Baby. Love. Marriage.

ore. What she really wanted to do was to put her arms around his neck and cuddle closer, pr

neighbor, almost forgotten in the hectic first mo

tin asked i

med a bit, but stopped since it just reminded her tired body of where it was and wi

as she got her keys from the briefcase. Home, sweet home, just inches away. She should be thinking of the comfort

vior. And he'd meant well, probably. Actually, she realized, he hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't his fault there was a voice screaming inside her head, telling h

t. "Is there someone you can call? Someone to stay with you?

ed inside, shutting the door behind her. The briefcase fell forgotten to the floor as she leaned against the do

s high-heeled shoes continued to squeeze her feet, and her shirt stuck to her back. She needed a shower, a change of clothes, food and sleep, in

her system, abolishing the exhaustion

eone inside h

ront of her as a shiny leather shield, standing immobile in a

those shoes-and stuck her head out into the open space between the living room, the

tarted to hurt as she tried to dig up details of the hectic morning. She couldn't remember. Barely breathing, she look

finitely hea

ning its way through the numbing exhaustion. She was a private person; the thought of someone entering her home without permissi

m a neighbor's apartment, and let them deal with it, even if it meant that the thugs would have time to get away. There was no other choice. Under norma

ing from her bedroom a second time. She paused, listening hard. The noise was difficult to define. It wasn't anything breaki

cked Justin's door screaming until he had opened it, then wrapped herself around him, trembling and stuttering, overcome

cup of coffee, and after he'd finally managed to decode her incoherent stutters, he'd led her to the phone. He'd even pushed the buttons for her when her fingers shook

f "hysterical female" in the eyes of her new neighbor. The policemen had entered the apartment, badge

t out. The damage was minimal: she'd dug Laura's leftover tuna sandwich out of the garbage and had a little feast on the kitchen floor. Nothing a mop wouldn't fix. And nothing seemed to

is part of the action. He'd shared a knowing grin with the cops. None of them actually said it out loud, but L

ons. Nope, a repeat performance of her wo