Ever again, ever. I love you, Iadore you, I love every atom of you. I tell you what- you ask Krystieabout Jacinta and Ophelia and I'll ask the girls t...hemselves, okay?" Sure," I say. "I love you too..." See you later, Nikki," Sarah says, clicking off her phone and making mesigh in frustration. As much as she says that she adores me, as hard as Itry to believe her... Her actions say otherwise. I sigh as I grab a blouse,a pencil skirt and a clean pair of black tights to change into, stuffingthem. The truth of the matter is that she could get over Gabriel… eventually. Or, at least, she could convince herself pretty damn well thank you very much. She is, after all, a professional at making things up for a living. It was just that inspiration has been… elusive. For twelve months. Not a single solitary splash of ink on the page, just wine, lots and lots of wine.Willow looks mournfully out at the pines, suddenly regretful for having had a “childish hissy” as Aunt Mireille liked to call them.. We were standing on the balcony of the hotel watching when one of the bullets fired at the sky passed through my head. I was knocked backwards as the bullet hit. I was falling in slow motion to the floor of the balcony and seeing my colleagues’ faces frozen with shock. Everything went black. ************************************************* I came back to consciousness in a hospital bed. I was connected to beeping monitors, had a tube in my throat and a drip connected to my wrist. I had a dry. "Oh, there you are, honey," the voice gushed as Vicki approached the windowed kitchen door with a forced calm that belied the inner turmoil she felt."I hope I didn't interrupt you?" the older woman continued. Then, not waiting to be invited in, she opened the door, paused to let her big Doberman pinscher enter first and then boldly stepped in herself."No, that's all right. I was just getting ready to bathe," Vicki lied."Gee, honey, I'm sorry," the woman said in a tone that clearly indicated she.