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Everyday Tanya seemed to be getting the closure her therapist spoke of. She hadn’t cried in nearly a month, and C had a lot to do with that. For some reason he always knew what to say to make Tanya move ahead. She had finally gone back to work, and started talking to her friends again. They were happy the old Tanya was somewhat back. She didn’t tell them about C, she knew they would find it strange how they met. She just chalked it all up to a good therapist.

C had been doing a lot better also. Tanya listened to his problems and offered her own advice. He hadn’t thought about his past much lately and was actually happy too. He started going to more events and getting out did him good. So good, he decided to take a small business trip to California. A mutual friend needed some help on a project, thought of him, and it was settled.

“I’m not going to be around for the next week or so. I just wanted to let you know so you don’t think I’m ignoring you or something.” he told her the night he decided to go
“Thanks for telling me. I defiantly would have thought you were ignoring me. Have a good trip wherever you’re heading, and have some fun.” she said

They talked awhile longer and then she went to bed. When she got home from work that night, she wished she hadn’t came home. There was an envelope taped to her door. After going inside and reading the contents, she ran to the bathroom and emptied her stomach into the toilet. The papers where announcing the sentencing of the man responsible for her family’s death. How was she going to face that man? She didn’t want to see him, hear him beg for her forgiveness. She needed C. After remembering he was gone, she walked into the kitchen. She had never really been a big drinker, but she opened that bottle of tequila and sat on the couch. When she awoke the next morning, the empty bottle was still clenched in her fingers. Her head was spinning and she had trouble standing. She called in sick to work, saying she’d be out for the rest of the week, and she spent the time with a bottle of some kind.

C returned from his trip feeling great. It had done him some good to get out, and work again. It wasn’t his usual work, but it filled the void. He got on his computer to see if Tanya was around, and people in the chat told him she hadn’t been on all week. He shot her a quick email saying he was back, and this time he included his phone number, something he had never offered before. Hopefully, she would call. He was worried because she almost always went into the room, even if he wasn’t there. He got off the computer, and went about his business. Tanya, drunk again, got on and found his number in the email. She scribbled it down and started dialing.

“Hello?” he said cautiously, not recognizing the number
“C? Is this you?”
“Yeah, Tanya? Are you alright?” he said hearing her slurred speech
“Oh, yeah, I’m great. I just finished a bottle of, I don’t know what, but I couldn’t be better.” she said laughing
“are you drunk?”
“No, I could use another one, maybe then I’d be drunk.”
“What happened? Is everything okay?”
“Sure, great. I just have to go to court in two weeks and watch the man that killed my husband and kids get sentenced. No problem.” she said getting a sad feeling in her stomach
“Oh my god. You have to go to court? He’s going to be there?”
“Yup. God damn bastard. I hope he dies in jail. No, I hope he becomes some guys bitch and then dies in jail.”
“Tanya, calm down. Is anyone going with you? Your mom or dad? Anyone?”
“Nope. Don’t want to bother them. They have busy lives. It’s not a big deal. I’ll be fine as long as I have my friend Smirnoff with me.” she said taking another long swig off the bottle
“Tanya, put the bottle down. You are only hurting yourself, and drinking until you pass out isn’t going to help.”
“Don’t get all psychiatric on me. That’s my therapists job. I don’t even know why I called you. I should have known you’d try to talk me out of drinking. Leave me alone.” she said before the line went dead

C stared at the silent phone. She needed help before she did something stupid. How the hell was he going to help her? He was in Florida, and he had no idea where she was. He wrote her number down off his phone’s caller id and looked it up on the internet. He found her address and scribbled it down. After making another phone call, he was out the door to the airport. Eight hours later, he was checking into a hotel room in downtown Seattle. After getting settled, he rented a car, and tried to follow the directions the man at the front desk had given him. He found her house and saw a car in the driveway, thankfully, she appeared to be home. He parked his car, and made his way up the driveway. He knocked, waited, got no answer, so he tried the handle. The door opened, and he made his way in.

“Tanya? Are you here?” he yelled into the quiet house.

He looked around and found clothes, shoes, papers, mail, bottles scattered around the house. It reeked of alcohol in there. He walked around looking in all the rooms, but saw no sign of her. Going upstairs, he checked more rooms. He found her sons’ rooms, it looked like they hadn’t been touched in months. A sad feeling came over him, looking inside the rooms, he couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to lose the love of your life and your children. He made his way to the door at the end of the hall to see a form laying haphazardly across the bed. That must be her. He walked quietly to her, took the bottle from her hand, causing her to stir, but she continued sleeping. After placing her correctly in the bed, he went downstairs and began cleaning. He knew he didn’t have to, but something had to be done with the mess. A few hours later, he heard footsteps above his head. When she came downstairs and saw a man sitting on her couch, she screamed.

“Who the hell are you? Get out of my house. I have a gun!” she yelled running for the phone
“Tanya, calm down.”
“How do you know my name?”
“It’s me, C.”
“What are you doing here? How do you know where I live?”
“There’s no end to the things you can find on the internet. I came to make sure you’re alright. No one had heard from you in the room, then after our phone conversation, I got worried.”

She looked at him through sleepy, bloodshot eyes. He wasn’t at all what she had been expecting. She imagined he would be tall, skinny, unattractive, almost like the dorky kid in school no one liked. The man before her wasn’t much taller than her, had some meat on his bones, and was very attractive. His soft brown eyes were silently pleading with her to calm down. What was she thinking? She’s not supposed to be checking him out. Wait, did he say he was worried about her?

“You were worried about me? Why?”
“Well, we’ve been talking to each other almost daily for the last three months. I leave, come back, no one’s talked to you, then I get a drunken phone call. You sounded like you needed someone to talk to. I wasn’t busy, so I flew out here.”
“Flew? Where do you live?”
“Florida.”
“You came all the way from Florida just to clean my house and make sure I didn’t die of alcohol poisoning?”
“Pretty much.”

She didn’t know what to say. She loved her friends to death, but knew they would never fly across country just to comfort her. He was a total stranger and he cared more than anyone she knew. Her thoughts were broken when he spoke again.

“Well, now that it doesn’t smell like a bar in here, and you’re okay, I’m going back to my hotel to get some sleep. I’ll come back in the morning and make sure you’re still alive.” he said
“I have court tomorrow. I won’t be here.” she said sadly
“Oh, well, maybe afterward I’ll come over and we can talk.”
“I know this is kinda inappropriate, but would you come with me? I know we just physically met, but I feel like I’ve known you for years. It would be nice to have someone there with me.” she said
“Sure. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll do my best to be there.”
“What do you mean you’ll do your best?”
“I have never driven around here before. I don’t know where anything is.” he said
“Oh, right.”

She gave him some directions as best she could. He made her promise not to drink anymore, that night at least. She showed him out, and he was back on his way to the hotel. When he got there, he couldn’t shake her image from his head. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking it, but she was beautiful. She was an inch or two shorter than him, had long dark brown almost black hair, and the most unusual eyes he’d ever seen. The entire time he had been there, he swore they changed color at least three times. From green, to hazel, to almost yellow. She defiantly had a body that didn’t look like it gave birth to three kids. He shook the thoughts from his head, and went to bed. The next morning, he found the courthouse easier than he thought he would. He headed inside, and found her sitting on a bench waiting for him. She stood as he approached, and they silently walked inside. After taking their seats, the judge began speaking, and soon, a young looking man was brought to stand in front of him. Tanya grabbed C’s hand and squeezed it.

“I can’t do this.” she mumbled to him
“It’s all right. I’m right here.” he said squeezing her hand back