• PROLOUGE
    “I look up at the sky and see clouds, they can be whatever I imagine, I look into your eyes and I see an eternity of a special kindness that only you can hold. And I’ll never let you go. ” Sitting on the porch of the place she used to call home, Karin lowered her head and clutched the letter close to her chest. The letter crinkled from the pressure. The last sentence was devastating, a reminder of the past, a time of unmatched joy and happiness. But joy and happiness was never made to last long.
    “Never let me go?” Karin whispered, “You liar.”
    It was all an accident, nothing should’ve happened. But that’s how it always went. She was never prepared. She was slammed into the reality of it all and forced to deal with it. Karin screamed, a high-pitched grotesque scream that contorted her beautiful face. Suddenly, without a warning, she started to sob uncontrollably, crying out with the desperation and loss that she couldn’t bear.
    The last letter, she thought.
    The sun was setting and soon the search would be called off. She could already hear the shouts of the officers calling out. It was useless, she knew he would not be found. And one by one the search volunteers would return to their homes, to the families that she lacked.
    The tears leaked out of her eyes continuously, down they fell, absorbed into the concrete ground beneath her feet. She let them fall; there was nothing more she could lose. After all, she had already lost everything, leaving her to despair by herself. Eternally cursed, she had lost the one who had always wiped her tears and held her close, the one she needed the most. She was alone in a harsh world where her loved ones disappeared.



    CHAPTER ONE
    Grace Harrison, known mainly as Gracie, stood in front of a small round table placed in the outside part of a café. She had been working there for the past month with a steady income. Her life was taking a turn, soon she would be done with college and start teaching, hopefully. As she reached down to pick up a spoon that had fallen on the ground she felt eyes staring into her back and quickly stood up.
    She had always attracted some attention. She was petite, just a little bit over five feet with sweet, big, honey brown eyes. She always got compliments from her friends, both the guys and the girls. But she never felt in anyway attractive; why else would she have stayed single her whole life? Her friends insisted differently; saying she had the perfect petite figure, nice curves, and the cutest face. Gracie didn’t believe them.
    She loved to play with her dark brown hair, ranging from pigtails, ponytails, braids, buns, and anything possible that framed her face nicely. The only make up she ever wore was a touch of mascara and some lip-gloss. Everything else just seemed unneeded. This one day out of the three hundred and sixty five days of the year sent her thoughts into the past. Something, she admitted, she rarely did. She visualized the man that she thought she loved and frowned.
    The b*****d that he was.
    A request in the back of the café brought her out of her trance and attracted her attention.
    Claire Roberts waved excitedly at Gracie with unmatched excitement “Hey Gracie! Table over here for three”
    Gracie glanced back at her best friend Claire and two other strangers,“Be there in a sec, hold on,” she waved her hand around in carelessness, “it’s not every day we get this busy.”
    Gracie turned her attention back to the middle aged couple now seated in front of her and smiled, “What would you two like?”

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    She took their orders and turned around, bumping into her co-worker, James. Surprised, she jumped back nervously. James eyes danced with amusement but he gave her an assuring grin. Gracie decided to take the opportunity, and handed him the order from the couple, “Hand this in for me?” she questioned, finishing off her request with a hint of puppy-dog eyes.
    He laughed, his calm voice rumbling, “Sure Gracie, you know we all can’t resist you.” and winked.
    Gracie shook her head, her loose hair flopping over her shoulder, “I doubt it”
    “So little self-esteem,” James grinned and wagged his finger like an old knowing school teacher, “I’m going to go drop this off, see you.”
    Gracie watched him walked off before steering her way back to her childhood friend Claire.
    Arriving at the table, she got a better look at the two other people sitting there.
    The other two people turned out to be two guys, one brunette, and one blonde. They both looked up and smiled, but her eyes lingered on the brunette, his hair was a light brown with a few dark strands in it occasionally. It was curled into the collar of his polo and tossed sloppily around his face. He had a nice build that showed underneath his clothes and-- Gracie shook her head, now was not the time to be looking. She glanced back at Claire and tried to sound casual, “Hey”
    “Hey Gracie! Meet Leo,” Claire motioned at the blond, “and Aaron.” the brunette.
    Gracie nodded her head, “Hey”
    As if on cue both guys stood up and shook her hand. Now at their full height Gracie judged both of them to be around five-ten, Leo being slightly taller.
    “Come on, sit down with us.” Aaron gestured with his hand at the empty chair beside him. His voice was low and drawling.
    Gracie clutched her pad and sighed, “I’m pretty sure I’m here to work, if I even as much as sat down I think I would be scolded.”
    Aaron looked up at her, one eyebrow pulled up, skeptic. And then in one swift movement grabbed her wrist and pulled her down so that she sat on his lap.
    Gracie was astonished, her eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly. But even as bubbling anger rose up her throat, she still admired the firm tense muscles she felt beneath her.
    “What,” Gracie began to stand up, only to be tugged gently back down. Trying to wiggle and squirm out of Aaron’s grasp only made him hold her tighter. Exasperated she shook her head and turned back to look at Aaron, “What do you think you’re doing?”
    He loosely shrugged, “Letting you sit on my lap.”
    She glared at him, “Forcing, you mean forcing me to sit on your lap”
    “Nope, letting.”
    “Then will you let me get up?”
    “No”
    Gracie turned to Claire, who was watching the presently occurring event with an amused expression, “Claire. Help?”
    Claire shrugged her shoulders dramatically, “He doesn’t listen to me.”
    Gracie turned her head to Leo and frowned, “Leo?”
    Barely keeping a straight face, Leo faked a wince, “Mister Macho would beat me up.”
    Gracie sighed, “ugh, Aaron, I have to work, take your order, go home, feed cats, and… stuff. And I don’t get paid for sitting on your lap.”
    Aaron mock pouted, bottom lip sticking out obnoxiously, “But I want to hold you.”
    Claire laughed, “She won’t be gone forever, so how ‘bout you two meet up this Saturday?”
    “Uhm, I have,” Grace racked her brain for excuses and gave up, “plans” she finished with a breath of exhaustion. The truth was that no matter how much she wanted to go. She wasn’t ready. Her heart hadn’t healed yet. At the moment she wouldn’t be able to stand her heartbreak, and another stream of lies. She didn’t know what she wanted. But surely it wasn’t to get into another relationship. But maybe, just maybe…Gracie shook her head, it wasn’t possible.
    “Plans?” Claire questioned, “I don’t think so.”
    Gracie shrugged, “I have work”
    It was partly true; Gracie had agreed to work extra shifts that weekend to cover for James while he went hiking with friends. But that was only for that morning, she still had the whole afternoon free. But that could be kept to herself.
    Aaron watched her carefully, trying to read her. He rubbed his free hand over his brow quizzically. Usually women threw themselves at him, and while he never complained, he didn’t need to seek them out and pull them down to sit on him, and certainly not try and convince them to spend some time with him. He tapped his head, intrigued by the girl unwillingly sitting on his lap. No, he had been intrigued the second she came up to him. This much was obvious, what happened next depended on how he acted.