Chapter Six

"Well, start somewhere. Anywhere. Talk to me." Andrew continued to brush her bangs away from her eyes. It was alternately soothing and distracting.

"Andrew, why are you here? Why now? What do you want?"

His hand stilled at the back of her head. Kelleigh drew herself up and leaned against the headboard, breaking all contact with him. Andrew looked hurt for a moment then tried to make his expression casual. "It was just time I came back. I just had a feeling that I was needed here. Seems like I am." He shrugged and smiled.

Kelleigh pulled her knees up to her chest and laid her cheek on them. He was needed here, she contemplated his words. Where was he twenty years ago? Or six months ago?

She felt the bed shift again and her heart jumped in her chest but this time Andrew stood. She raised her head and watched him. She thought he was going to walk out but saw him grab a chair from the dressing table, turn it around and sit down next to the bed.

"If I continue to sit there and you continue to look so forlorn, I'm afraid something is going to happen that we'll both end up regretting. Now I'm here, a safe distance away and I'm asking for the final time: What's going on?"

Kelleigh leaned her head back, sighed and tried to begin, tried to detach herself from the story. "After you disappeared the night of graduation, I was lost. I didn't understand, at the time, why you left. Left me here alone. But I picked myself up and continued on. You were gone and nothing was going to change that."

She couldn't look at Andrew. She didn't want to see what emotions were playing across his face, in his eyes. She began to tell him a story. A story that just happened to be true.