Split

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PART 13

Martha tried to stop herself from crying but she couldn’t. Everything was wrong, everything was confusing and she just didn’t know what to do. She still loved Jack, she knew she did, but she couldn’t take him back. Not after what he had done. It just hurt so much. Each time she saw him she really wanted to believe that he hadn’t cheated, that he hadn’t ruined their relationship, but all the evidence was against him. She had seen the pictures. How could she deny it?

It was getting dark and Julia crept around the side of Tony and Beth’s house. There were no lights on, no movement, so she knew everyone was out. She came to the window she had been looking for: Jack’s bedroom. She gently eased it open, knowing that he never locked it. The house was still and dark and she gently, but quickly climbed inside. She headed for the wardrobe and opened the cupboard door.

“Bingo!” she said softly as she viewed its contents. Quickly, she started to remove a few t-shirts, some trousers, and a jacket. Getting the clothes was proving far easier than she had thought. Originally, she had pictured herself breaking into Jack and Martha’s apartment, which would have been quite difficult. But she had been lucky to see Jack chucked out by Martha, to have seen him move into his Dad’s house. It was then that she had realised how easy her job would be. She knew that she’d be able to find some clothes in his room at his Dad’s; she had seen him enter the house with a suitcase.

She finished folding the clothes into the big bag that she had brought with her and then went into the living room. Looking around she quickly spotted the bookshelves and headed straight for them. She scanned the shelves swiftly until she found what she was looking for.

Jack had been waiting for hours, sitting in the living room of the suite, and thinking about just how he was going to win Martha back. Finally the bedroom door opened and Martha came out with her suitcase.

“Martha…finally...” Jack started but then he saw the bags. “What are you doing?” he asked worriedly.

“I’m leaving.” said Martha, barely looking at him.

“But…where are you going to go??” stammered Jack.

“Away from you. I don’t know, back to Summer Bay maybe… I just need some time alone to think. Is that so hard to understand??” she was starting to get angry. “You went to Sydney when we broke up six months ago and I left you to it, now please do me the same favour.” She said, raising her voice. Jack conceded, he didn’t like it but he understood.

“Ok, but I’ll drop you off at the airport. Deal?” he asked.

“Fine.” Said Martha bluntly. Jack grabbed his keys and took her bags.

Julia pulled a photo album off the shelf and started opening it up. She flicked through it but suddenly stopped at a particular page. She frowned as she looked at the pictures of Jack and Martha. Together. Laughing. Kissing. It made her sick. She knew she shouldn’t but she was angry. She slipped out the photos and started to rip them up, putting the pieces in her bag. She destroyed every picture of them together and she stole every picture that contained only Jack. Once she had searched through all the albums she sneaked back into Jack’s room and climbed out of the window, closing it as she left. She had got everything she needed. Everything was working out to plan…

Hope you liked the chapter! Please tell me what you thought!

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Sorry! This is quite a short chapter but I will be updating soon!

PART 14

Jack watched Martha board the plane, his heart breaking as she left. They had agreed that she would go back to Summer Bay and he would go Sydney so that they could both have their own space. Jack had hated talking to Martha like this. It had all been so polite, so forced. He just wanted to hold her but he knew that he was just lucky that she was even speaking to him in the first place so he didn’t push it.

Julia approached the dark haired man in the café. God he really does look quite like Jack, she thought surprised. She went up to him.

“Hi!” she said, flashing him a smile, “I believe you are Marcus Felons?”

“Yes,” he replied, “I heard that you needed my services?”

“Yes I do,” Julia said excitedly “You’re going to be perfect for the job!”

She sat down.

“OK, this is what I want you to do. I need some pictures of you and me in a very compromising position. But I need it to look like you are someone else. Do you think you could handle that? I’ll pay you well…” she said as she removed a bundle of notes from her handbag.

“How much?” said Marcus.

“5, 000 dollars.” Said Julia firmly.

“Where should I meet you?” said Marcus, a grin on his face.

“9 o’clock tonight.” Said Julia and with that she stood up, shook Marcus’ hand and walked off.

Martha finally got off the plane and was happy to be on solid ground again. She was just glad that Jack had agreed to give her some space.

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I'm so sorry that i haven't posted in a while!!! Please tell me what you think! Any constructive criticism is welcome and of course complements are welcome too!! I love reading all the reviews so please comment!

PART 15

Martha stared out to sea. She had found herself at the cliff where she and Jack had first kissed. Despite the fact that she was still scared of heights she sat close to the edge. The views were just so beautiful up there. Her thoughts were mainly of Jack. Of what they had been through; of what he had done.

She sat thinking of all the good times; their first kiss, their first date. It had been amazing, she had never remembered feeling that strongly for someone before. But what puzzled her was that she just couldn’t imagine Jack cheating on her. She didn’t believe that Jack would cheat on anyone; she had always thought of him as trustworthy in that respect.

She wanted to believe him; she really did; and her mind was starting to go through the last few weeks; searching for a clue or sign telling her that the evidence wasn’t 100% conclusive. And honestly, she was starting to doubt Julia. After all, Jack had said that they had only kissed; that they hadn’t actually slept together; and Julia’s photos had only shown them kissing, she had only implied about the rest.

Martha was suddenly disturbed by her thoughts when she heard someone’s footsteps behind he. She turned and looked up.

“Lucas?” she said surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought you would probably be up here.” He said.

“Yeah” said Martha, unsure of why he had come to see her. “Is there a problem? Anything I can help with?”

“I just came to talk to you. About Jack.”said Lucas. Martha groaned; it was bad enough that he was taking over her thoughts, let alone her every conversation. Everyone had been asking her about him; about what had happened between them.

“Listen I know Jack didn’t cheat on you.” Said Lucas surely. “He wouldn’t do that, it’s not his style.” Martha remained silent.

“He’s never cheated on any of his girlfriends before and he certainly would have never cheated on you.” He said.

“Oh, and why’s that?” asked Martha sceptically.

“Because he loves you.” stated Lucas. “When he was still living with us he never stopped talking about you. He was always saying how he felt like the luckiest guy alive to be with you. When you phoned or came round he would always have the biggest smile on his face. When you needed him he would drop everything and go rushing to you, even if it was something small. And do you remember when you first took him back?” Martha nodded.

“Well he said to me that he was never going to do anything that would ruin the relationship again. He thinks you’re amazing Martha. I mean I’ve lived with him my whole life and I’ve never seen him fall for someone as much as he has fallen for you. I know you saw pictures but they might not have been what they looked like. Jack wanted to marry you; he would never have cheated on you.” Lucas finished and then got up. He was about to leave but he turned around and said:

“Before you turn him away think about it. If not you could make one of the biggest mistakes of you life because I know how much you love Jack. The kind of love that you two have is the kind of love that people spend their whole lives looking for. Just don’t throw it away that easily.”

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PART 16

Martha sat, looking out over the sea after Lucas left. What he had said had made her think more clearly and she now knew what she had to do. She was going to find where Julia lived and she was going to make her prove that her and Jack had slept together. If there was no concrete proof she would take Jack back. After all, she trusted him over Julia. She just really hoped that there was no proof…

However, as she was walking towards the surf club she collided with Julia. Apparently, finding her wasn’t a problem after all. Julia ignored her and started to walk away, a smile on her face.

“Wait, Julia!” Martha cried out. Julia rolled her eyes and then turned around with a sweet smile on her face.

“Hi! Martha! Sorry didn’t see you there!” she said fakely. Martha wasn’t impressed, she could see right through Julia’s act. There was definitely something weird about this woman she thought to herself. As she looked Julia up and down she thought to herself that she really wasn’t Jack’s type. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking, thought Martha.

“Hi, I actually wanted to ask you a question…” said Martha

“OK, shoot” said Julia.

“Well I want you to prove that you slept with Jack.” said Martha challengingly. Julia looked at her surprised.

“But I showed you the pictures…” she said, acting confused.

“Yeah well technically you were only making out in those pictures….” said Martha. “That’s not proof that you slept with him.” She pointed out.

“Well fine, if you really want to see them I have some pictures of us…later on… when do you want to see them?” asked Julia.

“Now actually” said Martha bluntly.

“Fine.” Said Julia “I’m just sorry you’re going to have to see it this way…” she smile sweetly. This woman is pure evil, thought Martha to herself.

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Sorry this is a short one! Please comment!

PART 17

Julia drove Martha to her apartment, trying to keep the smile that kept coming up on her face hidden. She kept having to remember that she was supposed to be acting sympathetically.

Martha started out of the window, she couldn’t bear to look at the conceited smile that Julia had on her face. She just hoped that Jack was as trustworthy and she thought he was…

Julia stopped the car outside a block of flats overlooking the sea. This woman must get a lot of money, thought Martha. Julia led Martha through the lobby and up the stairs to her apartment. Martha stepped in and was amazed. The apartment was huge and the décor clearly expensive. Julia smiled at the look on Martha’s face. She loved to flaunt her wealth.

“Ok, let me just go and get them, I’ll be one minute.” Said Julia and she want into her bedroom. She went to her bedside table and opened the draw. On top was am envelope and she took it out, smiling to herself. Finally, she was going to get Jack back.

She entered the living room and Martha was starting to get a sick feeling in her stomach; Julia was just too confident. Julia opened the envelope.

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I haven't checked it so there are probably a few mistakes! I love reading the comments so please tell me what you think!

PART 18

Julia removed the photos and gave them to Martha. Martha looked at the photos in shock. She couldn’t say anything and she slowly sat down on the sofa.

“I’m so sorry.” said Julia. Martha couldn’t speak, al she could do was stare at the photos which clearly showed that jack and Julia had slept together. It was Jack. Though the pictures never showed his face completely she could tell. They were Jack’s clothes, and she may not have been able to see his face too clearly but it was definitely him.

She looked at Julia and then got up, walking towards the door. Julia ran to her and snatched the photos out of her hand.

“What do you think you’re doing taking those?” she cried, looking at Martha like she was stupid. Martha looked at her in disgust. She still hadn’t quite registered what those photos meant and she wasn’t crying yet. She was leaving but she turned around.

“You know you really are pathetic. You go for other women’s men just because you can’t get your own don’t you?”

“Excuse me?” said Julia looking outraged. “No, I can’t help it if Jack thought that I was better than you, it’s really not my problem.”

“Well if jack is a low life liar then you two deserve each other.” And with that Martha ran down the stairs and out of the apartment block. She ran to the edge of the beach and sobbed uncontrollably. Then she noticed Alf approaching.

“Are you OK love?” he asked, clearly concerned. But Martha couldn’t face him and she ran. She ran to a place that few people went to. She went up to the cliff. She just felt so confused; she had felt so sure after talking to Lucas that Julia wouldn’t have been able to prove it, but she had been wrong. Lucas had been wrong.

Lucas walked into Jack’s room, intending to borrow a shirt for his date with Maddy. He opened the cupboard and was surprised to find that there were very few of his clothes left. He had been sure that there were more…

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PART 19

Over the next few weeks, Jack spent his whole time in Sydney thinking about Martha and Martha spent her whole time in Summer Bay trying to forget him. She didn’t know what she would do when he came back but she knew that they would never be a couple again. Not after he had cheated on her. The photos had been explicit and it had made her feel sick. She really couldn’t believe that Jack had done that to her but she was getting over him. It was difficult but bit by bit she was managing it. At least she had learnt her lesson. At least she knew now that no man could be trusted.

Lucas sat down and started to watch telly. The table was set, the food was ready and now he was just waiting for Mathilda. She was late, as usual, but he figured that she was probably taking a long time getting ready, and it was always worth it. She always looked stunning. There was a knock on the door and Mathilda entered looking fantastic in a short mid blue dress with ruffles around the edge. Lucas led her to the table and they talked flirtatiously over dinner.

“It’s a shame about Jack and Martha.” Said Mathilda casually as the dinner came to an end. She wanted to know more about the situation because she couldn’t quite believe that Jack would cheat. Especially not on Martha.

“I feel sorry for them,” said Lucas, clearly upset for his brother’s loss. “I just know Jack wouldn’t cheat…”

“I didn’t think he would either.” Said Maddy thoughtfully.

“Despite the new evidence, despite the latest photos that Martha saw I just know it. It’s not my brother’s style. And Jack loves Martha. So much.” Said Lucas slowly.

“I know” said Mathilda “Just look at the photos!”. She got up and walked towards the shelves. She grabbed a photo album and brought it back the table. They flicked through the album towards the back where they knew that the Jack and Martha photos were. But as they turned the pages all they found were blank spaces. There were no Jack and Martha photos.

“What?” exclaimed Lucas in surprise. “Where are they?”

“Maybe Jack took them with him…” suggested Maddy.

“No, he didn’t.” said Lucas quietly. “They were here yesterday morning…I was looking at them.” Then Lucas’ mind flashed back to Jack’s very empty wardrobe. He knew Jack had left more clothes in there than that. Why had all this stuff disappeared?

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PART 20

Mathilda left pretty early as Lucas was obviously not in the mood for talking. He decided to go for a walk to clear his head.

In the distance he suddenly spotted Julia. He looked at her in disgust. Why was she trying so hard to split Jack and Martha up? Couldn’t she see that they were perfect together? He suddenly realised that she was walking towards him. Great, he thought.

“Hi!” she said smiling fakely. Lucas just stared. He could immediately see that she wasn’t really Jack’s type. “Are you Jack’s brother?” she asked. Lucas nodded, wondering how she knew. I thought I recognised him from the photos thought Julia triumphantly.

“Hi, well I’m Julia, in case you didn’t know…I just thought that I would start to get familiar with my boyfriend’s family!” she said sweetly. Lucas looked at her in disbelief.

“You’re not my brother’s girlfriend.” Said Lucas bluntly. “He doesn’t love you, he loves Martha and he would never cheat, it’s not his style so I reckon you’re lying.” Julia looked shocked.

“Lucas I’m hurt that you would think that! I feel sorry for Martha, I really do, but me and jack just fell in love…we couldn’t help it.” She said softly. Lucas looked at her disbelievingly.

“Well I guess I better go...” said Julia, starting to realise that Lucas was onto her. She started to walk away but Lucas stopped her.

“Julia?” said Lucas.

“Yes?” answered Julia turning around.

“How did you know I was Jack’s brother? We don’t look anything alike.”

“Oh!” said Julia “I saw the pic….” She stopped suddenly, realising what she had just said. Lucas looked at her triumphantly.

“What pictures Julia?” he asked.

“Ummm” Julia hesitated “Some ones that Jack showed me." she lied quickly.

“I don’t believe you.” Said Lucas. “You were the one who took Jack’s clothes, who stole the pictures weren’t you?” Julia didn’t know what to say.

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PART 21

Lucas never usually even came close to loosing it at someone, but he was as close as he had ever come right now. Julia may not have admitted to stealing Jack’s clothes and all the pictures but he knew she had. She had left in a hurry and avoided his question, he knew she was guilty. It had only taken him a few minutes after that to realise why Julia would want Jack’s clothes. The realisation had hit him. Julia had set Jack up. She had deliberately split Jack and Martha up and now Lucas was determined to fix it.

Martha was walking down the beach, feeling happier than she had in ages. She finally seemed to be coming to terms with the situation with Jack. She was finally realising that maybe they just weren’t meant to be, she had decided that she couldn’t ignore him forever; after all he lived in Summer Bay too, so she had come to the conclusion that she still wanted to be friends with him. After all, they had had a lot of fun, despite all the bad times. They had too much history to just forget about each other.

Someone called her name and she whipped around to see Lucas running towards her.

“Hi” she said cheerfully.

“Well you seem a lot happier.” observed Lucas, glad that she was in a good mood.

“I am!” replied Martha smiling “So did you want something?”

“Umm yes…”said Lucas, unsure as to how to phrase what he was about to say.

“It’s about Julia.” He continued, “She set Jack up, he never really cheated on you, it was all part of her plan to split you guys up.” Lucas finished and looked at her. Martha frowned and then laughed.

“Listen Lucas, I know you love you brother and you want him to be happy but seriously making up these kinds of stories isn’t going to work. I have accepted the fact that Jack cheated on me, but I still want us to be friends, even if there is never going to be a future for us in any other respect. Besides, even if it was true I don’t really think that we could go back to how we were…I’ve kind of gotten over him and to be completely honest the feelings that were there before aren’t really there now. I honestly just want to be just friends with him now.”

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PART 22

Lucas entered his house and went straight to the phone. He dialled the number and waited impatiently whist it rung. Finally Jack answered the phone.

“Hi Jack, it’s Lucas.” He said.

“Hey little brother, how’s everything in Summer Bay?” asked Jack, clearly wanting to know how Martha was doing.

“Jack, you really need to come back.” said Lucas.

“Why? What’s happened?” asked Jack, suddenly worried.

“Well, Martha was having doubts about you cheating on her, but then Julia showed her more photos, only you’re in a really compromising position. But I know it’s not you, Julia is setting you up and Martha has fallen for it. Julia actually stole some of your clothes which I think she got an actor to wear to produce the latest pictures. But the worst thing is that Martha is getting over you, she actually just wants to be friends with you now.” Jack remained silent.

“Jack” said Lucas urgently. “The only way that she’ll realise she’s still in love with you is if you meet her face to face. Then all we need is proof that Julia set you up. Get on the next possible plane and head straight back here.”

“OK, I’ll go and pack now. Bye Lucas.” Jack put the phone down and started packing. He could feel Martha slipping away from him now and he needed to get her back. This time he would do whatever it took, he just couldn’t lose her. Again.

PART 23

Jack stepped off the plane and walked quickly through the airport. He had left his car in the airport car park when he had left for Sydney and he now chucked his bags in the bag, jumped in and drove off quickly towards Summer Bay. He couldn’t believe he was actually nervous; part of him couldn’t wait to just look at Martha, but part of him was worried about her; about how she was going to react to seeing him. He knew he had to work out how to prove that he hadn’t cheated; that Julia had set him up but he just didn’t know how.

He drove past the “Welcome To Summer Bay” sign and smiled. Finally, he said to himself. He was just happy to be back. He pulled up outside the surf club and decided to take a walk along the beach. He thought Martha would probably be working but he needed to sort out what he was going to say when he saw her. He walked right along the water’s edge and found himself wondering to his favourite spot; the cliff where he and Martha had first kissed. But as he walked down the path and the edge of the cliff came into view he was surprised to see someone else sitting on the edge.

“Martha?” he said surprised to see her there.

Martha turned around and saw Jack. She was as surprised to see him as he was to see her. Her voice caught in her throat as she saw him. She thought she was ready to be friends, but seeing him there, looking so gorgeous, brought up buried feelings. I really do love him, Martha thought. No no no, she scolded herself. There was battle going on between he head and her heart but her head was winning. She knew she had to ignore the feelings if she was ever to move on.

“Hi Jack!” she said smiling and she stepped forward and hugged him. Jack breathed in her scent and held her tightly.

“So” she started cheerfully, “how was your holiday?”

“Good thanks, but I spent my whole time thinking about you...” he said quietly. He looked at her. Martha was silent. She suddenly realised that she was staring at him and replied.

“You shouldn’t have! I didn’t spend my whole time thinking about you.” she said without thinking. She continued quickly: “but I did miss you and I’m so glad your back. It’s been kinda rubbish having my two best friends out of Summer Bay for the last few weeks. Tasha abandoned me to go the city and you went to Sydney. Actually, we were going to have drinks in the surf club tonight. Do you want to come?” Jack stared at her. He couldn’t believe she was pretending that nothing had happened and he was even more upset by the fact that she had just clearly labelled him as her best friend. A few weeks ago she had been his fiancée. He was astounded that she could forget what they had so quickly.