The second chapter came to me pretty quickly so here it is for your enjoyment. Please take the time after to leave a comment or review. It is appreciated more than you know.

One Year Later

Ronnie sat on Wrightville Beach pouring sand through her hand and watching it float away in the wind. The beach was empty which wasn't a surprise because it was one in the morning. Inside Will slept, an act Ronnie hadn't been able to perfect since Emma died. That's what they named her, Emma. Her tiny body had been buried on Will's parent's property with a small service joined by only close relatives. That day had been filled with tears and people stopping to offer their condolences and with each new apology; Ronnie knew she had to get out of there. The grief consumed her and the moment Will and her were alone she took off running through the massive property till she collapsed in hysterics.

A year later she wished she could say that things had gotten better but according to her therapist no one ever really got over the death of a child. Her best hope was that Ronnie could find a way to cope with the fact that she would never have the moments with her daughter that she had dreamed of since finding out she was pregnant. Instead of things getting better her whole life seemed to fall apart more. They had gone back to their home in New York, which had a room dedicated to the infant that had been left behind, and ever time she passed it she felt as if someone was choking her. Will had put the room back into a guest room but it didn't help.

Three months passed and Ronnie still couldn't get up the energy to go to work so Will decided to move back to North Carolina. He thought it would give Ronnie a chance to heal but nothing worked.

The worst part was she was starting to lose Will too. His nagging over her was getting on her nerves and no matter what he did, it was always wrong. If he asked her how she was doing, she would blow up at him. If he didn't ask, she felt like he didn't care. The therapist said it was normal for them to grieve differently but Ronnie had yet to see him grieve at all. It is like ice formed around his heart when Emma died. He never cried or got angry. As far as Ronnie was concerned he was the same Will he had always been. She didn't want to but she hated him for it. Why didn't he fall apart like she did? Couldn't he cry at least once for the child they lost? Would it hurt him?

The wind picked up on the beach and Ronnie pulled her hoodie closer to her. The ocean calmed her. Most days she was bombarded by anxiety attack after anxiety attack but when she could sit on the beach it calmed her down. It made her wonder if Emma would have liked the water. Ronnie had never been a big fan of the ocean, per se, but water in general she liked. She just didn't like the thought of something swimming around her legs. If she had a choice she would stick to pools.

"What are you doing out here," she heard Will's voice coming up behind her.

Ronnie turned to see Will in the pair of shorts he had worn the day before and a gray t-shirt that had always made his beautiful eyes stick out. He sat down behind her and pulled her against him. Ronnie laid her head on his chest and sighed deeply feeling tears gather in her eyes. Hoping to keep them hidden from Will she blinked rapidly until they were gone.

"I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you up."

Will put his arms on her shoulders and rubbed taking away the bitter cold that had been seeping into her skin. She hated the fact that he knew exactly what she wanted but didn't know that she needed him to show that he was as hurt as she was. Their child had died. There was no second chance or do-overs. She had killed their baby. How could he ever stand to look at her?

"I wouldn't have minded. Anyways I don't want you out here alone. If anything happened I wouldn't know about it."

"Nothing is going to happen."

"Either way I would appreciate it if you told me when you are coming out here," he said with finality.

Ronnie felt the anger surge from her belly. "I'm not a child. I can take care of myself." She stood up and walked briskly back to the house. When she entered their kitchen she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and took a long sip. She was hoping it would quench the fire that was building but it never quite hit the spot.

"I didn't mean to make you angry," Will stood in the doorway of the kitchen his eyes searching hers for the woman he had married. She didn't know how to tell him that she was gone.

"You never mean to but you are still really good at it. I have been taking care of myself for many years now I think going outside by myself shouldn't be an issue. Just leave me alone Will."

She tried to walk away but he grabbed her arm. "Tell me what to do. Or what you need because obviously I'm not it."

"I'm fine I just need to be alone."

"No, Ronnie, you're not fine. You've wasted away to nothing. Look at you. I'm so afraid to touch you I might break you. You are killing yourself and I'm tired of watching it."

"Then don't," she hissed at him. Walking through the living room Ronnie took the spiral staircase up to their room two steps at a time. Once she made it into their room she started rummaging through her dresser looking for the thing that would end this. There had been too many fights and it was time to end this all.

"We are going to get through this," Will walked over to his side of the bed and sat down. "You and me. We are going to do this together. I promised for better or worse."

"I don't have it in me to fight anymore." Ronnie felt the paper she had been looking for in the drawer and turned towards Will. "I got a lawyer to draw up the papers."

Will's eyes widened in surprise and his mouth fell open. "Don't do this Ronnie."

"I want a divorce."

Will strolled up the beach dodging between the tourists who littered the shore. It had been a month since Ronnie had told him she wanted a divorce and he still couldn't believe that their marriage was over. What he really wanted to do was barge into her apartment and tell her that she is making a big mistake. Not only had they lost their only child but now she was compounding the issue with a nasty divorce.

In the last month, Ronnie had moved out of their home and moved to an apartment that sat further down the beach. It was odd how a person leaving could change the whole feel of a house. The home they had bought to get out of New York had never been full of life but at least it hadn't been dead quiet. After work he would come home to an empty house and those moments made him ache for Ronnie. All he thought about all day was her.

A group of bikini clad girls walked by giving him the stare down as they passed. He thought it was funny that none of them could turn his eye. His heart belonged to one person and that person right now was trying her hardest to push him out of her life.

The steps up to her front door were rotting and he mentally made a list of things he would drop by to fix while she wasn't home. There was also a nail sticking out of one of the boards and he didn't like the thought of her hurting herself while he wasn't around. It would only take a few hours for him to have a new set of steps put in and despite the fact that he would get an earful for it; it would give him piece of mind.

Through the oak door he could hear her playing at the piano. The fact that she hadn't been able to play while she was with him didn't escape his notice. Will pounded on the door hoping that she would hear him over the piano and the sounds of tourists on the beach.

She opened the door and he smiled trying his hardest to act like seeing her didn't break his heart. Today she was wearing a yellow sundress that tied around her neck and a scarf tied around her hair to match it. It was a great color on her especially when she had her summer tan.

"What do you want Will," she asked leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

"I thought we could talk."

"Did you bring my papers?"

Will sighed and looked away trying to gain his composure. "Ronnie, please?"

She seemed to contemplate the options before stepping away from the door to let him in. He walked straight through the house to her kitchen where the new fridge he had ordered was tucked between two cabinets. "The new fridge looks good. Is there anything else you need?"

"I didn't need you to get me a new fridge or any of the other small jobs around here you thought I wouldn't notice."

Will shrugged," What can I say? It's my job to take care of you. It was in the vows."

Ronnie rolled her eyes at him. "It's not your job anymore."

"It is until I die. That was also in the vows," he joked.

Ronnie shifted her weight onto her other foot and then back again. He could tell that she was getting uncomfortable with the situation. "It won't be your problem for much longer. As soon as we get this divorce over with…"

"Ronnie," he tried to interrupt but words were flowing out of her mouth right after the other.

"Then we can just move on and there won't have to be any hard feelings…"

"Ronnie…"

"We can move on with our lives and hopefully find someone new…"

As soon as he heard her say that he couldn't take anymore. "Ronnie, I am contesting the divorce." He snapped the words at her getting her to stop mid-sentence. This wasn't how he wanted to tell her but when he heard her talking about finding someone new, he just blew up. The thought of another man touching his wife hurt more than he could have imagined.

"Why would you do that," she asked.

Without thinking he crossed to the other side of the kitchen closing the distance between them and took her into his arms. "I want my wife back."

Will crushed his lips against hers not caring that this could put a bigger wedge between them. It had been too long since he had held her like this and he wanted her right there. She struggled for a second but then her arms came up around his neck and he picked her up. Will knew the layout of the apartment and walked her into her bedroom and placed her gently on the bed.

Her eyes had fire in them and he was sure they hadn't looked like that since before they lost Emma. The tragedy they had faced had sapped all the energy out of her until she was nothing but a shell of the person she had been. Not only had losing Emma caused her to change emotionally but it also had caused her to lose thirty pounds she didn't have to lose. Her beautifully shaped body had turned into skin and bones. She was literally a walking skeleton.

Will discarded his shirt and joined her on the bed before pulling her back against him. It was time they forgot the hurt and pain just long enough to enjoy each other's company.

TBC….