Juri was screwed.

She would never be able to pay that money back. The fault was hers, but she was hesitant to take full responsibility of her actions. She simply couldn't help herself. She just wanted to take it. There was probably some deep psychological explanation for it but intrapersonal skills were never her forte.

In all honesty, she couldn't give much of a rat's furry vagina to contemplate it. She wanted to do it and s she did.

And now the consequences were biting her so deep in her ass, she could practically feel the sting all the way in her mouth.

"Hey Benny," she greeted the car-guard outside her building. At least he had a shittier life than her. She didn't feel all that bad about things whenever she saw him.

He nodded, unable to do much else considering he had gotten half his face chewed off by a stray almost a decade earlier.

Juri hated her building. It was shit living in Coronationville. She hated it and every single day that she drove into that wretched area had her wishing for home once again. But home the way it was.

Home in King William's Town. Home with her granny and her brother in their little duplex overlooking the shitty park across the street. That was home. She wanted to go back to that home that would never be. She wanted to walk into the smell of lavender bushes and that hideous mint freshener her granny insisted on using. She wanted to walk past the lounge bathed in warm sunlight where her brother would be reclining on the couch. He'd have a blanket draped over his shoulders and a dark grey beanie on his head as he greeted her in his thick, unused voice. He'd reek of medication but she would never mind as she lifted his beanie and scratched his head. She knew where to touch him to avoid the deep stitched along his skull but still, she'd rub his head. Her granny would walk in then, pressing a kiss to her cheek before ushering her into the kitchen for a snack. Juri would have brushed off the affections but she would have followed her gran anyway.

She wanted to go back.

But she couldn't. This was home now. This dingy building with fading pink walls along the exterior and a staircase that was constantly wet. There were perpetual drips along the walkway, punctured only by the sound of either loud moans, angry yells or a blaring tv playing something from an illegally connected dish. She walked past the teen boys, hanging along the corner juncture of the staircase, ignoring their awkward comments. They were pervy and disgusting and they made her feel sleazy with their stares. But they were mostly harmless. She knew their mothers and she also knew that each of those boys would have their asses whipped blue if she so much as said a word about them.

Insufferable little mamas' boys.

She looked behind her before unlocking her door. She had been jumped once before and ad her phone right from her hand and she would be damned if she made that mistake again. Her nose curled at the putrid damp smell rising from the carpet. She had forgotten to buy bleach for the smell in all the drama and she happily swore Is'haaq for it. It was all his fault for delaying proceedings and it was definitely his fault for apprehending her when he did.

Bastard.

Juri couldn't deny that she had missed him though. There was too much between them not to miss him. And hating him had never stopped her from wanting to see him.

He was her best friend and he was the love of her life.

That could never be forgotten. Time had faded the feeling, but it was still there. She had tried to block it out. She had met other guys, had tried to fall for them but they were never Is'haaq. And the one man she did marry turned out to be a fucking asshole of note.

Though she probably had to blame. She had literally called him by Is'haaq's name as he was balls deep inside of her...

It was not her finest moment. Things had steadily declined after that and then...She shook her head. She didn't want to think of it anymore.

Is'haaq

He should have reported her. he had opened up cases against people for far less than seven hundred bucks.

But he couldn't. if he had reported her, it would have meant that she would disappear. He needed to make it right. She couldn't leave until he had made it right with her.

Is'haaq could never expect Juri to fall for him again. He didn't particularly want it either, but he wanted her to forgive him. He so desperately craved her forgiveness after his wrongdoing. He had wronged her in the worst of ways and nothing would be better for him until he set things right.

He looked down at his phone, smiling sadly at the pictures of his nieces and nephews strewn across their family group. He had long since stopped participating in it but would happily stalk it if just for a glimpse into his brothers' lives. He thought he would be able to go back and have everything be normal but he had burned those bridges far too badly for it to ever be repaired again.

He had disappointed them- his mother most of all- and that wasn't easy to fix. Mistakes can be forgiven and wrongs could be righted but this...

How would he ever be able to make up for taking all of their wonderful expectations and hurling it into their faces. They had only ever wanted good for him and he had resented them for it. And look where it got him?

He was lonely, miserable, misguided, bored, purposeless. He had absolutely no fulfilment in his life. He had nothing anymore... he wasn't even practicing any longer. At least when he was working as an optometrist, he found enjoyment in his job. But managing a garage was killing him. He hated waking up every morning to go to a job that he absolutely detested.

Seeing Juri again was like seeing the sun once more. Catching a glimpse of her pilfering the shelves was something he began to look forward to. It brought purpose back into his life, even if it was only for a brief moment.

It was still better than nothing.

His phone vibrated in his hand as his brothers fired harmless shots at each other. Is'haaq wished so desperately that he could be a part of their conversation. He wanted to talk to them without having them brush him off. He wanted them to be proud to introduce him to their children instead having them warm them in hushed tones. His brothers hadn't realised that he could hear them when they told their kids not to get too involved in his life and to keep a safe distance. It hurt so badly having them assume that he would ever want to hurt those beautiful babies. But how could he blame them? Wasn't it him that had lost their trust? Wasn't it his actions that had pushed them away?

He turned his phone upside down, walking away from it all.

He filled the bowls on the floor with food and water before heading to his room. He needed to sleep. He needed to be ready for her when she came.