Love Will Conquer All

She walked up the steps to her apartment building; her legs heavy with exhaustion, her keys jingled as she sloppily slid them into the lock and opened the door. She greeted the janitor who was mopping the floors and made her way to the elevators. While she waited for the elevator cart to come down, she thought about her day. Rory Parks, an established music journalist, had had the most awful day of her career. It seemed like everyone in the office had taken a sick day with all the work she had done. She had pieces to review and edit, some of her own to begin and complete, and she had had several stuck-up divas to interview – all of whom decided that they were not going to cooperate until their glasses were filled with Perrier water and their pooches were lying comfortably on expensive doggy beds. It was a relief to Rory to finally be home and away from the hectic office; she looked forward to spending her evening in a bathtub with bubbles flowing over the rim and Buddy Holly playing in the background. Rory reached her apartment door, 14b, and slid her key into the lock; she opened the door and smiled.

“Ah, the smell of home, nothing beats it.”

She dropped her briefcase on the floor and kicked off her shoes. She walked into the living room and fumbled around in the dark until her fingers connected with the light switch. She found the switch, flipped it on and screamed. There, lying on her couch was her ex-boyfriend.

“Jacob fucking Gyllenhaal!” Rory clutched her chest in fright.

Jake chuckled and walked forward, his hands resting on Rory’s hips. “Hi Rory.”

Jake’s 6”0 tall frame was towering over Rory’s puny 5”2, she felt uncomfortable being so close to Jake, having old feelings rush forward, so she took a step back. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?” Jake looked confused. “I’m visiting my girlfriend.”

“Your girlfriend?” Rory was now furious. “We broke up, Jacob.”

“Rory, babe, I love you. That night wasn’t what you think it was at all!” Jake tried to take another step towards Rory but she took one step back.

“What are you -- Jake you cheated on me! I saw you doing it!”

“No, I didn’t!” Jake’s voice was rising, his tone almost sounded desperate to Rory’s ears. “I love you, I wouldn’t do that to you!”

“Jacob, I saw the whole thing!” Rory had tears in her eyes, all she wanted was a quiet evening at home. No Jake, and no drama.

Jake opened his mouth to speak again but Rory cut him off. “I don’t want to deal with this Jake. All I wanted was a quiet evening to myself, I didn’t want to have to deal with all this shit!”

Jake flinched. “Rory, please. We need to talk about this. You don’t understand what happened that night.”

“No. Just leave.” Rory was crying now. She and Jake had been together for 3 years and had gone through so much together. She had given him her heart, and had thought that he had done the same. Rory held the door opened and repeated herself, “Just leave.”

Jake, knowing that Rory was stubborn and wasn’t going to cave, nodded and walked to the door. Before leaving he turned to her and gently cupped her cheek with one hand. “We are going to talk about this Rory. I love you and I need you in my life.”

Rory wiped the tears from her eyes as she watched him walk out of the apartment. She knew he’d be back; Jake usually was a man of his word.