robbing in my head a dull counterpo

tion, Savannah' s triumphant s

ven checked

st le

and bl

e marble seepe

back, unbidden,

had been relentl

ment with flowers, written

e blues club every nigh

ty, such adoration, it made me fee

red, his breath warm against my ear

res, whispe

elt so r

ur relationship, when a drunk to

arm, tried to pul

ing from a dark corner,

himself between me and the m

u took it on the jaw, a sickening c

t didn' t fall

dragged t

y swelling eye, but he just smile

ou, Ella," he'

for mine, without a though

s care was al

d bring soup and fuss ov

lues songs, his clumsy attempts on the

I talked about my grandm

ed my tears, celebrat

in a future I' d ne

harbor, my stau

distant memory, replaced

me with his body now shov

my every word now believed

st was a g

ed me, raw

nothing compared to th

rhaps he had never truly existed

d, compromised stranger

fully, I pus

and nausea ros

get to

p me. His family c

on m

e guesthouse, into t

beacon of warmth and comfor

iling a cab, my hand pressed to

s a heavy cloak,

om, a kind doctor s

didn't want to answer

head, tears bl

r the discharge pap

ah was apparently fine, h

on my head, the dri

hen, suspicion crept in. "Are you trying to cause m

Beau," I said, my voi

im the fresh stitches. "You

of it hung in th

red in his eyes – guilt, maybe

as quickly a

ng a hand through his hair. "I lost my temp

n back at me, his e

plicated. This is all necessary, for us, fo

justifications, his guilt quickly pape

he words were

ds, his excuses, the

ing, trying to make me unders

ah. "She needs me," he said

"I'll come back for you

I didn't believe any

were empty, b

, the words barely audible, but they felt like a

stopped, his b

moment, he

t, leaving me alone once more in t

gone. Utterly