K.A. Linde

“And as angry as I am with what you have put me through, I am so very glad that we are now at this moment. This moment means I can move on to bigger and better things without you constantly weighing on my shoulders. I will never again turn a corner in New York terrified that I will run into you and even more terrified that I won't. I can go into any coffee shop I want. I can hope for love again.”

“You were the only one I saw when I closed my eyes," he said bringing his hand up to her chin and tilting her head up to look into his crystal clear blue eyes."Then why wasn't I enough when they were open?" she asked another tear welling in her eyes.”

“I can't help but look at you.""Yes, you can.""No, I can't," he said leaning in closer. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on.”

“I did those things because of my lack of control. When you touch me Jack, I completely succumb to you. I give into your every whim.”

“In some cases, however, a person will try to avoid taking responsibility by trying to avoid making conscious choices altogether. Perhaps she cites uncontrollable passion on her part... the presence of peer pressure… or she pretends not to notice the man's actions. Whatever the case, she acts as though she is not making any choices and hence has no responsibility for the consequences.”

“He was the bane of her existence. He didn't deserve one second of her precious time. She knew that. Of course she knew that. If anyone knew what kind of pull Jack had on her, it was Lexi. She hated it more than anyone in this moment. It was the whole reason she had left Atlanta a year ago. She had to get away from him…to try and leave him behind. But that didn't just kill her affection for him. She didn't stop desiring him because of it. They had a connection, a chemistry that she had no idea how to explain to the outside world.”

“Her heart had been through the shredder too many times to count, and she still had a small bit of hope left in her. She didn't like to admit. She certainly didn't like to think about it. But Jack had been her everything. Even after all the terrible things that had happened between them, she still couldn't look past the tiny piece of hope she'd kept locked away.”

“They left a path of pain for whoever ventured near, and Jack and Lexi weren't immune to the catastrophes they created. There was a reason the sin of lust was whirled around for eternity in Dante's Inferno. No matter where they went, they couldn't help but ceaselessly be in a whirlwind always crossing that fine line between love and lust.”

“Then why didn't you tell her. She calls me telling me she loves me telling me that I'm everything to her. She says that you've opened her eyes to who I really am, but does she know who I really am Lexi? Does anyone other than you know who I am?”

“She shook her head. She had been in that exact position on a number of occasions with Clark. She knew how easy it could be to just escape with Jack when she couldn't be around Clark. As wrong as she knew it was, she hadn't been able to stop herself. She had always thought that desperation came from wanting Jack, but maybe things were different with him. Perhaps he had always done it because he enjoyed the cloak and dagger effect of hiding and running away from his life with her.”

“She had worked a year to get him out of her life as much as she possibly could. He always had a place in her heart since she had loved him so obsessively for such a long time, but she had been able to extract herself from him to an extent.”

“Instincts sent sparks throughout her body pleading with her to stay away or else, but she didn't listen. How could she listen? This was Jack”

“Lexi, it is for you. I'm working to make things better for you.”

“I do want you Ramsey Bridges," she told him as a matter-of-fact. "And you shall have me whenever you like.”

“I don’t know if I can do this anymore,” Jack’s husky voice muttered sounding defeated. It was such a strange sound coming out of him. “I know what you mean."“I’m not sure I want to break up with Kate though."That snapped her right out of her own pity party. Break up with Kate! Holy shit! “Uh, Jack?”He tilted his head to look at her under his thick dark lashes. “Yes, my dear?”“You’ve been thinking of breaking up with Kate?” She couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice.He nodded choking on his own words. “Ever since I saw you like a vision on the beach the first day you got here.”“Wh…Why would you do that?” She knew the answer. But she wanted to hear him say it.“I thought that was quite obvious…for you.”

“this was meant for you. Only you.”

“Lexi, I've wanted to tell you for so long." [...] "That I love you.”

“We have such a long history that when I look into his eyes that's all I can see. I forget the stupidity of what we've done and who could get hurt. I just remember the man who loved me once”

“Look, I don't know what to do yet. I just knew that's what you wanted," he says eyeing her mussed appearance."That's not what I wanted.""If it wasn't, you wouldn't have let me do it," he told her simply."I wanted answers.""And I don't have any.”

“I'm not sure what I'm going to do."Lexi gasped. "You mean…""Look, I don't know what to do yet. I just knew that's what you wanted," he saying eyeing her mussed appearance."That's not what I wanted.""If it wasn't, you wouldn't have let me do it," he told her simply."I wanted answers.""And I don't have any.”

“Jack: "..You were the on­ly one I saw when I closed my eyes"Lexi: "Then why wasn't I enough when they were open?”

“You have always been what I want. I just made mistakes along the way. I told you that I would make it up to you, that I would show you what I could be for you, if you would only let me.”

“She could remember a time when she thought things could be right with her and Jack. Now it seemed like that was such a long time ago. How could she have ever told herself things were going to be alright? She now knew with every once of her being that there was absolutely nothing left of the man she had once loved.”

“And Lexi had to deal with that fact. She had to deal with knowing that he hadn't chosen her. He didn't want her.”

“Closing up. Finally spent.You are gone.And now you're moving along.Heavy now. Tears remain.Hard pressed to rest.When all I feel like is a mess.Now, don't you worry your head.You're not my one and only friend.And I don't need you anymore.To leave me bruised and broken on the floor.You left me bruised. You left me broken.You left me bruised. You left me broken.”

“Do you want to just fuck me in front of all your friends? Because all you seem to be doing is fucking me over Ramsey.”

“I want to escape with you, Jack.""I'll always be your escape, Lex.”

“So, as sad as this day is for me,as I am losing a part of myself with the loss of you,it is really just the beginning for me. It is like cutting off the spoiled part to get to the juicy center. So, I would appreciate it this time, if you did not try and contact me. Because, as I'm sure you know, I deserve better. I want everything this time around, and I deserve it.”