Calista sat in front of the great doors of her art gallery, hesitant to use the doorknob. It had been a while since she had touched a paintbrush m, talk more of going to work. Cameron and her little sister, Emily were constantly at her neck to move on with her life and this was her trying. Grief had eaten her up for two years and she felt guilty to put it all in the past. Moving on was like saying that the accident that had claimed her fiance’s life hadn’t happened, that she had not lost the two most important people in her life. To distract herself from those dark emotions, she checked the time on her phone. Belfer, her grandfather’s driver, had dropped her off more than thirty minutes but she could not gather the courage she needed to start all over again. “You can do this, damn it,” she scolded herself and pushed the doors open. She had forbidden anyone from pushing her wheelchair after she had recovered from the physical injuries. She had sustained a dislocation in her arm and

“The bus is here, sweetie. Aren’t you ready yet?” Liz called from the bottom of the stairs. She had a ton of chores to do afterwards but she didn’t want to think about them at the moment. “One sec!” Anna, her daughter replied, running down the stairs with a flyer in her hand. “Good morning, Mom.” “Morning, baby. Trust you had a good night?” They embraced, Liz running her fingers into her daughter’s auburn corkscrew curls. She still could not believe she had ever thought to doing away with her precious gift. Shane may have ruined her life when he abandoned her to raise their daughter alone but he had given her someone to love as well. The bus honked outside again and broke through her trip down memory lane. “I did. I also did all my homework while I was waiting for you at May’s house. I forgot to give you this though.” She transferred the flyer to her mother and waited in anticipation. Liz sat on a kitchen stool, skimming through the many details on the rectangular piece of pape

Calista sat behind her desk, feeling proud of herself for keeping her word. Despite her shouting match with her twin brother, she took some time to rebuild her courage. Their family dinner had been ruined and Belfer had taken her home. Her office was exactly the way she had left it. The cleaners could not have access to it because it had been locked for two years. At her command, they had it tidied up for her and she got to work. She was behind on so much and only an hour after her arrival, her desk was piled with invitations, requests and approvals to emboss her signature on. It was overwhelming for a mind that had been dormant for a long while. “Get Hudson in here,” she wearily said to her secretary through the intercom. She leaned into her wheelchair, her glasses almost sliding off her nose. She had hoped they would be temporary but now, they were a permanent part of her life. At the corner of her office, her unfinished painting was propped against the wall and covered with a

“No way,” Cameron disagreed, curling his lips at Kail’s suggestion. “I am not going in there tonight to watch you flirt with every female in a skirt.” Kail rolled his eyes childishly as Cameron drove his car into the club’s parking lot. “Dude, I don’t know what your problem is. Are you. . . are you gay? Is that it? Or not,” he took back his accusation when he saw Cameron’s scowl. He pursed his lips and thought of another approach to the topic. “It’s a club, man so it’s not my fault if there are women there. Besides, you enjoyed yourself the last time we were here.” Cameron looked away, afraid that Kail would discover how close the truth he really was. He had enjoyed himself because of that sexy singer. However, it would be pure torture to go back and stare at a woman who was taken. Did her husband even know what she was up to? What sort of man would allow his wife do such a demeaning job? It was none of his business but he could not help the bile of jealousy rising in his throat.

Huddling up in a stranger's car was the last thing Liz had expected to happen but the day had come with way too many surprises. For someone that fervently preached against strangers to her daughter, she realized she wasn't exactly the best teacher.“Is this the place?” Cameron's voice pierced through the silence in the car, causing Liz to drag her mind back to the present. Her eyes shifted from her hands to the building in front of her and she nodded slightly, confirming the location.The car eased to a stop as Cameron parked in front of Mrs Gladys home. From the dashboard, Liz could see it was way past 12am and she mentally braced herself. Nothing could help her escape the woman's wrath tonight.Stilling her mind, Liz pulled on the car's inner handle and got out of it. Cameron's eyes followed her movements as she made her way to the front door and even though she wasn't ready to admit it, she silently hoped he would go with her. Swallowing heavily, Liz dragged a deep breath and pres