Roman found Seth still sitting on his couch the next morning and he wondered if Seth had ever went to sleep at all. His eyes were read and it looked like he hadn't slept in days so Roman figured he probably hadn't. He sat down next to him and gently gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"I can't stop thinking about the day I bought the ring," Seth said first thing.
"Did you ever pop the question?" Roman asked.
"I was going to that same night but I came home to a bloody mess. Bo had gotten to her again," Seth answered.
"I remember," Roman said.

He tried his best not to tear up by the thought of how Virginia had looked after that encounter. That was her last encounter with Bo as far as he knew if they weren't counting the day of her disappearance.

"I wasn't gonna ask her while she recovered. It didn't feel right. But she never really did recover. They say she didn't have head trauma but she changed after that day, Roman. She was different. Always feeling lightheaded and she was so fucking scared all the time. And the sadness in her. God, why couldn't I keep her safe?" Seth started crying again.
"You tried. You did your best and she knew that," Roman said.
"I dragged her halfway across the country to here, thinking he would stay behind. But he followed. He always followed," Seth said.
"That's what stalkers do. They're not normal like you and I. They're sick. He's sick, Seth. Remember that. None of this was your fault. I know you loved her and she loved you so much too. We could all see it," Roman said.
"Yeah, if only that had been enough. I still lost her," Seth took a deep breath and got up from the couch. "I'm gonna go. Thanks for everything."
"Are you gonna be alright?" Roman asked.
"Yeah, don't worry," Seth answered.

But he wasn't gonna be alright. Nothing about the situation was alright. No matter how many times he turned it around in his head and tried to convince herself that he had only seen someone looking like her, he didn't believe it. He was sure it was her. Yes, her hair was a different colour, she had dyed it, but he was sure. It was her. Why else would she be standing like that, staring intensely at him as if she knew him? Why else would she have run away like that the moment she realized he saw her too? And that is why he found himself at the same bar for the third day in a row, drinking away his problems and his loss. He wasn't turning into an alcoholic. He just needed some days off of everything and even though he had never been much of a drinker, he sure made up for that now.

"What has gotten such a sweet face looking all sad?" A female voice asked.
"Great, I'm already drunk. I'm seeing double," he said as he looked up.
"You're not seeing double. We're twins. I'm Nikki and this is Brie," Nikki said as they both sat down.

Brie put down a beer and two glasses of red wine. She pushed the beer towards him with a smile.

"You looked like you could use another drink and some good company," she said.
"Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying," he said as he grabbed the beer and took a swig out of it. "Thanks for the beer though."
"We're not selling anything," Nikki said.
"I'm really not into the whole twin fantasy thing," he said.
"Eeew!" Brie said loudly.
"Don't worry, sweet face, none of us wants to get down and dirty with you. You just looked like you could use some cheering up," Nikki said.
"So who broke your heart?" Brie asked.

He looked at the two women and they seemed to just want to talk. He took another swig from the beer and thought, to hell with it. If they wanted to know, he would share his story, or at least some of it.

"Her name is Virginia," he answered.
"Beautiful name. What happened?" Brie asked.
"I wish I knew," he answered.

He took another swig. The beer was half empty now.

"She... ehm... she disappeared," he said.
"Like running out in the middle of the night and leaving you behind without a word?" Nikki asked.
"Something like that," he said, not wanting to explain everything. "She was the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Blonde hair and light blue eyes. So fucking light. Never seen such light eyes before. When the light hit her eyes just right, they almost looked white."
"That sounds incredible," Brie said.
"You wanna see a picture of her?" He asked.

He didn't even wait for their response before pulling out his wallet and finding the picture of her he always kept there. He handed it forward and Brie gently took it from his fingers, careful not to ruin it in any way.

"She is beautiful," she said.
"I agree," Nikki said.
"Thank you," he whispered.

Brie handed the photo back and he put it back safely in his wallet. He grabbed the beer again and emptied it. As he put the bottle down, he shook his head.

"Wow, excuse me. I think I had too much," he said.
"You okay?" Nikki reached over to pat his hand.
"Yeah, just a little dizzy. I think I should go home," he said.

He tried to stand up but the room was starting to sail. He leaned against the wall for support, not understanding why he all of the sudden was this drunk. He didn't believe he had had that much.

"Let us help you," Nikki said.

He felt the two women on either side of him as they put his arms over their shoulders, supporting him out of the bar and across the street to a hotel. They got him into the elevator and leaned up against the wall.

"Damn, he's heavy," Nikki said.
"Where are you taking me?" He asked slurred.
"Ssh, it's all gonna be alright," Brie said.

He knew he should fight them but he couldn't. He just allowed them to walk him through a hallway and into a hotel room. They put him down on the bed and he fought so hard he could to stay awake. Through half open eyelids he saw Nikki take out her phone and call someone.

"He's in place. He's gonna be out for a few hours," she said.
"What's... going... on..." He whispered before darkness took over.

He grumbled as he woke up. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet but the light from the lamp in the ceiling was hurting his eyes through the closed eyelids. His head was hurting like crazy and he reached a hand up to touch it.

"Here, take these," a female voice spoke softly and placed two pills in his hands.

He knew that voice. He hadn't heard it in a year but he could recognize it anywhere. His eyes flew open and there she was, sitting on the bed, smiling at him.

"Virginia?" He asked, not sure if he was dreaming.
"Hi handsome. The pills will help with the headache. Here, let me help you," she said.

She placed a hand under his head and lifted it up while she held a bottle of water in her other hand. He put the pills in his mouth and swallowed them with the water before she gently put his head back down.

"Are you really here?" He asked.
"I'm here," she answered.
"Where have you been? Why did you leave me?" So many questions he wanted to know the answer to.
"I found the ring and I realized two things. One, I loved you more than anything and in any other life I would have said yes right away. And two, I was being selfish for keeping you in my fucked up life so I did the only thing that was right. I let you go. But I couldn't just leave you because I knew you would never accept it and I knew Bo would never stop as long as I was alive. So I disappeared," she said.
"But how?" He asked.
"There's a small group of people helping people like me to disappear. I came across one of them from all my visits to the hospital. She's a doctor there. She had offered her help for a very long time and I finally took it. She told me what to do so every Monday and Thursday I would tap some of my own blood and keep it in the freezer until I had enough. 3 liters is the magic number. 3 liters and you're dead," she said.
"That's why you were always lightheaded the last month," he connected the dots himself.

She laid down next to him and he immetiately pulled her close and kissed her. How he had missed those lips. He was aware that after three days of drinking he probably didn't have the best breath but she didn't seem to care as she ran her hand through his hair and kissed him back.

"Sleep now," she said as she settled on his arm with her arm across his chest.
"Don't leave me again," he begged, tears filling his eyes as sleep slowly took over.
"I might be able to come home soon," was the last words he heard before he drifted back to sleep.

He woke up in the hotel room a while later, not knowing if she had actually been there or if it had all been a dream. He looked at the nightstand to see his phone and wallet there. He quickly grabbed the wallet but his money was there. He took out the picture of her and looked at it again. Had she really been there? He felt weird and he knew what he had to do. He took his phone and called Roman.

"Hey Roman, I need your help. Can you come get me? I need to go to the hospital."