Chapter Fifteen.   A finalized divorce.     Elliott.   I held his hand tightly in mine as we strode down the sidewalk together, the crisp, slightly cool night air blew against my skin, ruffling my hair, bringing with it the scent of the sea.   The tapping of my heels echoed on the asphalt as we continued walking, the comfortable silence stretching between us as we went. I wanted to ask him where he was taking me and why it was so far away from the apartment but I couldn’t find it in me to disrupt this peaceful stretch of stillness around us.   I sucked in a breath and squeezed his fingers in mine slightly.  Admittedly, I was getting a tad bit impatient. I had been waiting all day for this surprise.   It was as if he could sense my agitation, he glanced at me, his eyes twinkling in the soft light emanating from the lamp posts

Chapter Sixteen.   Back to Black.     Toxic: very harmful or unpleasant in a pervasive or insidious way.   Regret: a feeling of sadness, repentance or disappointment over an occurrence or something that one has done or failed to do.     Elliott didn’t know what she was doing anymore.   She was lost and it was showing.   She kept getting stares as she stood stoically in the middle of the cosmetics aisle of the supermarket, her dull eyes fixed on a box of Trojan extra large condoms. She had been staring at the box of condoms for five minutes now, trying to decide whether to get them or not.   The basket in her hand contained a gallon of milk, a box of Coco puffs, some grapes, a new razor and a box of brunette hair dye. She came to the store on a whim, being alone

Continued from the previous part.     ~     She was daydreaming again…   Dreaming, unrealistically. So unreal.   A memory, a long forgotten memory.   Kain was smiling as he opened the door to their new apartment with a flourish, pride evident in his movements as he held her hand and pulled her into the empty room.   “I know this isn’t the apartment by the ocean we wanted” he started, wrapping his arms around her, his deep melodic voice by her ear, sending shivers down her spine “but its ours, our little home”   Elliott looked around, at the obviously old but sturdy walls painted a soothing pale yellow, almost like an egg yolk, at the empty wooden floors in need of a firm polishing, at the wide windows that offered a nice overhead view of the town and the dark ocean bordering it,