Hay. You guys should talk... He might surprise you, Hay."

"I have nothing to talk to him. I don't even want to see him.", I mumbled scornfully.

"You don't mean that, Hay. I know you still think about him, I know you miss him, I know you still love him. Why else would you still be single?"

"You're so wrong! It's not like I've been single all this time, you know I've had a couple boyfriends over the years... I don't even think about Matt anymore.", I lied.

"I wouldn't call it a boyfriend if the relationship doesn't last more than two months. You ain't fooling no-one but yourself, Hay. You can deny it all you want, he can deny it all he wants but we all know you still love each other. Maybe this whole thing is what you need to finally admit your feelings."

"They were my boyfriends even if it was for a short amount of time. After all I've been through I'm not putting up with anyone's shit. Matt and I are over, we've been over for more than eight years now, you better get used to it cuz it ain't gonna change.", I whispered icily.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Hay. I'll be right here when those words come bite you in the ass...", that was all he said before he turned his back on me.

"You seem scared... There's no need to be scared. Have I told you I am a miracle maker? What's your name?", I heard him ask the girl the robbers had asked to go to the window earlier, not far from where I was standing.

"Payton House.", I heard the girl answer him. I knew her father, he was one of the richest men in LA, he owned several luxury hotels and jewelers.

The five robbers were on the other side of the room deep in conversation. I let out a heavy sigh, grabbed a blanket and went to sit between Brian and Zacky. I was hoping none of them would bring the Matt subject up to conversation, but I knew luck was not on my side. Matt was always part of the conversation whenever they talked to me, they all seemed to agree that we were meant to be. I always wondered if they would still think the same if they knew what I had really been through after he had broken up with me. I was emotionally damaged, irreparably broken...I had tried to put myself together ever since that day at the hospital, but it was impossible to me to glue all the pieces back together.

"Hey, Zee!", I greeted in a low voice.

"How are you doing, Hay?", he asked.

"I'm okay. I'm just...", I trailed off.

"Don't worry, Hay. We have everything under control. Matt has a good plan, trust me.", he assured me.

"I just don't get it, Zee! What is he doing here? He is a priest, he is not an tactical soldier anymore. He should be praying to his God that this situation got resolved without any of the hostages getting harmed instead of being here taking an action."

"He thinks about you, you know? There is not a day that goes by that he doesn't think about you, Hay. Once he found out you were being held hostage by a group of armed men he lost it, Hay. He won't rest until you're safe... And I bet my own life that once he sets eyes on you again he'll give up this crazy idea of being a man of God. He loves you, Hay. I know I've told you this a thousand times now, but you need to hear it until you start believing in it... Despite what he told you when he broke it off, he never stopped loving you. Now I'm gonna tell you something I haven't told you yet... He still has that set of photos you two took in one of those cabinets at the mall."

I remembered that day... Unfortunately for me, I still remembered all our good moments together.

*Somewhere around the year of 2003*

"Where are we going?", Matt had picked me up at school after classes. He usually drove us to my place or his when he picked me up, but we were on a different route that day.

"Didn't you tell me that you needed to go shopping?", he grabbed my hand intertwining his fingers with mine and smiled softly at me showing me his dimples.

"Really? I thought you didn't like to go shopping with girls!", I squeezed his hand as a wide grin made its way to my lips.

"You're not some girl, Hay. You're my girlfriend...", I felt his thumb caressing my skin.

"I love you, Matt.", I leaned against his side and pecked the side of his mouth.

"Tell me something I don't already know! How could you ever resist me?", I hit his chest playfully as I reclined in my seat and he chuckled loudly. "Come here, silly.", he let go of my hand to set his beneath my chin and gently pulled me close to him to press a tender kiss on my lips. "You know I love you too, right? There will never be another woman in my life but you, Hay. I'll always love you.", he rested his hand on my bare leg, running it up and down my thigh.

"Matt...", I moaned in frustration when his fingers purposely brushed against my core.

"What?", he smirked keeping his eyes on the road.

"Just drive, Matthew...", I was frustrated because he had teased me to the point of getting me worked up only to stop when it was getting interesting.

"C'mon, baby! Don't be like that. You can't wear a dress and expect me to keep my hands off of you, Hay.", he scolded playfully.

"But I expect you to behave until you can get through the whole task. It's not nice to get me horny and then stop...", he chuckled.

"It was nice when you did it to me for two years...", he said ironically.

"I wasn't trying to be mean to you, you know that.", I hated when he made me feel guilty for not giving him sex for two years.

"Don't, Hay."

"What? I'm not doing anything, Matt.", I whined.

"I can see the pout forming in your lips without even looking at you. I didn't mean to upset you, baby. I was just teasing... You want me to pull over?"

"No. Lets just get to the mall, I need to buy some underwear."

"If I had known you wanted to buy underwear I would have volunteered long ago.", he flashed me one of his perfect dimpled smiles.

"You should have known... Promise me you'll be more careful from now on."

"Careful? Careful with what, babe?", he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"With my panties, Matt! You need to stop ripping them off.", I scolded.

"You know I can't promise that, Hay. You know I can get carried away in the moment and I do it without even thinking about it. And I haven't ripped that many, that's just an excuse for shopping."

"Whatever... Next time you're paying for my underwear. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Matt parked his car near the mall and we walked hand in hand all the way there. As soon as we walked inside the mall he let go of my hand and crushed me to his side, resting his hand on my ass as if to prove to anyone that crossed our way that I was his. I tipped on my toes and pulled his shirt to make him look at me. I leaned closer against him and pecked his lips.

"I love you...", he whispered against my lips as he led me inside the Victoria Secret shop.

"Tell me something I don't already know!", I giggled and pecked his lips before I pulled away from him.

He helped me pick the right underwear, those he might think twice before rip it apart. We were on our way out of the mall when he stopped in front of one of those cabinets of instant photos.

"Why did you stop? Did you forgot something, babe?", I asked him.

"Lets take a picture together, baby."

"We have loads of pictures together, babe.", I rolled my eyes at his pouting expression and got inside the cabinet with him.

I sat onto his lap and set the bags on the floor. In the end of that instant photo shoot we had a set of four photos. We both had cheesy smiles plastered across our faces on the first photo, on the second photo we were staring into each other's eyes, on the third photo we were captured inches away from each other's lips and we were kissing on the last photo.

"I'm keeping this!", he said while he admired our photos. "I love you, Hay."

It would be best for me if I couldn't recall one single good memory of our time together, but I had nothing but good memories of us. We were happy, we loved each other and out of the blue he broke up with me. Sometimes I wish we had one of those crappy relationships that you know from the moment it begins that its not going to last but you still try to make it work against all odds, but we had the perfect relationship instead which only made things worse for me. Sometimes I wish I could forget it all, I wish I could forget him... But he is still a part of my soul, he is still a part of me.

Notes

Hey ;)
Thanks to all of you who take the time to leave me some encouraging comments