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She glanced up into the es beneath her eyes, and in spite of her tan, saw the paleness beneath it all

She saw the fear and pain She saw the guilt

She was never going to have that happily ever after Not with Jack and probably not with anyone else Her story, it seemed, had already been written She was just too damn stupid, too full of denial to see it She irl pants and deal with the situation once and for all

“Just do it,” she whispered fiercely She ripped the box apart and took out the s the cellophane wrapper with shaking fingers

Oh God She felt sick

After reading the instructions, she got down to business, and once she was done, set the stick back onto the counter The instructions said to wait a full fiveher hands, she left the bathrooonna sit in there and wait

The sky was lighter noas breaking

Restless, Donovan ran downstairs, and after a few ranola bar fro with a bottle of water She ran out the door,sure Coco didn’t follow her and headed up the road

A ould do her good She needed to clear her head and get her shit together She needed to be strong, because there was no way in hell she could let Jack know that she was still hopelessly in love with him

Nope That couldn’t happen

Not even if there was a baby

The road that led from the Simon home was steep and narrow, lined with trees that stood as silent as soldiers It was eerie, being out here alone at this ti, but there was also a kind of peace as well

When she reached the top, Donovan paused, slightly out of breath, and glanced to the right and then to the left If she went left, she’d end up near the main road The main road meant people, and she sure as hell didn’t want to deal with people Tugging the bri of water and headed to the right

She followed the road for about an hour before she caher in the sky, and she slipped off her hoodie, tying it around her waist as she continued on her way, opting to head into the trees than toward the water

She walked for a couple hours and then stopped to rest, eating her granola bar and nearly finishing her water She would have stayed put a bit longer, but the bugs were horrible and she went on her way