Pulling back into the apartment complex left Fallon with mixed feelings. Her stomach churned with the idea that despite how hard she had worked to maintain paying for and living in this space, it held too many memories now. The pictures of her and Matt on the wall, the coffee table they had stayed up late putting together, the bed they slept in, all would soon stare her down. And no matter how she tried to justify it, everything connected to Matt in that apartment would scream 'cheater,' every time she saw it.

There was no doubt in her mind, she knew that everything had unraveled because of the choices she had made. She had been selfish, careless, and deserved the shame that she had acquired. But, running away for two weeks had only clarified for her that decision to not marry Matt was the right one. There was no fairness in expecting him to remain true and loyal to her when she couldn't do the same for him. She was fairly certain he knew what conversation was coming, but had extended her the time she asked for, regardless.

Trent pulled into the lot shortly after her, parking his car in the space next to hers. She inhaled deeply, closed her eyes and slowly blew the breath out, trying to calm herself down as she turned off the car's engine. When she opened her eyes again, Trent was at her driver's side door, smiling and pulling at the handle to open it for her.

"I'm not saying that you have to take up Nascar or anything, but you're right on the cusp of winning the Daytona 500 if you try."

"Ha. Ha." She said sarcastically, stepping onto the pavement of the parking lot. "I live my life, a quarter mile at a time," she shrugged.

"What is this, Fast and Furious?"

She giggled, "ya know, that's a great name for a porn."

"Stop, stop it right now, don't do Dom Toretto like that."

Fallon opened her trunk and pulled out her suitcase and her laptop that she had brought with her. Trent took the suitcase from her.

"Thank you," she closed the trunk of the car and fiddled with her keys to find the one to the front door. With shaking hands, she gripped the silver key in one hand and her laptop in the other. "Come on and let me show you my mansion," she smiled half heartedly at him.

"After you," he gestured for her to walk ahead of him.

Making their way to the door of the building, it opened automatically as they stepped through and headed towards the elevator.

"I live on the third floor, practically a penthouse."

"You do know I understand how an apartment works right?" His voice was gentle and joking, clearly sensing the unease in hers.

"I know," the elevator jolted to a halt and the doors opened allowing them to step out into the brightly lit hallway. "I just feel like I live in a box coming from your house."

"Okay, just pause for a second," he stepped in front of her and took the laptop from her hand, resting it on top of the suitcase he had pushed aside. "Remember when you asked me if I wanted to come live in your nine hundred square foot apartment if living with me was pulling you too far away?" Fallon nodded. "And what did I say?"

"That if it's what I really wanted you would try and find a way to make it work."

"And the only thing I'd have to make work is work. That's it, the space we live in, where it is, big or small, it doesn't matter. I'd get rid of everything if I had to. I'm still me, remember? I still grew up in that tiny house, I still know how to be a regular person."

She nodded again, "I know, I know it's stupid."

"No, it's not stupid, you're entitled to your feelings, but I hope I can ease them a little bit."

She inhaled a large breath, slowly breathing out again, warm pools of amber eyes still focused on her. "Okay, let's go." She took the laptop back and began walking again, "I'm apartment three twenty five."

Trent followed close behind her as she made her way to the middle of the hallway and stopped in front of the door. The key she had been grasping to finally entering the lock and turning in the deadbolt. She turned the knob and closed her eyes as she stepped through the door.

There were signs that Matt had been in and out, but nothing was severely out of place. Her curtains had been drawn closed and there were remnants of a lunch or dinner eaten too quickly on the counter, with crumbs littering the granite. And there was a dirty dish and cup in the sink waiting to be washed. But otherwise, it was clean and orderly. She noticed bits and pieces of things that were there before she left that were gone now, no doubt some of Matt's things that had been removed. But otherwise, she was pleased with the state of things and it allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's really nice," Trent said, stepping from the doorway through the kitchen and into the living room. He pushed the curtains on the windows open, allowing a fading sunset to come through, "wow, that's a view."

"When I originally came to look at the apartment, it was around this time, all the windows were open and that was the view in the window. It kinda sold me on the place, I'm a sucker for a sunset view."

"Can I ask you what you pay for it a month? I'm just genuinely curious."

"Twenty one hundred before all my utilities and whatever else."

Trent nodded, "it's reasonable enough."

Fallon grunted, "it's a little out of my price range that I was looking for, if I'm being honest. But like I said, sunset sold me. So I just make it work." She took a seat on the couch while Trent continued to walk around the space.

There were pieces of her everywhere, a hair tie on the kitchen counter, a half read book on the side table, her handwriting on a grocery list stuck to the fridge, all pieces of her that he wanted to experience for himself. He found his way back to her on the couch and sat down next to her, draping his arm around her shoulder. She fell into him, swinging her legs up onto the couch and nuzzling her face into the crook of his shoulder.

"I know you have things in your car you need to bring up and I know there's more that can get done before the night is over, but I just need a minute."

"Take all the minutes you need." He pulled the scrunchy from her hair, letting it fall freely as he began to run his fingers through it.

"How come you always do that?" She questioned, her eyes closed, but a soft smile residing on her lips.

"Do what?"

"You pull my ponytail out to stroke my hair."

"I guess I never understood the idea of a ponytail, they look so tight and uncomfortable."

"I guess they can be."

"And you said you liked when I ran my fingers through your hair, so I just do it," he shrugged. "Do you want me to not pull your hair down when you have it up?"

"No, please continue," she grabbed at the hand that had paused at the top of her head and exhaled a small sigh. "Hey Trent?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

He peered down at her, noticing her closed eyes and the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"I love you too."

~

When her eyes flicked open and she discovered that she managed to compile a puddle of drool beneath her lips, she quickly jumped up as she came to realize where she was.

"Woah, relax, you okay?" Trent asked concerned as he returned her book to the side table.

It took her a minute to realize that she was back in her apartment and that she had been asleep for much longer than she planned.

"What time is it?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and squinting to see the clock on the microwave.

Trent looked at his watch, "seven thirty," he stood up and stretched, watching as she sat back down. "Now that you're awake, I'm gonna go grab the rest of the things from my car, you were out cold and I didn't want to wake you."

"I may have drooled on you a little there." She pointed to the wet spot that had formed on his shirt at his shoulder. "Sorry about that."

He glanced at the spot and shrugged, "could be worse."

"Were you reading my book?"

The devilish grin found its way to his lips, "I was, I was trying to pass the time while you were asleep. I've got some ideas from whoever Shain Rose is."

"You met Cade and Izzy huh?"

"I'm not sure how I feel about you being into mafia men."

"Aren't you technically mafia men?"

"No, not quite."

"Close enough to a Cade Armenelli if you ask me."

"You're going to put me up against a fictional man?"

"Depends, gotta see how it ends," she teased.

He leaned in close to her face, bracing each of his arms on the couch back on either side of her.

"You can imagine whatever you want, but at the end of the day, all you can do is read about what he's doing to someone else. But I can do it all to you." He kissed her on the nose. "I'll be right back." He headed for the door, opening it and closing it behind him.

She leaned into the pillows that lined the back of the couch and looked around the room. There was already a corner lined with boxes, ones that she and Matt had started to pack up in their plans to move after getting married. Some were still tape neatly shut and stacked, others were cut open, clearly having been rummaged through, and then flaps closed back down and tucked nearly into each other rather than being taped again. She sighed knowing she'd once again need to go through those boxes if she planned to leave.

Another quick glance around reminded her that she had yet to make it to the bedroom. With an overly dramatic groan, she pushed herself from the cushions and made her way to the bedroom door, which had been open, just slightly. Something about entering the bedroom made her stomach churn, each step bringing her closer threatening to send a stronger burn up her throat.

She walked further into the room and sat down on the floor with her back pressed against the foot of the bed. Smells lingered in this room. The laundry detergent on the freshly washed comforter, her shampoo from the bathroom, Matt's cologne from the dresser, all the smells of every day that consumed her mind to bring back the memories of once was.

"Why are you on the floor?" Trent has reappeared now in the bedroom doorway.

"I dunno, I sit on the floor sometimes to clear my head."

He casually walked over to her and sat down across from her, "is it working?"

She laughed slightly, "no, not this time."

He reached out to take her hands in his, "do you wanna talk about it or avoid it a little longer?"

"I'd like to avoid it forever if you know a way to quiet the voices in my head."

"I wish it was that easy."

"I'm stuck on this idea of how bad I hurt someone else, just to make myself happy."

Trent nodded, "I hear you."

"And I disregarded anyone or anything I messed with in the process. I destroyed six years of someone else's life so I could be happy in my own. What kind of fucked up person does that?" She pulled a hand from him and sank her forehead to her palm.

"Do you hear the things you say and how not selfish they are?"

"What're you talking about? I just told you I destroyed someone else's life, that's about as selfish as it gets Trent."

"No, you said you 'destroyed someone else's life so you could be happy in your own.'"

"Yeah, fucking selfish."

"Fal, why do you think it's okay to sacrifice your own happiness in your life, just so someone else can be happy in theirs."

"I was happy."

"Are you not happy now?"

She paused before she answered. This was a loaded question and they both knew it. "I'm sad that my happiness is the cause of someone else's pain."

Trent looked at her with sympathy, "before you left that first time, I told you, you're as selfless as they come. Fallon, casualties of war happen all the time, innocent people get hurt for the cost of the greater good. I'm not saying it's a good thing, but Matt is your war casualty. You are taking care of yourself, for once, putting yourself first, and that left him being hurt. But he's going to be fine Fallon," her full name was jarring on his lips. "He will. It'll hurt, but he'll recover and go right back to being a part of someone else's war. You have to start believing that you deserve the happiness you're so intent on giving everyone else."

"That's easy for you to say because you're sitting here with me."

"I was a casualty of your happiness war at one point too." Her eyes met his, full of emotions that he was having trouble sorting through. "But I'm okay, I recovered, kept moving and now here we are. You need to worry about you. Stoke the fire inside you for a little while."

"You keep talking about this fire inside me and I just don't think it actually exists."

"Yes it does, I've seen you on fire."

"Yeah well, you're the only one who's seen it then."

He raised an eyebrow at her with his vicious half grin, "that should tell you that you made the right choice then." He stood then reached down for her and pulled her off the ground. "Now," he glanced towards the bed as he reached into his pocket, "I uh read through half your book and," he produced a switchblade, casually flipping open the pointed steel. "It gave me an idea I wanna try." There was a wild glint in his smile now as he pulled her body to him, his hand already in the waistband of her shorts.

"Don't you dare cut this shirt to shreds, it's my favorite," she hissed.

"I'll leave your shirt alone, how attached are you to your pants?" He chucked, hovering his lips inches from hers.

"Trent," her voice was low now, she spoke his name like a warning.

"Say my name like that again." He returned the blade back into its steel home and tossed the knife to the bed.

There was a high pitched squeal coming from the direction of the living room, quickly followed by the sound of a slam. Both of their heads whipped around, trying to catch a glimpse outside the bedroom.

"Fuck," she whispered, taking a step towards the door frame attempting to peek outside of it.

She was met with the sound of laughing, but not just of one person, two. Her face contorted in confusion as she pushed away from Trent's grasp and went towards the door. Trent moved towards the bed, replacing the knife in his pocket and quickly followed behind Fallon.