Six

"So, what devious plot are we scheming today?" Lucas asks, taking a seat on the couch opposite of me. I invited him over for breakfast this morning, to discuss my thoughts on Ava's father, and the best way to teach him that he messed with the wrong person.

He took my life away from me. I'm going to take it back.

Starting by making sure her father gets what is coming to him.

And banishing him from Ava's and my life all together.

"We aren't plotting anything just yet, and this isn't going to get messy," I say. Lucas pouts a little, but I willing to listen to what I have to say. I explain what Ava revealed to me last night, about her father and the reason why they had moved over night.

"That son of a bitch! He just up and moved his family away, all because Ava was pregnant? That's absurd, who does that? Did he even know the baby is yours?" The questions come flying out of his mouth once I'm done explaining. I try and answer them one at a time, but before I can finish talking, he already has another question.

"Look, I don't know everything about the situation, just what Ava told me, and what I have now told you. That is why I called you, I want you to try and track down her parents. I want to find out the rest of what happened, but from her father. He is going to sit there and tell me exactly why he felt the need to ruin his daughter's life, and mine."

Lucas raises an eyebrow at me. "Well, I can see why he might want to ruin your life, if he even knew the kid is yours. You did kind of kidnap his daughter, and hold her hostage for almost a week, then she got into that accident–"

I hold a hand up and cut him off with a glare. "Thanks, I remember. Yes, you have a point, but he doesn't know Emily is mine, unless Ava lied to me. She said her parents have no idea who the father is, and that her father didn't seem all that interested anyway. It could've been someone the complete opposite of me, with a good reputation and name, and he would've probably still been just as outraged. I mean, she was only 18 for crying out loud."

Lucas nods as we both reminisce on the past for a few minutes. Despite the situation back then, everything had seemed so much more simple.

"Alright, well I better get to the office and start working on this. I didn't really have much lined up for the day, anyway," he says and picks up the chicken scratch notes I had managed to write down after I returned home from Ava's last night.

He bids his farewells and helps himself out. I finish my breakfast in quiet contemplation of what just happened, before I too head off for work.

As soon as I walk out of the elevator door and make my way to my office, Sandra jumps up from her desk and rushes over to me, a frightened and concerned look on her face.

This can't be good. It isn't even 9 AM, what could have possibly gone wrong already?

"Excuse me, Mr. Bradford, sorry to disrupt you so early, but a woman came in here earlier this morning, demanding that she speak with you. I tried telling her that you weren't in yet, and she insisted on waiting in your office until you arrived," she manages to rush out in one breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do, she seemed so demanding and–"

I already know who it is. Mother dearest.

I place a hand on Sandra's heaving shoulders to try and calm her. "It's alright, you did a good job. Take a break and cool off, I'll handle it from here." I smile at her and lightly push her towards the door. She looks thankful to be out of there, and rushes off towards the break room.

Taking a deep breath, I prepare myself and open the door.

I'm shocked to see a petite red head sitting in front of my desk, rather than a sour looking blonde haired woman.

"Amber? What pleasure do I owe this visit?" I ask and face her. She offers me a genuine smile and places her hands timidly in her lap.

"I'm sorry for being here so unannounced, but I saw something that I thought might interest the both of us," she says and stands up. She reaches her hand towards me, but I lean over and place a tender kiss on her cheek in greeting. Though I despise the way we have met, she still seems like a lovely woman.

"What do you have for me?" I ask and take a seat.

"First off, I want to apologize if I frightened your secretary. You might not understand, but I have a certain image I have to uphold, and it isn't exactly a nice one."

"You're right, I don't understand, but I would like to hear more about that. Why do you need to keep up a fake image? What's wrong with who you are?"

Her eyes shift away from me, and I know she is hiding something. The reality is, though, I don't know her well enough to be asking those kinds of questions.

"I suppose that is a story for if you decide to go through with this arranged marriage, after I show you what I have," she says, and reaches into her bag. She pulls out a clipping from a newspaper, but it looks like it's still in editing. I peer at the paper and suck in a sharp breath when I make out the image; and the people in it.

It's a photo of Ava and I, when I approached her in the parking lot by her car.

How the hell did someone take this? What were they even doing there?

I'm relieved to see that there is no image or evidence of Emily in the photo, just Ava and I arguing by her car.

"Where did you get this?" I ask.

"That is another long story. Would you like to join me for coffee? The café across the street looks darling, I've always wanted to try something like it." She bites her lip and looks down at her lap. I know the kind of person Amber is. She has grown up around immense wealth her entire life, and has been spoiled by her, no thanks to her parents.

She has never had to work for herself, or even lift a finger to earn a grand, whereas some people have to work and entire month just to scrape that amount. I imagine the only time she has left the house, is to go shopping, and even then, the internet has advanced quite a bit and there are now a lot of options for online shopping.

I also know, it isn't her fault she has had such experiences. My mother tried to do the same to Charles and I when we were children, but we quickly realized that she was only trying to buy our happiness, and blind us to that fact that she never really cared about us, and that was why she just gave us whatever we wanted, so we wouldn't bother her as much.

It seems to be the same with Amber, except she has been blinded. That, or she allowed her parents to give her whatever she wanted, so she could ignore their fleeting feelings towards her.

For me, nothing had been enough to ignore the gaping hole in my chest.

Until I met Ava. She was able to patch me up, over such a small amount of time, with just small things like her smile, kindness, confidence, and so much more.

I agree to have coffee with Amber, wanting to find out more about this, before any word gets out to either my mother, or Ava. If either of them are to see this, all hell would break loose, and either chance risks me losing Ava again.

I am not willing to take either chances. No matter what I have to do to avoid them.

I look at Amber silently when we sit down with our steaming cups of coffee. She looks around the café a little, admiring the little details and decorations, before she settles her eyes on me.

"So, I'll start from the beginning," she says and pauses to take a sip. "Were you aware that your mother has been having you followed since the day her and my father met?"

I nearly choke on my own breath. "No, I did not know that," I manage to say through tight gasps of air. "How long has that been now?"

"They met about two weeks ago. There is a man following you now, and has been all morning. That's why I made sure to keep up my image when I arrived, yelling that I 'won't be denied seeing my own boyfriend', and the whole 'do you know who I am?'. It was all very dramatic."

We share a small laugh together. I make a mental note to explain that to my assistant later.

"Where did you get this clipping?" I ask, and pull the paper out again.

"My father owns the publishing company downtown, that's one of the places he wants me to help co-run with him, so I can learn the ropes. Until, of course, the brilliant idea of running your father's company with you came into play." I can hear the slight disdain in her voice, and it peaks my interest. Does she not want this to happen either?

"Why are you showing it to me?"

She takes the paper from my hand and looks it over again. "This was taken by the man your mother hired to follow you. Hired you with money my father loaned her, because she made up some ridiculous lie about not being able to afford her mortgage, and that you had denied her money."

"That's a lie, I have easily given her a million-dollars' worth in loans this year, and she hasn't given me a single penny back," I growl, fighting the urge to slam my fist on the table in anger.

"I had a feeling, she seems like that type. Also, when my father's secretary was sending her the money, I may have bullied her into looking more into your mother's account, and I saw the abundance of interact e-transfers she has received under your name, and the amounts."

I stare at her, eyes wide and mouth hung open. She has a lot more her than I thought.

"I can't believe you did that," I mutter. She simply shrugs and looks back down at the photo.

"When I arrived at the publishing office that morning, and I saw that they were preparing to publish in next week's paper, I knew I had to say something before they did, to at least give you the chance to do something, before the storm hits," she says and hands me back the paper.

"Thank you, I'll do everything I can to make sure this isn't published. I don't want any negative attention to come to you."

I stop when she starts to shake her head. "That isn't exactly why I showed you this clipping, there's more."

"What more could there be?" I raise a curious eyebrow at her.

She takes a deep breath. "I don't want this arranged marriage."

I stay silent and let those words hang in the air and process in my head. I had a suspicion, but having it confirmed out loud was still a shock.

"Y-you don't?" I ask, trying to sound shocked.

Amber rolls her eyes and laughs a little. "Please, I know you don't want it just as much. As soon as I saw this picture, I recognized the parking lot you're standing in, and the girl in the picture. This was taken the night we went to the carnival, when you suddenly ditched me for an hour."

I gulp and try to avert her gaze, looking down at my now cold coffee.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't expect to run into her. But, wait– you recognize this girl?" I ask, rewinding back what she said and pointing to Ava in the slightly blurry photo.

Amber nods. "I know a lot more than you think, Ashton. About both you, and your past. My father of course had someone do some digging on you and your family, when your mother proposed the arranged marriage between us. He found out some pretty interesting things, that I also know your mother wasn't completely aware of."

My blood ran cold in my veins and the hairs on my neck stood up. Just exactly what had her father discovered about me, and my past? If she recognizes Ava through just one photo, there's a big chance he discovered too much.

"My father never likes to tell me things, but I know him too well. I had a hunch that he did some research on you, so after he told me about the arranged marriage and your name, I broke into his office and looked through some of his files, and found a folder with all the information he had on you. There were several pictures of you and Ava," she pauses and a slow smirk slides across her face. "During and after you kidnapped her."

I inhale in a sharp breath and look around the café to make sure no one is within hearing distance of us. Everyone seems to be stuck in their own world, paying no attention to anything other than their own bubble.

"Just how much did you find out?" I ask in a low voice, leaning over the table towards her. She puts her coffee down and leans in to meet my eye.

"A lot more than you want me to know, but don't worry," she says and leans back, crossing her arms and admires her nails. "I'm not here to blackmail you or anything."

"Than what do you want?" I ask, wanting to get the hell out of here and deal with this new disaster waiting to happen.

"I want to make a deal. I want out of this arranged marriage as much as you probably do, but we both know that isn't as easy as it seems. I have a lot more at stake than you do, if I don't agree to this," she says and narrows her eyes.

"What does that mean?"

She lets out a frustrated breath. "I have no job, no income of my own. But that doesn't mean I don't have goals and aspirations. As typical as it may sound, I have always dreamed of being a model, and maybe one day with time and experience, an actress. I have always loved the industry, but it obviously takes a lot of talent and money. My father is willing to give me whatever I want, but now he is pressing me to make something of my life, and that something is nothing close to what I want."

Amber stops and looks down at her lap with a sad frown.

"Marrying you is just another push to become more sophisticated and responsible. His idea before this was to send me to school for like five years, to study business and other legal crap or something, which I was totally not going for," she says and sneers in disgust.

"So what kind of deal do you want to make? Why do you need me?"

"I have a plan, that of course is mainly for myself, since I mentioned I have more at stake than you do, and part of that is my allowance. I have almost saved up just enough money to move away, but I just need a bit more time to continue to convince my father I'm on board with this idea, so I can keep my allowance until I have enough," she explains.

I lift an eyebrow at her, wanting to point out how spoiled she sounds.

"I know, that sounds horrible, but it's my life. My father doesn't want me slaving away at some minimum wage job, and wants me to focus on becoming a member of the business world, his world. Therefore, he gives me whatever allowance I want, to let me get whatever I ask for."

"So, let me guess. You want to keep up this act to for your father, and once you have enough money to leave, you're going to disappear, and therefore allow this whole thing to fall apart?" I ask and she nods quickly, a hopeful smile making its way onto her face. "How do you not expect your father to find you? You don't think he won't try and track you down?"

"Trust me, I'm moving far enough away that he won't ever be able to find me, until I've already established my name into the model industry, enough that there isn't anything he can do about it at that point," she responds confidently.

I lean into her again. "What exactly did you read about me in your father's files?" I ask.

She frowns in confusion, but answers. "Well, nothing other than when you were a teenager, you and other colleagues kidnapped Ava White for a ransom from her father."

It doesn't seem she or her father know the entire story, but he dug up enough to tell me he has expert research skills, or whoever he hired to do the deed does.

"I'll let you in on a secret," I say and she leans in closer to me. "I was a bounty hunter," I say quietly, causing her to gasp and look at me with wide eyes. "My name was never attached to my work, it was kept completely private from society. To the world, I was just your average teenage boy, registered in a fake business course in a University I never once attended."

I see her gulp and bite her lower lip nervously.

"The fact that your father was able to find out the little amount he did, means he has many excellent ways of getting the information he wants. I of many people understand that, since I have used the skill quite a few times myself." I smirk at her, and it just deepens the look of worry in her eyes. "Can I suggest something?" I add.

She nods slowly.

"Change your name, legally, to something completely different than your name now. Change your hair color, if you're willing to go that far, do whatever you can to try and live a different life. If you're father no long has your name, there is less a chance he will find you."

Amber seems to think over what I say, and starts to nod. "Yeah, you're right. That just might work," she says quietly and looks up at me with genuine kindness in her eyes. "Thank you, Ashton. You've helped me feel better about this."

"It's no big deal," I say, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"You know, I think it may have worked out on my end, if we had met differently. You aren't such a bad person, and don't look so bad either." She winks playfully, and I let out a small chuckle.

"It was a pleasure meeting with you Amber, and if it really helps you out, I will agree to this plan of yours. We can talk more about it another day, I have a meeting to attend in a half hour and I haven't exactly entered the office to prepare for it," I say and stand to walk her out the door.

I give her a hug before she enters a taxi and disappears down the street. I stand there until the car disappears, and turn back towards the street to cross over to my office building, but stop when I spot Ava just a few feet away from me.

She stands completely still on the corner, he mouth pressed together in a thin line, her lips trembling and her eyes wide.

Shit! Please don't tell me she just saw what happened.

Before I have time to react, she turns on her heel and rushes off down the street.

"Ava, wait!" I cry out after her and try to keep up. Thankfully it's still early in the morning, and after the downtown rush of the government and business workers, the streets aren't that crowded. I reach her just as she turns the corner down a deserted street. I stretch my hand out and grasp her upper arm, spinning her around.

"Ashton, please, just let me go! I don't want an explanation," she cries and fights against my hold. There are tears streaming down her face, and it tears my heart apart to see her cry, especially because of me.

"Then I won't give you one," I say, and grab hold of both her arms to steady her thrashing. Not giving her a chance to shout out again, I wrap a hand around the back of her head and push my lips against hers. I hear her muffle a few cries and squirm under my grasp, but she soon calms and gives in to the kiss.

When she gives in completely, I slow the kiss, savoring her taste. I release her arm to snake my hand around her waist, flushing her body against mine. Once again, I feel the already weak hold on my self-control start to break, and I have to pull away before I do something bad, right here on the public street corner.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, but I assure you it's a misunderstanding," I say when I see she isn't going to run away again after I take a step back.

"You were having coffee with another woman, a very attractive woman, and you both looked rather close when you said good-bye to her just now," she says and crosses her arms, putting even more distance between us.

"That is Amber, the woman I told you of before, the one my mother is trying to force me to marry. She rushed into my office this morning to try and make a deal with me." I leave out the part of the newspaper clipping of Ava and I. I don't want her to know about it, at least until after I have dealt with it, and it is no longer a threat.

"Oh, really? What exactly was this deal?" she sneers, her eyes narrowed at me.

"Can you please come back to my office, so we can talk about this inside? These are private matters I'd rather not discuss out in the open," I say. It's half a lie, half the truth. Amber told me there is a man hired to follow and watch me. That's how the photo of Ava and I at the carnival was created in the first place. I can imagine he is watching me as we speak, and is probably reporting it immediately back to my mother.

I don't want him to know about Amber's plan to eventually skip town, and completely change her life. If my mother finds out, she will do anything she can to try and sabotage that plan, so it doesn't mess with her current one to regain her stupid wealth.

Ava huffs but nods and follows me across the street. I try and hurry through the foyer, so as little people as possible see her and I entering. I don't want there to be any more evidence for my mother to gather about Ava and I. It's awkwardly silent in the elevator as we climb to the top, but that doesn't stop be from thinking extremely dirty thoughts about her as I sneak peeks at her through the mirrored elevator walls.

Sandra gives us an odd look as we pass her and rush into my office. I make sure to lock it, and gesture for her to take a seat on the couch, as I walk over to the drink table next to it. I pour a glass of wine and a rum and coke, and pass her the wine. She gives me a weird look, but takes the glass anyway.

"Little early to be drinking?" she asks, tipping the glass towards her cherry red lips. I have to raise my own glass to my lips, to keep my lips distracted, or else I might just attack her right where she sits. I simply shrug, not trusting my voice, and take a seat next to her.

"Why was she here?" Ava asks quietly, staring down at her wine glass, tracing the brim with her finger. I reach over and capture her hand, entwining my fingers with hers. She looks down at our conjoined hands, before her bright green eyes meet mine.

Every time I look at them, my breath is literally taken away.

"Amber stopped by to tell me that she doesn't want to go through with the arranged marriage," I start off slowly and stop for her to process everything. Her mouth pops open into an 'oh' shape, before she bites her lip timidly. "She also explained that she has a lot more at stake, if she doesn't go through with this marriage, or at least convince her father that she is willing to, until she has enough money."

"Enough money for what?" Ava asks.

"She wants to be a model, and has no interest in running any sort of business. Her father insists on making her responsible, and thinks this is the best way, but she knows she will never like this life, and will never accept it. Supposedly, she has been saving up from the allowance he gives her, which he will only continue to give her if she goes through with this, and almost has enough to move as far away as possible."

Ava looks back down and thinks about everything I'm saying. I'm silently praying that she believes everything I'm saying, and still trusts me enough to see a different side of Amber than the impression she just got today.

"So, what was her deal?" she asks quietly after a few seconds.

"She asked me to help her continue up the charade, and fool her father long enough for her to skip town. After that, she hopes everything to fall apart, and I suppose I will be here to pick up the aftermath." Now that I said it out loud, I realized just what a mess it is going to be, when and if she does end up skipping town, and my mother and her father find out.

It's going to be a full on war between them and myself. I'm actually not sure if I can handle that on my own.

I look over towards Ava, who is looking at me with shock and admiration, her green eyes sparkling. Just one look at her, and I suddenly feel like I can take on the world. She is my strength. If I have her by my side, I can conquer anything, I know it.

"What are you looking at?" she asks, frowning and touching her face lightly.

I set my drink down and switch our hands over to the other one, so I can reach up and stroke her cheek with my free hand. I see them turn a light shade of red under my touch, and a small smile pulls at the corners of my lips when she leans in slightly to my hand.

"You're so damn beautiful," I whisper, mainly to myself, but loud enough for her to hear in the deafening silent room. Her cheeks heat up further and she bites her lip, instantly looking down to hide her face with her short, pixie hair.

I put a finger under her chin and lift her eyes back up to meet mine.

"I will never tire of looking at you, don't ever hide your face from me, please," I mutter and lean towards her slowly.

She sucks in a light breath. "I-I'm sorry…" she trails off, her entranced by mine. I flick my gaze down to her lips, then back up, telling her exactly what I want. I lean in closer, and she doesn't lean away.

"You don't know what you do to me, Ava." I move to hover above her slightly, placing my hands on either side of her head. I press her into the couch, until there is just enough space between us to breath, letting her sweet smell swirl around me, intoxicating my nostrils.

"I have a strong idea," she mutters. She reaches up and grasps the collar of my jacket, her fingers trembling but her eyes confident. I can see her want, as intense as my own. I kiss her lips softly and briefly twice before pulling away to gaze back into her eyes, drinking in their luscious green color.

"You are my kryptonite, and my life-line, wrapped in one tempting package. You're the only thing on this earth, that can ever bring me to my knees, you don't know the power you have over me. It both frightens and excites me at the same time," I whisper to her, wanting to do nothing but utter sweet nothings in her ear all day, with her wrapped in my arms.

"What does that mean?" she asks, her voice airy and slightly out of breath.

"I belong to you, Ava, always have since the day I laid eyes on you, and I always will. You can tear me down without even lifting a finger, and that isn't exactly something every confident man wants. I have always been in control of my life, but when it comes to you, I don't know up from down, and I make irrational decisions based on equally, if not greater, irrational thoughts." I stop to take a few deep breaths, feeling myself getting carried away.

Ava just continues to gaze at me with wide eyes, her lower lip trembling a little.

"You drive me fucking crazy, Ava, and I love it. I never want this feeling I have with you to go away. It's better than anything any feeling drugs or alcohol has ever given me, I've been addicted to it, to you, since my very first taste."

She opens her mouth to say something, but clamps it shut.

"Can you not see how addicted I am to you? I would even go as far to say I'm completely obsessed with you." It sounds desperate, but that's exactly what I am. Desperate as all hell to keep her in my life, wake up next to her beautiful face every morning, just before we tend to our miracle of a child, making our perfect family complete.

Just the thought of it makes me feel like I'm on a whole other level of cloud.

"I just need time, Ashton. I have lived so long in fear, for both me and Emily. I need time to process everything, and make sure what I am feeling is true, and not just the adrenaline of my past catching up with me. It has been so long since I have felt anything close to this, and I'm both excited and confused. I have more than just myself to think about this time," she says and gets a distant look in her eye, but doesn't pull away.

"I understand, and I am willing to give you as much time as you want. I'm sorry if I've made you feel like I'm pushing everything, it's just impossible to stay away from you for more than a few hours."

She smiles softly. "You did it for three years." I know she is trying to joke to lighten the mood, but the reminder of the time I was without her angers me.

"That was never by choice. Those years were agonizing, endless empty days dreaming of what could have been, if I had done anything differently in the past."

Her smile drops, and I instantly regret killing the mood. I dip my head down and give her a hard, heated kiss. She responds instantly, wrapping her arms around the back of my neck. I quickly spin us around, so she is sitting in my lap and straddling my waist with her long, silky legs.

I can't help the urge to run my hands up and down them, wanting to do this since the moment I saw her in that sexy black dress the other night. Her legs could seriously kill in that dress, and in general. Her body has matured in the best way, like I always imagined, and I am honestly dying with lust inside every time I look at her.

The situation quickly heats up, and I almost completely forget we're sitting in my office, making out like we're teenagers, until my inter-com crackles to life, scaring us apart.

"Mr. Bradford, security has stopped your mother at the front door," Sandra's voice pours through, sounding just as frightened as she did when she dealt with Amber earlier today. My heart goes from threatening to beat out of my chest, to a dead stop. "She is throwing a fit, and demanding you go down and meet her."

"You have got to be kidding me, your mother is here?" Ava cries and rips out of my grasp and off my lap. She walks over to the chair and grabs her purse and coat before rushing to the door. "I am not getting stuck in the middle of this, I want to see your mother least more than I want to see my own father."

I run to her side and grab her hand before she has the chance to grab the handle. She turns and glares at me, but I stop whatever she is about to say with another kiss.

"Please, don't be upset with me. I'm sorry, I didn't know she would be coming here. She has not changed from the woman she was before," I try and explain, but feel that saying that just makes things worst.

Ava scoffs and laughs dryly. "Because that makes everything even better. I need to leave before she sees me, I can't do this right now."

I stop her again before she can leave. "I have a secret elevator for myself only, and also in case of a fire emergency, it's an extra escape route. It will lead you to the back door of the building, where my mother won't see you at all."

She nods and lets me lead her back through the office. Sandra throws me a curious glance, and I know at this point, I am going to have to give her some sort of explanation. First Amber arrives and makes a scene, then I show up an hour later with another woman, and now a few minutes later, my mother is threatening to break down the door.

I can only bat my eyes at her, and offer her so many bonuses, until she starts trying to piece things together herself, and asking the wrong questions.

The elevator doors open exactly in front of the hallway that leads through the single back door. Once the doors open all the way, Ava pushes past me and hurries down the hall. I quickly catch her hand and spin her around, trapping her body between mine and the wall. She lets out a light gasp and tries to push me away, but I already know it's a useless attempt.

"Why are you fighting me so much? What are you so afraid of?" I ask quietly. That seems to stun her enough to stop thrashing and think about it for a few seconds.

"I'm afraid of making a terrible mistake, by inviting you back into my life right now. Emily is so young, and I am taking a big risk by even just being around you. We only just found each other a few days ago, and look at the drama that is already taking place? Your mother is barging her way through your front door, because you're already arranged married to someone else, whether that is legal in this state or not, it's too much."

I can understand exactly how she feels, and it kills me. Everywhere I go, danger and drama always seem to follow, even I hate it as much as she does, and it's my life. I want her to be in it, but without all the extra shit.

It seemed wherever my mother went in my life, that is where the most shit happens. One way or another, after this all blows over, I will get Ava back, and get rid of my mother once and for all. She has done nothing but bring me down, and try to destroy my happiness and success. I'm not sure why she has focused so much of her attention on me, rather than my older brother, Charles.

He has been free to do whatever he wants with his life, and my mother hasn't said a single protest to any bad decision he has made, or even asked to borrow money from him, that I am aware of.

"I will make this right, I promise. You won't have anything to fear soon, and we can be together in peace and quiet," I say and give her a hopeful look.

"I need time, Ashton. We'll talk later, I have to pick up Emily from daycare." She gives me a kiss on the cheek, and disappears out the door. I stand in the empty hallway, until the feeling of her lips vanishes, and I turn back to the elevator the finally face my mother.

I glance down at my watch as I ride back up to my office to tell Sandra to let her in, and prepare myself for the vicious tornado that is about to make its way through the building.

It isn't even noon yet. When will this day end?

When will this nightmare end?