Rain soaks through my clothes and all the way down to my socks as I stand in the freezing rain, clutching my arms around myself.

"Ellie! Ellie!" I shout into the dark, squinting my eyes to see through the rain. She had stormed out of her car, sobbing, only seconds ago. There's no way she could have gotten that far.

I rise my hands to the back of my neck and rub the nape of my skin anxiously, swinging my head around to look for her in the darkness.

Maybe if I had gotten out of the car sooner, if I wasn't such a clumsy idiot who takes two whole minutes to unlock his seatbelt, I would have found and caught up to Ellie. I could tell her everything, all the emotions bubbling steadily inside of me now.

I picture Ellie so clearly in my head. The way her soft red hair falls into her face, the bright shine in her honey colored eyes, and the way she has to look up when she talks to me from such a short height. I can feel her soft, manicured playing with my hair, which I had grown it out for her despite my mother's protests, and remember her soft scent of vanilla and coffee in my arms as we watched Harry Potter marathons on the couch. I picture how she clutches at her stomach when she laughs, her freckled face reddening fast and how she always gasps for breath, overcome by loud giggles. And the way that she kisses me, I have never felt anything like it, feathery soft as if I am on a cloud floating through the air, but with a fiery need like she would disappear if I were to ever disconnect. I feel her soft skin pressed into my chest, and her arms wrapped around my neck.

A strike of panic hits me in the heart, I can't lose her, she's everything.

I need to find her.

"ELLIE!" My throat burns in pain as I yell louder than I ever thought I could.

The pellets of rain around me suddenly spike in speed and create a loud cracking noise as they make contact with the roof of Ellie's car. Heavy droplets fall from my dark hair, some dripping down into my eyes and blurring my vision.

A bolt of lightning cracks on the black pavement, and a shout of shock falls out of my lips as the sound deafens me. I clap my hands over my ears, unable to withstand the painful ringing now coursing through my brain.

In the new, blinding light of the lightning bolt, I could see a tiny figure running across the pavement. The illumination lights up on a mess of bright red hair, and I feel my heart leap up into my throat as the red-headed silhouette turns towards me.

It's Ellie, still strikingly beautiful even with tears streaming down her freckled face.

"Clay?" Her voice, painstakingly distant, calls out to me from afar. My heart aches in my chest almost as if it burns to leap out of my body and chase after her in the rain, like I should have done earlier.

She had poured her heart out to me, and I had just sat there like an idiot. When she kissed me goodbye, I had to clench my fist closed so tightly that my nails drew blood, just to stop myself from crying.

I didn't want her to see me cry. If she did, the sadness would become mine for her to deal with. It was my job to protect her, not the other way around. Knowing her, she would push her feelings aside to comfort me. I could not let her do that to herself.

I tried to reach out to her, I really wanted to help, but she had slapped me away. Because of that, I was too scared to try again, just like how I was too scared to chase after Hannah.

Never again.

"Ellie! Over here!" I yell, my throat screaming in pain like someone had rubbed sandpaper down it.

She screams my name again, this time quieter with a dejected tone, more of a question than a yell. I start to run towards her frantically. My feet fly under me so fast I can barely even feel them anymore, ignoring the puddles of water traveling fast through my shoes and into my socks.

With a sob of frustration, Ellie turns on her heel towards the hospital. My heart breaks and I pick up my pace, sprinting to her before she can reach the doors. Before I can reach her, she begins to run as well. I can no longer feel my legs, now churning even faster, as I run faster than I have ever run in my life.

Eventually, I grow close enough to see her hair in the wind, still a beautiful, vibrant red color in pouring rain. She stands at the hospital door, and looks forlornly over her shoulder before turning away.

"Stop!" I call out as her hand touches the knob. She whips around, unable to see me in the darkness that surrounds us.

"Hello?" Her voice is broken and fragile.

My heart aches and I have to compose myself before speaking. "Ellie, please." I want to say more, but my lungs suddenly scream for air and I am forced to cut myself off, keeling over to collect my breaths.

"Clay," she sobs. With a great sigh, Ellie closes the distance between us, somehow finding me in the dark and colliding into me. The air is knocked out of me again and I wheeze as she slams into my body, wrapping her arms around my neck.

Her warmth combined with the stinging cold air both seep into my wet clothes and I breathe in her scent, never more grateful for the vanilla and coffee wafting over me. My hands pull her closer to me and she sinks into my chest. I simply hold her, swaying slightly as the rain continues to pour around us.

I can feel her tears on my shoulder as she buries her face into my neck, trying to conceal them, and hold her even tighter.

"You're okay," I whisper, "don't cry, beautiful. I'm here. I'm always gonna be here."

She lets out another sob, but a grateful one, and starts to pull away gently. I let her separate from my embrace to wipe the tears from her eyes, my hand falling down to lace with hers.

Ellie looks down at our hands then brings her teary brown eyes up to meet mine. "Thank you for coming back for me." Her voice is gentle and grateful, and she smiles through her tears.

I lift my arm up to hover between us, still holding her shaking hand. "How could I not? It's you."

With a wry laugh, Ellie moves her gaze back down to our hands as I rub small circles into her thumb.

"My parents don't know about you," she says blunty.

"That's fine," I immediately state, even though I feel slightly startled by the news. We have been dating for at least three months, why do they not know?

"You're sure?" She asks with such a sad look in her eye that it takes every piece of strength in my body not to tackle her into another hug.

I smile fondly at her. "Of course I am. Let's go in."

Ellie nods and bites her lip, her eyes darting around aimlessly. I know by now that this means she was in deep thought, and I simply hold the door ajar until she falls out of her trance.

She gives me an odd look before ducking under my arm and entering the hospital. Though it was only for a fleeting moment, I feel startled by the fear in it.

Her eyes were wide and still full of tears, but there was a fear in the background of her tears, like a deer caught in the headlights. There were layers of anxiety and unease, but I was not so surprised by that, considering her father was in the hospital. What really scared me was what looked almost like a hard glint, a look of deep mourning interlocked with shades of foreboding.

Pushing my anxiety away, I let Ellie's soft scent of vanilla and coffee calm me. She halts in place, frozen in the hospital lobby, decorated wall to wall with blinding white colors and polished tile, far too clean for me.

A business woman, blonde and impossibly tall, stands in the corner of the room with a look of undisguised boredom. She looks annoyed, sliding me a judging gaze before returning to her phone.

Besides the woman, staring at Ellie with his eyes as wide as saucers, was Max Dwyer. He takes a step forward and I immediately jump into action, giving him a look of clear suspicion and moving next to Ellie, blocking her from his view.

I let my hands fall to the small of her back, gently coaxing her over to the secretary's desk. She shakes her head, coming out of her trance, and smiles weakly at me.

Giving her a bright, reassuring grin, I wait before dropping my smile instantly when she looks away so I can glare daggers at Max. He does not look intimidated in the slightest, barely even addressing me as his eyes stay glued to Ellie.

The secretary slides a piece of paper across the white desk, which Ellie signs without a word. She reaches out a shaking hand for me, and I immediately take it in my own. Max finally moves his gaze away from her and sticks a threatening glare at me.

I keep my face neutral, giving Ellie a smile as she pulls me to the elevator. My arms wrap around her reassuringly and pull her into my chest, her hands holding my wrists gratefully. The doors begin to close and I watch as Max Dwyer whispers something ineligible to the business woman, who snaps her phone off and marchs towards the secretary's desk.

Ellie looks absentmindedly at her shoes, and I hold her tighter as she takes a shaky, unsteady breath. My eyes rise to Max's, holding his gaze while the doors of the elevator close in front of us.