'Been a long time.'
She raised her glass in greeting to the man who had spoken, then drained it. He motioned for her to follow him through a door located behind the bar. She obliged, making sure to close the door behind her.
'How's the family, Liz?' asked the man casually.
She shot him a look while taking a swig from the bottle of liquor she had snagged on her way past the bar.
'Didn't come here to talk Kelly.'
He flinched at the use of his last name.
'Really? Then why? You made yourself pretty clear last time. What was it you said?' he continued without waiting for her response. 'I've got a life and a family now, and I don't need you messing it up.'
At the word family she cringed slightly and refused to meet his eyes. That was his first tip something was wrong. Liz didn't shy away from much.
'What happened?' He asked softly.
She didn't answer, just took another large swig from the bottle. She was likely to end up passing out in the next few minutes at the rate she was going. Then again, she always could hold her liquor better than most.
He touched her arm and stepped in front of her, making sure he held her gaze.
'House burned down three months ago. No survivors. I wasn't there.' She spat the last part out like a curse. She hated that she hadn't been there. Greyson suspected she blamed herself.
She looked anywhere but at him as she continued, still nursing the bottle. 'I was staying with a friend for a few weeks after but I couldn't hack it. I quit my job and took off. Been on the move ever since.'
'Jesus Liz. I'm sorry.'
He knew an apology wasn't what she wanted to hear, wasn't what she needed, but what else were you supposed to say to someone who had lost everything?
She scoffed and headed for the door.
'I don't want your pity.'
He reached out and grabbed her arm.
'Dammit Liz! This isn't pity! I care about you. You know that.'
'Yeah and how did that work out for you the first time, huh? '
She met his eyes and tried to pry his hand off her. She didn't want this. The look in his eyes terrified her. Even after all this time, he still loved her. Coming here had been a mistake. She had thought he would hate her for leaving him back then. She needed him to hate her.
'Let me go.' She whispered careful to keep her face turned so he wouldn't see the tears threatening to fall. 'Please.'
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