~SPENCER POV~

I woke up the next morning in a very unfamiliar area that was at the same time all too familiar. I opened my eyes and stretched out on what I remembered was an air mattress and laid there for a minute. I realized I was alone and listened to see if I could hear the sound of running water or even footsteps but came up empty.

I sat up in bed and couldn't help but feel disappointed about waking up alone. I got up from the bed and looked to see that I was still in the clothes that I'd worn on the beach on the case the night before. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the bedroom, to head to my own apartment. I wanted nothing more than to change into some comfortable clothes.

I walked into the small living room just as Bexley walked in and the thought of my clothes disappeared, along with anything else I might have been thinking about. Her long red hair was in a mess and she wore a black t-shirt, a pair of tattered jeans, and her signature boots. I thought of Garcia and how she'd have a fit over Bexley's style of clothes.

She looked up at me and held up a cup of coffee from the coffee shop I'd taken her to not long ago. "I hope I got it right. I wanted to say thank you and apologize for kicking you last night. How's your hip?"

I laughed and took the cup of coffee from her. I took a sip and was surprised to find that it was exactly the way I had ordered it when we'd went on our date. "You have a good memory, it's perfect. I'm fine. Did you rest well?"

She nodded and took a seat in the floor and I joined her a moment later. She looked down at her coffee cup, a guilty expression on her face. I placed a hand on her cheek and she flinched, closing her eyes tightly.

I didn't know who, how long, or why, but whoever put her through the hell of being abused had damaged her in more ways than one. I thought of her scars and desperately wished that I could make her see that they didn't make her ugly like she thought.

In truth, she was breathtaking in every way. In that moment, I would have done anything to take away all the pain that she'd felt. Over the years, I'd learned that the physical rarely shows half the emotionally and mental damage that's been inflicted on someone over how long the time.

I brushed the hair from her face and she looked at me after a deep breath. Her golden eyes looked into mine and I felt as if for the first time, someone could see what I didn't want seen. It sounded ridiculous but in that moment, I understood what it meant to have someone see into your soul.

"I want nothing more than to bury my past and move on to my future." She said and she leaned into my hand and kissed my palm.

I bit my lip and wanted to ask her what she saw in her future but I decided to play it safe. "Are you off of work today?"

She looked at me confused and nodded once. "Why?"

"Would you like to spend the day together? I have some movies that we could watch or you can look through my collection of books if you like." I could hear the slight nervous edge in my voice.

She smiled and I felt my heart do a back flip. I didn't see her smile genuinely often and when I did, it made my heart race. I waited for her answer and she finally looked up at me.

"I'd love to. I've never actually just sat around and watched movies. It'll be a nice change." She took another sip of her coffee and looked down at her hands.

"Bex." She looked up at me and I leaned in to kiss her. The moment I felt her lips on mine, I felt like everything was going to be alright but I knew that there was a lot of issues we were going to have to get past before we would get to the point. In that moment though, I could forget about the world and just kiss her.

She moved away and I fought the urge to pull her back to me. I stood up with my coffee and she followed my lead. I walked over to my apartment and unlocked the door and I noticed how she locked hers and turned the knob to be sure that it was locked.

She looked up at me with a sheepish smile on her face and her eyes had a look of uncertainty in them. I walked into my apartment with her behind me and I walked over to my small movie collection and then I realized something.

"The TV is in the bedroom." I said and looked back at her to see that she was looking at the large collection of books on the wall.

She turned to look at me, a look of confusion on her face. "Okay."

I walked into my bedroom and grabbed a pair of clothes before walking into the bathroom. I took a washcloth out from under my sink and decided to take a quick shower to get the sand off of my body and out of my hair.

I stripped out of my clothes and turned the water on before stepping into the shower. I knew she would be content with the books in my living room long enough for me to shower.

~BEXLEY POV~

I heard the sound of water running and decided to stand up from the small couch in his living room to walk over to his small library. I ran my finger over a couple of the books until I come across one that looked slightly worn. I pulled the book out and accidentally knocked the one beside of it out of its place on the shelf and onto the floor.

"Shit." was the only word that came to mind and I leaned over to pick up the book, setting the other on the shelf.

A picture fell out of the book and I leaned down and picked up the picture. I looked at the picture and saw that it was an image of a woman with long brown hair that was pulled back and she had brown eyes. She wasn't strikingly beautiful but was definitely pretty.

"Maeve Donovan." I read the name on the back of the picture out loud and looked in the book to see a quote.

Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.

I remembered him telling me about a girlfriend of his who'd been shot right in front of him and knew without a doubt that this was her. He had truly been in love with her and her with him. He'd had someone taken from him like I had and had had the courage to love again. I'd lost a family member but he'd lost what could have possibly been the love of his life.

He'd lost someone he loved and I was going to break his heart all over again when I left. I placed the book back on his shelf and sat back down on the couch. I felt an enormous guilt crushing me because I knew that I would break his heart.

I wish I could explain to him what my reason was for leaving. I wish I could explain everything to him but I knew telling him details of my past would put him in danger. My father would come for me soon and I knew that he was close but I couldn't bring myself to leave yet.

"Bex." Spencer called and I looked back to see him standing in the doorway to his bedroom in his sweatpants and a shirt, his hair soaked. "You okay?"

I stood up and walked over to him, placing my arms around his neck. His arms immediately wrapped around my waist and he rested his head against mine. I kissed him lightly and then smiled.

"Let's go find a movie." I knew I didn't have much time left with him, but I was going to enjoy what time I did have.

***Well there we go. I hope you are all still enjoying this story as much as I am writing it. R&R and thank you for reading.