ELLIOT'S POV I alternated between regularly glancing at Zora and the road before me. It broke my heart to see her like this. She rarely ever was so broken and devastated as she was now, no matter the challenges she faced. The last time I had seen this broken version of her was when her father had died six years ago. She had completely gone to pieces and grieved in such a way that I began to fear for her physical health. I had done my best to stand by her, to offer the comfort she needed, but she had pushed me and everyone away. That was the beginning of the end of our relationship. I was forced to watch until she became a mere shadow of her former sunny self. After that, the communication gap between us kept widening until it became a chasm that none of us could get through. I turned a corner and once more glanced at Zora. Even though she was asleep, a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, taking some black stuff that was probably mascara along with it. It fell, leaving a da

ZORA'S POV In a thrice, Elliot was in his car and the next moment, he had driven off. I went back to the twins, led them into the house with my hands on the small of their backs. The moment they got in, they both climbed tiredly onto the sofa. I felt my heart wrench at that, seeing their stooped little shoulders and their weary look. Usually, Finn and Freya would not sit still unless asked to. This brought back my concerns about their physical well being. They had said they were okay, but I wanted to be doubly sure so I would know if one or all of them needed medical attention. "Tell me kids," I said, looking at them closely. "Do you hurt anywhere? Think carefully before you answer. I want to be sure you are okay so I will know what to do. Did the driver touch any of you anywhere he wasn't supposed to?" As one, they shook their heads. Freya had a thoughtful expression on. Then she said, "No, he didn't but I remember that he slapped Finn... hard." I sucked in a breath. "He d

ELLIOT'S POV"Yes, Drew. I'm here," I said in response to Drew asking why I was silent for so long. "Good," he continued. He paused, trying to get back his train of thought. "Yes. So, I got there and it was no surprise that I first encountered Katherine. She told me Zora and the kids went to the hospital, so a doctor could have a look at the kids to be sure they were okay. Kathy kept me company while I hung around, waiting for them to return... Hello? Are you still there?""Still here," I muttered. Still here, I had said. That was a laugh. I honestly wasn't. My thoughts were miles and miles away and I was just barely holding everything in with a tremendous effort. I had sent Drew to Zora after all, and I figured it was my duty to at least hear what he had to report. And so I reined in my emotions and lied that I was still here. "...came in, looking radiant." Drew continued. In my abstraction, I had missed some of what Drew said, but I didn't bother telling him to repeat it as I a

ELLIOT'S POV I disconnected the call at once. I glanced at the empty spot beside me on the bed as I remembered all that had happened last night. "Shit! Dam!" I muttered under my breath. In a bid to vent out my anger and frustrations, I had no doubt complicated the situation at home, with Sharon. I dashed into the bathroom, adjusted the temperature of the shower to really hot, and turned it on. I let the water sting my skin, bringing me back into reality. All the alcohol I had consumed last night had turned out to be useless after all. I still felt the anger slowly simmering on the inside of me, waiting for the slightest opportunity to emerge. However, by the time I had come out of the bathroom, I felt slightly better. I quickly got dressed and headed out, buttoning up my shirt on the way. Sharon was standing at the entrance of the living room when I got there. "Hi," she said, eyeing me with a little uncertainty. She looked as though she did not know how to approach me this

ZORA'S POVI was slowly sinking into depression. I knew it and yet there was nothing I could do about it. How else could I possibly handle all that had been going on in my life? I felt drained and miserable more than ninety percent of the time. I forced myself to mechanically perform my tasks day in and day out. It had been one whole week since I had broken up with Derek. One week since he had walked out of my front door without once looking back. He hadn't taken any of my calls or responded to any of the numerous voicemails I had sent him to apologize. I had lost a friend because I was too cowardly to draw the line in our relationship in the first place. Elliot, the reason I had left Derek, had suddenly picked this time to act like a complete asshole. The last time I was at his office, he had more or less thrown me out. He had not even called once to apologize for his behavior and now, I didn't think he would. I could not remember the last time he had been so cold, so frigid towa