Author's note: I have taken liberty on some things. Yes, this town exists. And believe it or not, many of these things have happened. But all names have been changed. :)

PART 1

Chapter 1

Here is a story of a girl who is in love, but doesn’t know it. She thinks she is in a casual relationship, and taking total advantage of the ruleless summer. But the ruleless summer has turned against her, and here she sits, alone and hopelessly in love with a boy who has no clue.

As I watch her, I wonder why she would put herself in this position. Why would she fool around with the man she loves with the knowledge that she can’t expect anything from him? Women! Creatures of the unknown and full of secrets, mystery and complete, total bull shit.

Seriously, why does she linger on such an ass hole? Why does she tease herself? Well, I bet anyone could answer that. She’s simply hoping for more. And what’s more than a casual relationship that has no strings? Easy: ONE string. She wants him to care about her in some remote way like how she cares for him.

I can tell that she desperately wants to come clean to this boy that she’s fallen so deeply in love with. In the corner of her deep brown eyes, a sparkle of hope will soon be crushed…again.

It is true! She has not fallen once or even twice for this boy, but three times! It is a wonder why she’s even in this predicament. You would think the famous quote, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me,” would have some effect here. You would think that the countless number of friends, warning her not to stray down that road again would also prevent her from this careless decision. But alas, here she sits, alone with an aching heart.

What is our dear heroine’s name? Well, let’s call her Anne; Anne of plain old Palmer, Massachusetts. A little old town in the middle of everything. Yet, surprisingly (or maybe not), there is little to do, which could explain why Anne is in the middle of this problem. And the name of this bastard who’s stolen her heart numerous times? Let’s call him John, because I think that would be the worst insult of all: John Doe.

Let us rewind a year and a half ago, when our dear Anne first met the charming John Doe. They both were working at the same publication office, she as a graphic designer, and he as an editor. The two first began talking on a chance encounter during a staff New Year Eve’s party. Anne had known John Doe for awhile now. When her cubic neighbor, Lacey, started to date the handsome man, Anne would listen to all of the stories with immense jealousy. Anne however, is a passive woman, and would never do something to intentionally harm others. So there she sat, day in and day out, dreaming of the dates described to her by others. Not long after Lacey and our John Doe started dating, they suddenly broke it off. No one knew why, for both seemed to be quite into each other, but the rumor around the office was that Lacey had slept with the free-lance photographer. Either way, the awkward break up led to Lacey’s departure to another town, far away from the little Palmer publication.

So on this New Year Eve’s party, Anne was as single and available as any man would want. And our John Doe was feeling vulnerable and horny. He immediately picked out Anne from the rest of the staff and began talking to her. Why did he pick her when there was practically a whole room full of women? It wasn’t because she was pretty, and it wasn’t because she had a great body. Anne was a natural looking woman, with curves that aren’t seen in the movies. No, she had meat on her bones, meaning, she was a healthy individual that wasn’t suffering from immense obesity or anorexia. Her face wasn’t a first glance gorgeous either. Anne could be seen as pretty if the lighting was good and if her brown hair was cooperating with her. No, it definitely wasn’t her looks nor body that attracted John Doe to Anne; it was merely because all the other women were either too old or married. (And as much as I want to bash our little bastard, we have to credit him that he would never break up a family.) Anne was single, available, young, and descent to look at. These combinations made her stand out like an elephant roaming in a city.

When our John Doe first approached Anne, there wasn’t anything he could say that would make him wrong in Anne’s eyes. Now, we know why John Doe was attracted to Anne, but why was Anne attracted to him? It could be for his handsome boyish looks: dark, deep eyes, luscious and thick hair, high cheek bones slightly bristled with the rugged 5 o’clock shadow. He looked like the quintessential bad boy living in a good boy’s world. Not only did he have the looks, but John Doe was successful, an amazing writer, and overall appeared to always be attracted to the wrong kind of woman. Meaning, he was sensitive. Anne, as I mentioned before, is a passive person, and would never admit to the fact that she saw herself as the right and only woman for John Doe.

On that fateful day, when John Doe finally spoke to Anne, he found that his job of getting her to fall for him was a lot easier than he expected. Anne was willing to listen to whatever topic he wanted to talk about, and even laughed at his inappropriate jokes. As the night wore on, the two got closer and closer. And when the awkward tradition to kiss when the ball drop came, the two snuck away and honored the tradition. That kiss stole Anne’s heart, and gave John Doe his opening to have his way with her.

The two didn’t start off as a casual relationship, which, to be frank meant “friends with benefits.” Anne had high morals when she first started to date John Doe. It’s strange that such a passive woman would be able to hold onto her morals as long as she did. But once John Doe stole her heart, all that went to the shitter. She believed in thoroughly getting to know someone, trusting them on all levels before starting anything sexual. These high standards could probably be blamed for her lack of intimate relationships.

After the New Year’s kiss, the two didn’t see each other until the following week. Several news breaking stories had stolen John Doe away from the office. And just when our hopeless romantic Anne had thought the kiss was all a dream, the bastard sent her flowers. Not just a few roses or a dozen carnations, but an entire bouquet of daisies, baby’s breath, roses and carnations, and several other colorful flowers Anne would never know the names of. The trap had been set.

With her now doting over the flowers, people began recognizing the pair. “They are cute together,” said the layout editor. “They are perfect for each other,” said the columnist. “He’s going to get lucky!” said the sports editor. Lucky for Anne, she didn’t hear any of the sly comments and rumors circling the publication office. She could hardly sit still, reading the card that came with the flowers over and over. She sighed at note, even though it simply said:

From,

~John

What an ass.

But who could deny Anne’s happiness. No one could ever remember her looking so happy since she started working there. And the flowers were just the start of the affection. By the time Valentine’s Day rolled around, their relationship accelerated at lightning speed. Gone were the days of day dreaming dates. Mister Doe had taken our little Anne to the movies twice, a formal dinner, and countless lunches were spent together. But Valentine’s Day isn’t a day meant to be spent in happiness. Its cliché-ness always makes couples and single people conscious and sensitive of love. Single people (most likely the majority are bitter women) will no doubtingly say that Valentine’s is dubbed “Single Awareness Day.” Dating men will fret over dinner plans, gifts, and making the day “A Day to Remember.” Yeah. Jackass-John sure as hell made Anne’s Valentine’s a day she’ll never forget.

Anne had been conversing with her best friend since high school, Mandy, about her anticipation of Valentine’s. They met at the local Friendly’s restaurant to have lunch the day before the fateful doomsday. Anne was spilling over the details of her last date (which was the first formal dinner John and her shared). Anne was gushing at all of their conversations, explaining in detail how many compliments John gave her. Mandy didn’t look so convinced with our Doe’s feelings. After all, I missed a few major details that happened before Valentine’s.

Big major detail one: Little John’s mother passed away only a week and a half ago. She had been sick for a very long time, so the death was hard for the entire family. Anne had attended the wake, unsure how to feel. She never met the woman, but she couldn’t imagine losing her own at such a young age. Anne wished that she would be able to form a few tears, just so the family knew that she was sorry for the loss. But nothing; she walked dried eyed up the line.

Big major detail two: Because of his mother’s death, John had taken time off of work. No one could blame him; the death probably hit him the hardest. However, that meant less time that Anne was able to see Mister Doe. So by the time Valentine’s Day rolled around, she hadn’t seen him since the wake, which was five days ago, and that doesn’t really even count.

Back to Mandy and Anne’s conversation: Mandy was unusually quiet at this lunch. Usually she’ll spill over her thoughts and opinions not caring who heard or who she hurt. So Anne was taken aback when she said nothing concerning Anne and John. “Has he even called you?” Mandy finally asked.

Anne pondered the question. “Well, he did send that text message last night saying that he was tired and going to bed early.” Mandy shook her head. Because of the circumstances, it could be overlooked, both agreed. Then Mandy asked the question: the one question that invades all privacy and opens up the relationship like a nut. “Have you slept with him yet?”

Anne nearly choked on her French fry. She frantically looked around, as if the entire room heard Mandy’s question. Everyone looked suspicious of sudden eavesdropping. The couple to their left shifted, the waiter moved quickly by them, but turned around and walked back again. Anne leaned in to Mandy. “You know I haven’t lost my V-card yet!” she whispered harshly.

Mandy raised her eyebrows. “Well, what have you two done?” Her question wasn’t meant to be hurt Anne’s feelings. Remember those high morals that Anne held? She didn’t want to lose her virginity to just anyone; she was waiting for love, something that she hadn’t come across in awhile. And as her feelings grew and grew, she felt that bastard John could be that love. At night, she dreamed of all the possibilities the pair of them could accomplish, experiment with, and other wild endeavors. Oh, our hopeless Anne.

So, we know that she didn’t sleep with John. But, Mandy had a point. What had she done with him? Anne embarrassingly replied, “Nothing since New Year’s Eve.” It was true. Anne hadn’t even given John a kiss on the check since that fateful night. In her eyes, one formal date wasn’t the “Ok lets go” for sexual interaction. (Plus, had he leaned in to kiss her, she would have kissed back. But he didn’t, so she was going with the idea that it was her decision not to kiss him.)

However, Mandy had other ideas on the situation. What was keeping John to stay with her if she just kept seeing him with no physical connection? And it was true. Little bastard John was a very physical guy, so it’s a wonder that he has spent the last one and a half months sort of seeing her with no promise of a kiss at the end of the day. But Mandy kept her mouth shut, keeping her suspicions at bay. Maybe John wasn’t like other guys. Big mistake.

So Valentine’s Day arrived with as much anticipation as Anne could muster. She didn’t expect much, considering the circumstances. But she was still hoping for a surprise. When Anne arrived to the office, there was no sign of flowers, a box of sweets, or even a card. Maybe he’s planning on surprising me later, Anne thought. Yeah, right.

The day was passing with as much speed as a turtle. At lunch, he did not surprise her with a visit. After work, he did not surprise her by picking her up and taking her away to a romantic spot. When Anne got home, there were no packages. Nothing. Anne decided that he must be adding suspense to whatever he was planning by keeping her in the dark. So she refused to eat anything for dinner. Ridiculous excuses began to take hold of her. Maybe he got into an accident and wasn’t able to contact her. But when eight o’clock came creeping by, she couldn’t take it anymore. Her anger and hurt feelings pushed her to call him.

Ring, ring, ring… “Hello?” Oh, so he was alive.

“Hey, you all right?” she tried to ask, keeping her voice as passive as she could.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Monotone. What the hell does that mean? Is he lying? thought Anne. (Oh Anne. You need to listen to your gut more!)

“Oh. So you didn’t get into a car accident, or abducted by aliens?”

A brief moment of silence; or was it hesitation? “No.”

That’s when the tears started to peak. “Listen, I know you’ve been going through a lot, but I thought you liked me…” she trailed off.

“Yeah. I know. But I just have a lot on my mind.” He didn’t sound like he had a lot on his mind. It sounded pretty empty actually. But Anne was sensitive. She didn’t want to blame him for forgetting about Valentine’s because his mother did just pass away. She felt a pang of selfishness for wanting something from him when he clearly was morning.

What she should have thought was this: ordering Valentine’s Day flowers was next to impossible unless you pre-ordered at least two weeks in advance. Yes, his mother died, but he would have had plenty of time to order the flowers before that even happened. He had an excuse, but not an entire off-the-hook.

“Well…” she contemplated in reminding him of the day’s date. Ah, hell. Just go for it. “How was your Valentine’s?” Nice. The round-a-bout route. Very slick.

“I’ve decided to quit.” Whoa, didn’t expect that.

And that was that. Anne was in complete shock, mulling over questions she would never dare ask (because of the circumstances). The bastard John was moving away from the little Palmer publication office. Where would he go? What would he do? Was he ever planning on telling her?

The answer to that last question will forever be unknown. But sure enough, the very next day, his stuff was gone. The corner desk he occupied was empty, clear of any sign that Mister Doe had ever worked there. This is was the first time he broke her heart.

Shame on him.