She turned to Sandy. “I like your earrings. They go well with your clothes. Where did you get those?”“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve had this stuff ...orever.” Sandy looked at the girl trying to stop the conversation. She did not like it when people talked in the elevator. She could not escape the conversation if she wanted. The girl just smiled back.“I’m here on an internship,” the girl said. “My name’s Vanessa.”“Sandy.”The elevator stopped. “Well, this is my floor. It was nice meeting you Sandy. Maybe. How are you?"They both gave me a big hug, looked at one another wide eyed then giggled and hugged me again."Someone has changed a lot I see! This French air has done wonders for you" Chloe praised."You look so good Chad! What have you been up to?" Olivia chimed in.At this point in time I was getting a lot of attention from women and even got a few numbers, but I still was a little uneasy around beautiful woman.Scratching the back of my head I replied, "Oh nothing much, just been working out. I had a flash of envy thinking of the lucky bastards she would let close to her.About the time we got settled down I heard a knock on my door, followed by the doorbell, I struggled out of my chair to see who was disturbing my peace. One of my friends from the station had stopped by to see if I wanted to go clubbing, I told him no, I had company. About that time Beth came up behind me, put one hand on my shoulder, rested her cheek on the hand and said “Hi”. He stared at her, a slow smile of. No longer fighting back, the will to survive had been drained from her soul. All the heart ache and pain came crashing down on her with vengeance. Her mouth bent in a scream no one could hear when darkness took her voice from her. Eyes that couldn’t see once the same force had clouded her mind. Limbs that wouldn’t, couldn’t function while she was dragged away, deep into a place inside she’d been once before. The only relief it offered was the numbing chill of sorrow that burned cold..