Rainbow Bridge E-Book

Varick Addler

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 291

Beschreibung

Life is in chaos for Emily, she is estranged from her family, suspended from work and has no one she loves, her only solace is her addiction to cocaine. Her attempt to take her life is foiled by the handsome neighbour, Peter. Peter is a man who has grown up with the perfect life and feels Emily deserves another chance of life, one empty of drugs and with happiness. To her there’s no way out until he shows her what love and happiness truly means. Together they will battle the cankerworm of addiction and dramas that come their way. It is not an easy path and they will have to go beyond their limits and find out where they truly belong and if it is worth fighting for. Rainbow Bridge is an emotional story of a second chance of hope and the turmoils on the road to recovery and the search for happiness.

Leseprobe

To my wife Susanne

and my children Louis Henri and Elias Simon without whom this book would have been completed two years earlier.

I love you.

And to my parents, Marianne and Herbert.

First and foremost, I have to thank my parents for their love and support throughout my life. Thank you both for giving me strength to reach for the stars and chase my dreams.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Epilogue

PROLOGUE

“Stupid stool,” she cursed, breaking the silence, she moved aside the stool she had stumbled over in the dark. More carefully, she made her way in the dark to her room.

She fell on her bed, tired and wasted. A glance at her mobile phone showed it was a little after three in the morning. The urge came suddenly and she ran to the bathroom, the contents of her stomach came out in a heave, she grimaced at the aftertaste in her mouth and rinsed it off. She looked at herself in the mirror, she looked awful with red eyes, her makeup was wiped off with a smear of ruined eyeliner. She had had fun tonight though, the club opening downtown had been the bomb. It had been a diversion to the issues she had in her life.

She returned to her room and brought out a packet from her purse, she poured little of the white substance which was the content of the packet on her bedside table and she sniffed the thin line into her nose. It shot straight to her brain and she let out a giggle. This was the real deal she thought, it was worth the money she had spent on it. Slowly, she drifted to sleep without a care in the world.

It was late when she woke up, at first, she was disoriented before she picked up bits of her night, having wild fun at the club, stumbling home and all that. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she was hungry. A quick breakfast did the work.

The TV did nothing to alleviate her boredom, she hated being in this situation. Two weeks now and no feedback. She hated the stupid wait just because of a stupid incident. She followed her instincts and stepped out, the bright light affected her eyes making her blink rapidly. She frowned at the sight of her yard, when had it grown so much? She had to do something about it. Her mailbox was filled to the brim but she looked through it looking for a particular letter. Her heart caught fright when she saw the particular logo on an envelope, she held it to her chest and headed back in.

She tore through the white envelope and brought out a typed letter. It fell to the ground after she read it. All this wait and now, she was so screwed. Tears began to slide from her eyes. This wasn’t meant to happen. What is happening to giving second chances?

“I can’t do this anymore.” She said out loud with tears still rolling down. Where would she start from? She thought. She thought of what she would be going through in the coming weeks, she just couldn’t do it. It all had to end there and then, it was time. She cleaned her face and summoned up the courage, it was time to say goodbye.

CHAPTER 1

The lights were still not on, Peter observed before he dropped the curtain. The microwave pinged and he served himself the leftover macaroni. As he ate, Peter Rovers thought about what he was going to do.

He wasn’t a stalker, far from it, but in five years, he knew his opposite neighbor’s routine. On weekdays, she left for work by ten in the morning and got back by four in the evening, he had lost track of her routine on weekends as she kept odd hours then. In the past two weeks, he had not seen his neighbor leave or get back home, he wondered what was wrong.

He washed up and went to his bedroom, Peter rolled his eyes as he stood before the mirror. At 5’9, he was quite handsome with sandy brown hair he could run his fingers through. The blue eyes he inherited from the Irish part of his family was said to be his best features. It had toned down a bit with the stress of working, but he still maintained a bit of the athlete body he had gained back in college, he managed to run a few times and spend a couple of hours in the gym in a week. Nodding with approval of how he looked, Peter headed outside.

It wasn’t dark yet but the streets were quiet, not only as a result of the falling rain, this was how it had always been since he moved into the suburbs seven years ago. It consisted of rows of similar looking bungalows with occupants ranging from young couples to elderly couples. While everyone lived a private life and tended to keep to themselves, they were still friends though, and they looked out for each other.

The first thing he noticed when he got to her lawn was the opened mailbox which was overflowing. The rain had succeeded in ruining most of the mails, he closed it knowing the act was useless. Her lawn needed a good cutting as it stood out from the others, not for any other thing, but with its overgrown grass. Then the piled up newspapers on her porch, he noticed the dates, they went back a week. He walked up the front stairs then rang the bell, he heard the sound of the bell from within. Three rings and yet no reply. That got him worried. In the past, he knew his neighbor Emily responded on time. He decided to knock this time around and his worry increased on the third knock.

Peter looked around to see if anyone was watching him before he peeped through a window, it was dark from within. He doubted she was away, he could hear the low tunes coming from the TV set.

He cursed when a thought occurred to him, he should have done it long ago. He lifted up a potted plant and found a spare key. With biased thoughts, Peter slid the key into the hole, the door flung open and he stepped into a hallway that was identical to his.

“Emily!” Peter called out, closing the door behind him, the last thing he wanted was to be attacked with a baseball bat or something worse after all most ladies did that as self-defense technique in movies. He thought making a mental note to dodge whatever comes his way.

“Emily! Peter called out louder, moving farther into the house, he found himself in the living room, it was the same size as his, but barely furnished with a green couch and a few stools, the TV which stood at the end of a wall was put on a food station. Painstakingly, he took in his surroundings, a box of pizza lay on the floor with a couple of empty beer bottles.

He grimaced, what could be worse was if Emily was with a man in her room. It would not only be awkward, but he would have a lot of explanation to make.

“Emily, it’s Peter your neighbor. Just checking up on you.” Peter said louder for the benefit of a visitor, he got no response like the previous times. He sighed, then stepped into a room he knew was the kitchen, it looked more lived in than his, the sink was flooded with plates. Still no Emily. With crossed fingers, he walked down a corridor and stood outside the bedroom door. The hairs at the back of his neck stood erect as a cool breeze blew into the room, he knew he should get out but the very curious part of him stayed put. It was not time to chicken out, after all, he had always enjoyed challenges.

“Knock! Knock!!” He thumped on the door, no one came out brandishing an axe, like he might be expecting, so he took a deep breath and relaxed a bit.

With a sinking feeling, he opened the door, the first thing he noticed was the prescription bottle left open on the floor. He cursed when he saw her on the bed, her eyes were closed with a hand dangling down. A huge cut was on her wrist and a bloodied knife lay on the ground.

Peter rushed to her, she was cold and pale. He shook her, but she didn’t show any sign of being conscious. He sighed in relief when he felt a pulse. He grabbed the phone by the bedside and dialed 911. He called out the address for them and begged them to hurry up.

He didn’t know what to do while he waited for the ambulance, he had never been in this situation before. He took a look at her, the woman he had admired for years. Why on earth would she do such a thing? She was so full of life. He shook his head in disbelief. He looked around and chuckled bitterly, he was a stockbroker, not a detective, he wouldn’t be able to find out if it was a homicide. He hoped she survived this.

He paced the length and breadth of the room, checking her pulse from time to time as he listened up for the sound of the siren, he had put pressure on the wound by tying it up with a scarf he saw hanging loosely on her chair, he hoped the little first aid knowledge he had would be enough to save her.

This felt like a horror movie, the rains were pouring in torrents, thunder was blasting and lightening striking and still no sound of siren. He wondered if there was a road block or something.

“Oh my God! What could be keeping them this late huh?” He imagined the implications of finding her dead and he being the only witness, will that not put him in a big mess. He wishes he had stayed put and minded his business but how could he when the object of his obsession suddenly vanished, looking at her laying lamely made him feel nauseous, she was a far cry from the very lively and carefree lady he knew.

He picked up the phone again to press redial when he suddenly heard the sirens blasting, he breathe a sigh of relief and said a quick thank you to God as he stepped outside, he was glad for the rain tonight as everyone was indoors. The last thing he wanted was for a crowd of curious onlookers to be formed. He led them inside and they lifted her onto a stretcher. He explained to them how he had found her. Afterwards, they apologized they took a while because the rains had caused flooding and there was an accident that caused the roads to the blocked, they had to pass a longer route. He did not care about the details provided they were able to save her, he watched them fixing the oxygen as her body shook. He locked up her house and followed the ambulance in his car to the hospital. On the drive there, Peter was glad he had followed his instincts and went over, something he had been afraid to do in years.

***

The lights were too bright, Emily thought as she opened her eyes, she quickly closed them and opened them slowly, trying to adjust this time around to what she was seeing. All she could see was white, she didn’t expect hell to be this way. She had known that was where she was headed for when she popped the pills into her mouth and later slit her wrist. She could see some images, but she couldn’t make them out, her sight was groggy.

“Take your time dear, don’t strain yourself.” An unfamiliar female voice whispered.

She doubted the devil had a kind voice as well, she gave in to the advice and fell back into a deep sleep.

When she woke up a while later, her sight was much better. From the IV attached to her wrist, the smell and the machines around her, she knew she was in the hospital. How in heaven’s name had this happened? She didn’t know whether to be sad or happy. Happy that she wasn’t dead or sad that she was back into this world where she had nothing to hold on to anymore.

A heavily built nurse walked in and smiled at her, “I see you are awake, you gave us quite a scare.” She said doing her routine check up on her.

She must have been the one who spoke to her the first time she came around as the voice was the same, Emily thought. She gave her a blank look, a scare indeed. She was just another human whose death would not make a difference. She tried to sit up and felt the pain in her wrist.

“Calm down dear.” The nurse said, laying her back gently, “You have quite a husband. He has been around since you were brought in and never left. He refused to leave your side. I am sure he will be glad to have you back.” The nurse whose tag read Rhoda continued, then gave her a frown.

Emily pursed her lips, here it goes, the bashing for what she had done. She didn’t need this right now and what was this talk about a husband? Had she woken up in another time zone or what?

Before she could open her mouth, the door opened and a man who Emily knew to be the doctor from appearance walked in, the nurse spoke quietly to him, gave her a smile then walked away.

The doctor turned to her, “I am Dr. Abel.”

She nodded her head.

He looked through a chart, “Your organs are fine, wouldn’t be if you had been found later than when you were brought here. The drugs you took would have caused serious damage if you hadn’t been brought here on time. Luckily we were able to flush them out. What you need now is rest.”

He looked at her softly, “I don’t know what is going on in your life, but this is not the best route. Committing suicide is not the way to escape from your demons. Like I told your husband, you have been delving too much in a hard substance which is very harmful to your health. You need to fix it, the next time, you may not be so lucky. I gave him a couple of brochures, there are many programs you can attend. I will also advise you to visit a psychologist, try going for a few sessions. Nothing is worth dying over.” He said with empathy and a soothing smile which did nothing to soothe the ache in her heart.

Emily gave him a smile she hoped looked sincere, he talked for a while before he left. She inhaled and leaned back, she hated the way they were treating her, she knew what she was doing when she killed herself, she wanted out of this world. She couldn’t wait to see her so called husband, she was sure he was the one who had brought her here. She had no idea who it could be, no one came to mind.

The door opened and Emily chuckled when she saw the person who came in, seriously? This was really surprising, in a thousand years he would never have come up in her mind.

She looked at the man who had been her neighbor for years after she moved into the house she inherited from her grand mum, they had barely exchanged words apart from ‘“Hi”, “good morning”, “have a nice day” and a few pleasantries. Now she was married to him, how did things happen so fast?

“So you are the husband.” Emily teased.

Peter gave her a bland look that made the smile slip from her face. Here we go again. Another round of scolding.

“Why?”

She didn’t have to ask him why what. She shrugged, she didn’t owe anyone an explanation why she had tried to take her life. She had the right to do whatever she wanted with it.

“It is complicated.” Emily admitted.

“Try me.” He said, sitting on the bed.

She sighed, “I appreciate you saving me, although I didn’t need to be, I would have been in a better place if you hadn’t arrived. Thanks anyway, but I do not owe you an explanation.”

“Is this about you losing your job?”

Emily gave him a surprised look, how did he know? She just found out herself.

Peter rubbed his chin that was sporting a five o’clock shadow, “I had to get clean clothes for you and came across your termination letter.” He explained hoping that was enough explanation for now.

That was just part of it, Emily thought, but it had been the breaking point. She shook her head, “Just leave it that way.”

Peter glared at her, “You almost died for crying out loud. You tried to kill yourself by not only taking an overdose, and when that didn’t do the job soon enough, you went ahead by slitting your wrist and you are telling me to just put it behind me like it is not relevant?” He said in disbelief.

Emily shrugged, why is he crying more than the bereaved? There was nothing between them that would guarantee such a reaction. She was surprised how he had even been able to get into her home and get her to the hospital.

He held her hand, the first physical contact she had ever had with him.

“I know things are hard, but you can’t give up on life, there is so much out there. So much to do and to see. Whatever you are going through is not worth you losing your life. I am here for you. You will pull through this. Just don’t do this again. Promise?” He said looking into her eyes as he spoke, she saw the sincerity and what seemed like love, no it couldn’t be it, no one cared that much for her, she could not hold his gaze anymore so she looked down at her wrist and she nodded her head making a promise. She drifted back to sleep as he whispered encouraging words to her, she would ask him how he had found her later. She didn’t know why, but she was beginning to believe him, everything would be alright.

CHAPTER 2

Emily knew before opening the door that it had to be Peter, he was the only one who had been coming over every day for a week. Today, he was dressed in a grey suit that brought out his blue eyes. It also brought out his well-built frame and muscles. She shook her head, no thinking about her hot neighbor, now wasn’t the time, she thought to herself. She smiled, letting him in.

“How was work?” She said flatly so he would not suspect she was very excited to see him.

He nodded his head, “Great. Your day?” He said in the same tone.

Emily shrugged. Since she returned from the hospital, she spent her days doing the same routine, sleeping and eating. She tried looking for a job, but no one would hire a drug junkie, her former place of work had refused to give her a referral when she had called them up. It was going to be hell getting a decent job with all of this.

“Got you something.” Peter said, handing her a grocery bag which she took to the kitchen.

She looked through the brown bag and saw a few essentials she was out of.

“You shouldn’t have, but thanks.”

He smiled and handed her another bag, she grinned when she spotted the logo, her favorite Chinese restaurant.

“How did you know?” She asked looking through the contents.

It must have been her imagination because Peter blushed, “I see the delivery guy coming over from time to time.” He confessed.

Emily grinned, someone had definitely been taking note of her. and her inside warmed up at that thought at the same time she got a little bit shaken by having a real life human showing her such attention, it never happens, not in her life but in movies She thought as she went into the kitchen to get few plates as they went to the living room. They dished it out and ate in silence, enjoying the food.

“So any luck on the job?”

Emily shook her head, “Not yet.” She said with sadness etched in her voice.

“Something will come up.” He said reassuringly.

She smiled at him, he had so much faith. She hoped he was right, her savings were dwindling and she needed a means of income as soon as possible.

She looked at the man beside her, the truth was she had been checking him out for years. She remembered the first time she saw him, she just moved into her late grand mum’s home, he had been surrounded by a couple of kids who were listening attentively to him. She had felt something that day, since then, she hadn’t stopped looking out for him. He was so unlike the men she knew. Ambitious and in control, throw-in handsome and hot. He was definitely not her type and that had kept her away. Funny was the circumstances that had brought them together. She knew he was still waiting for her to open up, but that was something she wasn’t prepared to do. Going down that memory lane, there was so much hurt there.

“Have you decided?”

She gave him a confused look.

“Which of the meetings are you going to attend? And which treatments programs will you be taking?” He asked with an expectation in his voice that she hated to disappoint.

Emily groaned, she had thrown the pamphlets in the dustbin the day she got back from the hospital. Those anonymous meetings weren’t for her, she had been there, seen it and done it. Two months in rehab, and she had gone back to her ways, it was definitely not meant for her.

“You have to make up your mind now.” Peter continued, “This is the stage you have to make a move.”

“I am better.” Emily said, she felt it, she didn’t know why, it probably had to do with Peter or her near-death experience, but she felt different. She hadn’t used any substance in a week, which was something that had never happened since she became addicted.

Peter shook his head, “You can’t just proclaim yourself as being better like that. You can’t do it on your own. I saw the way you were, you don’t pull through such a thing in the twinkle of an eye. What you need is professional help Emily, there are people who can help you.” He urged her in a persuasive tone she hated to turn down.

Emily sighed, this was why she hated people knowing about her weakness, they kept on pushing for her to get help until she had no option than to let go of them. Too bad she was beginning to enjoy his company.

“I will think about it.” She said with a smile, at least to drop the matter.

He shook his head obviously not convinced, “Think over it tonight, the sooner you begin the better.” He said knowing the only way to really help her type is to be firm on decision making and to stop stalling.

“I haven’t thanked you enough for being there for me.” Although she had wanted to die, Emily was glad she hadn’t gone down that road. Since she returned, she had begun to appreciate the perks of being alive, everything felt different and she saw things in a new light. “I am really indebted to you.” She added sincerely.

Peter just shrugged, “I did what I had to do.”

“Ummm, if you don’t mind me asking. How?”

He raised a brow, “How what?”

“How did you know I was close to death? Why did you come around then? I know I haven’t been the best of neighbors. It is quite odd you came around when you did. And finding my key, it's quite strange. No one knows where I keep a spare.” These questions had been bothering her.

It was amusing when his face turned red. She thought it was cute to see a man blush for real.

“I must have seen you take a key from there a couple of times, besides, I was worried.”

Emily lifted her eyebrows, this was new. She waited for him to continue.

“Your lights were out. It was raining, yet your windows were open. It was so unlike you.” He paused letting the words wash over her like warm water on a cold night.

She chuckled, “And you know this because?”

He went quiet for a while, “Let’s just say I have been watching you.” He held a palm up, “Not in a creepy way, far from it. I have been interested in you for a while, liked you to be precise.” He said in a rush as if he was eager to let the words out.

A big grin spread across her face, what were the odds? “Really? And you didn’t make a move? We have been neighbors for about five years now and we have barely had a conversation.”

“I know, I was kind of scared which is stupid for a grown up man like me. Sorry to say this, but you actually don’t come out as friendly, quite distant. The last thing I wanted was for you to turn me down and for things to be awkward between us. It was better for us just being strangers.” He said with a distant look that made her read other meaning to his statement.

Emily understood clearly what he meant, she herself knew how she was, she was not easy to get along with. One minute, she was full of life, the next, in a depressing mood, she always kept to herself. It wasn’t her fault anyway, her experience in life had made her this way.

“I just felt it was strange and I decided to check up on you. Glad I followed my instincts.” He said recalling the raining evening he had found her pale body, he never wanted a replay of such event in his life.

“I like you too.” Emily admitted. He was the perfect American man with a good job and a good heart. She knew that from the gossips she could pick around, he had a smile for everyone and was willing to help anytime. Another reason she had kept her attraction to herself, Peter Rovers was too good for her. He spelt everything she was not. She hadn’t even dated a guy like him, he wouldn’t understand her world and she wouldn’t cope in his either.

There was a short silence between them, then Peter chuckled, “Silly right that we felt the same way about each other but locked it all up.”

Emily nodded her head.

“So, what do we do about it?”

She shook her head, now wasn’t the time to get involved. She was trying to start afresh and in the past, men had added to the strain in her life.

“I am not saying we should get involved, far from that. You are still recovering and I don’t think you need that, but I want us to be more than the neighbor next door. We can start with just being friends. If you are okay with that.” He said when he noticed her hesitation.

Emily looked at the hopefulness in his eyes, she hadn’t had a male friend who hadn’t tried to get into her panties.

“Friends?”

“Yes, we can start with that right?”

She nodded, she decided she would give it a try, “What does this friendship entail?” she asked.

A smile spread across his face, “I help you out with your problems and we hang around. Basically two grownups having fun.”

Emily smiled, “Sure.”

The bell rang and they looked up in surprise, she wasn’t expecting anyone. She walked to the door and opened it, outside stood a petite dark-haired woman she wasn’t expecting to see, Gloria. Gloria enveloped her in a tight hug.

A throat clearing tore them apart, it was by Peter, Gloria looked curiously at Peter.

“Hello!”

“Peter, this is Gloria my friend.” Emily said introducing them.

They shook hands while Gloria looked at him warily.

“I should be on my way, I have an early start tomorrow.” Peter said, excusing himself like a gentleman.

“Thanks for dinner and the groceries.” Emily appreciated again.

He brushed it off with a smile, “See you tomorrow.”

Gloria began to jump up and down when the door closed behind him, Emily rolled her eyes and flopped on the couch.

“Who is that hot guy? I haven’t seen him around before.” She said with excitement in her eyes.

“He’s a neighbor from across the street.” Emily said blandly to hide the enthusiasm working its way up in her belly to be associated with such man.

“A hot one at that. He is not the type of guy you usually hang around with.”

Emily smiled, she was right with that. She wondered what Gloria was doing here with her. She and Gloria had been friends since when she was younger, they had met at elementary school and their relationship had clicked, so to say, Gloria had been the one to introduce her to her first taste of drugs. But at twenty-six, she had not only been clean for years but was married to a man who adored her. Over the years, their relationship had dwindled from hanging outs and being besties to phone calls once in a while, so it was surprising she was paying her a visit. Their last encounter had resulted in yelling of insults and accusations at each other.

“Why are you here?” Emily’s tone and voice changed immediately she recalled their last meeting.

“I know we parted on a bad ground.” Gloria said with a sad look.

That was an understatement, they had thrown terrible words at each other.

She reached for Emily and hugged her again, “I heard about what happened, what the hell is wrong with you Emily? Why would you do such a thing?” She asked with worry written all over her.

Peter had tried to cover up her suicide from being heard by people by claiming she was his wife, she guessed it hadn’t worked.

“How did you know?” Emily asked with wonderment in her tone, not totally surprised.

“Remember Tasha? She was on call that night and saw you rushed in. I ran into her last night and she brought you up. You don’t know how scared I was when she told me you tried to kill yourself. How could you do that to yourself dear?”

She remembered Tasha, they had been together during her time in college. She had always had a big mouth back then, guess she still did.

“The last thing I need right now is you scolding me Gloria, if that is what you came for, the door is right there.” That had been the bane of their fight a few weeks back. Gloria was pissed off Emily was still using drugs and partying her life out. They had yelled at each other and Gloria’s departing words had been, “Take a look at yourself, you are a freaking junkie. You need to stop killing yourself, you are going down that drain that you can never recover from. I am done trying to help, you are in this alone.”

“I am sorry about last time.” Gloria said, her eyes becoming teary, “I shouldn’t have said those words.” She said choking on the words.

Emily shook her head, she had been right all along, she was ruining her life, making the worst out of it.

Gloria held her, “I can’t imagine losing you Emi, it will crush me. We have gone a long way, gone through a lot. I feel so guilty for all this, I introduced you to this, and see what is happening.” She let the tears run down her supple cheek and she blew into the handkerchief Emily gave her.

Emily shook her head, way back then, she hadn’t been forced into it, she had done it with an open eye. It was no one’s fault but hers. Besides, Gloria had used cocaine and had gotten over it since, she was the one not willing to let go.

“You are not to blame, I made the choice to live my life this way.” She said trying to make her friend feel better.

“I just don’t like seeing you this way, this is not where I envisioned we would be at this stage of our life.”

Emily smiled, “I know right, we were supposed to have a bakery.”

Gloria giggled, “And a pet store. How time flies.”

Emily thought of when they were kids, although things had still been rough then, it hadn’t been that bad, there were no worries, and life had still been a fairytale.

They both talked for a while, catching up on each other’s life. Emily could still feel the strain, they were still friends, but whatever they had in the past would not be the same.

Gloria’s phone chimed and she smiled when she read the screen.

“Homer?” Emily asked, referring to Gloria’s husband.

Gloria nodded, “He has been all over me of late. I did a test earlier this week, we are expecting a baby.” She said rubbing her flat tummy, the bump was still a little bulge at her lower abdomen.

Emily smiled with glee, she knew her friend would make a good mother.

As Emily lay in her bed, she couldn’t sleep. She thought of her friend, Gloria. She was jealous, to be sincere, she had it all, a husband who loved her and a child on the way. Why couldn’t her life be that way? She had no one of her own. Her thoughts went to the guy across the street, she would give it a try, give him a trial and give life another chance, after all she had absolutely nothing to lose.

***