Prologue

September 1996

The ringing in her ears was much stronger than the sound of the rain, as it hit her windshield and the car.  It was a stinging pain that had started just moments before, as her heart had been ripped out of her chest.  As Grace sat in her car she tried to breathe, tried to focus on the rain, anything but the unbearable stabbing feeling of her heart breaking.  

        Jimmy and Grace were heading off to college, and they had decided to be sensible about their relationship.  They both knew that with him living on campus, it could undoubtably leave him tempted. Reluctantly agreeing to keep things open, Grace sat there still baffled at what he had just said.  How could he have done this just a week after leaving, she thought to herself.