Chapter 1

"He's not in here!" She sat bolt upright in bed as the sound of her own voice rang through her head. She kept telling herself that one night, she would have a peaceful nights sleep, but apparently that wasn't tonight. She looked at the clock and sighed when she read 3:30am. Knowing she wouldn't get back to sleep, she threw the covers back and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The floor was cool beneath her bare feet as she made her way to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. She stared blankly at the fireplace as the flames danced around as she thought of that day. She thought of it often, more often than she should. After ten years, she couldn't seem to forget or understand it. She blinked away as her eyes started to burn. She put her cup in the sink and began getting ready for work. At least that was something to look forward to as she loved her job.

Being a journalist wasn't something that she dreamed of. But she found that she really enjoyed it and had become very close to her boss, Karen. She was a bit perplexed when she saw the note waiting for her on her desk. She made her way down the hall to Karen's office. "You wanted to see me?" Karen looked up from her paperwork and smiled.

"Tyanna, always lovely to see you," she joked, knowing that Tyanna wasn't a morning person. "Please have a seat." Tyanna sat down and wondered what this was about. She and Karen were close, but it usually wasn't a good thing if you were called into her office. "How long have you worked for me?" Karen asked, getting up from her chair and coming around to the front of her desk.

"Five years," Tyanna replied, confused.

"You have done great work for this magazine and I consider you quite an assett. However..."

She was interrupted when Tyanna stood up and asked, "Are you firing me?!"

Karen looked a bit taken back, but smiled and replied, "Relax Tyanna. I'm not firing you. Sit back down." Tyanna slowly sat back down, more confused than ever. "As I was saying, " Karen continued, "you are quite an assett. However, I see something in you and I want you to explore some other avenues. I was speaking with a friend who owns an entertainment company. He expressed to me that his magazine hasn't been selling very well and he feels that the writers have lost their touch. He wants to bring in new talent and I recommended you."

Tyanna was on her feet again. "WHAT?!" Karen raised her hand and Tyanna once again took her seat.

"You don't have to go. But I highly recommend that you do as it is a great opportunity for you. Besides...I can see that you are getting a little burned out here" she raised her hand as Tyann started to speak. "Think of it as a personal favor to me. You can always come back here, but I want you to give it a year!"

"A YEAR?!" Tyanna was outraged.

"I know that seems like a long time, but it will fly by and there will be so much going on. Really Tyanna, this is a chance of a lifetime. Besides...I already said you would do it." Karen said. Tyanna's mouth dropped open in shock and Karen almost felt bad. "You've got one week before you fly out to Conneticut. You'll love it. I will keep in touch with you and after a year if you don't like it, you can always come back." Karen smiled as she ushered Tyanna out of her office. She was a zombie the rest of the day as she decided just to work from home. Besides...her boyfriend should be back from his business trip and she needed a friend.

It was 9pm and Kevin still wasn't home yet. He had called Tyanna 3 hours prior, but he still hadn't shown up. She jumped up when the door opened and flew into his arms. He went to kiss her, but she turned her head so he caught her cheek. He frowned, but didn't say anything about it. They had a late dinner and made small talk and she told him about what Karen had done. "So...you'll be leaving in a week?" Tyanna nodded. "How long will you be gone?" he asked.

"About a year. I haven't even met this friend of her's. I'm assumming she will give me more detailed information later." Kevin nodded and finished his dinner. Tyanna laid in bed and frowned when she heard Kevin sigh. She knew he was frustrated. "I'm sorry," she said softly. He sat up and looked at her.

"It's the same thing every time Tyanna! I go to kiss you and you turn your head. I go to snuggle up with you and you will only let me for a few minutes. We have never had sex or even so much as messed around because you say you're 'not ready' and it's been almost 2 years! Are you kidding me? I get that in the beginning people are shy. I thought that was the deal, but now I think you just have some problems. I don't think I can do this anymore!" he said, exasperated. He laid back down and took a deep breath. Tyanna was stunned. She started to say something as she touched his arm, but he cut her off, "I've found someone else." Tyanna jerked her hand back as if she had touched fire and started at him.

"What?" she asked, thinking maybe she heard wrong.

"I just can't do this! I have needs and this just isn't working. I'm sleeping on the couch." he said as he got up. Tyanna watched him walk out of the bedroom and then laid in silence as the tears fell from her eyes. What just happened? She didn't have any nightmares that night because she didn't sleep. She went to work early and when she came home, Kevin and all of his stuff was gone. She read the note he left on the table. *I'm sorry it had to come to this. Get some help Tyanna! I wish you the best! Kevin* Tyanna crumpled up the note and threw it to the floor. She began to pack her bags for the trip to meet with Karen's friend. She didn't want to go as she felt miserable at losing the one person she thought was going to be there forever. Did she really love him though? Or was she in love with the idea of loving him? She shook her head and wiped her eyes as she made her way to her bedroom. She opened her closet and took out her suitcase. This adventure she was going to take would be one she would never forget