Perfect (Jordan Knight/NKOTB fanfic, Liadan #1)

Rain and Regrets

-LIA-

My stomach churned and my eyes watered as I rested my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath. My whole body ached with betrayal.

"Lia, what happened, are you hurt?" Donnie's voice grew louder as he approached and tears streamed down my cheeks. "Hey, what happened?"

I shook my head, "I'm going to get Radley and I'm going home." A fresh set of tears replaced the old ones I brushed away. I began walking towards my car as I frantically patted my pockets for my keys. It appeared that I'd dropped them in the midst of everything.

"Okay, well try to calm down and talk to me for a second, okay?" Donnie gently touched my arm so that I stopped and looked at him. "I don't think you should be driving like this."

"Lia, Lia, wait!" Jordan ran out of the studio. His unbuttoned shirt flailed around him and he quickly slid his belt into place.

Anger ran through my veins and I shook my head as I glared at him, "Go to hell, Jordan!"

"I can explain," he reached towards me and I pulled away.

"Don't touch me," I seethed. "Why don't you go back in there and finish screwing your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend. Lia, I promise you, I don't love her. I love you," Jordan pleaded. "She means nothing to me."

"Oh, so she's nothing to you? Is that supposed to make me feel better? I mean so little to you that it doesn't bother you to cheat on me with some random slut in a studio?"

"I made a big mistake, Lia," Jordan ran his fingers through his messy hair as rain began to fall and I could see the red lipstick smeared on his collar under the street lights. He smelled like a mix of cheap perfume and beer.

His eyes were glassy as he reached towards me again and I jerked my hand away.

"I said don't touch me," I could feel myself choking on my tears.

"I'm sorry, Lia, I swear I am," he sighed. "I'm an idiot, I was turning her down, okay? You just caught me in a bad position."

I scoffed. "It's always the same story with guys like you. I can't believe I was stupid enough to think you were any different from every other asshole I've ever met. Just save it, Jordan. I saw you okay? I saw you. She was all over you. Just stay the hell away away from me. I want a divorce and I don't ever want to see you again!"

"What is she talking about?" Donnie demanded as he looked at Jordan. "You're sleeping with Vee? A divorce? What's going on here?"

By now, my whole body was shaking and I could feel my nails sinking into the palms of my hands as they clenched into fists. My heart pounded in my chest and my eyes were blurry and swollen from the salty tears that wouldn't stop falling. As the thunder rolled across the night sky and a heavier torrent of rain fell around me, a shiver ran down my spine and my teeth chattered.

I was exhausted, physically and emotionally and I could feel my heart breaking in my chest. Jordan's mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear anything as my head felt like it was spinning. The world beneath my feet felt uneasy and before I knew it, I had collapsed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, pretty girl."

I blinked as I slowly opened my eyes and looked around the room to see an IV pole hanging next to the bed before my eyes landed on Bethany.

"You blacked out at the studio," she explained. "The doctor said you've been under too much stress lately and not keeping enough food down so he wants you to rest and stay in bed with plenty of fluids for a few days."