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Gavin felt her hands sliding down his neck as her warertips traced his pectorals and ultimately inched their way down his abdomen He couldn’t help but sht to him; it was utterly impossible not to As her hand dipped below the sweatpants she was now pulling off his body, he felt her silken hair drape over the flare of his naked hips Gavin sucked in a deep lungful of air when her tongue licked over his hardened arousal, swirling languorous circles along its tip With his eyes still closed, he fisted the top of her hair as her head steadily bobbed up and down - her reedily flicking for his juices He could hear the sound of her cheeks hollowing and unholloith each naughty pull she took, and - godda to take in the beautiful sight of the wo him off into absolute oblivion, he leaned hi back - her eyes wicked as she continued her exploration of hiainst his headboard only to find it was just a nighth his da out into a cold sweat as his eyes flew across his eh his chest, he sat up on the edge of his bed, and without hesitation, herooet up," he called out, padding into the kitchen where he started brewing so alcohol to hison his couch, but he decided to forgo it Before dozing off to sleep last night, Gavin decided to call Gina’s brother and found out that her whole story was a lie - one huge bullshit-filled lie that Gavin figured was soet money from him Her brother confirout in Mexico Gavin decided he would play a little game with her since he was never one to let anybody off that easily

Sheinaudible and pulled the blanket over her body as she turned her back to hi hi

"I’et you have a funeral to plan And, at this point, it rabbed athe tiured he would up the ante "I’ve never physically assaulted a wo ht her attention

Sluggishly, she sat up and rubbed her hands over her eyes "Why are you in such a rush to get

"You never did cease to a his head He took a sip of his coffee "Never"

She rose from the couch and walked into the kitchen, her body still lacking her jeans "Coainst his jaw He jerked away fro?" she asked, her eyes bulging "You used to love when I touched you You’re acting as though I’ on the counter, a frownabout you is contaet in the shower When I get out, if you’re still here, I will physically rerabbed his arm "I still love you," she cried out He yanked his arest mistake of my life, Gavin Please We can work this out"

"Like I said, when I get out of the shower, if you’re still here, I’ you myself" His tone this time said not to fuck with hi, he turned to face her again with a smirk plastered across his face "And, by the way, I’m completely head-over-heels, please-don’t-wake--drea you’re not and then souess I owe thanks to you for that Thank you, Gina, honestly Thank you for leavingupyou’ve ever done forsteady on his face, he graciously bowed in her direction, laughed, and turned toward his bedroom

"Fuck off, Gavin," she spat, her eyes wide at his final denial of her

With that, he closed the door to his bedrooh

The heavenly sh the air of the taxi Olivia and Eainst the vehicle, ru from the heavens, it was all E one

"I can hear your sto over the sleet," Olivia chirped "Here," she said, handing Eet to his place"

"But I want to eat breakfast with hi it "That was the whole point of els They’re his favorite"

Eht of the ht Ploorked furiously through the streets, trying to re it was the last two days of October, Emily was shocked by its assault, but nonetheless, she was also thrilled Upon waking, she retrieved afor the day, relieving her of having to go in Her plan was a surprise visit to Gavin’s place Knowing that he didn’t go into work until later in the rab a few hours with hiht, like you two are really going to eat," she laughed "Just eat the da her head, E up a mischievous brow "And then I’ll send him to work a happy boyafter I allow him to feast on other delectable itehed

Not realizing how hungry she truly was, Eh, I’runted as she stretched her arms out "Maybe I’ll become a teacher, so when shit like this happens, I can play hooky"

"You’d be allery"

"I could becoed and reached into the bag of bagels She snatched one out and took a bite "On second thought, you’re right I’d be miserable I don’t do kids that well"

Ehed

"Hey, buddy," Olivia quickly called out to the driver "I get off at the corner here Youthe streets are covered in potential death"

The gruff-looking driver rolled his eyes "I got you to your destination on ti over in front of Olivia’s workplace "You’re still alive, so no worries That’s 2250," he said as he turned to face her "Without tip," he added, sht back at hi in her purse "Yeah, yeah, I knoorks Keep the change" She handed hi the strap of her purse over her shoulder, Olivia turned to Eoing to eat breakfast and then fucking the shit out of your oes to work, what are your plans for the day?"

Olivia’s statement see at theh the rearview mirror

Emily’s mouth dropped open, her eyes wide "Jesus, Olivia"

"Well, it’s the truth," she laughed "And you’ll get in a decent aht around the corner from here So fuck, fuck, fuck away, friend"

"Okay, I’hed She leaned over Olivia to open the door for her "Get out, psycho"

Laughing, Olivia hopped out of the cab, nearly slipping on the slickened sidewalk "Get food shopping done at least"

"Yes, I’ll do the food shopping I won’t see you until later tonight though I have so Gavin at his office at five We’re going out to dinner to try and figure out this whole Dillonher head back into the taxi, Olivia cupped Emily’s chin, her eyes soft "And it’s a wonderful et that" She planted another quick kiss on Emily’s forehead, ducked out of the vehicle, and closed the door

Sighing, Eallery

Less than twointo her purse and pay the driver for the short distance Cautiously, she slipped out of the taxi and thanked him The door attendant swiftlyher his hand to help her navigate through the now slush-riddled sidewalk Digging in her purse once again, she went to tip hi that he washim, she shuffled into the lobby and headed for the elevators On her way up, she couldn’t help but laugh to herself as she recalled what the last two tih there was a steady flutter of butterflies tickling her sto her way down the hall to Gavin’s penthouse, E the doorbell That relaxation she had just been experiencing suddenly turned into aopen With her heart pounding in her chest - its speed that of a jackhammer - her eyes transiently followed suit as they swept over the wo but a sweater and panties

Over her now rapid breathing and sweat-soaked body, Eet out, "Who are you?"

With the tilt of her head, Gina eyed Emily up and down "I’m Gina Who the hell are you?"

Somewhere in the back of Emily’s ame flooded her psyche

"Besides, her name is Gina, and mine, of course, is Gavin - two Gs I think it was an o - destined to not work out"

A writhing ball of hurt tore through Emily’s stomach when she realized who she was Gavin made her feel like she stood a chance with him, but she really didn’t She couldn’t coreatest love of his life - the woh to want to marry

Without another word spoken, Emily quickly turned and headed for the elevators She wouldn’t go in to talk to hi and kept theoing to answer my question or not? Who are you?"

"Apparently, I’ address," she answered, badly wanting to cry

Wanting to know that she wasn’t nu

As it turned out, she needn’t worry that she’d lost her ability to feel because her heart was crushed like a pressed flower in a tattered book Her body desperately tried not to let go of the contents inside her stomach Her spirit felt defeated, broken, beaten, and torn - its assault brought on by a h to trust Worse, she was naive enough to believe he actually loved her

By the time the elevator completed its descent to the main floor, despite her best efforts to contain it, E the sht there in the els onto the floor as she dry-heaved repeatedly after throwing up Eistered the sound of a wo her hand over herthrough her syste flesh

As the heart of the world hu down the packed city streets, Eather her senses and tried to s her pain However, her wounds rang loud, like the rushing winds screaainst her chest, she found herself walking, her thoughts wholeheartedly derailed She made her way into a diner around the corner and took a seat at a table, her hands treid te the sleet-beaded coat froh her wet hair, and it was then that she completely lost it The tears flowed steadily down her cheeks as she tried to make sense of what’d just happened She tried to make sense of her toxic, muddied perception of who Gavin made himself out to be in front of her In her eyes, he was thebut words tainted with lies and betrayal The long road they were supposed to travel together was now riddled with pieces of her heart - pieces that he’d strategically placed there for her to trip and fall over He was everything she wanted, and apparently, she was nothing he needed

Nothing

He’d shown her what she really was to him - just another void-killer in his life

E she sat there in that diner crying, co in her direction By the time she hailed a taxi back ho as if it’d been sent straight through a grinder Eyes blurry from tears, she made her way into her bedrooed into a T-shirt and sweatpants

After brushing her teeth, sheroo Gavin had stabbed her in the heart He carefully ripped through her chest, exposing the pulsing red tissue with his lies, and no amount of sutures could close this wound She surrendered who she was for who she thought they were going to be together Nevertheless, none of it was real; it was all an illusion She trusted hiht she had decoded him But now, the truth was siht, and she had danced to the beautiful melodies he had played However, she would never allow hihout the day, she ignored nu how excited he was to see her tonight At one point, he called, but she sent it straight to voicee, she cleared it from her phone It was obvious to her that he didn’t know he’d been caught, and all it did was sicken her further

As her , a subdued knock cahtmare Gavin’s lies had created With dulled reflexes, she rose fro it, her heart suffered another devastating blow as her eyes met with Dillon’s He wasn’t supposed to be back until to there, but the words froze in her brain as the stretching silence between them enveloped the room

His words came out soft and reluctant as he stared into her tear-soaked eyes "Pleasetalk to me"

Unable to ht able to pass through her lips He tentatively lifted his ar an unsteady hand on her cheek, and wiped away her tears Her feet reround, but she broke out in hysterics as her body and mind fell apart under the pressure of two ht around her arainst hers She stu closed echoed through the apart to his knees, Dillon circled his arainst her stoan to cry E nearly killing her "Baby, I swear, I’, Emily God, please, I can’t lose you, baby I can’t"

E her mind At one point, Dillon was the reason she was still alive, but here and now, he was one of the two reasons she felt like she wanted to die She didn’t want to give hi that the man as on his knees before her actually loved her Gavin - on the other hand - tried, tested, and tortured her with his cruel and lying tongue, but her heart still ached for hihts in every direction There’d been a time when Dillon was picture perfect, but that had shattered, and all that was left were fractured pieces - a collage of what he’d once been in her world As she struggled to stay afloat in the poisoned waters that the day had sunk her in, she knew she couldn’t deal with any of it

Backing away cautiously, she looked down to hiht now," she whispered, her body treo, Dillon Please You have to leave"

Still on his knees, he buried his face in his hands His sobs piercing Eht down her spine "Emily, please I won’tkill myself if you leave , as he stepped toward her He slowly lifted his hands to cup her daive me another chance Look at yourself When I walked in, you were just as fucked up over us as I arabbed onto his wrists, he leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes intense "Let ood Let me make this better I was drunk, Emily You knoould’ve never touched you if I wasn’t I would’ve never, babe"

"PleaPlease, Dillon," she sta her head "You have to leave I can’t do - "

"No, baby, please listen to ainst hers "I kept thinking about the first ti about the first time we made love Do you reain, Emily Please"

She went to speak, but he wouldn’t let her He crushed his lips to hers She tried to back away, but hefrom his eyes as he continued his pleas "Do you remember what your mother told us before she died, Emily?"

Now she pulled away Her eyes narrowed on him while her sobs became harder She tried to catch her breath "Don’t you dare bring her into this, Dillon Don’t you dare"

He stepped forward, once again placing his shaky hands over her cheeks "She told us to take care of one another She told us to stick through whatever uphill battles life throws at us and to never give up on our relationship This isto leave"I can fix it andus back to where we used to be "

She stared at hi down her face felt like acid burning into her flesh Before she could answer, the sound of keys jingling in the door ripped their gaze from one another

Olivia walked in the apartment, the shock on her face palpable "What the hell are you doing here?" she spat, her eyes hardening in Dillon’s direction

Running his hands through his hair, he backed away froht now, Olivia"

"Letover to hi she was in no way intiet the fuck out ofthe cops And just to fuck with you further," she hissed, raer into his chest, "I’ll make sure to stick my father’s best friend - who happens to be the district attorney - on your ass"

Mentally depleted and her sto on her knees in front of the toilet Her body viciously retched up bile as a heavy flow of tears soaked her eyes

"You’re a fucking asshole!" Olivia screa her way into the bathroom while he followed closely behind her She hovered over E her hair away froet the hell out of here!"

"Dillon, please," Eet out as her body continued its assault over the toilet, the acrid taste in her ue "I’ll call you later - just leave"

He stepped into the bathroo to help hold Emily’s hair, but Olivia swatted his arm away "Jesus, did you hear what she said? Leave now, Dillon!"

He scrubbed his hands over his face, stared at Olivia for a second, and with his shoulders slumped and eyes downcast, he walked out of the apart of the door behind hi to her feet, she leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath Olivia gently took her by the ar it on, Olivia soaked a washcloth under cool water and ran it across Emily’s face as she continued to sob uncontrollably After brushing her teeth again, E as she ski for one in particular - a bottle of Valiuiven a prescription for after her mother died She filled a plastic cup ater and popped a pill into her ht roo onto the couch, she covered her eyes with the crease of her arm and tried to compose herself There were only three days in her entire life she’d re like this - the day her mother passed away, the day of her wake, and the day of her burial Emily’s nerves were shot and sizzled beyond comprehension All she wanted to do was fade away