Hey, sorry for the inexcusably long delay. I'm back, thanks for sticking with me.

After the absolutely horrible and beyond disappointing night, as expected, the equally horrible morning followed. It was dark and gloomy and rainy and it took all the strength in the world for Henry to drag himself to the store.

"So, what happened?" Alice ambushed him the moment she laid her eyes on him.

"She never came." Henry replied in a tone that he hoped would conceal his state of near depression.

"She stood you up?"

"I wouldn't call it that." he defended his mystery friend. Because she didn't do that, she would never, "Something probably happened, something unexpected and- oh man, what if she came in, took one look at me and left?!"

"No way. You're an 8... well, 7 if you close the shop, but lookswise I'd say a solid 8. And that's a catch for anyone who's looking for dates online."

Alice really knew how to boost his confidence and bring him down in one sentence, "Maybe there was a subway accident?"

"Absolutely." she hopped on the counter, "And no electricity, no internet connection. Or maybe she got sucked up under the rails. There, puzzle solved."

Bo entered in the middle of that incredibly morbid hypothesis, "What happened?"

"She was unable to make it." Yeah, that sounded better.

"Do you think she came in, took one look at you and left?"

Henry flung his arm in the air.

"Come on, dude." Alice tried to comfort him in her own special way, "Maybe she got into a car accident. The cab hit something and slammed her into that plastic partition."

"And her arms are in cast and she cannot type." why was he taking part in this? "Or she's in a coma." again, why?

"Bollocks." Bo slammed The Seattle Time in front of them, "Look!"

The pair looked at the front page. It read: Cops nab the black widow, "What are you saying?"

"It could be. She was arrested two blocks from the bar."

Alice flipped through the pages. There was a picture of a woman hiding her face, "Oh, so she's in jail. And had to use one phone call for her lawyer." she patted Henry on the back, "There you go. Though, she looks attractive enough."

"You got away, man. You could be dead now."

"She's not the black widow!" Henry exclaimed after a second thought.

"You believed some weird shit but you don't believe this?"

"I was eleven! I should have never told you guys that."

"How long were you sitting there all along?"

"A while. But then Ivy Belfrey showed up." Alice opened her mouth to comment but he cut her off, "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just- just get to work."

"...then the book publisher said that the advance he needed for the-"

"I went in."

"Went in where?"

"The bar, Anastasia!"

"Really? You told him-"

"No! No, because he was insulting and mean and the only nice thing about him was how his hair looked when he run his fingers through it." Damn it! Why was that still on her mind?

"But underneath all that, he may be-"

"A real ass. All that cute, small town boy charm, that's all just and act." his words were still seared into her brain, "Let's not talk about it."

"You started it." her sister grumbled but decided not to push it for now.

It took her 2 days to find the courage to log into her e-mail account. And sure, there is was.

From: TruestBeliever
To: SeattleGirl67
Subject: Last night

'I've been thinking about you. Last night I went to meet you and you weren't there. I wish I knew why. I felt foolish I guess. As I waited, someone else showed up, a woman who has made my professional life miserable, and an amazing thing happened. I was able, for the first time in my life, to say the exact thing I wanted to say at the exact moment I wanted to say it. And of course, just like you said, I felt terrible afterwards. I was cruel, and I'm never cruel. And even though I doubt what I said mattered to this woman, to her I am a bug to be crushed, what if it did? No matter what she's done to me, there is no excuse for my behavior.

Anyway, I really wanted to talk to you. I hope you have a good reason for not being there last night. You don't seem like the kind of person that would do something like that. The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say, that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings. So, thanks.'

Ivy pressed her palms against her eyes and exhaled slowly. "I am the worst person in the world."

She put her phone on the charger and tried to distract herself. It didn't work. What should she answer? What excuse would be plausible enough? She tried work meeting, hospital emergency and excuses kept piling on forming the most ludicrous lies. Whether she liked it or not, the only thing she could do was be honest. And to do so in a way that would not make him discard her forever.

From: SeattleGirl67
To: TruestBeliever
Subject: RE: Last night

'Dear friend,

I can't tell you what happened last night, but I beg you from the bottom of my heart to forgive me. I feel awful that you found yourself in a situation that caused you additional pain. But I'm sure that whatever you said last night was provoked, even deserved. And everyone says things they regret when they're worried or stressed. You were expecting to see someone you trusted but you met the enemy instead. It's my fault. Someday I'll explain everything. Until then, I'm still here. Talk to me.'