So funny story...

For those of you that know me, know I'm accident prone.

Long story short, got home from work, walked into the garage, woke up in the back seat of my dad's truck heading to the hospital. Hit my head pretty hard, and this would be concussion number 4 if memory serves me right. So I hate, hate, hate, HATE to do this but everything for me is on hold. I'm absolutely delusional because as I was sitting in the waiting room, the ESPN magazine with the Hawks on it was starring me down, and I somehow, in the short time between the neuro tests and CT scan, fell in love with Tazer. This I blame on two people, Zigh and Jay. Zigh knows why... Jay because of well... A Sharp Contrast. HA!

Anyways, since I'm on hold because I'm a freakin idiot and hurt myself.... I'm sharing my addictions with you. I'm sure most of you already read these, but if you don't, seriously check them out...

A Sharp Contrast

Paper Perfect

Traitor

A Case Of You

The Dumbing Down Of Love

Feels Like Home

Scarred

On Thin Ice

And well you know... if you have any eye candy you want to send my way... feel free. My brain is already rattled, Sidney's thighs won't do much more harm... well maybe. I wish that's what I was munching on my Thanksgiving... oh dear.

Thanks my loves!

[sixty-four]

2nd post in the same night... hot damn!! =P Make sure to read 63 before 64 in case you haven't yet. And once again, thanks you guys for reading and commenting. The feedback really boosts me to write more. I'm happy to have this story up and running again! You guys truly are the best!!!

Max

I stared at her in disbelief. She called a cab and she was gone? GONE?! I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and typed up a text message and sent it out to a few dozen guys. I know it was a day off, a day to regroup after the end of the season, and I knew a bunch of guys were settling in to watch the Flyers, but I needed them. I was about to turn this in to a search and rescue mission. She couldn’t have gone far. She has no car, not a whole lot of cash, there’s only so far a cab can take you. Immediately I begin to receive messages back from the guys I had texted, all asking what they could do. I called Marc, hoping he could somehow run this mission. “What do you mean she’s gone?” He answered after the first ring. “I showed up and she told them I wouldn’t be able to come, and she left by cab. I have to find her Flower, why the fuck would she do this?” I stormed out the front door of he facility, knowing sticking around wasn’t going to do me any good. I climb back into my car and toss the flowers into the passenger seat. “I need you to go to the airport,see if she shows up there, I’m gonna race home see if she’s there. Send the other guys to Alicia’s, Diesel, Starbucks, the train station, just wherever. I have to find her.” “We’ll find her Max. Drive safe okay, don’t do anything stupid.”

I didn’t know where to go. I was a hour outside of Pittsburgh, and Lillianah had a 15 minute jump on me wherever she was going. I turn the radio on to a low rumble as I speed on the highway back towards town. I passed a few cabs on my way, and each time I would slow down next to them and look in, none of which were transporting Lillianah. Why the hell did she do this? Why wouldn’t she have waited a few more minutes? Hopefully she’s just going back home, hopefully she was just impatient . . . hopefully. I couldn’t think about what’s going on in her head though. Two weeks in rehab now she’s out on the loose. I could only imagine the absolute worst, and that was two options. She was either in search of drugs, or she was in search of her way out of western Pennsylvania. “Fuck Talbot, think positively!” Why wouldn’t she wait? Why did she rush out? “WHAT THE FUCK LIL?!” I slammed my hand down on the steering wheel and kicked up my speed a tad bit more.

When I got home, I didn’t even bother pulling the car into the garage, I left it part way in the driveway and part way in the street. I ran through the front door and yelled out for her, no response. King appeared at the top of the stairs and I walked up to him. “Where is she King?” I looked around the living room before making me my way up to the bedroom. She wasn’t here, and it didn’t look like she had been here. I didn’t know what to do now. Where do I go next? Do I just sit and wait and see if any of the guys found her? I head back down to my car and decide to drive around the block a few times, just to feel like I’m at least looking. My phone rings from the passenger seat and I lean over and grab it. “Hello?” “Hey Max, I’m at Diesel, no one here has seen Lil, where are you at?” I sigh upon hearing Sidney’s news. I guess it’s good news, this probably means she’s not out searching for drugs. “I’m just driving around the block.” “Well come get me, we’ll go look elsewhere, alright?” I nod my head not caring that he can’t see me before hanging up my phone. I pull on to East Carson and head toward what used to be my favorite place in town. Now all it is, is my own personal hell. How could one establishment turn my life upside down. It was there that I met Lillianah, and it will be there that I lose her.

I pick up Sid and we decide to head up to Mount Washington. I remember her telling me once that when she really needs to think she’ll sit down on a bench overlooking the city. As soon as we reach the peak my phone rings again and I have Sid answer it. “Where at? . . . we’ll be right there!” He quickly hangs up my phone and looks at me. “She’s at the airport, Flower is trying to stop her from going through security.” I had a feeling she would be there, but I didn’t want to believe it was true. “In my phone, the text message I sent out, can you call those guys and tell them we found her?” I asked Sid with a shaky voice. I wasn’t expecting my words to come out so broken, and I definitely wasn’t expecting the tears to fall from my eyes. Why was she doing this to me?

Once I finally make it to the airport, I jump out at the departures and Sid takes over driving to go park. I run into the airport and look around trying to find them, I don’t see them anywhere so I head down to the security check point. “Wow mom! Look two Penguins in one day!” A little boy shouts as I looked around desperately. A smile finally appeared on my face as I approached the small boy. “Hey there buddy, did you see Marc-Andre Fleury earlier?” He nodded his head vigorously. “Where did he go?” “He went through there to get on a plane and go somewhere,” he pointed to the metal detectors and I nodded my head. I gave the little boy a high five and pulled my cell phone out, calling Flower. “Where are you?” He asked after answering. “I’m trying to figure out how you got into the airport.” “You owe me $100 for the ticket I had to buy to get in here. Where do you think she would be flying? That would help me track down which gate she could possible be at.” I headed back up the escalator and made my way to the nearest airline ticket agent. “Philadelphia, that’s where her family is.” “Alright, I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” I snapped my phone shut and looked up at the women smiling at me. “I need a ticket.” She laughed and fluttered her eyelashes at me a few times. “To where?” “Philadelphia.” She typed away on her computer, searching for the next flight. “Next flight out is 9:30 tonight.” “I’ll take it.” She smiled at me again and typed away some more. What was taking her so long. I tapped my credit card on the counter, waiting for her to take it. “Would you like to ride first class?” “Nope.” “Oh!” She finally took my credit card and ran it. Finally with a ticket in hand I made my way through security.

Once I got off the tram and headed up the escalators to the main area of the airport I pulled my cell phone out and called Flower. “Dude there’s 3 possible flights to Philadelphia and they are all in different areas of the airport.” I looked down at my ticket to see the gate, A14. She told me this was the next flight out, so it would only make sense that this would be the flight she would be on, right? “Where are you at now?” “In front of McDonalds.” I turned around and found Flower standing there, rubbing the back of his neck. I snapped my phone shut and approached him. “Thanks Flower, for doing this.” I tell him before dragging him down towards A14 with me. “Hundred bucks,” he laughed holding his hand out toward me. “What the hell kind of flight did you buy? Mine only cost eighty!” “How am I supposed to mentally know which flight is going to be the cheapest? I just asked for the next flight to Detroit. Thought it’d be funny, thought I could flip the plane off before it leaves.” I shook my head but smiled, “you are a dork.” As we approached A14, I would see Lillianah in the corner, trying to hide from the people around her. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and she held a few tissues up in front of her face. I stopped in my tracks and watched her. What was I supposed to say? Was I supposed to be relieved to find her? Or pissed that she thought about leaving me?

She looks up from over her tissues and her eyes lock with mine. My breath gets caught in my throat as I realize for the first time all day how much I really missed her. She drops her head and covers her face with both of her hands. Her shoulders and moving and that only tells me she’s crying. I look at Flower and he nods his head toward her. I take a deep breath and make my way toward her. I stop when I’m two feet in front of her and she stands up and wraps herself around me. Now I’m confused. She’s running, but she’s hugging me. “Maxime,” she whispers so softly it nearly breaks my heart to hear her voice so sad. I bring my hand up and run it over the scarf covering her head. “It’s okay Lil. It’s okay, let’s go home.” She pulls her head away from me quickly and removes her body from mine. “Go home?” Now I’m confused all over again. “Yes, home, with me, where you belong. Why did you leave? Why didn’t you wait for me? Why are you trying to run?” I know that was a lot of questions to throw out at her, but I needed to know. “You don’t know what they were saying,” she whispered taking another step away from me. “Who? Who was saying what?” “They were all taking bets almost if you would show up or not. They were all watching to see if you would come. Why would you come for me though? I’m not worthy of you. All I would do is drag you down, and you don’t need that.” I shake my head and take a few steps toward her grabbing on to her hands to make sure she won’t leave. “Lillianah, I showed up. I was a few minutes late because I stopped and got you flowers, but I was there. You’re my life, and whatever you go through, I go through. You’re healthy now, and that’s all I was worried about. You didn’t, nor are you, dragging me down. Lil, I want to marry you and start a family with you. I want everything with you. Does that not mean anything to you?” She begins to cry again and she collapses against my chest, apologizing over and over again.

Once I have her calmed down, and I finally kiss her after two long weeks, she grabs my hand and we walk away from the terminal. “What about my bag? I checked it.” I look up to see Flower smiling at us, still holding out his hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll get it back. Come on, let’s get home.” We headed out of the airport and I sighed in relief when we met back up with Sidney and headed for the car. I almost lost the best thing that’s ever happened to me, again. I wasn’t going to allow her to do this to my heart anymore. I wanted to marry her, and I wanted to do it soon. I just wanted to make it official. I want her to have my name. Once she has my name, I know she’ll have my everything. I can’t lose her again. Flower takes Sidney home, and I thank them a dozen or so times for helping me. I open the passenger side door for Lillianah to climb in, and she’s hesitant at first. I give her a quick kiss and she smiles before climbing in. I head over to the driver’s side and jump in, starting up the car. I look over at her and smile, but she’s holding the engagement ring in between her fingers. I feel my heart drop at the thought of her giving it back to me. She’s already put me through so much in just over two hours, how could she give me the ring back now. I take the ring from her and clutch it tightly in my hand. But the next thing she does startles me. She holds out her left hand, palm down, with her fingers spread apart. “You’re supposed to put it on me.” I blink my eyes numerous times to see if she’s serious. “You, you want to get married?” She blinked back a few tears and whispered out a ‘yes’. I tried to hide the grin that wanted to make an appearance as I slid the ring on to her left ring finger. I leaned over to her and captured her lips with mine. Holding the kiss longer than usual. “I love you Lil.” “I love you too Maxime.” I headed out on to the road, excited to get her home, and excited for her to see my gift to her. That ring sure was going to sparkle against the piano keys. Life was finally on the right track.

[sixty-three]

Lillianah

I took a deep breath before stepping into Mark’s office. It was my official last visit with him, and it was up to him if I would be released the following day or not. I’d come a long way from two weeks before. Sure I still had urges for the drugs while being locked up, but today, I couldn’t even imagine snorting, smoking or injecting anything. It was a waste of a good life. It was just the fine wires I had to tighten up now. Mainly my relationship with Max. I had to stop knit picking everything wrong in our relationship. In truth, aside from the minor drug kickback, there was nothing wrong with our relationship. I was just looking for something wrong.

“Hello Miss Jenkins, how are you this morning?” Mark asks with a hint of excitement in his voice. Maybe he’s excited to see me leave, so he doesn’t have to deal with me anymore. “Ready to go home,” I laugh as I plop down on the big leather couch that I had become so accustomed to. “I think you are too,” he smiled and I perked up. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. “We have to go over some things though. Your transition back in to the real world.” I nodded my head as he pulled a few sheets out of my chart and approached me handing them to me. “There’s a list of psychologists I recommend in your area. I highly recommend you continue to receive counseling once you leave. Once a week is enough, but you can go more if you want. Now, when it comes to Max, and you have this sudden urge to run or do something, you need to talk to him first. You won’t want to, but do you want to end up back here?” I shake my head side to side, drifting my eyes down to the papers on my lap. “You need to develop healthy communication skills with him. If you want to be with him forever and have a family with him, you need to be able to tell him what’s going on in your head.” He was right, and I knew it.

“Who is picking you up tomorrow? Max?” Mark asked once my sixty minutes was up. “Yeah, he’ll be here at noon, but knowing Max, he’ll be here before then.” “Okay, good. Well Lillianah, best of luck to you. I never want to see you again, okay?” I chuckled and smiled at him as he offered me his hand. We embraced each other and I sighed in relaxation for the first time since this whole mess began. I was going home to a man that I’m in love with, and I was going to start my life the minute I place my hand in his. I had a wedding to plan after all.

My brain wouldn’t let me fall asleep. The wheels were turning and I was thinking about everything one could think about. How life was going to be like now, if I was going to wear wigs, if things will change between Max and I, finding a new job. The questions wouldn’t stop, and the more I pondered different scenarios they all ended the same. Max wouldn’t be there. Why would he put up with me after what I’ve done? He probably put me through rehab because he felt like he needed to so that he wouldn’t feel guilty leaving me. Or something along those lines. My mind wouldn’t stop working, and all of my thoughts were becoming jumbled, I was confusing myself.

At some point in the night, I fall asleep, but when I wake up I feel like absolute crap. All of my thinking caused a monster migraine, and I couldn’t even see straight as I climbed out of bed. My bags were already packed, so all I had to do was shower, say bye to Clarissa then head home with Max. I grab my things I had set out the night before and walked down the hall toward the bathroom. “Do you think he’ll show up?” I heard a girl ask another as I walked by. “I hope so. She needs him, but then again, two weeks without a girlfriend is long enough for him to stray.” I didn’t even have to question who they were talking about. I simply put my head down and continued to walk to the bathroom. I had to learn to block out the people around me. They don’t know Max, they don’t know me and they definitely don’t know our relationship.

Everywhere I went that was all I heard. Whispers in the hallways if Max was going to show up. So much so, I was beginning to doubt him myself. I sat in the lobby on top of my suitcase patiently waiting for him. I had a feeling it was going to show up early. I was hoping he was going to show up early, but as the minute hand got closer and closer to the ‘12’, I was starting to believe those who said he wasn’t going to show up. “Hey Lil? Where’s Max?” Clarissa asked after I stood up from my suitcase and peered out the front windows. I turned around to face her and stumbled over the words in my mind. She, no doubt, was here to be the spy, to see if he showed up. “Oh, he’s not coming because of his schedule, I have to take a cab.” I turn to the lady at the front desk and politely ask her to call me a cab. She gives me a sad smile and I glance back up at the clock. 12:01 PM. I sign my name and write down the time before grabbing my suitcase and carrying it with me out front.

Five minutes later a cab pulls up and he jumps out to throw my suitcase in the trunk. I turn back to look up at the rehab facility and see a dozen or so eyes starring back at me. They obviously proved me wrong. They obviously know Max better than I do. I couldn’t believe that I actually thought he would come get me. Who the hell was I kidding? I should have known when I called him, then he never returned my call. He moved on, just like that, two weeks, he moved on. I climb into the back of the cab and grab my wallet out of my purse. I look through my cash, then try and remember how much money I had in my account. “Where to miss?” Quickly calculating in my head I look up at him and smile, “the airport.”

Once I arrive at the airport I hand over enough cash to cover my fare and a small tip. The cab drive scoffed at me, but I didn’t care. I had to work with what I had. He didn’t even bother getting my suitcase out for me, he just popped the trunk. I grabbed my suitcase and hurried inside. I was well aware that US Airways is the only airline that has nonstop flights to Philadelphia so I headed there and walked straight up to the counter in the somewhat bare airport. “I need the next flight out to Philadelphia.” The lady dressed in her blues behind the counter smiled at me and typed away on her computer. “The next flight isn’t until 9:30 tonight.” I glance at the clock behind her head, it was just after 1 PM. “Alright, fine. I’ll take it.” I handed over my debit card and it was returned along with a one-way ticket to Philadelphia. I headed over to the escalator to head down to the security check point and stopped. I stepped to the side and watched as people headed down, excited for their vacations or dreading meetings. Whatever it was, and wherever they were heading. I stood there for quite some time just watching people. What was my reason for being at the airport? Well it was simple, I was running because I was too scared to face the fact that Max had left me. He did leave me right? I mean he didn’t show up, he never called back. He is Maxime Talbot, superstar of the Pittsburgh Penguins after all. Why would he stick with a washed up ex-drug addict? Did the ring around my neck hold any meaning anymore? Probably not.

I headed back to the escalator and headed down. I got in line for security and numerous time I looked back up to the platform where I was just standing. A small part of me just hoping that he would be there, and that I would be able to see him one last time. I inched my way forward in the line, to where I wouldn’t be able to see up top anymore. I glanced back one last time, and I squinted my eyes upon seeing Marc. I shook my head and stepped forward, almost trying to make the line go faster. This wasn’t happening. Why was he here? “LIL!!” Marc screamed through the airport and everyone’s head turned, but I kept mine down. How did he find me? Why did he find me? Did he want to shove in my face that Max had moved on? I thought Marc was a nicer guy than that, obviously I was wrong about him too. That’s all hockey players are, assholes. I pleaded silently with myself as I adjusted the scarf on my head, “just let me leave in peace”.

[sixty-two]

Lillianah’s POV

“It does make sense. Do you feel like because of this new lifestyle with Max, you’ve let yourself go and that’s why you went back to the drugs?” I shake my head and feel tears slide down into my ears. I know what he’s getting at, but I don’t think it’s true. I don’t want it to be true. Max isn’t at fault for my stupidity. No one is at fault for my stupidity other than me. They say love makes you stupid, and it did for me, I just acted on my stupidity. “I don’t know anymore. Max has nothing to do with the drugs, it was the situation surrounding us. I was running from the fear of growing up, and I turned to drugs. Right? That’s what we determined?” I asked as I wiped my eyes and tilted my head to the left to look at him. “Is that the reason you believe as to why you went back to the drugs?” I rolled my head back to stare at the ceiling once again. “I am completely in love with Maxime, and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that, but I did. For some idiotic reason, I did. I overdosed twelve hours after he asked me to marry him. I mean look at me,” I shout as I sat up on the couch and placed my hands over my fuzzy head. “I look like a drug addict. Why is he with me?” Mark folded his hands over his desk and starred at me intently. “He sees something in you that you can’t see. He sees the good, and even through the drugs, and your overdose, he’s waiting for you to return home. I’m going to be straight up with you Lillianah, because we’ve talked about your relationship with Max everyday since you’ve been here. You said yourself that neither of you have been in a relationship and neither of you were looking for love. So if you weren’t looking for love, and he wasn’t either, why are you together?” I run my hand over my head again and the wheels in my head instantly start turning. “When I first met him, I didn’t want anything to do with him. He was just another random guy. Then we started talking, and we spent Christmas Eve together, and hung out here and there, and I found myself thinking about him constantly. Wanting to know what he was doing, where he was, who he was with, how he was doing, if he was thinking of me. He became an addiction.” He nodded his head as he wrote a few things down. Probably assessing just how crazy I really am. “You have an addictive personality, so you think you went to the drugs because your connection with Max wasn’t as strong as it used to be?” Suddenly things were clicking in my mind. That made sense. I don’t know how, or even why, but it did.

After my session with Mark, I headed straight for the sauna. I had a lot to soak in still and my stint in rehab was almost over. Soon I’d be going home, with hopefully a new outlook on life and a healthier lifestyle. I opened the door to the sauna and stepped in to see a man already inside, dressed in sweats, completely soaked. “I’m sorry, did you want to be left alone?” I asked as I stood in the doorway. “No, come on it, it’s alright.” I nodded my head and sat in the corner opposite of him. I pulled my shirt off and pressed my back up against the wood paneling. Luckily I was wearing a black bra, so nothing would become visible to the man across from me. “You’re that chick dating Talbot aren’t you?” He asked catching me completely off guard. “Yeah, that’s me.” “Why are you with him?” He spat out and I instantly frowned. Why was this always the topic of conversation? “I’m in love with him.” “Everyone in western Pennsylvania knows his reputation. Do you honestly think he’s faithful to you?” Who the hell was this guy? Why did he feel like it was okay to attack me like this? My hand flew up to the diamond ring hanging from my neck. My fingers began to play with it as I starred this man down. “He asked me to marry him. The Maxime Talbot you’re talking about doesn’t propose. The Maxime Talbot I know is a one woman man, and he’ll be here to pick me up on Sunday.” His laughter filled the room and it took every muscle in my body to hold myself back from beating the crap out of him. “You might have him whipped, but without you there, it’s easy for dogs to stray back to their normal ways. I’ll be completely shocked if he’s here to pick you up. He probably already forgot about you.” I had enough, I couldn’t listen to a complete stranger talk about Max that way to me. Especially after the therapy session I had. I pulled my shirt back on over my head and left the sauna.

“Excuse me, are we allowed to use the phone?” I asked the nice old lady at the front counter. “It depends on who it is, and all phone calls are monitored.” I could care less about that, I just wanted to hear his voice, and I knew he’d be free. No game, practice would be out by now, he’s probably settling in for a mid-afternoon snack by now. “Maxime Talbot, he’s my boyfriend, he’s also my emergency contact. You should have all of his information on file.” She typed away at her computer before nodding her head and placing a telephone on the counter for me to use. “Just dial nine to get out.” I smiled weakly at her, and my fingers scanned over the numbers on memory. I could feel the excitement grow in my body with the though of hearing his voice at any moment. It rang, and rang, and rang. “You’ve reached Max, you know what to do.” Then the phone beeped at me and I felt my whole stomach drop to the floor. Why did he not answer? What was he doing? Who was he with? Is he with a woman? I hung the phone up and pushed it back toward the receptionist. She gave me a sad smile like she knew. She knew exactly what Max was doing and why he didn’t answer my phone call. I smiled weakly back at her and headed to my room. Now all I wanted to do was just be alone. Try and avoid my thoughts, and wake up on Sunday morning.

Max’s POV

“Slow down there Talbo, she doesn’t get released until tomorrow at noon,” Flower chuckled as I sped through my post game routine in Montreal. We had just finished up our regular season with a beautiful three to one win, and tomorrow Lillianah was coming home. So not only was I on an energy high, but I was extremely anxious to get home. “I’m excited, leave me alone,” I shot back at Flower as my whole stall was now packed up, my tie resting around my neck. I looked around the room to see I was the only one shower and dressed, ready to go. “Come on assholes!” I jumped like a little boy who was ready to throw a tantrum. “Calm down son, Flower’s right. She won’t be there when you get home, no need to get your panties in a bunch tonight,” Billy laughed as he clapped a hand down on my shoulder. I winced at the pain but covered it up enough for him not to notice. I couldn’t help that I was excited. I missed her, and I couldn’t wait for her to see the piano in our downstairs. It was beautiful, classic, just like her. It was a perfect fit. I couldn’t wait for her to play me songs, for her to get back into playing. Soft key strokes filling the house. I just couldn’t wait. I knew it was late, but I figured I’d try calling Lillianah back again. I was in the shower when she had called earlier in the week, and I returned the call numerous times, only to be told she was occupied and couldn’t come to the phone. Yet again I was shot down, this time it was after curfew.

By the time we got back to Pittsburgh, I was still wide awake. I headed into the bedroom and unpacked my bag before grabbing my pillow and heading back to the living room. I needed to find a way to fall asleep. The sooner I fell asleep the quicker Lillianah would be back in my arms. It was my version of Christmas Eve. I laid down on the couch and got comfy, pulling the fleece blanket over my body. I had tried on several attempts to sleep in our bed, but I just couldn’t without her in it. It felt too big and cold for one body. My alarm was set, the TV was on a 30 minute sleep mode and I closed my eyes hoping sleep would instantly hit me. Long after the TV had shut off, I was still wide awake, starring at the ceiling. Lost in my thoughts, I couldn’t stop thinking about what she’ll look like, how she’ll sound, how her attitude will be. Has her hair grown out at all? Will she still have that raspy, sexy voice I love waking up to? Most of all, will she be cured of this deadly addiction? I just wanted her back so we could get on with our lives.

Sun beating through the front windows brought me out of my sleep. I looked out to see it was going to be a beautiful day in the city. It was as if Mother Nature knew Lillianah was coming home and she was smiling down on me. I grabbed my cell phone off the coffee table to shut off my alarm, but my eyes grew wide when I looked at the time. 10:45 AM. I had fifteen minutes to get off my ass and out the door. I skipped shaving, skipped the shower, skipped putting contacts in. I looked like a mess. I brushed my teeth as I pulled clothes out of my closet and tossed them on the bed. I glanced at the clock on the wall, 10:49 AM. Fuck, I needed to hurry up. I finished brushing my teeth, and quickly got dressed before heading back downstairs. I wanted to stop by a grocery store on my way to pick her up flowers, so I quickly locked up the house and left. I never felt so rushed before in my life.

Once I was on the road, I was able to calm down a bit. Excitement still ran through my veins, but at least now I was breathing steadily. Once I got off the highway, I pulled into a Giant Eagle and picked up a dozen roses. I knew they wouldn’t last long, but I didn’t want to show up empty handed. This was a big accomplishment for her. What women wouldn’t want to receive roses at the end? I pulled through the gates of the establishment and quickly parked my car and jogged up to the front door. I was ten minutes late, but as they say, better late than never. With roses in hand, I walked through the front doors and was greeted by the same woman at the front desk as the one I met the day I dropped Lillianah off. “Hi, I’m here to take Lillianah Jenkins home,” I smiled at her, bouncing on my heels. Where were they hiding her from me? I just wanted to wrap my arms around her, kiss her and take her home. “Mr. Talbot!” She said my name in shock and with wide eyes. I look at her with my eyebrows raised. “Lillianah left ten minutes ago.” “WHAT?!” “She said you wouldn’t be able to pick her up, so a cab came and got her.” I looked around frantically, this was a joke, right? Someone was playing a sick sad joke on me. “Okay, very funny. Where is she?” The woman tilted her head and pinched her eyebrows together. “I’m sorry Mr. Talbot, but she left. Here, she signed herself out.” She placed a folder on the counter for me to look at and there was her signature with the time next to it, 12:01 PM. “Did she say where she was going?” She shook her head sadly at me and I froze. She left? She was gone?

It's been a month...

Hello my loyal, lovely readers. I am very, very sad that this story has been on the back burner for a month now. A MONTH! I can't believe it! I could probably whip up a chapter for this real quick, but this story is my baby, and it deserves to be treated like a baby, it needs lots of time and absolutely no disturbances.

I'm whipping out chapters for my other story, Troubled Comfort, left and right though, because that's the inspiration I have right now. So if you haven't checked that out... that's what I have going on right now.

So thank you all for being patient, and I love getting the emails you send me letting me know you're still interested in this story. I haven't forgotten, I'm just waiting for life to calm down a bit so I can put my complete attention on this.

Much love,
Kristina

Go Pens! Go Kings!!