BEEP BEEP BEEP – BEEP BEEP BEEP – BEEP BEEP BEEP

Jake turned to get the alarm clock, the time read 9:08am. He immediately got up and decided to go for a quick shower. As soon as he was on his feet, he realized that someone was with him on his bed. He thought it would be his roommate Dug or Chris, but as he took the covers to see who laid with him last night, it wasn't Dug nor Chris but Rachel, the woman she wanted so much to forget. He was furious. How the hell did Rachel end up on his bed? He remembered completely well that after he dropped Natalie off, he went straight to his room to have a nap. He went to the living room and both Dug and Chris were on the floor completely wasted. He tried waking Chris up but he wouldn't budge. When he finally gave up on Chris, Dug woke up and asked, "Dude? Give us one more hour."

"Dug? Why is Rachel on my bed right now? I don't remember her with me yesterday night."

"Give it a rest dude. She misses making out with you. I'm going back to sleep. I'm really not in the mood for girl talk."

Dug fell back to sleep, face on the floor. Jake ran back to his bedroom while he kept wondering how he would move Rachel out from his bed. He decided to take a bath before he missed the game he said he'd go to. As his heart pounded with the sight of her girlfriend, all he could think of was Natalie, his friend, who loved him even if he still couldn't get over the past.

As soon as he finished changing, he went out to see if Rachel was still asleep. She wasn't. She was sitting on the couch as she looked at him with a grin.

"I missed you Jake."

Jake laughed wryly. "Oh yeah, I completely remembered you saying you wanted out. Stop doing this to me Rache."

Rachel went towards him and tried to hold his hand but he refused to be touched. "I said I'd be back. You always had a place here in my heart. You couldn't possibly change your mind after a week right?"

"Let me remember what happened. Oh, yah! You cheated on me… twice. I forgave you once. I can't do that again. I even lost a friend because of you."

"Oh. You mean Natalie Wilson? It wasn't my fault Jake. You know that. You just couldn't bear having her around anymore. You thought it was stupid for her to fall in love with you since you trusted her with your problems. It wasn't my fault. You were the one who avoided her."

Jake was silent. She was right, he was the one who started avoiding Natalie. Rachel on the other hand tried to hug her boyfriend since she thought she still owned him. He never broke up with her neither did she and for her, as long as no one said anything about goodbyes, Jake Harper was hers.

"You should go."

"What did you say?"

"I don't want to keep doing this. Why is it always about you: your happiness and your freedom; your feelings? It's always been about you. I need some space."

"Stop bluffing Harper."

"I'm serious. I'm tired. I'm tired of being treated this way. You decided to love me and when everything gets boring, you decide to screw with somebody else, and boy it wasn't just one guy. There were two men, one was even my teammate."

Rachel looked at him with disbelief. She thought he could not let her go.

"Jake. I was drunk. It was just a one night thing. You know how sorry I am."

"Are you? I'm a man Rache, but I chose to give up everything for you ‘cause I loved you, but since I wasn't that important, you made sure you got what you wanted, even if it meant hurting me."

She tried not to shrug but his words were so deep she almost wanted to cry for getting caught.

"Is it her? Have you fallen for her?" She asked.

"I haven't. She was just kind enough to show me who you really are."

"No Jake. You have", she smiled with disbelief. "I thought it would be hard for you to move on even if a woman like her would be around, but I was wrong. I didn't realize she was capable of healing a broken heart." She walked towards the door as she tried to maintain her composure. "This is pathetic. Don’t worry; I'll make you take me back. What can a rebound do to keep you away from me? You know I always get my way into things. Stop using her to forget me."

"I'm not using her."

"Yes you are and you're quite aware of it."

He thought of her harsh words. It would hurt to hear her accuse him of something he never planned, especially when it was addressed to someone he really cared about.

"You should go." He said.

Rachel gave out a sigh. She turned to face the door and went out without saying another word. Jake stood there motionless. He wasn't sure why he got to love someone like her despite the things she has done to him. He sat on the bed and leaned his head on his hands.

He loved her. He still does, but as he thought of the many times she lied to him, he couldn't help but hate her at the same time. He knew all along that she was fooling around with other men, yet he could not gather his strength to say goodbye. She was like Delilah, who lulled Samson to his defeat. He still loved her, he could not just show it; cause if he did show it, Rachel will never learn and he will never get over her.