“ I can’t believe they did that to me?”, Simone said, as she cried.

She couldn’t get over the scene in her mind.

Flashback
 

“ Chad, I brought you some..”

Simone stopped dead in her tracks, seeing Chad and a naked Whitney on the couch together making love.

“ Oh my God!”, Whitney yelled.

” Chad? Whitney? Wh…what is going on?”

“ Simone, I can explain.”, Whitney said.

” Explain? You’re fucking my boyfriend, and you can explain? EXPLAIN?!”

” Simone, it’s not what you think.”, Chad offered.

” Oh, you’re naked, she’s naked. I’m not in special education. I have eyes. How could you?”, Simone asked, furious.

” Well, you should know, I love Whitney. I never loved you.”

” What?”

” I love Whitney. I never loved you.”

” You were my boyfriend.”

” No, that was all in your mind. “

” Oh, I imagined that I went out on dates with you? That you’ve kissed me, and told me you loved me?”

” It was all a mistake. Everytime I did those things, I was thinking of Whitney.”

Simone looked at Whitney. “ You’re such a lying whore. I hate you. Stealing my boyfriend like that.”

” Didn’t you hear, Chad? He was never your boyfriend.”

” Shut up. I HATE YOU!”

Next thing Simone knew, she had opened the lid to the soup, and threw it in Whitney’s direction, but Chad jumped in front of her and took the brunt. He yelled as the piping hot brew hit is body and scalded him.

” What did you do?!”, Whitney asked.

“ A lot less than this lowlife mutherfucker deserves. I can’t believe it. This BITCH never gave you the time of day. She went out of her way to dog you out. She’s NEVER stood up for you when it counted, and you have the nerve to tell me that you never loved me? That it was all in my mind?

When was it that you kissed me and told me that you loved me? TWO FUCKING YEARS AGO, MUTHERFUCKER! TWO YEARS!” By this time, Simone had gotten over to Whitney and Chad and was kicking them indiscriminantly. Her feet worked in conjunction with her arms, and she was flailing them everywhere. By the time they were untangled, Simone was totally disheveled. She ran out of the studio and found herself down at the docks.

End of flashback.

She was still a loser. She loved him, and he loved Whitney. Not only that, but he had never loved her. Two years, and she didn’t catch a clue? Over and over she had asked Whitney about her feelings for Chad, and all she got were lies. How many times had they laughed at her behind her back? How many times had they been in bed together, talking about what a fool she was. Was anyone a bigger loser than she? She hurt. From the top of her head to her toes, she hurt. She had thought for once, being her was good enough for someone to love. As it turned out, she wasn’t good enough. Only to be played the fool. She needed to stop the hurt.

She looked down. There were chunks of ice in the water. It was cold. It wouldn’t take long. She wouldn’t be in pain anymore. All she had to do was jump.
 

Fox Crane was walking along the docks. He can’t believe he’s stuck in Harmony. He spent his life going from place to place all over the globe. And, now, he’s back here, in this hellhole, lucky to be spending time being ignored by his parents. He’s just going to stay long enough to get some money, then he’s gone. He looks down to the other end of the pier. He could see the silhouette of a woman. She’s awfully close to the edge, he thought. She looks like she’s gonna go in. She’s going in!

Fox didn’t even think. He went on instinct. He ran like hell to the other end of the pier. Using the training he got from the year of hell at military school, he took off his shoes and jacket and dove into the pier. It took a bit, but he found the woman. He held her in a position so that she wouldn’t drag them both down. Getting to the surface, he looked at the pier and found what he was looking for – a ladder. He made his way over to the ladder, and pulled them both up, marveling that he still remembered those water drills that he was forced to for breaking the rules. He got her up to the docks, and listened for her breathing. Hearing none, he performed CPR on her until she came to, coughing up water.

“ Wh…what?”

” Sorry.”, he said, scooping her up into his arms.

” What the….”

” Just saving your life.”, Fox got out, before she passed out again. He burst through the doors of the Book Café.

” I was just closing up.”, Beth said until she saw the situation. “ I’ll call 911.”

” And get me some blankets.”, Fox ordered. “ She’s ice cold.”

Beth called 911, and then ran into the back, bringing back blankets.

” Get me some hot water.”

Fox worked fast, getting Simone out of her clothes. There was no time for modesty, Those clothes were the enemy. Beth saw what he was doing, and brought out some clothes with the tags still on: flannel gowns and housecoats.

” I went shopping for my mother today.”

” Thanks. Help me dress her.”

They got Simone toweled off and dressed, but she was still unconscious. They wrapped her in the blankets just as the EMT’s entered.

” Someone call for an ambulance?”

” Over here.”, Fox yelled. “ She fell into the water. She was down there for about 5 minutes before I got to her, another 5 as I tried getting us out. She came to for a few moments when I first got her out of the water, but nothing since. I had to give her CPR. We got the wet clothes off of her as fast as we could.”

“ You an EMT?”

” Military water training.”

” Well, in this kind of weather, you probably saved her life. We’ll take it from here.”

They put Simone on the gurnee, and the EMT began radioing the hospital, and they took her away.

” Her poor parents.”, Beth said as Simone left.

” You know her?”

” Her name is Simone Russell.”

“ Well, maybe you ought to call her parents and give them a heads up.”