JOE The ride back home was quiet, well except for the low hum of the engine. B.J hadn't said anything since we left the hospital, and I was beginning to feel a little worried. I wound the windows up, and turned on the radio, to dispel the silence that rocked the air. I wanted to get home as soon as I could. Truth be told, I had missed the comfort of my bed, and the quietness around the house. Since Ellen's arrival, I hadn't been able to enjoy any of those. It had been a problem after another. Maybe I should have let her walk away after the first time we met, and not given her a deal to play the role of my wife, although that hadn't worked either. Nothing seemed to work around her. My whole body ached for a long restful night, and maybe a cup of coffee. Either way, as long as I got to enjoy the silence tonight, it was going to be worth it. I turned the car into my street, and heaved a sigh, as I began to close in on my house. I was finally home with my son, a

DEVAN THE ACCIDENT Silence! It had been a long time since I had experienced this quietness. It had only taken a minute for everything to return to how it had been before. Matt ignored me now, Robb was busy about his own business, and Dad was busy drinking himself to stupor, while awaiting Mum's arrival. I was back to the life I had lived a few months ago. The solitude, the silence, and that irrepressible feeling of guilt and hate, clogged in my throat. I sauntered around the house aimlessly, bumping into Matt repeatedly, although we didn't say a word to each other. Maybe I should have said something though, but I knew Matt, and I knew how he loved to do things his own way. We hadn't spoken to each other since the issue with the photographs that morning. I knew how pissed and irritated he felt, each time he set his eyes on me. Fortunately, it wasn't something new. I had received stares worse than that, ever since I found myself in this family, and of

ELLEN The world below me was quiet, and illuminated. Lights shone from every corner, lighting up the most part of the town. But here I was, stuck in this shit hole, with no electricity. I struggled to find my way around with a torch, but it only aided minimally. I walked away towards the bath room, hoping I could take a bath, and rest for the night. I wondered how long I was going to be here. This wasn't a kind of place I was supposed to be found in. I took off my clothes, the one after the other, until I was bare. I stepped into the bath tub, and turned on the faucet, half expecting the water to gush out, but surprisingly it didn't. I exhaled deeply, and gave myself a moment rest before rising out of the tub again. The idea of getting a room to sleep in at a motel, was proving itself to be shitty. This had to be the shittiest room I had ever stayed over. The ceilings gaped, as if in surprise at my presence in the room. Rats, crickets, and roaches ran free a

ELLEN Woes, and the warmth of failure that I felt. I had failed severally in the past, but I couldn't afford another one on my list this time around. The clouds were gloomy, and a heavy snowfall threatened. I strode through the bustling streets, with my coat around my shoulders, and a cigarette stick that I had gotten around a shop by the corner. It was time to finally do justice to what I had avoided for so long. I stopped in front of the hospital, and inhaled sharply. I was ready to see Devan now. I walked into it, with my head bent low, as I strode towards the reception. When was the last time that I was here, two weeks, three weeks? I couldn't remember. I stopped at the reception, and pulled my scarf off, as the nurse stood there clearly snubbed me. "Hello," I mumbled, but she flipped through pages hurriedly, as if she hadn't heard me speak. "Ma'am, I need to see someone." I said, but she maintained a deaf ear, as she chewed her gum noisily. I was be

ELLEN I clearly didn't look forward to the break of day. I knew what Suzy was going to do, but still, I wasn't ready to succumb to her demand. It had been a long night, and as far as I could remember, I had barely blinked an eye. Suzy had barely slept also, as I had felt her toss from side to side on the bed next to me. She wanted to get her life back, and I wanted mine also. And there was no possible way I was going to sacrifice living the very life I had fantasized about living, just because she needed my help. That wasn't fair to me. That morning, I had gone about my regular business just like the previous night, and from what I could tell, Suzy wasn't interested in me, just as I wasn't also. I mean, we were both so different, but yet, there was this kind of connection that I felt like we both shared unknowingly. I was bent over a bag, as I arranged a few stuff I had left into it. Big Joe hadn't even been kind enough to let me come back to the house to