His eyes fell on her face and he watched her sleep. Everything was different about her and he wanted to know what changed her. Her hair fell over her shoulder and he pushed it back to expose her dark skin. He let his hand run through her hair as he studied her. She had grown up and held no resemblance of the Amy he had known in high school.

The first time he had seen her in that club, he couldn't believe his eyes. He had always thought she would've made something big out of herself, but to see her working in that club shook him. When he had seen her talking with Mags outside he knew something was up. Though he couldn't understand what they were saying, he knew that something had gone wrong just from the venom he had heard. He had watched her disappear into the night and left Mags alone.

After two weeks of doing absolutely nothing in the evenings, he found himself returning to that club. When he saw her working again he tried to play it cool by talking with Mags. Apparently his intentions were noticed and he watched her disappear from behind the counter. He scanned the floor only to find her dancing with another stranger. The idiot was too close to her for his taste and he moved onto the dance floor.

When he had her in his arms again, he saved the feel of her body against his and let the music devour him. Then she ripped away from him and disappeared again. His mind knew something was going on and he ran after her. He remembered the way to the Star Motel and he had quickly followed her there. When he was standing her room and saw her holding a drink, he felt something snap.

Then his mind kicked in gear and he had taken care of her. She didn't verbally argue with him, but he knew how she resented it. When he found himself unfastening her shirt he had stopped and she looked at him with a dangerous fire. His eyes let the flames heat something deep inside him and then he found his mouth crashing down on hers. He took a deep breath and pulled himself out of his thoughts.

He looked down at her again and watched her rest. She was going to have a severe headache when she woke and more pain than she had ever felt. Then he looked at the clock across the room and pulled his arm away from her warm body. He moved around the room and walked to where his jacket was at and slid it on. When he stood at the door, he looked back at the bed and then he slipped out into the early morning.

His feet carried him to the Fermont Hotel, but he changed course and headed south. When he found himself standing on the southern outskirts of the town he stopped. Ten miles down the road would be the place he had spent years of hell in. He turned west and walked to the docks. Then he sat at the edge of one pier and watched the sun rise into the sky.

___________________________________________________________

She filled another order for a customer and focused on the job. Her temper was still on edge after waking alone earlier in the day. She handed the customer the drink and received the bill. Then she found some clean mugs and started to wipe them down. As she settled down into work mode, Billy watched her and picked up his phone.

When the voice answered, he said, "We may have a problem. She's working right now, but seems rather pissed about something. Be best if you get her out of here before she kills someone."

Then he hung up the phone and headed over to help her finish cleaning the mugs. As he put the dry ones away, he saw her jaw tighten every ten seconds as her mind wandered off somewhere.

PGS