Joshua was very aware of Ally in the bed with him. He didn’t want to encroach on her side or make any physical contact that might be seen as the start of something. He slept fitfully for the first couple of hours then exhaustion and his aching body caught up with him and he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

He woke with a start from it, instantly alarmed. The balcony windows hadn’t been darkened and he could see the top of a digital billboard of Horizon Nemesis glowing purple. His heart lurched and he turned to look beside him to see the bed was empty.

“Ally!” He cried, leaping out of bed, flinging the doors open and running onto the balcony. “Ally!” His voice echoed to the ground below.

“Joshua?” He spun around to see Ally behind him, standing in line with the bathroom. “What’s wrong?”

Ally gazed at him, confused as he strode towards her and wrapped his arms around her so tightly she nearly cried out.

“I thought…I was asleep and thought…”

Revelation hit Ally and suddenly all the pain was pushed aside and she let him hug her.

“You thought I’d jumped?” He was shaking hard. Ally threaded her arms around him and held him tightly. “I’m so sorry…I never thought…” She could feel the touch of tears on her shoulder and gently stroked his hair. “I promise I won’t ever do that to you,” she pushed him back so she could look him in the eye, “I wasn’t thinking this afternoon with that bus…but here…I could never do that to you. Not while I’m here.”

Joshua breathed in shakily and gave a sad smile. “But you’d still consider it on your own?”

Ally’s eyes were sad. “I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t…”

“Well…that’s honest.” He sniffed and gave a rueful smile. “What have you been doing?”

“Oh,” Ally led him into the lounge/kitchen where she had turned on a lamp near the recliner, “I was thinking about what you said, about writing my own ending. At first I thought you didn’t understand or that it was a stupid idea…then I woke up and I felt this…rush of creativity flood through me,” she picked her tablet up and set it on the counter as Joshua switched on some soft lights, “and I went…I think I can do something with this…”

“Broken Shores?” Joshua read upside down. “Wasn’t the DLC, Burning Shores?”

“I gave it a new name,” Ally sat on the bar stool, “I’ve just been jotting down ideas. I didn’t want to wake you up. Sorry.”

“Sorry I turned it into such a drama.” Joshua yawned and shook some of the adrenalin off. “What time is it?”

“A little after five.”

“I won’t be going to sleep then, not after that wake up call.” He paused and looked at her. “There’s a bakery two blocks over that open at five thirty in the morning…and I’m told they do good coffee.”

“I thought you didn’t drink coffee?”

“Awake at five in the morning? I’m gonna need it. What do you say?” He glanced at the tablet. “Or have I just done something terrible and interrupted your creative process?”

Ally looked at the tablet then put it down. “Let’s go get a bagel…or a waffle…and coffee. Lots of coffee.”

Though Joshua had taken almost full responsibility for Ally and her mental health, Hannah refused to sit by the sidelines. She text frequently and when Joshua had a class or needed to work, Hannah made herself available to be by Ally’s side.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“It’s so funny…” Hannah said after Joshua waved them off as he went into the gym and they headed out the doors of the building.

“What is?”

“You and Joshua.”

“What’s funny about it?” Ally asked guardedly.

“Just that he’s been here this whole time, like the guy next door syndrome.”

“He is the guy next door.” Ally pointed out as they walked down the street, heading for Morgan’s.

“But that it took something like this so that you two…”

“Hannah,” Ally stopped her, “Joshua and I are not a couple.”

Hannah stared at her and Ally couldn’t blame her. The notion was a bit bizarre.

“You’re not a couple?” Ally shook her head. “Aren’t you living there?”

“I am but just so he can keep an eye on me when things turn bad.”

Hannah swallowed and kept walking. “Do they often turn bad?” She asked in a small voice.

“It’s been a journey,” Ally admitted, “a few big downs…but a lot of good moments too.”

“Such as?”

“He took me to an archery range.”

“You went to an archery range?”

“I fired arrows into a target,” Ally beamed, “the instructor said I had a natural flair for it…mind you Joshua’s posture was perfect. All that tai chi and centring oneself.”

“You’ve been taking some of the class, haven’t you?”

“Lots of breathing,” Ally nodded, “lots of breathing in and out, in and out…and smooth poses that make me feel more graceful than I probably am.”

“You going to turn Buddhist?”

“No!” Ally laughed and Hannah raised her eyebrows, not having heard Ally laugh without reserve for quite some time. “It’s about taking that time out just to breathe. Apparently it’s really important to your lifestyle.”

“So I hear.” Hannah put her arm around Ally’s shoulder. “But you’re really not a couple?”

“I think he’d like it if we were,” they crossed the street and enjoyed the cool of the evening after a rather warm day, “but not now.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He’s not the type to take advantage. I think he’d like it if I could choose for myself without being miss needy pants.”

“Miss needy pants, huh?” Hannah grinned. “I’m gonna have to start calling you that.”

“Don’t you dare!” They ordered drinks at Morgan’s and found a couple of chairs to recline at. Ally leaned back and studied Hannah. “So how go the wedding plans?”

“Mmm,” Hannah drew the cocktail onions off the skewer and nodded, “funny you should ask that.”

“What happened?” Ally was immediately alarmed.

“No, no, it’s all good,” Hannah laughed and sat up, “you know that place I want to get married in?”

“The gazebo in the botanical gardens?”

“Yeah. I got a call yesterday telling me they had a cancellation and wanted to know if I wanted to take the spot.”

“Uh…you and about a hundred other couples already down for it.”

“There’s a catch,” Hannah sipped her drink, “the spot is in ten days.”

“Ten days?”

“No, sorry…that was yesterday. It’s nine today.”

“Nine days!” Ally stared at her. “You can’t get married in nine days!”

“Sure I can. In fact, it’s perfect.” Hannah leaned forward. “There’s no time for the excess to kick in. No extreme plans or overthought bouquets and dresses and all the rest of it. We’ll contact everyone by phone that we want to invite, I’m not interested in a big froufrou gown and we’re at the start of autumn. The weather is already cooling down.”

Ally’s head was reeling. “What about the reception? Big bar tab?”

“It’s a late afternoon deal. We have the ceremony, take some nice pictures and everyone back here for a good time. Morgan’s already booked the bar for us.”

Hannah’s face was filled with joy. Ally marvelled at how happy she was.

“What about Adam?”

“He thinks it’s a great idea. More time to book things and make it excessively convoluted and complicated just means more expense. This way we can spend the money on a fantastic honeymoon going somewhere we always wanted to.” Hannah bit her bottom lip. “What do you think?”

“I think it sounds very you.” Ally laughed. “Do it, Hannah. Because I honestly think only you could.”

“One last issue remains to be sorted.”

“Which is?”

“Is nine days enough time for you to come dress shopping with me and be my matron of honour?” Ally’s jaw fell open and Hannah rolled her eyes. “I hate that term. You’re my best friend…please come stand beside me and help me not to make a fool of myself by tucking my skirt into my underpants and flashing everyone down the aisle.”

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely. That’d be the worst wedding ever.”

“No, I mean about…”

“If you ask me if I really want you to be my bridesmaid, I’ll kick you with my stiletto heels,” Hannah threatened, waving them at Ally from within her wide leg jeans, “so…whaddaya say?”

“I’m there. I’m so there.” Ally grasped her hand. “I can’t wait!”

“Nine days…you won’t have to wait long.” Hannah snapped her fingers. “Make sure you tell Joshua he’s invited. If you’re my handler, he’s yours.”

“He’s not my handler…” Ally paused and thought about it as Hannah dragged her chair next to Ally’s and held out her phone.

“These are the kinds of dresses I’ve been looking at.”

Ally’s finger scrolled across the screen. “You’re really not going for conventional, are you?”

“Nope.” Hannah grinned. “Wanna go dress shopping with me?”

“It’s not really my thing…but yeah, I’d love to.”