"Son of a bitch, did he hit you?" Jamie had sped through the night, anxiety knotting his stomach. Kelly hadn't gone into details on the phone, but he could tell it was bad. He had never heard that note of defeat in her voice before and it scared him. He had expected that she and Kevin must have had the mother of all fights. He hadn't expected this. "I will fucking KILL him!"

"Jamie, you're not helping. Please don't dump that macho crap on me now. Just take me home. Please?"

"Are you hurt? Do I need to take you to the hospital?"

"I'm alright. No, I'm not, but I don't need to go to the hospital. I just want to go home."

Jamie tenderly settled Kelly into the car then seated himself behind the wheel. He looked at Kelly, her face turned away from him, staring out the window and wanted to hold her, comfort her, dry her tears. Instead he started the car and headed down the street.

They drove in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Jamie had heard the stories about Kevin's temper but had never dreamed he would ever turn it on Kelly. He loved her too much, too deeply to ever hurt her this way. Or so he had always believed.

Once or twice Kelly would take a deep breath as if preparing to speak then change her mind. When finally she did it stunned him. "I'm sorry, I am so sorry."

Whatever Jamie had expected Kelly to say this wasn't it. "There's no reason for you to be sorry."

"To drag you out in the middle of the night, to involve you in this mess -"

"Kelly, stop. I'm your friend and I'll always be here for you." Jamie reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'd much rather you drag me out in the middle of the night than try to face this by yourself."

Kelly looked at him then, her face wet with silent tears that tore at his heart. Their eyes met for a moment and then she turned away again. "Thanks."

When Kelly and Jamie walked into her house a short time later, Kevin was desperately pleading with the answering machine, begging Kelly to pick up the phone and talk to him. From the tenor of his voice, Jamie imagined he had been doing this for a while. Kelly paused, hesitant, her expression torn as she listened to the obvious pain and remorse in his voice. Jamie's whole body clenched in tension, willing her to not pick up the phone. Another moment passed, then two, and then Kelly reached out and picked up the phone.

"Say another word and I'm hanging up. I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully. Whatever we had died the moment you knocked me against the wall."

"Kelly, baby, please -"

"Shut. Up. You crossed a line and there's no going back. The only way for this to be fixed is if it never happened. But it's done and so are we."

"Don't say that! What we have is too special. You can't just walk away from it. You can't!"

"Yes. I can." Then she quietly hung up the phone.

The relief Jamie felt was a physical thing, leaving him weak. Kevin had been everything to her for so long, he wasn't sure she could just walk away. Many women didn't, many women couldn't. Kelly wasn't many women. "He's not just going to leave it at that."

"I know. He loves me."

Jamie lightly, briefly touched the bruise on her face. "What about this?"

"I'm not excusing him. All I'm saying is that one doesn't have anything to do with the other."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes, but not enough to stay. Not now."

"But you love him too much to report this to the police." It wasn't a question.

Kelly looked at him sharply, but didn't respond.

"No, I didn't think so."

"I'm not ruining his career over a one-time mistake."

"How do you know it's only one-time?"

"Because I'm not giving him a second chance!" And she began to cry.

Jamie made a move to comfort her but Kelly held up her hand in a mute command to stop. Suddenly, in a flash of insight so crystal in its clarity it stunned him, Jamie saw in that gesture the root of what had eaten away at the foundation of Kelly and Kevin's relationship. Kevin needed Kelly, but he also wanted, needed Kelly to need him as well. And Kelly never had. To her love and need wasn't the same thing. She had allowed Kevin's overwhelming presence in life, but she hadn't needed it. It was such a subtle distinction he doubted that either of them had realized it consciously. It just manifested as fights and arguments and finally, sadly, physical violence. But in the end it was as simple as the frustration of one wanting and needing more than the other was able or willing to give.

In a moment she had herself under control. "I'm sorry."

"You keep saying that. I wish you wouldn't." Pause. "Would you like me to stay with you?"

"No, I just want to be alone right now. To cry myself to sleep. Maybe it will look better in the morning."

"Maybe you'll be more forgiving in the morning."

"No, I was always taught that between men and women there was one unforgivable sin and tonight Kevin committed it. The morning is not going to change that."

Jamie nodded, not completely satisfied but accepting. For now. "All right, I'll go but promise me you will call if you need anything. Anything."

"Goodnight, Jamie. And thank-you."

Kelly closed the door behind him and then sat, not moving, not thinking, simply waiting. She knew the night was not over yet.

She didn't have long to wait. A desperate banging on her front door brought her up out of her chair. Taking a deep breath and making sure the chain lock was in place, Kelly cautiously opened the door.

Kevin sucked in his breath at the sight of the large bruise that had formed on Kelly's face, a bruise put there by his hand. "Oh, baby, I am so sorry, I didn't mean, let me in."

"No."

"Kelly come on, let me in, we need to talk. I didn't mean to, I swear to Christ!"

"I believe you, but the time for talking is past. Whether you meant to or not, you hit me. There's no fixing that. Goodbye, Kevin." As she starts to close the door, Kevin slammed his hand against it, rattling the chain and causing Kelly to jump back a step.

"Don't shut me out! Now, goddamit, open this door!"

"No, I don't think she will."

Kevin whirled around to find a strange man walking towards him from the sidewalk. He seemed calm if you didn't look at his hands clenched at his sides. Kelly's eyes widened, fear clenching her gut. Obviously, Jamie had never left, knowing as she did that Kevin would show up here tonight.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm the one who comes out in the middle of the night to get her because she's stranded on the side of the road with two flat tires. I'm the one who took her home and dried her tears. I'm the one who loves her, because I take care of her and don't put bruises on her pretty face. That's who I am. Who the hell are you?"

So this was the mysterious Jamie. The sight of the man enraged Kevin, his words boiled his blood, especially, "I'm the one who loves her". How dare he say that to him? "I ought to break you in half," he hissed.

Where Kelly had been unwilling to open the door before, she couldn't get out if it fast enough now. She flew out to stand between them. "Don't you dare touch each other, don't you dare!"

"Get rid of him Kelly, this is between us."

"There isn't anything between us Kevin, not anymore."

At the look on Kevin's face, Jamie pulled Kelly out of the way. "You better unclench that fist, man, because if you touch her again I will kill you."

Kevin jerked as if he'd shocked him. He looked at this hand, stunned to see it cocked into a fist. With great care, he stretched out each finger and dropped his hands, defeat written on every part of him. "I'm sorry."

"I know," Kelly said gently.

Kevin looked at her, missing her look of sadness and regret and only saw how Jamie was still standing protectively in front of her. "This is because of him, isn't it?"

Jamie answered. "No, man, this is because of you."

Kevin nodded sadly and looked at Kelly, seeing her tears for the first time. He reached out to touch her face, dropping his hand when she flinched back. "I fucked up."

"Yes."

"And no second chances."

"Not in this, no."

"I love you so much. Please tell me you know that."

"I know. But, sometimes maybe love isn't enough. Or maybe it's too much. I don't know."

Beginning to accept that he's lost, Kevin stared at her with such longing it broke her heart into even tinier pieces. He soaked her in, like a condemned man enjoying a last meal. Then abruptly he turned and headed down the walk.

"Kevin!" He stops but doesn't turn around. Kelly starts forward, but Jamie's hand on her arm stops her. "I'm keeping my promise."

Kevin turned around and looked at her questioningly.

"You will never be a regret."

END