The muscle's in my jaw twitch as I slam the door in his face. Who is he, is he her boyfriend now? I'm too late. I stalk-pace back and forth in the room, holding my head in my hand's. My nostril's flare as the duffle bag flies across the room, it bangs into the wall with a thud. Why did I wait this long?

I pull my phone from my pocket and check the time, forgetting in anger about the digital clock beside the bed. Chloe will be here in twenty minutes, I rush to the mirror and give myself a good talking to.

"It doesn't matter if she has a boyfriend. You came here for one reason, tell her. Get it over with. Don't be a coward!" My hand slams into the bathroom counter, a tiny bottle of shampoo fall's over and roll's into the sink. I fish it out and place it back, "Sorry buddy." I pat the bottle.

There will be a knock any second now. I sit patiently, staring at the door, willing it to make a sound on the other side while my thumb tap's over my braided hand's.. My eye's widen when the knock finally comes, it's gentle, and I forget how to breathe. I stand, inhale, and walk to the door. I open it just a crack, it's her.

"I hope you like chinese." Chloe smile's, holding plastic bag's filled with takeout container's in both hand's.

"I do, actually. Even if there are no chinese places to eat in, West Brooke." I return the smile, and let her enter the room. I take a second to look down the hallway for the guy from earlier, no sign of the bastard.

Chloe puts the bag's on the desk, and begins handing out food. I take it and sit down in a chair I've pulled from the window to the desk. We make a tiny eating table of the flimsy thing.

We dig in, it's much better than the generic chinese I had once on vacation with my parent's.
"I think I met your boyfriend." I tell her, from over my noodle's. Chloe stops mid-bite, a saucy orange piece of chicken falls from her fork, and into the plate on the desk.

"My boyfriend?" She pushes out a forced laughed, "What boyfriend?" Oh, thank you, God...
"Some guy, real refined, and crazy white bleached teeth?" I slirp up a noodle. There it is, again, the shifting like she's uncomfortable.

"Oh," she looks down into her chicken, "He's just some guy who has a crush on me. He's nobody, really." She's lying, she always looks down when she lies.
"Really?"
"Promise." She takes another bite.

She finishes the rest of her plate in silence. I've shook something inside her I can tell. The plastic containers get tossed in the trash then she goes to the bed, and lies on her stomach.

"Let's watch a movie." She pats the space beside her. If only she knew what I want to do on that bed right now, I tear my eye's away from her perfect bottom, plopping down beside her, mimicing the way she's on her stomach.

"So tell me, what's it like living here?"
Chloe look's to the ceiling, tapping her chin. "It's loud."
"Loud?" I chuckle.
"Yes," she giggle's, "Back home, it's peaceful when you sleep. It took a solid week to get used to the blowing horn's, and constant noise of the city."

"Is it what you thought it would be?" I prop my head on my bent arm.
Her smile disappears, replaced by what look's like embarrassment in her reddening cheek's.
"Not exactly." Who is this person? I think, the Chloe I know is full of life, she bring's joy behind her everywhere. Something in my gut tell's me that something is off. She seem's. . .hollow, her pretty shell is still there, glowing and vibrant. But it's almost as if the light that always beams inside her has dimmed, I can't put my finger on it.

She clicks the television on, and begins to scan the channel's until she find's that nothing good is on.
"Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?" she asks, turning the TV off and completely surprising me. Her staying with me in this room could be the perfect moment.
"It's no problem at all. . .Is everything okay?" I prod. She snuggles her chin in the crack of her bent arm, "I just want to be here tonight, I don't have class or work tomorrow so I'm all your's." All mine? hearing the word's, even though she mean's something totally different capture's me.
"Okay, do you want me to sleep in the floor?"
"Are you kidding? No it's fine, I trust you." she laugh's. You are killing me here, Chloe.

As the night drag's on, inevitable exaustion presses it's hook's into the both of us. Falling into a fit of yawning in the moving light of the TV, droaning in the dark. This is it, time for sleep. Although with, Chloe lying next to me, in the same bed, under the same blanket. . .I think I could have a heart attack and it wouldn't matter. Not with her by my side. As she should be.

"I'm going to change, then I have to get some sleep. People really like coffee here, I was slammed all day." She yawn's.
"Change? Into what?"
"I brought my pajama's. In case you told me I could stay, I've missed you. I just need a night with my best friend." She answer's behind the bathroom door. She come's back wearing pink pajama pants covered in black dot's, complete with a turtle neck sweater. The kind my mother wear's under her seasonal vest's when she's feeling festive.

"A turtle neck?" I tease.
"Shut up." She teases back. I hold the comforter open while she climb's in next to me, and let it fall once she's snuggled in tight on the other pillow. With the darkness swallowing us whole, a bit of light sneak's from outside on the street and into the room. A mellow spotlight that gently tickles at the blonde of her hair. For as long as I've known I loved her I've dreamt of swiping a lock of her hair from her face, like the professional romantic's do in the movies. I spy a thin strand lying lazily over her closed eye, so I give it a shot. I sweep the strand without touching her skin, it moves just out of the way of her eyebrow and stays put on her temple.

Fight or flight? It's time to leap for the skies.

"I need to tell you something." I whisper in the dark. Feeling thankful that she can't see my blushing face.
"What?" She turn's, shaking the bed with her turning over.
"I need you to come back to West Brooke."
"Z, I know it's har.."
'No." I cut her off, "You don't understand, Chloe. I can't be there without you. I don't want to be anywhere without you." My breath quickens, "Nothing makes sense without you." I take her hand.
Chloe sit's up, "I think me staying here tonight has given you the wrong impression, Zen. I think I should maybe go, I don't want to give you the wrong idea." She say's frantically, getting out of the bed, searching in the darkness for her thing's.
"Wait..." I quickly flip the light on beside the bed. I can't let her leave, not while I'm spilling my soul out to her.

"Chloe, please. Just wait."
"I'm sorry, this was a bad idea."
I take giant step's to her, and take hold to her arm. I twirl her around, "Just stop! Please, let me explain. I don't want to get into your pant's, Chloe. You know me better than that." She stop's and stand's in her pajama's, bag in hand. Ready to walk out of the room, but she is giving me the chance I need. I pace the floor a couple of time's, working up the nerve.

"I love you, Chloe." I blurt out, stopping mid-step, hand's on my hip's I give a shrug, "I don't want to lose you, but I can't keep it in anymore."

"Keep what in? What are you saying?" Chloe step's to me.
"I'm in love with you, and it scares the hell out of me. Every night I lie in my bed, thinking of way's to tell you that I love you. But there are no perfect way's, Chloe. I love you, that's it. I love you, so much that sometimes it physically hurt's, knowing that telling you could mean losing you."

Her face loses it's color, as she sit's on the bed. At a loss for word's, and in shock. Her eye's swim, fat tear drop's splash into her turtle-neck as her head hang's. Chloe look's up to me, swishes her hair from her face, and sniffle's.
"I'm pregnant." She weep's.

In the endless length of time, there are fragment's that will never leave you. If a moment could be broken up into a jigsaw puzzle, and put back together, this moment would be missing more than a few pieces. For this heart stopping space of time, that took less than a second to burn into my soul, just broke me.

"Pregnant?" My leg's become too heavy, so I plop into the chair, "Who got you pregnant? Was it that guy I met?" My voice goes flat, the room blurring behind water soaked eye's.

Her flood gate's open, as her head refuses to lift it's way up to me, her shoulder's shake vilolently while she sob's. I knew something was off.
I go to her, kneeling in front of her, and wrap my arm around her shoulder's, the other around her head. I hold her, and let her tear's drench my chest.

"Tell me, please?" I soothingly plead, "You know you can tell me anything, Clo." I give an assuring rub up and down her spine. My fingertip's pass along something hard, and bumpy under her thin sweater, she arches her back away from my hand. I stand to get a look at her back, there must be a bug under there.

"Don't, please!" Chloe whines, pulling my hand away that's tugging at the bottom of her shirt.
"It's okay, I think you have a bug on your back," I chuckle a little, twisting around her. I make it past her defensive hand's and get behind her.
"Gotcha!" I flap the fabric up swiftly, to surprise the bug before it can run away.

"Zen. . ." Chloe whisper's. But I can not respond, my throat has went too dry to speak. There is no bug.
I turn into a statue, as a thin stream of water cover's my red cheek's.
I leave the bed with shaking hand's, and a fire that's igniting in the pit of my stomach.

"Zen..." she croak's, but she can't seem to add anything else.
"Who did this to you?" My jaw twitches with anger.
"I. . . I can't." She stutter's.
I rise from my knelt knee, and go back to pacing the room. I drive my fist through the bathroom door, and pull it back with ripped knuckle's.
"It was him, wasn't it? The guy I met, he told me to stay away from you." I steam, "I need you to tell me, Chloe." My chest heaves, "Tell me, was it him?"

Chloe meet's my eye's, her face bloated and wet, "Please, Z, no one can know."

My face burns scarlett, and my fist's harden as I twist and go for the door.

"No one will know, stay here. . ." I turn and meet her worried gaze, holding the door open, "I've got a man to kill." I grit before slamming the door. Leaving, Chloe safe inside my hotel room.