Sunrise has always amazed me. No matter how bad things get, the sun will always rise the next day. And if it doesn't, then it really is the end of the world. Sunrises are never exactly the same. Sometimes it is cloudy, and sunrises are hidden. Other times, they can light up the whole sky in an explosion of colour. However, all sunrises tell us the same thing: that it's a new day. I'm a firm believer that every new day brings us new hope.

I knew I looked a mess when I woke up the next day. The white pillows I had slept on were stained black with mascara. I rolled over and spotted Jenni asleep on the bed beside me, snoring softly. I sat up, my throat feeling dry. One look in the mirror confirmed my worst fears: I looked like crap. I ran my hand over the red mark that seemed to have almost vanished and suddenly I remembered what had happened the night before; Zed had tried to kill me. My eyes watered and I knew I would cry again, so I grabbed my overnight bag Yves had carelessly packed and headed to the bathroom. After a shower and throwing on jeans and a lace vest (thank goodness Yves had a good fashion sense), I headed into the mini-kitchen.

I poured myself a glass of water and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl as my stomach growled.

'Good morning.'

I looked up to see a worried-looking Phee stood in the doorway of the bathroom in her baggy t-shirt and plaid pyjama bottoms.

'Morning.' I replied with a half-smile.

'You look a little better.'

'I guess so.' I shrugged. 'Doesn't change what happened.'

'I know.' She frowned. 'But he's still Zed, your soulfinder.'

'Is he, Phee?

'You know Rose made him that way. And now she's locked up. So won't get in the way again.'

'I know, but that doesn't mean he's back to being the Zed I fell in love with. He tried to kill me.' The thought made me nauseous and brought tears to my eyes.

'Hey.' Phee pulled me into a hug. 'Don't cry, please. You'll set me off again.' She rubbed my back reassuringly. 'It's all going to work itself out, you'll see.'

xx-xx-xx-xx

Zed.

When I woke up, my head was throbbing. I groaned and covered my ears at the sound of voices in my bedroom. Was I hungover? Was I dead? I couldn't remember very much. The last thing I could remember was Yves and Xav telling me to chuck on my suit because we were going to one of the frat houses for a cocktail party. Had I had too many beers? Maybe. The rest was fuzzy and hurt my head.

I opened my eyes and sat up. I was in the bedroom by myself. Where was Sky? I got out of bed and winced; my arms and legs were aching. And I was still in my shirt and trousers, which were creased from my sleep. What had I been drinking? I followed the sound of the voices and ended up finding all of my brothers sat in front of the TV, eating bacon with pancakes. What the? Was I still dreaming?

'What the hell are you all doing here?' I groaned, holding my head.

'Nice to see you too bro.' Xav winked, turning off whatever rubbish they'd been watching.

'What's going on?'

Yves looked at Victor, uncomfortably.

'Where's Sky?'

Still silence and awkwardness, hanging in the air.

'Oh my god, where's Sky?!' I panicked. Something must have happened and they weren't telling me. I headed for the door, but my brothers moved quicker than my hungover self, forming a barricade with their bodies.

Trace folded his arms, reminding me of his job. 'Sky's fine, she's safe.'

I let out a sigh of relief. 'Can I see her?'

'Erm...' Uriel looked across at Trace, who shook his head.

'Why not?!' My voice sounded hoarse and higher than it should have been.

'There was an incident.' Will replied. 'Dad might fly out.'

'An incident? What bloody incident?' Why couldn't they just get down to the point and stop treating me like a stupid child?

'Bro, sit down.' Xav instructed me.

I sank into one of the dining chairs and folded my arms in frustration. My head was throbbing and I was desperately trying to search for answers.

'Last night, we went to the frat party. Do you remember?' Yves asked, pushing his thick-rimmed glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

'No. I remember getting ready, but I guess I had too much to drink. I can't remember a thing after that.'

Victor and Trace nodded at Yves, as if giving him the approval to continue. I frowned, annoyed that they were all hiding something from me.

'Well we went to the party to set Rose up. We had a syringe that would knock her out for a few hours.'

'And is she behind bars?' I growled.

'Well yes...' Victor replied. 'But there were some complications.' He looked over at Xav and Yves, willing one of them to continue.

'Things were going great. You were talking to Rose and the camera and wire were recording everything we needed to get her locked up in the FBI specialist unit. Sky came in to interrupt, as planned, but it was too late.'

'What?'

'Rose had got in your head again bro. You must have fought damn hard because your nose was bleeding, but somehow she got in.' Xav's face was grave.

'What happened?' Though I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer. I felt sick to my stomach. How could I let that bitch in my head again? Had I kissed her again? I sure as hell hoped not.

My brothers all shifted uncomfortably again, shooting glances at each other.

Victor took over. 'Zed, you attacked Sky. You tried to kill her.'

'You've got it wrong!' I felt anger rippling through my body. I knocked over the chair I had been sat on. 'I would never hurt her!'

'We know you wouldn't!' Trace called out. 'But Rose messed with your head!'

'What did I do?'

'You tried to strangle her.' Yves whispered, uncertain if he should tell the truth or not.

My body felt like I was on fire as the anger exploded through my body. I'd hurt my soulfinder. Physically. You weren't supposed to do that. You weren't supposed to want to do that. I flipped over the dining room table and it broke as it bounced off the ground.

My brothers ran towards me, restraining me, and after a sharp pinch, everything went dark.

xx-xx-xx-xx

Sky.

Three weeks passed before I saw Zed again. Thanksgiving was just around the corner, and other than heading to work and going to lectures, most of my time was spent hiding out in Jenni's room. I'd moved in again, and I was starting to wonder if this would become permanent.

With every passing day, my heart seemed to break into another piece. I missed Zed like crazy, but it had to be this way. Yves had said that when Zed was told what happened, he had completely freaked out. The brothers weren't sure he would control his anger, so he'd been taken to New York with his brothers until they had decided he wouldn't harm himself or me. He'd tried to contact me a few times, but I'd just shut him out. I didn't know whether I could trust him, whether I still felt safe around him.

I ran into Zed when I was heading to class. He hadn't been in a while, and I wondered how the college had allowed it. Holding his rucksack strap tightly, his mouth turned up into a smile.

'Hey Sky.'

'Hey Zed.' I smiled, pleased to see him, despite the nausea in my stomach. I hugged my books tightly to my chest and looked into the eyes I loved so much. They were full of pain and sorrow, and it made my heart ache.

'How are you?'

'Could be better.' I replied, honestly. 'Where have you been?'

'Victor sent me to New York for a while, after what happened. We told the college there was a family emergency. Still sent over my paper in time though.' His face fell and was filled with guilt.

'Yeah, that paper was pretty tough.' I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

'Can we have dinner?' His voice was urgent. 'I miss you.'

'I miss you too.' I let him reach out and squeeze my hand. Then I remembered where on my body those hands had last been and I shuddered.

Zed must have realised this. He pulled his hand quickly away. 'I regret everything that happened. I hated myself for it.' His voice became a whisper. 'I wanted to kill myself for doing that to you.'

I looked around at our classmates and fellow students, who were hurrying past and chatting away. A few, who I recognised from the Greek Houses' parties, looked our way.

'Not here Zed.' I signalled to to the people around us. 'We'll go for dinner.'

'Tonight?'

'Tonight.'

'Are you still with Jenni?'

I nodded. 'Yes, do you remember where her room is?'

He nodded, sadly. 'I wish you were at home... with me.'

'I know.' I didn't know what else to say.

That night, Jenni was unsure about letting me go out with Zed. She was on the phone to Phee and Yves, talking through things. She sighed and hung up, facing me.

'English, are you sure this is a good idea?'

I shrugged. 'I don't know, but something has to happen.' I fiddled with my engagement ring. 'He's my soulfinder, Jen. I can't just forget about him and move on. It hurts too much. He's my other piece.'

She sighed, sadly. 'I kinda wish I knew what that felt like.'

'We'll find him.' I smiled, reassuringly. 'What did Yves and Phee say?'

'They think it's a good idea. No idea why.'

'Victor wouldn't have sent him back if he wasn't ready.'

'I guess not.' Jenni gave in, though I knew she was still worried about me. 'Come on, walk the catwalk and show me the whole outfit.'

It had been difficult to choose what to wear on my date with Zed. I'd decided to be brave and flaunt the new leather-look trousers Jenni had persuaded me to buy when we went shopping the previous weekend. With the trousers I wore a white lace cami and a black blazer. I'd decided to throw on my heeled pixie boots for good measure.

'Yep, you look hot.' My roommate winked as I gave her a twirl. 'Maybe you should be a bit more laid back, after all, he's winning you back.'

'I still want to make the effort.' I shrugged. I'd left my blonde curls running wildly down my back and I'd only worn a little eyeliner and mascara.

There was a knock at the door. Just in time. Jenni walked over to the door and opened it. Zed stood in the doorway, smiling awkwardly and holding a bouquet of red roses. He was wearing black jeans, a deep blue shirt and his black leather jacket. He looked gorgeous.

'Hey.' He greeted Jenni.

She stepped out of the way, cautiously. 'Just so you know Zed, you hurt my girl again and you're dead.'

Zed gulped and he was right too; she probably meant it. 'I won't.'

'Huh, you've been saying that a lot over the last few months.'

I stood awkwardly, holding my handbag. Zed smiled when he saw me, pleased my friend had returned to her laptop and he was away from being threatened. 'You look beautiful, Sky.'

I missed him calling me princess. It made me ache. That's what he usually would have said.

'Thanks. You look pretty good yourself.' I smiled. He handed me the roses. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.' He checked the time on his watch. 'Shall we go? I don't want us to miss our reservation.'

'Okay.' I allowed him to take my hand, even though it was making me nervous.

As we walked out of the door, I didn't miss Jenni mouthing 'call me'. We were back to square one. I just had to try not to think about him trying to kill me.