Complicated

It was the look in Misty's eyes that caused a painful crack in Jason's heart. It was her withdrawing her hand from his that caused the crack to bleed. Why did doing what was right have to hurt so badly? He wanted to reach out to her. Touch her face. Hug her. Tell her it was going to be alright. Tell her that he never meant to hurt her. That he really did have feelings for her. That she was going to be okay. That he was still here for her whenever she needed him. But even as all those words collided in his mind, he knew that letting them spill forth would only cause more pain. He'd said what he needed. To say more would just make more of a mess.

His eyes fell as he swallowed hard. He didn't want to leave her like this...but he would respect her wishes. After all, if he were in her place, he probably would have reacted with much more emotion, and would have wanted him gone, too.

"Okay." Jason's voice was still quiet. Still gentle. But oh, how it hurt. He slowly rose to his feet and turned to leave, but paused for a moment, only to reach down and give her shoulder just a soft squeeze. He opened his mouth while trying to find an appropriate close to their time together, but nothing seemed to fit. So it was silence that followed him to the door.

He looked back one last time, his fingers fiddling awkwardly with his keys. "If you need anything..." It sounded so trite, but it was all he had now. "I'm still around." And that was that.

Driving through town a few minutes later, Jason aimed for TJY. Work wasn’t usually his haven, but he just didn’t want to go home yet. Maybe doing some paperwork would at least get his mind off things for a while and he could postpone the inevitable meeting with his tangled thoughts.

Once at work and inside, he pocketed his truck keys and wandered across the main floor. It was dark, and though not having scanned the parking lot, he assumed the only other people here were Hal and Ty. So when he saw an extra light on in one of the cubicles, it caught him by surprise. Nearing, he realized it was Katie. What was she doing here at this hour? He wouldn’t bother her – she was probably just catching up on something quick before leaving.

But just as Jason reached the hallway, his feet seemed to stop on their own, and he glanced back over his shoulder. Since that one stakeout, the awkwardness had seemed to dissolve a little more every day, and working together hadn’t been so hard lately. Even so, it wasn’t like they were really friends anymore…were they? A strange little pang made Jason’s stomach quiver. He’d come here to work, but all of a sudden, it was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t know what he wanted. But being alone at the moment just made him feel depressed.

Before he could stop himself, his feet were in control again, and in a matter of seconds, he was standing out on the main floor. He leaned his arms on the top of Katie’s cubicle wall and looked down at her, just like he used to. Tonight though, the twinkle in his gaze was absent. There was no teasing grin. No cute wink. Not even a smile. A strange silence was his only greeting.

For the longest moment, all he could do was just look at Katie. Not even sure why he was here, finding something to say wasn’t easy. It wasn’t as if they shared much conversation anymore. And for the first time in a very long time, he wished words weren’t necessary. His emotions were churning, and instead of being able to share and release them, they were just bottled up underneath the surface. But she didn't want to know about all that. She had her life and he had his.

“Aw, Katie…” He groaned and leaned his forehead on his arms, hiding his face. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t talk to her about his problems. But tonight…right now…he had no one else. “When…?” He sighed and lifted his head again, but left his chin resting on his arms. His eyes were dark…strained…fighting back tears. He found her own eyes and searched them. “When did life get so complicated?”


Clint gave a little scoff, but didn’t stop Ashlee from helping collect the tools off the floor. “Both. I’m too busy to be hungry.” He really wasn’t sure how much truth there was in that though.

He picked up a hammer and put it back where it belonged. “Actually, I’m just not feeling much like socializing.” There was little point in denying how he felt. If Ashlee told anybody…so be it. “Unfortunately, work in here isn’t going well, so I’m quickly running out of options.”

He tossed a wrench into a pile of other wrenches before glancing at the younger girl and shaking his head. He wasn’t sure why she was talking to him or why she wasn’t hungry for dinner, but maybe she had her own unspoken reasons, just like he did.

A sigh surfaced, showing that his temper had calmed down. Now he was just back to being depressed. He moved to the nearby refrigerator and retrieved a can of Pepsi. Pausing, he looked at Ashlee again and held up a second can to ask if she wanted one, too.


To: Chad
From: Rosalyn
You’re still a flirt…but I miss it. 
Every day, I miss you more. I try to forget, 
but I can’t. I try to escape this mess, 
but I can’t do that either. Dad’s worse, 
and all I want is to be in your arms again.

A tear fell from Rosalyn’s eye. Everybody else was eating. She was alone in the living room, having slipped away unnoticed. Sitting on the couch, she stared at her phone. She was miserable. As much as she tried not to think about Chad…to forget…to convince herself that he’d never be back and she was better off without him…the aching in her heart only grew. She’d give anything to get a hug from Chad right about now. And he was on the other side of the world…whether in England, or even right here, as long as her dad had anything to do with it.

I visit our tree almost every day when 
I feel lonely.

She'd promised herself she would pull away from Chad. That she wouldn't express to him how much she missed him or act like it was a big deal. There was too much at stake. It was too risky. But here she was anyway, spilling it to him through her text message. 

I miss feeling wanted.