"Alex? Alex, is that you?"

"Mom? I know it's been forever since we talked but now is really not a good time, can I call you back in say..."

"Your father is dead."

Her words caused mine to die in my throat. I sink slowly onto the couch, needing to sit down.

"When? How?"

"Yesterday." My mother's voice breaks and my heart breaks for her. No matter how I feel towards my parents, I know how much she loves him, therefore how this must affect her.

"They found him, in his office. They are trying to convince me he took his own life. I know he's been depressed but Alex he would never..."

"Suicide?" I couldn't wrap my head around what she is telling me. "Jesus, I..."

"I need to see you. Please, Alex? I... I can't do this alone. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please... please, come home?"

One part of me, and it is a very big part, wants to tell her no in not so polite terms. But then Aiden sprung to mind. No matter how I feel about what they had done, I couldn't do it to someone else. I couldn't make her suffer as I had.

"I'll help you, Mom. I need to wrap things up here, though. I need to make arrangements for leave from school, and with my teachers. Once I do that, I'll get on the road and meet you at the house." I couldn't bring myself to say home, it hadn't been my home for a very long time.

My mother broke down crying. Between sobs she got out, "Thank you, Alex. Thank you so much."

"I'll see you soon," I tell her and before I hang up, I hear a raspy, "I love you."

I hang up the phone. I don't say it back. William shows up with movers. "I saw Cat leave, she was crying. I take it you didn't sort things out with her?"

My brain is overloaded. Thinking is impossible. I can't even focus on Cat right now. I'm just staring at my phone's blank screen.

"Are these the boxes?" one mover asks, pointing to the obvious pile of cardboard.

"Yeah," William tells them. "You still want them to take them, right?" William asks of me and it's hard to miss the hopeful hesitation in his voice that I may have changed my mind. I just nod my head yes, which spurs the men into action.

William sits next to me. "What happened?" As I put my phone down on the table, it must have drawn his eye to the other objects sitting there.

"Oh shit! Alex, I'm so sorry," William says, spying the ring and necklace sitting there.

I see what he sees and reach out to pick them up. I don't even look at them. I just place them in my pocket.

"What did she say? I can't believe Cat would just walk away? I really thought she would have tried to work things out. I know the threat, but what court in their right mind would ever take a baby from its mother. Especially when its mother is Cat?"

I know William is talking to me, but I feel detached. My world is distorted. I feel as if I'm viewing my life through a fisheye lens. My father is dead. I'll know I walked away. I know I was mad and rightfully so, but now, now he's gone and I can't fix things between us. The last thing I said to him was that I hated him, and everything he stood for.

"Alex?"

I look up at William. My brain is in a fog. I can't think. I can't process anything that he's saying. He reaches out and touches my arm and I want to pull back. I don't want to be comforted. I don't want to talk. I just want to be alone. This must have been how William felt when he lost Aiden. Why he retreated from me, from everyone, from life.

"You're scaring me," William admits. "What happened? Cat, she'll come around... she just needs..."

"My father is dead." Saying the words out loud hurt so much more than letting them bounce around inside my head. My arms wrap around my middle and I lean over feeling ill.

"What?!" Stunned, William pulled his hand away.

"I have to go home," I tell him, hoping he'd understand but knowing that he won't.

"Home? You're going back there? After what they did to you?! To Aiden?!"

"My mom is all alone."

"Fuck her!" William shouted, leaping up, his anger getting the better of him.

"Where the hell was she when Aiden needed her? When you needed her? You told them, that Aiden died. How he died! They had the money. The reputation to make a big deal out of it, to let the world know the pain Aiden suffered, to find his killers, but they did NOTHING!"

I look over at the movers, who just kept moving boxes. Not once did they look over or show an interest. I guess in their line of work, they must deal with a lot of dramatic situations and just put themselves on autopilot to get the job done. I could learn something from them. I had no idea how I was going to get through whatever was going to happen next.

The numbness I wished for when I left Cat was granted. It seeps into my veins with an icy chill. My brain has shut down my pain centers to self-preserve, so I could think but not feel. I stood up and faced a now seething William.

"Where were you?" I put it to him. I understood his anger. I even now understood why he pulled away, but he left me behind just like they did, leaving me alone in pain. None of them gave a damn about me.

William looked at me as if I struck him across the face. The verbal blow left him speechless. "You know why I couldn't..."

I cut him off. "Alone is alone, the 'why' doesn't matter. It changes nothing. I know what that feels like, and I won't do that to her. I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy. This is something no one should go through alone."

The fight left William, and he sat back down. "I'm sorry. I know I said it before, but I'm sorry I left you alone."

"I get it. Or at least I do now."

William glanced up at me. "How can I help?"

I shrug. "Not sure you can. He's dead. They believe its suicide. My mother thinks differently, but either way it doesn't matter. He's gone, and that's the end."

"Suicide?"

"I don't know enough to have this conversation with you. I really don't want to talk about it anymore. I just want to get the hell out of here, so I can arrange leave from school and go home."

William nodded. "Go. I'll take care of things here. Are you going to talk to Cat before you leave?"

Again, I shrug. "I don't know. I doubt she'll see me."

"I think you should try," William offers his piece of unwanted advice.

I say nothing I just go into my room to grab my duffle with my clothes. I look at the stuffed cat on my bed. I'm barraged with all the moments Cat and I shared in this room, this apartment, but shove them aside. Taking the stuffed toy from the bed, I bury it in my bag.

I come back to William. The movers have finished. William gave them directions on where to take my stuff. I already paid for the move, so there wasn't much else to do. I want to say something to William, but I don't have the words.

As if he could read my mind, he says, "Just go. You don't have to say anything. I understand." And I knew if anyone understood, it would be him.

I turn to walk away, but he grabs hold of my arm and pulls me toward him into a hug. "I love you, Brother."

My one arm came around to hold him, to hug him back. "I love you, too." I pull away and leave to head to the campus. I head to the VPAA's office to inform him of my father's death. I wasn't sure about the dates of how long I would be away, but he informed me I could fill in those details when I got them. Thankfully, he would take care of the rest, informing the faculty and so forth.

I wandered the grounds and stood outside of Chi Omega's fraternity house. I don't think I can handle this, but I can't just leave things how they are.

I knock on the door and some girl I don't know answers. "Can I help you?"

"I was hoping to talk to Cat Fischer. Is she here?"

The young girl gets pushed aside and I see Olivia standing in the doorway.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here." Olivia looks mad as hell. I take a deep breath and sigh.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better, but I need to talk to Cat is she here?"

"Why should I tell you?"

I'm exhausted and I don't have time for this dramatic bullshit. "Fine, have it your way. I'll call her later. This way when she's pissed off when she finds out that I was here and you wouldn't let me in, that will be all on you."

I turn to leave and I hear, "Wait?"

I turn back. Olivia hesitates only a moment. "I go see if she WANTS to see you. Stay right there."

I take out a piece of paper and a pen and jot a few things down, just in case. Olivia returns. "She doesn't want to see you right now. She's too upset."

I nod and hold out the note to her. "I'll be gone for a little while. Family matter. Can you give this to her?"

Olivia frowned but took the folded piece of paper from my hand. "Yeah, sure."

"Thank you." Again I turn to walk away but hear, "Why are you doing this to her?"

I pause, but I don't turn back. "I'm not doing it to her. I'm doing it for her. Not everyone leaves because they don't care. Some of us are just trying to protect the ones we love."

No more questions came, so I moved on, getting on a bus to take me to the train station that would bring me home.