CHAPTER ONE

After talking to Patty for an hour or so, Gabrielle headed upstairs to her one bedroom efficiency apartment. Inside, there was a huge floor to ceiling window that stretched the length of her apartment. She kept the window closed when she wasn't home or when she simply wanted her privacy, which was always...She had one futon couch that was tan with green polka dots, a matching love seat and a tv stand that held her 40in TV. In the far back corner of the room there was a small bathroom compete with a bathtub. Just outside of it was a bookshelf where she kept her favorite stories to read. There was also a small kitchen with an island separating itself from her living space. She also had a small desk in the far left corner of the place that had a laptop on it and a small chair. It wasn't much but it was cheap and helped her save a lot of money. One day she had hoped to move away from this place and possibly get a better job doing something she loved.

"Simon?" she called out when she opened the door to her apartment. "Simon baby I'm home."

A chunky orange cat came galloping happily to her feet. She bent down and rubbed his head making him pur and rub firmly against the palm of her hand. Simon had been her cat since her last next door neighbor left him alone in their apartment. She was just leaving for work one morning and heard the kitten's cries for help. Her kind and gentle heart wouldn't allow her to leave him, so, she asked Patty for the keys to the apartment and the rest was history.

"Did you miss me sweetness?" she asked him as she turned on her lights and then headed for the kitchen. She pressed a play button her answering machine as Simon meowed to be fed.

"You have 1 new message..." The answering machine announced while Gabby put her bag on the counter and opened the refrigerator to grab some milk for Simon.

"Gabrielle it's mom honey...I'm just wondering how you're holding up...I haven't really heard from you and I'm concerned. Just give me a call back OK?"

Gabby sighed and got a bowl from the cupboard and sat it on the floor in front of the sink. She thought about her mom as she pour milk into the bowl and then leaned against the counter with a sigh. Gabby hadn't spoken to her mother since the news of her father's death hit her heart only a month ago. They had been so close...if she ever needed something her father was the one who provided it and most of the time that was a listening ear. Her mother on the other hand hadn't been the greatest when it came to support. She's was the reason Gabby had moved away to begin with and she certainly wasn't about to deal with her now.

"I think it's bath time what do you think Simon?" she asked before heading to the bathroom to start running her bath water. She took down her bun and ran her fingers through her long hair before walking to her living room to grab some clothes she kept in a trunk behind the couch. When she found her favorite Star Wars T-shirt to sleep in, she picked out a pair of panties and then went back to the bathroom with a smile on her face. Baths were her favorite way to unwind, and she was happy that she wouldn't have to go into work tomorrow. She took off her flats and pulled off her long sleeved shirt and dropped it to the floor, studying herself in the mirror. The more layers she pulled off the more she disliked what she saw...

"Who could ever see this as something more?" she asked before adding a squirt of bubble bath to the water. With a sigh , she sat down on the toilet and silently watched the tub fill with water.

"Why in the hell is this place full of people?" AJ snapped as he hit the brakes on his truck.

He was just entering downtown Boston and was very close to the apartment he had waiting for him. On top of that, he was tired, frustrated and very hungry. He glanced at his watch and gritted his teeth. It was six-thirty in the afternoon...He needed to get away from these people.

About ten minutes later he reached the tall apartment building on Central Ave. Grudgingly he parked behind the building due to the no parking zone in the front of the place.

"Well I'm off to an interesting start." he grumbled as he grabbed a few bags from the trunk of the truck and then walked back to the front of the building. He pulled the key card he was sent from his pocket and unlocked the main door. After it buzzed, he stepped inside where he could see a heavyset black women sitting behind a desk. She was wiping it down with Pine Sol and a white rag when he approached the desk.

"Hey there sugar, did you need some help?" she asked.

He looked at the woman blankly before answering, "First of all..don't ever in your life call me sugar again...second...I need to know what floor my room is on."

She looked at him in shock, no one had ever spoke to her that way before...She slapped the rag down on the desk and took a seat in her chair, "Hm...as much as I would like to tell you to find it on your own after that attitude, I'm going to just do my job...what number key card were you sent?"

AJ sneered at the woman and then said, "513,"

"Then you're on the 5th floor...have a nice night." she said.

He glanced at her shirt and saw her name tag, "You do the same, Patty..."

Patty eyeballed the man as he walked toward the elevator. She had a very uneasy feeling about him and worried more because he was going to be in the apartment right next to Gabrielle. She was about to pick up her phone and call her, but then a thought crossed her mind that made her think twice...

As annoyed as AJ was, the sight of his apartment made him feel that much better. It was spacious with a bedroom off to the left side of the place, and kitchen to the right and a huge floor to ceiling window in the living room. He decided to keep that closed since being closed off from the world was what he was use to...

He brought his bags into the bedroom and sat them on the bed. The place didn't smell too great which meant he would have to truly make this his own place. He began to get settled in, bringing more stuff up from his truck. He closed the curtain, swept his floors, and began writing out a list of stuff he still needed to get. As he was busy doing that, he heard something that completely caught his attention.

"The sweetest sounds, I'll ever hear, are still inside my head...the kindest words I'll ever know...are waiting to be said...the most entrancing sight of all...is yet for me to see...and the dearest love in all the world is waiting somewhere for me..."

He wasn't sure where the voice was coming from, but it was honestly the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard...Even his tough exterior couldn't fight off melting to the sound of a voice like this. He continued to listen to her voice as long as she sang, feeling a little sad that it stopped. Once it did he shrugged it off and continued making his grocery list.