"Dammit, Jayden!" I growled, parking the car as I dialed his number again. I locked the doors on the second ring, knowing better then to sit in an unlocked Ferrari in this part of town.

"Quinn, babe. Where are you? I've been looking everywhere." He answered on the third ring. I shook my head and tapped my fingers on the wheel impatiently.

"I'm in front of the airport. Can you hurry up?" I watched the front doors as I heard shuffling and movement from his side of the line. I hung up the phone once I saw him walking toward the car, his eyes scanning it. Once I was sure he was close enough I unlocked the doors and he tossed his bags into the back seat.

"Thanks, Quinn. You're a lifesaver." He pecked me quickly on the lips as he got into the front seat, pulling his door shut. I started the car again, shaking my head, still a little irritated.

"Whatever." I snapped, pulling out of the parking lot. He stayed quiet for a while, his head against the window as he watched the buildings pass by in a blur.

"How was Italy?" I finally asked, trying to break the tension that was starting to build in the car.

"My dad wants me to move out there. He said I have an eye for detail." I nodded, feeling a slight pinch in my chest. Jayden loved working on cars, loved painting them. Of course his dad would want him to work for his company.

"So?" I asked.

"So?" He shot back, finally meeting my eyes. My lips started to part when I saw how dilated they were.

"You're high." I growled, "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you know how worried I've been the last month, Jay? How much I sat there and wondered if we were finally done? And that whole time you were probably just getting high with your buddies, right?" I shook my head, ignoring the anger that had flickered in his eyes.

"God, you sound just like Kacey. Don't you trust me, Quin?" I suddenly felt defensive at the mention of my best friend's name.

"At least Kacey gives a shit about how I feel. At least she wouldn't leave me hanging. . ."

"Wouldn't leave you hanging?" He yelled, "Do you even remember how we met in the first place? It was because the dumb slut left you hanging at my house. God damn, Quinn. I can't believe you can't see what's right in front of you." He kicked the floor in front of him, shaking his head as his cheeks burned a dark shade of red.

"I'm sorry, okay?" I finally whispered, "You wouldn't return any of my calls or texts. When you did, you were always busy. What am I supposed to think? That you're really busy at ten at night when I can hear someone in the room with you?" I could see his mouth open in surprise out of the corner of my eye.

"I didn't want to believe it, Jay. I didn't want to believe that you would cheat on me. But I heard her, I heard the girl telling you to get off the phone." I whispered, afraid that if I spoke any louder my voice would crack. He turned his whole body to face me, taking my free hand in his.

"She was just a prostitute, Quinn. My dad wanted me to be rewarded for my work. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say I didn't like it, that I wanted her to leave. I loved it, Q, and I'm so fucking sorry that I did. Please don't leave me, babe. You're the only thing that's keeping me in this country." I ripped my hand from his grip and kept my eyes on the road, blinking the tears that threatened to escape then.

"Drop me off at Lex's. I don't want my mom seeing me high. He already knows I'm coming." I nodded, glancing sideways to find him staring at me with a sad smile. No, Quinn. You can't forgive him. He cheated and. . .

"You could crash at Lex's too. I'm sure he'd love having you there. I know I would." He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Kacey wants me to take someone with me to a concert." I finally choked out, not looking at him. I could hear him sigh, his hand searching for mine again.

"So? We're still going, right?" He asked, hopeful.

"No." I mumbled, "No, Jay. I'm sick and tired of you messing up and then running back to me, of me actually accepting your apologizes even though I know you'll do the same thing again." I could feel his hand finally grow limp in defeat against mine.

"Quinn. . ."

"Kacey was right about you. I should have just listened to her." I was talking more to myself then him now, even though he was still staring at me.

"I won't do it again, Q. I won't. . ."

"Say one more word," I snarled through my teeth, "And I will kick you out of this car and make you walk home."

The sun had begun to peak over the clouds by the time I pulled back up to the house. Which meant that my parents were up, that they were probably very aware that I wasn't home. But for once, I didn't actually care. I was still reeling over what had just happened with Jay.

"Quinn Cyrus! Get in here right now!" My mom screamed the minute I got out of Austin's car. I shut the door slowly, glancing up at my mom with a tired look.

"I'll be there in a minute." I grumbled, twirling the keys around in my hand.

My brother stepped outside, his eyes lit with anger, causing my next words to my mom to fall dry in my mouth. Just as quickly as the anger had entered my brother's beautiful eyes, it drained.

"Quinn? What's wrong?" He asked, gently pushing our mother out of the way as he made his way over to where I stood in the middle of the yard. At this point, I wasn't even sure I was going to make it into the house without finally breaking down. I could already feel my hands starting to shake at my sides and tears were blurring my vision.

"Quinn? Hey, are you okay?" Austin peeled his car keys from my hands and slid them into his pocket, his hands finding their way to my shoulders.

"Hey, why are you crying? Quinn?" He took my face in his hands gently, finally making me snap. I fell into his arms, burying my face against his chest as the tears that had been threatening to escape my eyes finally came out.

"It's okay." Austin whispered, running his hand through my hair, "I'll kick his ass, don't worry." Most people would have been amazed that Austin knew exactly what was wrong with me.

But for anyone that knew him, that knew my family, it wouldn't have been such a surprise. I never cried, not when I broke my leg in third grade, not the first time I found out Jayden had cheated on me. My parents had called me strong, had called me their little soldier. They were wrong, I wasn't strong, I wasn't their little soldier. And Austin knew that. He knew that I kept my feelings bottled up and kept tucked away deep down somewhere in my chest.

"I'll kick his ass and make sure he wishes he never met you, I promise, Quinn. I swear to God that I will." Austin repeated in my ear, still holding me against him. I sniffled, nodding against him. My parents were probably standing in shock in front of the house, seeing their little soldier finally break. What no one seemed to realize is that someone can only be pushed to a certain limit before they exploded and took out anything and everything in their path. I was a bomb, and once I exploded there was no way that they could pick up every piece of me and put me back together and expect me to be the same person I was.

***AN***

Hope you enjoyed. 

Let me know what you guys thought!

~ChasingMadness24