Norah lay in bed, listening to the sounds of the ocean. With each crash of a wave, she told herself she would get up and go out to tell Rylan to go, and when each wave came, her body tensed, but she didn't move.

She'd been listening to see if he was awake, but she hadn't heard the front door open or close; the house was silent. Sleeping on it, she had had time to think about everything that happened last night and the night before.

Would it really be so bad if he stayed for a few days?

She didn't like the idea of needing someone to look out for her, but thinking of Liam and Blake and the vibe they had, it gave Norah comfort knowing someone else was in the house with her. Even if he did act like jerk eight times out of ten.

The waves crashed once more, and Norah sat up, deciding she wouldn't make him leave today. She would wait a few days and see what happened. Hopefully Liam's little group would forget about her, and she could go back to her boring life.

Throwing on a large dark blue sweater, she padded silently out into the kitchen. She looked at the couch, Rylan was still fast asleep, and she wondered what he did during the day. She remembered hearing the sound of a saw during their last phone call and she guessed he worked at the Montoya's Mill. She'd come home late last night, and she wondered if he'd had to stay awake and keep an eye on her.

She grabbed some bread and put it in the toaster as the kettle boiled. His legs were twisted, hanging over the top of the couch and she stared at his feet, thinking of how this would work. It had been so long since she had lived with someone, she didn't know if she should make rules or clear a shelf for him in the fridge. He's only staying for a few days, she reminded herself.

But he was meant to be protecting her so she should make his stay comfortable...

The kettle popped and she poured the tea and buttered her toast before spreading her favourite raspberry jam. She glanced back at Rylan, he still seemed to be asleep and instead of sitting at the table, she stepped out onto the front veranda, worried she would wake him.

It was a cool morning, the sun hadn't broken through the grey clouds so the air had a bite to it. Sitting on the top step, she ate slowly staring out at the ocean. She wondered what her main characters would do if a werewolf suddenly started sleeping on their couch. Joseph, her male protagonist, would be bewildered, at a man sleeping on his couch. His first action would be to call the police and then hide in case the guy tried to kill him.

Norah took a sip of tea, enjoying the warmth spread through her body. She really needed to help Joseph become more manlier. Tasha, her female protagonist would be fascinated by him, especially if she got to see him without his shirt on. She would sit and stare at his chest, fingers twitching with a strange desire to trace the contours - wait!

Norah shook her head, her face burning. Was that really Tasha who wanted to do that?

A familiar truck rolled down the track and she finished her toast, standing up. "I wasn't expecting you to be alive at this time of morning," Norah called as Brad stepped out from the truck.

He smiled ruefully and walked over to stand on the bottom step. "I've dosed myself so I can be functional for work. I think Dylan might be doing most of it though today."

"Ah, the joys of being the boss," Norah teased. He ran a hand through his hair and she could see the shadows under his eyes. His skin was pale and she didn't think he'd be doing anything for the day.

"I just came over this morning to apologise. Dylan filled me in on some of the blanks and I feel like an idiot."

"Alcohol does that to you," Norah finished her tea and put the cup on the railing. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean any of it."

"I know, I was hoping perhaps, you and me could do something like that again, but just the two of us?"

She sighed. "Brad, I -"

She heard the front door open and turned slightly. Rylan walked out with only his black jeans on and her eyes started roaming against her better judgement.

"Morning." Rylan stretched his arms above his head and Norah turned away, not prepared for such a sight this early in the morning. She looked back at Brad and flinched.

His eyes had grown cold. "So, this is why you've been turning me down."

"What? No, Brad -"

"It's fine, I get it. Should have known you would be into the weird ones," he muttered. He turned back to his truck and Norah felt a flash of anger rip through her.

"Hey!" She spun his shoulder around. "You have no idea what is going on right now. Insulting me and insulting them is just childish and I would never date someone who judges someone as quickly as you. You know what? I'm glad you got drunk last night, at least now I know what type of person you really are. Go to work and suffer through your stupid hangover."

Brad looked guilty but she didn't give him time to respond, instead turning and heading back inside. She brushed past Rylan who was staring at Brad. She grabbed her cup on her way in and moved to the sink, rinsing it out. If he was going to act like a child then she wanted nothing to do with him. He had no idea what was going on with her. To judge her, and judge them so quickly, it made her so mad -  

"Norah."

She looked to her left and Rylan was leaning against the sink, watching her calmly. "You scrub any harder and you'll wash the paint off that cup."

She looked down at the cup, which was completely clean and sat it in the sink, breathing deeply. "I just don't get what his problem is. I've shut him down that many times and he doesn't get it! He didn't even ask if there was something else happening, he just assumed -"

"Well it's a pretty easy assumption to jump to," Rylan folded his arms. "What would you have done in that situation?"

Leaning on the sink, she closed her eyes. "Probably the same thing." She bit her lip and opened her eyes. "Should I apologise to him?"

Rylan snorted, eyes moving from her mouth to her eyes. "No, let the idiot sulk for a few days. He's never liked the Montoya's, never really bothered or cared to find out why. Got any more toast floating around?"

"Uh yeah, there should be some bread in the cupboard."

She went to move but Rylan grabbed her arm. "I can make toast, got my toast making licence and everything."

She rolled her eyes. "Go ahead then."

He let go of her arm and she leaned back as his hand moved to her face. Before she could ask what he was doing, he brushed toast crumbs from the corner of her mouth. His thumb moved gently and her heart stuttered.

"Been driving me mad since I stepped outside," he muttered. Once he was finished, he moved over to the cupboard to grab the bread. "You always eat like a pig?"

Any confused feelings were replaced with anger. "I do not eat like a pig!" she snapped.

"Only pigs leave messes," he said in a matter of fact tone, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

"Are you always going to be an annoying ass?"

He put the bread in the toaster. "I'm not an annoying ass, I'm an adorable ass." Before Norah could stop herself, she snorted loudly and Rylan looked at her in shock. "Even snorts like a pig too," he said to himself.

She glared at him. "Shut up. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Not for a little bit. Plenty of time to rile you up some more." She moved past him and grabbed her laptop from the coffee table, taking it to the kitchen table. "What are you doing?"

"Getting some writing done," she muttered.

He nodded and didn't say anything else. She opened the document of her recent chapter and started plotting out the next scene, trying avoid thinking about the shirtless man making toast in her kitchen. She heard him moving around as she started typing and the tension started leaving her shoulders as the words appeared on the screen.

Norah had written two pages when she felt a breath on her shoulder and she jumped. Rylan was leaning down behind her, looking at the screen. "What are you writing?"

"Your death warrant," she slammed the screen down. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to distract you," he sounded sincere but she didn't believe him. She half turned in the chair and saw he was fully dressed. "I'm heading off to work. Put your number in my phone so I can call you if anything comes up and I'll give you mine."

She put in her number silently, wanting to get back to her chapter, and handed the phone back. There was a pause and he sighed. "Funny, Norah. Give me your mobile number too."

"I don't have one." She had the screen open halfway so she could keep typing but he couldn't see what she was writing.

"What?"

"I don't have one, got rid of it before I came here."

He moved her hands, putting the screen back down. "Are you an idiot? Why would you get rid of it?"

"None of your business," she said defensively. "I just did." He loomed over her, pale blue eyes boring into her own and she could see him trying to figure out what was going through her head. "Just use the house number, I'm home most of the day."

He shook his head. "Get a mobile phone, today."

"No."

"Please, get a mobile phone."

"Just use the house phone!" She argued and a flash of annoyance crossed his features.

"I'll be coming back tonight, you better have one by then," he said shortly. "And I'll be coming back whether you want me here or not -"

"I do," she said over him and he looked surprised. Her cheeks flushed and she looked out the window, finding the view easier to talk to. "Just for a few days anyway, until this mess calms down. But you don't have to stay every night, I'm sure Olivia can stay one night -"

"No. I'm the one that owes you."

"You already paid me back, Rylan!"

"Not yet," he murmured. "See you tonight - and for Pete's sake, stay away from the forest and come home before dark."

"Yes dad," she said sarcastically. "I'll be a good girl."

"You better," he said as he walked out the door. "Or I'll have to spank you - actually -"

"Just go!" she shouted, knowing what he was going to say.

Opening her screen again, she heard the motorbike start up and she tried to get back into the storyline. She looked at the last line she had written.

Joseph's pale blue eyes widened in surprise -

She rested her head on her hand, sighing in annoyance. Joseph's eyes were brown...  

*                             *                             *                             *                             *

Norah didn't know why, but she had always held a strange fascination for cemeteries. There was a deep silence about them that seemed to clear her head, leaving her with a sense of melancholy.

After trying to sort her characters for two hours, she finally gave up. Her focus was scattered, and she kept writing a certain someone's name by accident. Leaving everything at home, she wandered up to town and started walking through the small side streets until she came across the town's cemetery. It was a large block and the grass was a vibrant green, neatly mowed and well kept.

In the centre was a line of trees  which cast a shadow on either half of the cemetery depending on the time of day. Currently, the shadow was cast on the right side and it gave that part a darker, more haunting vibe. Norah walked down each aisle, many of the headstones on this side were old and crumbling around the edges. She looked at the names and dates they had lived and died, wondering what their lives had been like.

Had they travelled the world, been a part of something incredible in history? Had they simply stayed in Bellvale, content with the lives they had lived or had they been full of regret? Regret was something Norah didn't want. She wanted to live her life doing what she wanted. Writing a novel wasn't necessarily at the top her list, but it was pretty high. She wanted to travel, get a tattoo, get married, have children...

They weren't big dreams, but she wouldn't be satisfied until she'd achieved them all.

A movement past the trees caught her attention, and she moved closer, standing behind a large oak. Madison stood in one of the rows on the brighter side, a single yellow tulip in her hand. Norah tried to slip away unseen, but she tripped on a root and made herself known.

Madison's lips moved into a smile as she saw her, but her eyes were filled with sadness. "Hi Norah."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"It's alright, I was just stopping by on my way home."

Norah hesitated before moving closer. She stood beside Madison and saw the name on the tombstone; Parker Roker.

She glanced at Madison, who hadn't stopped looking at the stone. Another yellow tulip was sitting on the earth in front of the headstone and Norah put two and two together.

"I come here every day, to put a flower here," Madison said weakly. "Yellow tulips were our flower; Parker said yellow tulips meant you were hopelessly in love. It's silly, right? I know everyone thinks I'm silly -"

"It's not silly," Norah said quietly. "I don't know much about him, but I can tell how much you loved him and that's not silly."

Madison bent down and picked up the other tulip, replacing it with the fresh one. "They say the pain is meant to fade with time," Madison whispered. "Why does it feel like the pain is just getting worse?"

Norah didn't know what to say. "Have you talk with Wendy about this?"

She shook her head. "I can't, I know it sounds strange, but I know what she's going to say. Everyone treats me like a fragile doll, too afraid to ask me how I feel. No one talks about him anymore, which just hurts more."

Her voice broke into a sob and Norah crouched down beside her, placing her hand over Madison's. "Tell me about him. How did you two meet?"

Madison hesitate and Norah nodded, giving her encouragement.

"We'd known each other since preschool." A watery smile spread across her face. "The first thing I can remember is we faced off against each other. The girls wanted the swings, but the boys wouldn't let us, so we had a challenge to see who could eat the most worms; whoever ate the most won, and I was chosen to represent the girls."

Norah laughed quietly. "Who won?"

"I did; I ate ten worms and Parker ate nine before he threw up." Norah giggled and Madison laughed breathlessly. "He didn't even hate that I had beaten him. He told me he thought I was cool, and after that we started playing together and became friends."

They sat on the grass and Madison told Norah everything she could remember. It was as if she had been keeping it all bottled up for years, afraid to talk to anyone, and now it was all pouring out with no way to stop it.

Norah listened patiently; she laughed and cried at the moments Madison had had with Parker, and she grew silent as Madison talked of finally falling in love.

"I don't even remember how it really happened," she laughed. "I was sitting in class and dropped my pen. Parker always sat beside me and he bent down and picked it up for me. All he said was - 'Your pen, milady', and I felt something snap inside me, making me see him in a whole new light. I was lost from that moment."

"Nothing like some elegant language to make you fall in love."

Madison smiled, looking at her hands. "I couldn't tell him, I was so shy and terrified he wouldn't be interested because we'd been friends for so long. It took him two weeks, and a little help from Wendy, to realise the way I felt."

Her eyes watered again. "I still remember that day so clearly. I was walking home behind the back of the school and he seemed to appear out of nowhere. I didn't even have time to ask him why he was there. He just grabbed me and said - 'Took you long enough', and then he kissed me. It is still the best kiss I've ever had."

Madison looked Norah in the eye. "Have you ever had those moments where you were just so incredibly happy, it felt like nothing could go wrong?"

Norah nodded. "A few times."

"With Parker, it felt like one long moment of happiness. We had our bad days, but it was never something so bad we couldn't fix it. We were madly, hopelessly happy," her smile faded. "Or at least, I was."

Her eyes grew red as tears fell against her will, and Norah squeezed her hand. "It's okay."

Madison sniffed loudly, looking to the sky. "I don't know what happened. He never mentioned being sad or depressed. I never saw any signs." Her gaze shot down and she looked at Norah imploringly. "Why didn't I see them? I was closer to him than anyone! If he was so depressed, why did he ask me to marry him?"

She gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. Norah felt just as shocked. "He asked you to marry him?"

She nodded. "I've never told that to anyone, not even Wendy." Hands trembling, she reached beneath her shirt and pulled out a fine silver chain. A silver ring with a small white diamond hung from it. "We were secretly engaged for three months. That's why I can't understand why he would do it. What could have possibly happened in those three months to make him -" her voice broke off, unable to say the word and her hand tightened on the ring.

"He didn't talk with his friends?"

She shook her head. "They were just as confused as me. No one saw it coming, but if someone did, it should have been me! He didn't even leave a note or say goodbye," her voice warbled and the tears fell faster. "Why didn't he say goodbye?"

With no more words left, Madison broke down. Norah pulled her close, hugging her as she cried it out. She clung to Norah, sobbing into her shoulder and unconsciously, Norah started rocking, her own tears falling quietly.

She didn't know how long they sat there, but they didn't move until Madison's sobs quietened, her tears finally spent and she pulled herself away. "Oh God, Norah I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You obviously needed that, and sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger than a friend."

"You're no stranger," Madison smiled, wiping her face. "Not anymore."

They stood and Madison touched the headstone briefly before following Norah out. They stopped at the gate to the cemetery and Madison crushed Norah in a hug. "Thank you. I...I don't know what I feel right now, but I know it's better than what I've been feeling lately."

Norah returned the hug just as fiercely. "If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me."

Madison pulled back, more tears threatening to fall. "I think I need to get home before people see what a mess I am."

Norah laughed, wiping her own tears away. "Me too. I'm going to see Wendy tomorrow to get a new book, I'll join your weekly lunch date."

Madison smiled. "I'll see you then."

Norah watched Madison walk away, feeling drained. It was no wonder Madison had been so sad; keeping so much bottled up for so many years would wear anyone down. Just listening to her pain had made her feel exhausted for Madison. She was glad she had opened up though. Her eyes had been sad, but after talking, there was a hint of something more there; peace.

Norah headed back home, thinking a glass of wine and a bubble bath was in order.  

_____________________________________________

AN - Are we enjoying Rylan? I know I'm having fun writing him :-P 

This chapter was Madison's chapter, in a way though. I don't even know how it happened, but that last part of the story just came from somewhere deep within me. I know it hasn't been long since I updated but I thought I would give you all another since you waited so patiently over the christmas break. Thanks guys!

ALSO, the voting for the Wattys are now open and if any of you amazing readers have read Forsaken Deity, I would love if you could vote for it <3