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"I need volume!" I shouted to the kids who were performing the third number in the back. "I'm sitting right in front of you and I can't hear a thing."

They nodded wearily and sang louder. I smiled at them and looked over at the lead who was stuttering over her lines while her understudy grinned nearby. It had already been four hours. Maybe we should call it a day.

I waited patiently until they were finished, gave them some constructive advice and then wrapped up the rehearsal. They seemed relieved to finally be able to leave.

In a way, I was too. I still hadn't told Demetri the big news about the movie because I wanted to do it face to face and I hadn't gotten a chance to see him. My friends and Daniel had been extremely happy about it and I was sure he would be too.

Hey can we meet up tonight?, I texted him as I walked to my car.

Come over, he texted back in a few minutes.

I drove over to his place deep in thought. He was still mad at me for talking to Daniel, but he would just have to deal with it. Besides Daniel and I were just... were we even friends? I shook my head. I didn't know what we were, but we were something.

We hadn't discussed the kiss either. Daniel had tried bringing it up, but I ignored it every time. That was just too complicated for me right now and I was sorry to him. I felt sorry for Demetri too, but as it stood, there was no way I could tell him about that now. I would have to give him some time.

I apologized to him in my mind, so it wasn't my fault he couldn't hear it.

I finally got to Demetri's apartment and took the elevator up. I didn't feel any desire to reapply gloss or fix my hair. Usually, I wanted to spruce up my appearance before seeing him, but for some reason I didn't want to tonight.

I got out of the elevator and rang the door bell. Demetri appeared a few seconds later and opened the door with a small smile. I smiled back. He still managed to look effortlessly gorgeous even in plain clothes. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black sweats with black slides. His fingers absent-mindedly twisted the silver ring he always wore. He stepped to the side so that I could pass by him.

I sat down on the sofa with an excited grin. "I have some good news to tell you."

"Yeah, you said you wanted to talk about that," he said, sitting beside me. "What is it?"

"Guess." I played around.

"Hmm." He leaned forward to kiss me. "I don't know."

"I was really excited to do this a few months ago," I hinted.

"Apply to university?"

"Well, yes, but it's not that. It is something I got accepted for though."

He stared at me blankly and then moved closer to kiss me again.

"Something I auditioned for," I stated.

"That school play you're working on?"

I stared at him incredulously. That was wrong on so many levels. I was the president so there was no need for me to audition.

"Hint: Mila," I said, practically spelling it out for him.

"Never heard of her." He shrugged, trying to kiss me again, but I gently eased myself back to put some space between us.

"Are you serious right now, Demetri?" I asked, feeling disheartened at his genuine ignorance. "I got accepted for the movie role I auditioned for a couple weeks ago. Mila O'Kaine? My favorite actress ever?" I scoffed as it took him a few beats to figure out what I was talking about.

"Oh the movie, yeah, I remember that."

I waited for some sort of reaction from him.

"Congratulations," he said after a while.

"Uh... thanks," I said, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. It didn't sound like he cared about it either way.

He moved closer to me and tried to kiss me, but I turned my head away. "Let me tell you about it," I suggested, trying to change the mood. I caught a glimmer of irritation in his eyes, but he just nodded.

"So I was super nervous to do the audition because Mila was there-" I started but he kissed me again suddenly. His lips travelled down my neck and I moved away from him as I felt him nip at my skin. He followed me over and continued what he was doing.

"Demetri, I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you," I sighed in irritation.

"I'm listening," he murmured against my skin.

He nipped at it again and I knew that was going to leave a mark.

"S-So I was doing the audition and then one of the panelists was like-"

A startled gasped escaped my throat as I felt his hand slide up my skirt. I pushed him away from me in shock.

"What the hell are you doing?" I snapped.

Demetri sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's whatever."

"No! It's not whatever!" I yelled. "I'm trying to tell you about one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time and you don't even care. You're more interested in getting me in your bed!"

"Isn't that what you've been aiming for all year?"

"Obviously I'm not in the mood for that right now!"

"Do you want to break up?" he asked casually.

I arched my brows. Was he being serious right now?

"What?"

"Do you want to break up?"

"Do you want to break up?" I frowned.

"You can leave now," he said, getting up and stretching lazily. "Show yourself out."

"Wait!" I yelled as he exited the room. I stormed over to him, still in disbelief. "Are we really breaking up right now?"

"Yeah, that's kind of what this is."

"You're breaking up with me because I don't want to sleep with you?"

He turned to face me. "I was going to break up with you tonight anyways. I just thought I should at least have some fun with you first." He shrugged. "But I don't want to do this anymore and I don't have to."

My heart felt like it just shattered into a million pieces. He was going to sleep with me and then end the relationship? I gritted my teeth. This had to be some kind of joke.

"This isn't like you, Demetri. You're not this kind of guy," I choked, willing the tears not to fall.

"You're right. That wasn't the kind of guy I was with you. But this is who I really am."

I searched his eyes for some shred of my boyfriend, for some reassurance that this was all just some elaborate prank, but his eyes were dark and cold.

"Then all this time... everything we did together was a lie? Everything we went through was just you pretending?"

"I guess you're not the only actor around here," he said coolly.

I winced. It felt as if the air was being squeezed out of my lungs.

"Then why didn't you do this sooner?" I whispered.

"There was something I had to do before that, but I'm done now so I don't need you anymore. I don't want you, Callie," he said slowly. He stepped closer to me and tilted my chin up so that I could look at him. "You're no longer of use to me."

I felt a hot tear slide down my cheek and hastily brushed it away. I channelled all my anger into the glare I sent him and pushed his hand away. I was angry and I was hurt, but he just stood there, staring at me emotionlessly and at the same time tauntingly. His black eyes seemed like endless pits that my emotions were lost in.

"How could you?!" I choked as he crossed his arms and sighed. "You said you loved me."

"What? You thought you were special? Don't flatter yourself. You were desperate for love, so I played with you for a while. But I don't want to entertain you anymore. You mean nothing to me. I never loved you. In fact, it's the opposite. I've always hated you."

"They were all right about you." My voice was barely above a whisper as the cold realization hit. Had I been so captivated by him that I couldn't even see what was infront of me?

"I'll give you some advice," he said. "Don't trust everyone who says they love you. That might be common sense, but I'm guessing you don't have much of that."

"You're an a*shole," I spat venomously, but he just shrugged.

I grabbed my bag and stormed out of the room as hot tears fell to the ground. I passed a few people in the lobby who called out to me in concern but I didn't look back. I got in my car quickly, feeling angry, heartbroken and embarrassed. This love thing was nothing but a pain in the ass. I sped off down the road, ignorng the tears that flowed like a river.

Was I just not good enough for anyone? Apparently not. I wasn't good enough for Daniel or Demetri. I wasn't good enough for my parents either.

My vision blurred and I tried to blink away the tears. The blinding glare of headlights seemed to suddenly materialize out of nowhere as a truck came barrelling towards me.

I barely had time to think or react as I quickly tried to steer away from the truck but we were already too close and in a second, we'd collided.

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel as my car swung in the in the next direction, the force of the collision pushing it off the road. The windows trembled and then cracked under the immense pressure, showering the inside of the car with a spray of glass. Everything was happening so fast.

I heard the grate of the metals as the truck scraped against my car. The horrific screeching sound of the metals grating together pierced my ears. Through the window, I could see the sparks that the friction caused.

Was this how it's going to end? There was no dramatic life flashing before my eyes bit. My ears were ringing and my eyes couldn't focus on anything long enough as the car continued to shake. Unlike that day with Demetri, there would be no-one to help me. I guess guardian angels didn't exist after all.

I squeezed my eyes shut while my frozen lips soundlessly whispered the names of the people I loved. I'd never see them again. After what seemed like an eternal countdown to devastation, there was silence. The driver of the truck finally managed to get control of his vehicle and steered away from my car. They were gone in an instant.

I let out a shaky breath, cracking my eyes open one at a time. I was alone on the road again. I was alive. The almost accident had jolted my reflexes, but my mind was still not on the road. I spotted a park up ahead. That was the park I always went to when I felt sad, or just wanted some time alone. I always felt at peace there. It couldn't have been better timing. I turned in at the entrance and parked my car.

I ripped the seatbelt off me as I stumbled out of the car, trying to catch my breath. I needed air, but no matter how long I breathed I still felt like I was being suffocated. It was raining now but I barely noticed it.

Honestly, breaking up with Demetri wasn't so bad. If he had done it any other way I might have been able to accept it better. But after hearing that I was nothing more than his pity project for three years, everything came crumbling down.

The strength I thought I'd gained was just my weak attempt at being strong, hinged on him, and he had detached himself from me.

I fell to the ground in a tired heap. My heart was still racing from the near death experience. The size of that truck was enough to crush both me and my car.

Maybe I should have just let it.

I shook my head at the thought. My little brothers' faces flashed across my mind. There was Liz and Mel and Kevin too. They at least cared about me. I couldn't do anything stupid. But how could I ease the pain that was gnawing at the shattered pieces of my heart?

I pulled my knees up to my chest and sobbed.

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