A/N: this is my first multi-chapter story for since a while, and the updates might not be very regular. So don't kill me okay?
Summary: A parting. Shattered hearts. A reunion. The cost. After spending three years apart, Dee and Ryo have to get used to the changes in the other when they meet again.
Disclaimer: this applies for all the chapters. The song in the beginning belongs to Nickleback. FAKE is the property of Sanami Matoh-sensei.
Hanging by a moment: Prologue
"How the hell did we wind up like this
Why weren't we able
To see the signs that we missed
And try to turn the tables
I wish you'd unclench your fists
And unpack your suitcase
Lately there's been too much of this
Don't think its too late"
-- Nickleback, Someday
*
I watched him as long as I could. He was slowly making his way into the crowd, trying not to look back, blending in until I can't spot him anymore. If I blink he'll be gone, but I keep staring I'll cry. This was the end. I was loosing grip on Ryo, losing grip on everything. The little nuts and bolts that seemed to hold my life together was falling away. I was collapsing, my life was collapsing. God damn it. God damn that witness protection agency.
He was going away, leaving to some other state where he can be 'safer', just because he witnessed a murder. It's not true. He knows it, I know it. He only feels safe in my arms, he had said that before. But maybe he lied, or maybe I'm the one lying to myself, but whichever way round it doesn't matter anymore. He's gone. And he's not coming back again.
*
Everyone at the precinct is trying to be nice, offering me shoulders to cry on and all that. It's not exactly breaking news that Ryo and I are together, but some are still getting used to it. I don't need their sympathetic smiles, their make-believe happy atmosphere, and their nothing-had-happened act. It's fake, all of it, just a matter of time before reality collapses on their heads. And it makes me sick. Hey it's not like he's dead or anything he's just…gone.
*
The apartment is lifeless without him. It's empty; I'm empty, as if all feeling had been sucked out of me. I collapse on to the sofa and stare up at the ceiling. There are so many things I wanted to say, wanted him to hear, but never got round to telling him. I feel drained, as if someone has pulled a plug and everything just disappeared. I'm tired but the apartment wont let me rest, it holds too many memories, too many lost hopes, filling my head, choking me.
After a while I get something close to sleep, but even the dreams are blank. The sheets are no longer crisp, old washing lies in the laundry basket, and I can cry no more.
The shadows that had been gathering in the corners are growing.
TBC…
A/N: yeah, I know it sucks, don't rub it in, thanks. It's been quite awhile since I updated something, and it'll be quite while until I update again, so I suggest you take this as it is. This is probably going to be three to six chapters long, and have somewhere around four to five thousand words. I'm gonna try my best to reply to every reviewer. I'm also looking for someone to beta this story. If you think you can then send me an e-mail. Also I know that the first part I very confusing. Well that's the last part of the epilogue, which will be up in a week or so. So keep reading this!! The first chapter is already finished so expect it up soon.
Next chapter: the extinguished candle…