It took four hours from the time of receiving that phone call about Emma to arriving home. Just four hours and thirteen minutes. The ease that I had gained, the relaxation, the nerves that had settled, it was all lost progress that unravelled further and further the closer that we got to home.

Emma was dead.

Dead.

We still hadn't learned how. Aiden hadn't shared a lot with me. He seemed lost in himself but despite his thoughts being elsewhere, he never faltered in being a shoulder of strength for me to lean on. His concern laid with the fact that I'd brought this girl into our lives with the intention of taking care of her.

And he was right, it was weighing down on me that she had died while we were vacationing in the Bahamas. But without knowing the cause, without being home or having talked to Zoerina or Hunapo. It just didn't seem— real. Perhaps I was becoming immune to loss and horror. Perhaps it would catch up with me later. But when we did step inside the apartment and were faced with a handful of officers and an EMT who was wheeling out a stretcher with a body bag on top of it, I thought that I might lose the contents of my stomach.

Zoerina was sitting on the couch with Hunapo on one side of her and a female officer on the other. She seemed rigid and stiff as she leaned into Hunapo's side. It appeared that she wasn't all that interested in discussing much with the officer but she was answering her questions from what I could tell.

A few detectives appeared from the corridor and seemed to be leaving while they spoke among themselves and that was when I noticed a familiar police officer approaching us. My blood ran cold as he greeted Aiden at the edge of the living room behind the couch.

"You must be Aiden," the officer said, his gaze moving to mine for a brief moment. He knew who I was. But he held his surprise in rather well. "I'm Sergeant Hall. The detectives have been through and determined that it wasn't suspicious. Your sister might have told you that it was an overdose? Did you know that Tammy was using?"

"Tammy?" Aiden said and I mirrored his confusion.

I leaned against the back of the sofa because I was starting to feel a little light headed at the entire situation. That was when I felt a hand grasp mine and I glanced down to find Zoerina giving me a soft smile. It was just her and Hunapo now. The two of them were listening as well.

Sergeant Hall shifted his weight and gestured at the corridor. "That girls name is Tammy. She—"

"She told us her name was Emma," I mumbled, not looking the officer in the eye.

He shook his head. "No her name is Tammy. She's well known to us. She's been in and out for petty crime and theft for the last couple of years. She's had a major drug problem for quite some time."

"How old is she?" Aiden questioned.

"She'd have been eighteen soon," Hall answered. "May I ask how you knew her?"

"She was outside of the station begging for food," I said with my stare still down cast at the floor. "The same day that I came into the station to report Desmond and you turned me away and then told him all about it."

I didn't even need to peer up to see the reactions around the room. Zoerina's hand squeezed mine a little tighter and I heard her sharp intake of air. When I did raise my head and saw Aiden staring at the officer with his jaw clenched and his gaze narrowed to Hall, I swallowed, afraid of what I might have just started.

"Look," Hall became visibly nervous as he scratched the back of his head. "I heard about what happened and I—"

Aiden stepped a little closer to him. "You did that?" He spoke low with so much danger in his tone. "Do you have any idea what happened to her because of you?"

"I do," Hall swallowed and nodded. Sweat beads were forming on his face. "I had no idea that Desmond was like that. He was a friend, I just couldn't picture it—"

He tried to step around Aiden so that he could speak directly to me. But Aiden intercepted and acted as a wall between us. Sergeant Hall was no small man. He had a gun on his hip and a badge on his chest. But he still cowered. He still appeared afraid as Aiden stood before him and spoke with calm but sincere rage.

"Don't address her," he warned. My eyes were glued to the back of him but I felt Zoerina appear beside me. She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and seemed itching to jump in on the threats as well. But she didn't. She left that to Aiden. "Don't talk to her. Or look at her. And if I were you, I would consider resigning from the police force. Hell, I'd consider getting out of the state because I'm going to fucking ruin your life."

Silence followed the warning. I could have heard a pin drop. Hall stared past Aiden, I could see him watching me with warring emotions. Zoerina shifted on her feet, the sound of her runners on the carpet was followed by the flick of her wrist. "Don't look at her as if you could possibly understand how she's feeling, scum."

Aiden slipped his hands inside of his pockets. Something that I came to believe he did as a practice of self control. It was a barrier. Something physical to help him keep check of his emotions. Well, it was in situations like this.

"I swear," Hall said. "I feel terrible. It was a mistake—"

"The mistake," Aiden interrupted. "Was that you were given a badge in the first place. You don't deserve to wear it. You didn't do your job. You could have protected her. And now she has to live with what happened to her for the rest of her life."

Hall hung his head and exhaled a sharp breath and some part of me, small and quiet, felt sort of bad for him. It couldn't have been all his fault. I went back to the apartment without help.

"And even if you didn't feel that she was telling the truth," Aiden continued. "You should never have told Desmond that she filed a report. You risked a young woman's life for the respect of a friend that was a piece of shit. Now get the hell out of my apartment and get the hell out of town."

Hall looked defeated. His shoulders slumped and his expression was full of devastation. He didn't say anything else though. His walk was brisk as he left the living room and soon the sound of the elevator doors were opening and closing. Aiden kept his back to us for a long moment and Zoerina dropped her hold on me as we exchanged solemn glances.

"Po," Aiden addressed his friend who was leaning on the back of the sofa beside Zoerina. I hadn't noticed that he'd moved. He was so quiet. Hunapo straightened up and met Aiden's stare as he turned around. "Can you go upstairs and find out more about this Tammy girl. Family. Whatever."

"Sure," Hunapo nodded and gave Zoerina's arm a gentle caress as he passed. To me he smiled and it was as much kind as it was apologetic.

Aiden rested his hand on my lower back and pulled me a little closer before pressing a soft kiss on my forehead. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded and folded my arms. "I'm okay. I swear."

He watched me with an intense stare that turned me inside out. His gaze was so powerful and stoic. Even when it was full of love. "I have to go and make a phone call. I'll be back soon."

He kissed me again before he left, his long strides moving up the corridor with an efficient pace. I was worried about him. He seemed so agitated and it hurt more so because less than ten hours ago, we'd been having the time of our lives in the dolphin pool of the Atlantis. There was so much going through my head as I leaned against the back of the sofa and exhaled.

Emma was Tammy. She wasn't fifteen. She was a drug addict. I felt so. . . Confused. I wanted to be upset. She'd used us - Aiden more so. But at the same time, I felt for her. She had a disease and it killed her. It just wasn't fair. If we'd known about the drug habit, we could have helped her. I looked up at Zoerina who was standing in front of me with a vacant expression. She was staring at the floor but she was checked out.

"Zoerina," I said and she came back, her expression a little surprised until she landed her sights on me. "Could you tell? Did you realise that she was an addict?"

She shook her head with a frown. "I didn't trust her. I thought she was using Aiden or she had an agenda of some sort. I didn't suspect drugs though," she exhaled a deep breath and began pulling her blonde hair into a top knot. "I mean there were little things. Like she sat in front of the television and scratched her arms. But she spun a story about how she'd had eczema since she was a kid and she couldn't afford the cream and it was jus— I mean she was good at spinning bullshit. Ya know? I can see it now that I know the truth. But she lied through her teeth. She got me. You. Even Aiden."

I frowned. "I wonder how she was able to buy so many clothes and stuff if she was buying drugs?"

"Selling?" She suggested, with an uncertain shrug. "She could have been prostituting too. Girls will do whatever it takes to get a fix."

I pursed my lips and stared at her for a while. Her pacing was making me dizzy and she turned her head towards me a number of times before she stopped and fixed me with a pointed look. "You want to ask, right?"

"Huh? No. I don't—"

"Yes, I've slept with people for drugs before. It's common in addiction. My conscience wouldn't let me steal from Aiden and I certainly couldn't ask for the cash. But sex was— it was whatever. I haven't done that in a long time."

My stomach twisted at how unpleasant it all sounded. It was just too awful to comprehend that such a young girl with so much life ahead of her had been subjected to such conditions. Both of them. I was so glad that Zoerina was doing well. But Tammy would never be offered that same chance.

"I wish we could have helped her," I murmured as Zoerina shifted from one foot to the other. Her leggings caught the fluorescent light, the nylon material shimmering as she moved about. I wondered what particular part had her so unsettled. "Do you wish that too?"

She sighed as she thought about it, her glance moving around the room as she shrugged. "Yeah. I guess I do. But what's bothering me, is that I know her. I knew that I recognised her. And that name. It's driving me insane. I know her from somewhere."

"Could it— could it be—"

"It's probably drug related," she nodded as she turned around and headed into the kitchen. "I mean, I'm positive that it is. But—"

Her head snapped up as she slapped the countertop. I stood beside the table and watched as her expression became triumphant. "I know," she tipped her head back with appreciation. "I have fucking figured it out. Her older step brother was my dealer a while back. I knew that I'd met her before."

I wasn't sure what that meant from here. I think that it was more for her self satisfaction of solving her puzzlement. But I watched as she leaned a palm on the bench surface and shook her head. "She wasn't using back then. From what I recall, he was going to make sure that she never did," her sad gaze blinked a couple of times as she remained distant. But when she did inhale and straighten up, she fixed me with a concerned look. "Now I have to tell Aiden that I knew her dealer brother and he'll be pissed that I didn't figure it out sooner."

"I'm sure he'll understand."

She laughed. "My brother is probably desperately trying not to kill someone right now," she sighed when I gave her a quizzical stare. "That whole situation with the cop would have wound him up so bad. I'm actual so shocked that he didn't beat the shit out of him. At the least. He was showing a hella ton of self control."

I nodded with understanding.

"He's not a huge fan of the police as it is," she continued. "It makes him insane when they can't do their job and people get hurt over their negligence. He doesn't think that all of them are bad. But ones like that," she shook her head with a low chuckle. "Not to mention that it was you that got hurt. He must be struggling right now."

My heart picked up at the thought and I felt a bout of panic flare in my chest. He would never let me struggle alone but he felt that he had to leave and get through his by himself. That didn't seem fair. I told Zoerina that I would be back and left her in the kitchen without further explanation. Em— Tammy's door was open as I ran past it. I didn't peek inside. I didn't think that I was quite ready to look upon where her dead body had laid.

I took the stairs two at a time and headed towards the rooftop, but stopped at the first door to the left, knocking just once before I pushed it open.

Aiden's office was perfect. It made sense that he worked from this room. It was as if we were apart of the vibrant, vivid sky. Even more so than the other rooms in this apartment. The far wall was made up of windows that stretched three meters across. The rest of the walls were a pale blue, soft and delicate. It was so calming and serene. The glass desk which sat centre didn't interrupt the aesthetic and the soft white carpet was like walking on a cloud.

Aiden seemed to surround himself with bright decor and soothing illusions that came in the form of pure colours and safe spaces. It made sense. He'd told me on more than one occasion that his soul felt dark and damaged. I assumed that this was an attempt to cleanse some of that from his mind.

He stood beside the glass panes with one arm above his head, rested on the window. The other hand in his pocket as he watched the views below. Despite what he thought, he appeared as an angel with his strong stature and the infinite dark orange as his background. The sun was setting and I appreciated the dusting blood orange hues and undertones of red that were smeared across the darkening canvas outside.

I closed the door and crossed the room, standing behind him as I contemplated whether I should have just given him more space. The final beams of sunlight shot across the horizon and illuminated his face, the green in his gaze was so bright as I came to stand in front of him. "Aiden?"

He leaned off the window and turned his head, staring down at me with pain etched in his sharp features. "You felt bad for him, right?"

I startled, recoiling with disbelief as I stammered to answer him.

"I know. Because when you feel safe with me, you lean in to me. You seek me out. But you didn't this time," he stared out the window again. "You folded your arms. You closed off."

I was still in disbelief at how he'd figured that out and come up with the explanation. He was half right. I did feel bad for Hall. But I made no conscience decision to guard myself from him.  I moved closer and wrapped my hands around his arm. "I did feel bad," I explained. "But I know that he deserves to lose his job. You didn't hurt him or do anything unreasonable. I'm not upset with you, Aiden. Not at all."

"I wanted to hurt him," he stated still watching the sun disappear behind the sea. "I could have killed him. It was— it was hard not to beat the hell out of him."

"But— But you didn't."

"That's not the point," he angled himself to face me and stared down with anguish. "I wanted to. And you felt bad for him. I love you because of who you are. So pure and selfless. But Arian, I don't want to put out that light. I don't want to be responsible for damaging how good you are."

"You— you won't. I'm fine—"

"Exactly," he interrupted and hung his head low. "The fact that you are fine after finding out what happened to Tammy, it shows that you're becoming too immune to terrible shit. That scares me."

"Okay. I'm not fine Aiden," I took a deep breath. "It's upsetting. And I feel terrible that I was the one that brought her into our lives. But I feel worse that I couldn't help her. It's all horrible but I'm keeping it together because what else can I do? I'm sick of falling apart. I just want to be stronger."

His gaze moved over my face with a tortured stare.

"Besides, this was an overdose. It wasn't your fault."

He swallowed and averted his stare for a brief moment. "I just don't want to ruin you, Arian."

"You won't," I assured him and stepped forward, wrapping my arms around his waist. He pushed my head against his chest and kissed the top of it. "You can't take credit for all the horrible things that happen in the world. And balance will come back. It can't stay terrible forever."

"What I do will always be terrible Arian. No matter the reason that I do it."

I sighed and snuggled into his chest as his hands worked soft circles on my back. "You help people. Those people need you. I need you."

He pressed his lips against my head and murmured, "I need you more."

We stood like that for a while. Holding each other while we watched the sun turn to darkness. The stars glittered against the dark blue and the moon cast a bright and beautiful glow. I couldn't ever tire of being in this mans hold. He chased out the fear and the unknown.

"I wonder if anything that she told us was true," I murmured against his chest. "There has to be someone that we can call. I mean, I guess the police will do that. But someone might want her things?"

Zoerina had yet to tell Aiden that Tammy had a big drug dealing brother. As hard as it was to have a conversation about the matter and not slip, I remained tight lipped on that particular subject because I didn't want to throw Zoerina under the bus. Siblings appeared to be a complex relationship. I couldn't relate, but I wasn't going to get in the middle of it either. She'd tell him in good time.

His large hands ran up my back and he rested his chin on top of my head. "Don't worry," he said with a soothing tone. "I'll take care of it."