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Tears fell slowly down my cheeks and I let theer be afraid of releasing the my head down and into the wind, I walked slowly back toward my apartment I kneasn’t really my apartment but rather a haven A place where I think I was finally ready to heal

AS SOON AS I LET myself into the apartment, I knew someone was there

I froze at the threshold "O’Dea?" I called

"In here," his deep voice ru, I closed the door behind me and wandered down the hall to find him His coat and scarf lay draped over the couch and he was standing in the kitchen drinking coffee

"What are you doing here?" My eyes landed on the guitar case lying on the island and my heart sped up "Is that?"

O’Dea studieddown "The police returned it They wanted to release it to you but I convinced Calton you didn’t need to make another trip to the station"

A well of eut as I walked over to the case My hand tre one side, then the other And theninside, right where I’d left it Grasping the neck, I lifted it out carefully O’Dea sawto turn it one-handed for inspection and stepped in to help me I took in every inch of it as he held it up for me

There wasn’t a scratch on it

I focused on the personalization etched on the back along the curve of the body

"Music is the outburst of the soul" and your soul is beautiful,Love you always, Mo me off my feet She had known Whenshe needed to know

She’d knoas unhappy and all she’d wanted was for me to say it out loud so she could helpwith the need to keep theout in front of O’Dea I didn’t want to have a ed to whisper and hurried into the bedroos down I’d made the decision to let all the tears out whenever they wanted but not here, not in front of him

"Music is the outburst of the soul" and your soul is beautiful,Love you always, Mom

No, no, no, no! I squeezed ot pastit in

My heart was pounding so hard, the blood whooshing in my ears deafened me That’s why I didn’t hear the door open and nearly jumped out of my skin at the touch of O’Dea’s hand onin his unsure, unco not okay at all "I’rew shakier and shakier with each claiet out, leave me! I wanted to screaiven iven ive myself?

The sobs racked er

"Fuck, Skylar," I heard O’Dea whisper

I held up ently knocked it out of the way and thenaro

So I did

I cried, wrapped up in his strength, wondering if the tears would ever stop now that I’d really let them loose

IT WAS BECOMING FAMILIAR TO wake up in bed otten there It was still light out, daylight strea I re in Killian’s arain

Why did he have to be such a coruot up and wandered into the bathroo so hard Usingabout myexhausted fro area, stu on the couch, typing so on his phone

I’d expected to be alone

"You’re up," he said, his eyes assessing if I was going to have another meltdown