Heya! I want to say thanks and that I'm very thankful of having you all as readers! Love you all!

Lula and Tank bought the beach house a few years ago when they settled down. It was located on the Atlantic coast a few miles away from a tiny town called Sea Island City, and was completely shielded from everything. The peace was surreal, the place so huge you couldn't even comprehend it.

The driveway was long and stretched from the electronic gates up to the beach house. The house was off white with eight windows visible, two huge on the first and third floor and four smaller ones on the second floor. The roof was made of red tiles and the window frames were in dark brown. There was a porch in the front with a swing. The front yard was plain, the grass mowed perfectly and the flowers were matching. It seemed to be the house of an older couple but Tank and Lula had made it too seem so, they wanted to conceal their identity as Tank had many enemies around the world and had wanted this house to be his and Lula sanctuary.

When you stepped through the huge front door you were amazed by the sheer size of the house. The hall was large and high, dark wooden floors stretched around the house and up the stairs to the second floor. The handrail was matching and the walls were white and filled with art. A huge painting of a waterfall was hanging on the wall opposite the stairs. The room was open and on the right you could see the library and office. The room was light and the furniture dark. The walls were in light green and the bookshelves filled with books and memories. I knew that Tank spend quite a lot of time there, his touch visible in the room. The rug was soft; I loved to sink my feet into it. Right now one of Tanks cats was stretched out on the little couch by the window enjoying the sunshine.

On the left side of the hall there was a dark door leading down to the cellar and the gym. There was also a pool stretching the length of the house down there. When you walked through the hall and underneath the stairs you got into the huge living room, kitchen and dining room. On the far right was the kitchen, light marble countertops and dark cupboards. The island was huge and held the sink and breakfast area. The chairs were metal and simple, often placed underneath the island. The leather on the seat was red and shiny. I knew that Lula loved those chairs. There was a huge window in the kitchen with the view of the sea and beach. In the middle of the room was the living room area. White couches were placed opposite of each other with a glass table in the between. There were always bright colored flowers on the table and more that often some kind of a book somebody was reading. Right now it was Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. There were huge French doors leading out on the patio, the parasol was moving with the wind. It looked like there was a storm rising in the horizon. The dining room was plain, there was a wooden table that held twelve people and the chairs were in black leather. There was a centerpiece made of fresh flowers and fruit.

I entered the living room and saw that everybody were here already. Lula was sitting in the couch with a blanket, curled up and reading a Cosmopolitan. She smiled at me. I smiled back at her. Tank was cooking something in the kitchen and he was furiously chopping some carrots. I could see Bobby standing on the porch his back to us, clearly looking out at the sea.

I wrapped the towel tighter around me and patted into the kitchen and dragged a chair next to the stove and sat down. I liked looking at Tank when he was cooking because he seemed so relaxed then and I knew that he loved cooking. Besides I always got to taste everything so that was a bonus.

I noticed immediately that Tank wasn't relaxed this time. He was tense as he continued to chop away and the pile of carrots was growing. I bit my lip; I knew that he was upset because of me.

"Tank."

"Stephanie."

He was angry with me and I knew that I deserved it. I sighed and leaned back on the counter. I knew that I needed to tell him and I knew that he wasn't going to like it. And I knew that it was going to take a long time to get through the story. I also knew that I couldn't go through the story twice. I stood up and walked to the patio and stood beside Bobby for a moment. He too was tense and angry with me.

"I was terrified." He said suddenly to me but continued to look at the sea. The waves were angry as the hit the beach over and over again. I glanced at him, not understanding what he meant. "I was terrified that you wouldn't come up from the water again. I was halfway down the beach when you came up again."

"I'm sorry I scared you." I said to him and looked over at the kitchen where the pile of carrots was growing. "But I'm not suicidal. I'm going through a rough time right now but I would never take my own life, I wouldn't do that to you."

"It's good to hear that from you. Lula said that too. Wanna talk about the rough times?" He said and looked at me. I tried to smile but I knew that I failed miserably. I was going to bawl like a baby when I opened my mouth. Shit.

"No but I have to." I sighed and walked in with him following. I took a seat by the kitchen island and sat down. Bobby sat down on the other side and Tank stopped the chopping and sat down too. I opened my mouth and couldn't make the words come out. I probably looked like a fish as I sat there and opened and closed my mouth. Lula stood up from the couch, walked over and stood behind me, resting her hand on my shoulder.

"Start from the beginning." She said to me and squeezed my shoulder. I took a deep breath gathering my breath and thought.

"The 24th May I broke up with Joe. This time for good, we both knew that it wasn't going to work out and that it wasn't fair to either of us. He encouraged me to go to Rangers' and tell him that I love him. So taking the advice from my friend, I went. You weren't there, Binkie told me that Ranger would come soon and that I could wait at his apartment for him. So I waited and after a while he came. "

I took a deep breath as the emotions rolled over me. Hatred, anger, loathing and desperation rolled over me like the raging waves outside. I was looking down at my hands, not wanting to look up at the guys. Lula was silently massaging my shoulders; once again I loved the way it felt, life and warmth seeping into me.

"What happened?" Bobby asked and reached out and stopped me from twisting my hands. I stopped, froze almost and looked at his dark hand above my own. It looked like Ranger was holding my hand, and hated myself for loving the thought.

"He had a woman with him. A blond supermodel. And he said… "My voice broke down and I could feel the tears burning in my eyes. I closed them and slipped into denial, trying to get through this once again.

"What?" Tank said and I could hear that he was upset but was trying to conceal it from us. I knew better, we all knew better.

"He said that I was just one of his whores…" I whispered and hung my head as I heard the gasps and I could feel that Bobby was upset because of the tightening of his hand. The tears spilled over and stained my cheeks making them wet. The storm was raging outside as my tears fell down.

"That son of a bitch!" Tank said and I looked up just in time to see him punch the wall making a huge hole.

"I can't believe him…" Bobby muttered and took his hand away and ran it through his hair messing it up.

"Come here darling." Tank said and pulled me up against him, my cheek resting against his massive chest where I could hear his steady heartbeat. My heart wasn't beating, I didn't even know where it was but I cried and cried my eyes out against him. I clutched on as my life depended on it and didn't let go even if a bomb would explode. As my tears dried out and my hiccups stopped he made me look him in the eyes by lifting my chin with his finger.

"You listen to me now Stephanie. You are not a whore. You are one of the most amazing women I know, you are truly Wonder Woman. He's an asshole because he didn't see you the way you should be seen. You are beautiful, strong, independent and wise. You are everything anybody would want. It's not your loss. It's his. I swear to God I'm going to kill that bastard the moment I see him!"

"Tank. Please. Don't kill him." I whispered and looked down again. I couldn't see him in the eye anymore.

"Why? The bastard deserves everything we're going to give him." He said and held me at arm's length to see me better. I loathed myself for feeling this way and I hated to say it out loud.

"Because I think that I still love him."

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