45:

Life didn't go quite as smoothly as I would have liked after I left hospital. For one, I was having counselling at Will's insistence after the ordeal (the irony of having counselling when I had a counselling degree was not lost on me), but begrudgingly I did admit that it helped. My counsellor was a non- savant called Sinead. She'd moved to the States from Ireland when she was in her early twenties, and had stayed after falling in love with an American. Sinead was a non- savant, but at fifty, she had a wealth of experience and was really helping me to move on, even though she didn't know about the Collector.

When my memories first came back I found it difficult to sleep due to vivid night terrors- I kept dreaming that I was back there, reliving it all over again. I think they upset Will more than they upset me as it took me so long to wake up from them. It was Sinead that suggested I always had to have a lamp on next to my bed, and hundreds of blankets. I'd rather be sweating than feel a slight chill. If it bothered Will, he didn't say anything.

The only other issue we had as a couple was over money. With us, it always came back to money. Will wanted to buy me a car, I said no, and he sulked. Will had paid for the house outright, yet he'd put my name jointly on the paperwork, even though I hadn't contributed a cent. I was not happy, and he wouldn't accept any of the money I tried to give him towards rent and living costs until I got so upset over it that I threatened to move back to Derby (even though I'd never go through with it). It was the first really bad argument we'd had, but we managed to compromise. At my insistence, we set up a joint account for household bills and utilities, which we both contributed to, and Will changed the paperwork so he had sole ownership of the house.

I still hadn't yet found a job in the states; I was too shook up from the Collector that it took me a while to get back to my old self. I couldn't go in underground parking areas anymore, and I struggled to trust people, but thanks to Will, Sinead, and the rest of the Benedicts I was showing signs of improvement.

To pass the time, I worked for the Benedicts' white water rafting and cable care businesses for a few days a week, and volunteered at the library whilst I found my feet. It wasn't much, but it meant I didn't deplete my savings. Privately, I resolved to be employed by Christmas- I wanted to be back to my old self by then.

When I wasn't working, I was preparing to move to our new home. We'd spent many evenings at the house working out what furniture we wanted, and visiting department stores to see if they had anything we liked. Will was far more patient than me (which explained why everywhere he lived looked so much nicer, and more well put together than my old flat). Left to my own devices, I would have picked everything from IKEA and been done with it. Whilst he chatted to staff, and analysed every corner and crevice of a cabinet, and deliberated over exactly which type of wine glass we should have, I made my way to the comfiest sofa or bed and relaxed.

Will had left me in charge of packing while he was at work, and on weekends we'd hire a van to move the stuff in the flat that we were keeping to Wrickenridge in batches, since there wasn't so much stuff that we'd require professional movers. I'd carry all the stuff down on trolleys, but Will had to load it into the van, since I didn't like them or enclosed, dark spaces any more.

Slowly, the Denver flat began to empty. Come September, we'd loaded up the van for the last time. There were a few essential items left in the flat, like bowls and plates, in case someone came to use it, but everything else had found a home in our new house.

By the time we moved in, we'd managed to find furniture for and decorate the master bedroom, the lounge, the conservatory and fully stock the kitchen, which I was excited to get creative in. The kitchen was the only room in the house that I'd taken an active interest in furnishing- Will had convinced me to splurge, and as a result I was now in possession of more baking trays that I could possibly use, and a large collection of colourful spatulas.

We had a 'house warming' party that weekend. Will invited all his family and friends to come and celebrate this big step in our lives. It was lovely to see everyone (even though Karla barely hid her disappointment that we were living together when we weren't married), since after my kidnapping I'd only seen a few of them at a time. Wine flowed, lots of food was eaten, and we had a few tipsy partygoers spending the night on our sofas that evening.

At the start of September, all of the Benedicts' girls gathered to go wedding dress shopping with Tess and her family. She was getting married in November at a really posh chateau in the mountains, and needed to find a dress. From what I gathered, it was to be a lavish affair, with the guest list in triple figures so far!

We'd visited a snobby boutique, and left pretty quickly, since it was obvious we weren't welcome, and had now ended up in a lovely, quaint family-owned shop. I was getting rather giggly after one glass of champagne, much to Phee and Crystal's amusement.

While Tess was chatting to the owner of the store about what sort of dress she wanted, I browsed the racks for any pretty dresses I thought she should try on with Crystal. Sometimes, a bride actually wanted the complete opposite of what she thought she wanted, so it was good to get other people's opinions of what dress was nice. I'd just pulled a sparkly strapless number off the rack, when Crystal turned to me.

"Guess what?" She whispered, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"What?" I asked, confused by her overwhelming excitement. She produced her left hand and I saw the diamond nestled on her ring finger. I squealed in delight.

"When? How?"

"Last night. He took me to the lake and got down on one knee."

"That's so romantic!" I sighed, clapping my hands together.

"I know! I couldn't believe it- who knew Xav had it in him?" I laughed.

"Don't be so hard on your fiancé!" I teased.

"I know, I shouldn't be, really. We're keeping it on the down low for now, anyway today's Tess's day, so we're going to tell everyone tomorrow at lunch." I threw my arms around her and hugged her tightly- I was thrilled for them both.

When the announcement came on Sunday I was the only one who wasn't surprised.

That weekend, I was due to fly home. Although, I guess I couldn't really call it home now. I was going to pack up all my belongings and have them shipped over to Colorado. 'Van had promised she'd come round and keep me company whilst I was doing so, since she was now officially on maternity leave and was bored to tears at home. Rach, Jack and my parents had all volunteered to help with the physical packing since 'Van couldn't, so I was confident I'd manage to get it all done in the two weeks I was staying in the U.K for.

It was hard leaving Will at the airport, but I'd be back in a couple of weeks, even if the idea of flying alone made me jumpy. He walked me through as far as he could, before giving me a blistering kiss, and sending me on my way.

When I arrived back in the UK, there was a small welcoming party waiting at the airport as made my way to arrivals, which meant I promptly burst into floods of tears, much to my embarrassment.

"We've missed you." Dad murmured as he and mum hugged me tightly between them.

Although I'd skyped 'Van and seen her bump over the screen, it was strange to see it in person. Skype had not done the bump justice- it was huge, and 'Van was only tiny! I hugged her carefully under Jack's watchful eye, worried that I'd break her.

"You had us all so worried." Jack said as he wrapped me in a warm hug.

He and 'Van hadn't flown out while I was captured because 'Van was suffering from severe nausea with her pregnancy, and had to have constant supervision on the instructions of her midwife, so Jack didn't want to leave her.

We headed back to Mum and Dad's for tea, since it was late when I landed. Jack had explained to Monty what had happened to me when I was away, so he was most anxious to see me on my return. He was also very smug to know that it was he who'd been the one to trigger my memories. In fact, after I'd hugged him, I could see how he was now strutting cockily around the house, and insisted on sleeping in my bed with me. I was glad for his company- although my night terrors were becoming less frequent, I slept better when someone was in the room with me.

My two weeks in England were fun, but tinged with sadness. For the first three days (after I'd recovered from the jet lag) I packed up my flat. Alice had told me she was going to keep it for whenever one of us came to visit Derby, so like with the flat in Denver, I only had to take with me the things I needed in the states. I left behind all my crockery, most of my towels, and many other bits and bobs. Instead, my wardrobe was emptied, my car was sold (since in America the driver's seat would be on the wrong side, so there was no point in shipping it), and all my books, school work and electronics were safely stowed away until only the bare essentials remained. It was weird seeing all my belongings being shipped off, and it made the fact that I was now going to be living permanently in Colorado seem all the more real; I was really leaving the U.K behind.

With everything gone, the flat felt empty- a shell of its former self. Now that the packing was done, I spent the rest of my time in England enjoying it before I left; I went bridal shopping with Rach, and we both got our dresses for the big day in January. She'd gone for a green colour scheme, and so my dress was a beautiful emerald shade. Rach's gown was a gorgeous, slinky, off the shoulder number that showed off her figure, but was refined and classy.

I went to netball training for the last time, and met up with all the school staff I liked: both groups gave me gifts to take to Colorado with me, and wished me all the best. I was a sobbing mess by the end of both meetings.

I even managed to take the train to Edinburgh to visit Elinor and Sam who were newly engaged. They seemed more in love than ever, and were planning some quiet nuptials sometime in the near future, which they promised both Will and I would be getting invitations for.

The day before I left, I took Monty to quarantine. He'd been given the choice of staying in the UK and living with Mum and Dad or coming with me. Even though he had a better bed at my parents' house he'd asked to come with me (on the promise that his favourite bed came too). I ordered one to arrive at the house in Colorado the same day. We enjoyed some long walks in the Peaks together before I dropped him off, since I wouldn't be seeing him for another six weeks.

The night before I left, I cleaned the flat thoroughly and mum came to collect me, since I'd be spending my last night in England at their house, where Dad pulled me aside.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" I nodded, and smiled, but a tear made its way down his cheek before he could brush it away. "Then I won't stop you. Any trouble and I'll be right there, even if you are on the other side of the world."

We spent the rest of the night laughing, and playing board games until they dropped me off with tears in their eyes the following morning.

When I got back, Uri and Tess's wedding was upon us. They'd chosen the day well, as it was glorious, and Tess looked simply radiant. Will was one of the groomsmen and he looked very handsome; the most handsome in my very biased opinion.

Everyone got very merry at the reception. Delilah was being looked after by a baby sitter, so Diamond and Trace were taking full advantage of the free bar.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do job-wise?" Phee asked me. She'd been telling me about how she was working in the university's library in Minnesota while Yves was studying there, but she still didn't know what to do when they moved back home.

"I don't think I'd go back into teaching right now." I admitted. For some reason, it just didn't appeal to me as much anymore. I watched Will dance with his new sister in law- he was flinging her round the dance floor to her delight.

"I'm looking at counselling. I want to help people who have been in situations like me." I swallowed hard. I hadn't even said that out loud before. Sinead had been a great inspiration to me over the past few weeks.

"I've got a degree in counselling- I might as well use it." Phee nodded.

"You could run some sort of retreat." She said, thoughtfully.

Will ran over then, and pulled me out of my chair to dance with him, so the conversation ended abruptly, but I didn't forget what she said.

I began looking for counselling jobs in Denver the next day. Since my degree was accredited in the states, theoretically I could be employed straight away. However, there didn't seem to be anything in the vicinity, much to my disappointment. Will told me I shouldn't be too disheartened.

"You can always work for me." He offered. He'd originally said I didn't have to work at all, but it was important to me to have a job and my own financial freedom; I'd be climbing the walls all day if I was left with nothing to do but clean.

Monty's arrival the next day had definitely lifted my spirits, and we spent a few days exploring the mountains together. He was a hit with all the American dogs, and now walked with a defined strut; he was such a cocky little thing. I took him to the hospital to meet Deb. I'd gotten her a massive bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates to say 'thanks' for all she did for me when I was in her care.

It was Crystal's hen weekend on Friday, and us girls were all heading to Denver to hit the clubs. Alice had flown in from Montreal to join the celebrations, since her and Crystal had become firm friends.

Soren was at university in Montreal, studying dentistry, but spent the rest of his time in Quebec, with his family. He and Alice split their time between the two places. Since Soren was at Uni, he couldn't come to Colorado as he was in lectures. Alice looked happier than I'd ever seen her. She was working in a gallery near Soren and they'd just agreed to display some of her work. I was delighted for her- Alice seemed to finally be getting her happy ending.

At the hen night, all the soulfinders came out, and we partied hard. Well, it definitely did not escape our notice that neither Rory or Tess were drinking, but they still seemed to be enjoying themselves. The older soulfinders left at about 12am, having had enough and getting a taxi back to Wrickenridge together, but the rest of us were having a whale of a time. Yves had scored Phee, Sky and Alice fake IDs since they weren't yet 21, so it was their first proper night out on the town. We staggered out of the last club at about 3.30am.

"I want a tattoo." Crystal declared as we linked arm-in-arm, stumbling over the cobbles in our heels.

"Are you sure?" I asked her, taking in her very inebriated state, not that I was especially sober either. She nodded.

"I know a place that will still be open."

"Okay." I agreed, I gave the keys to the condo to Phee, Alice and Sky, made them promise to order pizza and wait for us to get back before they fell asleep. I didn't remember anything else from the night, apart from clambering into bed with Crystal (who had definitely made the most of her last night out as a single woman), surrounded by sleeping girls and half- eaten pizzas.

When I woke up, it was 8. My hip was aching. I looked down to see the tell-tale cling film taped into place, and I groaned. I'd never been tatted before, and I'd never intended to be. God only knows what I'd gone and got. I pulled my trackies low on my hip, and walked over to the mirror to see what it was.

"Oh dear god." Well, it could have been worse, but it wasn't something I'd have got ordinarily, that was for sure! I'd only meant to go with Crystal for moral support, not to get one as well!

Stomach growling, I headed to the kitchen and saw Phee and Alice eating the left over pizza from the night before.

"Morning." I murmured, rubbing my eyes.

"Morning." They echoed quietly, wary of waking Sky, who was passed out on the sofa. They passed me a slice of pizza and I accepted it gratefully. We chatted quietly about the night, before the subject shifted to my job hunt.

"Why don't you start your own counselling service?" Alice suggested, as she tore into a hunk of pepperoni.

"Yeah, you could offer counselling for savants"

"That might be a bit niche, Phee." She nodded in agreement.

"Although I do like the idea of helping savants." I admitted.

"Like a sort of retreat?" Alice asked.

"Exactly." I agreed.

"You could have a library, a pool- think top notch five star hotel in Colorado, but it's not a hotel- it's a retreat, where you could offer loads of different services." Phee continued, her eyes glazed over as she pictured it.

"It would be amazing." I agreed. "But it's never going to happen."

"Not with that attitude it won't, Alexis." Alice snapped. "I'd invest."

"Yves probably would too." Phee said thoughtfully. "Especially if I could work there too." She looked at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Of course you could, Phee; we'd be business partners!"

And so, over cold pizza, the 'Alenix' spa retreat was born.

By the time Yves and Will had arrived to collect us (we were still way over the limit to drive) and take us back to Wrickenridge, Phee, Alice and I had a business plan (albeit on scrap pieces of paper, and the lid of a pizza box). Crystal had wandered in half way through and had wanted in on the action. She said she'd offer soulseeking appointments for savants, and could run craft lessons, but didn't want to be a business partner, she was happy just helping out.

Phee and I had decided we'd be equal partners; we'd run the business together, but would offer classes too. Phee wanted to run creative writing workshops and a reading group, whilst I wanted to offer childcare and counselling. Alice had volunteered as our first financial backer. We now just needed to persuade either Will and Yves, or a bank to contribute the rest of the loan.

"Tourists will love this!" Sky grinned, as we told her what we'd got planned. "My parents would probably take painting classes if that was something you'd be interested in?" She offered.

Even Yves and Will, although sceptical at first, seemed to think it had potential.

"Refine it." Yves suggested. "Then we'll look at the money side", but the gleam in his eye seemed to suggest he'd loan us the money we'd need. I was pretty sure he'd do anything to make Phee happy- she had him wrapped around her little finger.

"Lex, haven't you got something to show Will?" Crystal asked, with a grin. I blushed. The other soulfinders had found my inking hilarious. Crystal had got a small feather behind her ear. She said she'd wanted it for ages, but had never had the courage to go. My tattoo, on the other hand, was definitely spontaneous.

"He's going to see it eventually." Alice pointed out. "And I want to see his reaction." I sighed, seeing Will's confused look. I had no choice but to show him in front of them all now. I had wanted to wait a little bit, and show in private.

Carefully, I rolled down my trackies, to reveal it to him. I'd taken off the original cling-film, and had rubbed unscented lotion in it, as the aftercare instructions online had suggested, before re-covering it with a new piece.

"Is that real?" Yves asked. I nodded. Will was still in a state of shock.

"Baby." He groaned. "That's really f*cking hot." He crouched down to get a closer look at it, looking almost reverent. There, nestled on my hip in small, cursive script was an unmistakeable 'W.B'. He couldn't take his eyes off it. And, when it had healed, he couldn't keep his tongue or his lips off it either. For the rest of Saturday, and most of Sunday he tried his very best not to let me leave our bed.

Over the weekend, whenever I could pry Will off me, Phee and I, with Will's help, developed our business plan. Once they were satisfied it could become a viable business, they and Alice agreed to loan us the money. Originally, Yves had wanted to give us the money outright, but Phee and I insisted it was a loan, and that we had a lawyer draw up the papers. This was a business, not a charity, and Phee and I were going to pay back every cent we borrowed. Now we knew we had financial backing, we began to search for premises.

Only two more chapters to go now, guys! Please leave a review! The next chapter will be up next week, or when we reach 575 reviews :)