julia screeched and then looked at me and put her hand on my face. she knew i was sad, and i could tell how much she missed connor. i sat down with her and let her run her hands through the sand. the beach, the ocean, and the sunset, would become as special to her as it was to me.

"he misses you, and he's not doing good," i heard a voice say behind me.

i turned around and saw denny standing a few feet away from us. i smiled and held out my hand for him to sit next to me.

"what are you doing here? should you even be here?" i asked as i kissed him on the cheek.

"i'm fine. dana drove. she's in the house, talking to mason. i don't want to talk about me. how are you doing?"

"i'm okay," i said as i looked out into the ocean water.

"no, you're not. i know you, ellery, and you miss him just as much as he misses you."

"i'm so mad at him, denny. how could he do that to me? how many times do i have to tell him not to keep things from me before it sinks into that thick head of his?"

denny smiled at me and then looked at julia. "sometimes, we don't always make the right decisions under pressure and stress. need i remind you of a few times you didn't make the right decisions where connor was concerned?"

i laughed and shook my head. "that was different and we weren't married."

"you may not have been married, but you were a couple and you loved him. listen to me, connor is connor, and he always will be. it's how he's wired. his love for you is so powerful that it clouds his judgment sometimes. the only thing he saw when he made the decision not to tell you about phil was keeping you safe."

"you're always defending him," i said as i looked over at him.

"not always. i had a talk with him too. believe me, i yelled at him and pretty much called him every name in the book. i think he got my point. the two of you can't even be apart for one night, let alone an entire week. everyone makes mistakes, ellery."

i glared at him with knitted eyebrows. "okay, some more than others." he smiled. "should i remind you about how you lied to connor and went and saw ashlyn?"

"just another thing he didn't tell me," i said as i rolled my eyes.

"and for a good reason. you could have gotten yourself killed. you know that girl is crazy," he said.

it was getting chilly and the winds were starting to pick up. "let's go inside." i smiled as i picked julia up and looped my arm around denny's.

as soon as we walked inside, dana came over and took julia from me. "why don't the two of you stay here tonight and then we can all head back in the morning?" i said.

"you're going back home?" denny asked.

"yeah, i think it's about time, and connor and i need to sit down and have a serious talk."

after i put julia to bed, the four of us sat around the table and talked. it was eleven o'clock p.m. and my phone started to ring. i looked over and saw it was connor calling. i wasn't ready to talk to him yet, so i rejected it. a minute later, my phone rang, and it was him again.

"connor, what do you want?"

"hi, ellery, this is sarah."

i froze as i held the phone up to my ear and my heart started racing with the thought that he was with her.

"i know what you must be thinking right now, and this isn't what it seems. i took connor's phone to call you because he's here at club s, a drunken mess, and you need to come get him."

"what the hell is he doing there?" i asked.

"i'm assuming he came in to drink his troubles away. listen, i'll wait with him until you get here."

"thank you, sarah. i'm on my way," i said as i hung up the phone.

denny looked at me as i got up from my seat. "now what?"

"connor is drunk at club s, and sarah told me that i need to come get him."

"do you want me to go and bring his sorry ass home?" denny said.

"no, i'll go." i picked up the phone and called a cab. "mason, can you pack up all of julia's things and bring her home tomorrow? i don't want to wake her up."

"of course i will," he said as he walked over to me. "go get your man and spend some time alone. we'll be fine."

as i got out of the cab, i stood in front of club s as the line of people waited impatiently to get into the now famous club. i walked up to the front and stood behind the rope as i called frankie's name.

"ellery black! how are you, girl?" he said.

"i'm good, frankie. it's nice to see you."

"what are you doing here?"

"connor's inside and someone called me to come get him."

frankie lifted the rope. "go on in, elle. it was good to see you. if you need my help, come get me."

"thanks, frankie. it was good to see you too." i smiled.

the music was loud and people were everywhere. as i pushed my way through the crowd, i headed towards the bar. while i stood there looking around, i felt someone tap me on the shoulder. i turned around and saw sarah standing there.

"where is he?" i asked.

"he's over there," sarah said as she pointed to a table in the corner.

instantly, i started to have flashbacks of the night when i first saw him. i took in a deep breath and started walking towards him. sarah grabbed my arm.

"don't be too hard on him. he's full of regret, and he's sorry."

"so he told you what happened?"

"not all of it, but i know he messed up. i've never seen love like i do when i see the two of you. it's romantic, and i'm envious of what the two of you have. i didn't think a love like that existed."

"thank you for keeping an eye on him. i appreciate it." i smiled.

"no problem, ellery," she said as she walked away.

i stood there and stared at him from across the way. he could barely sit up. after being apart for a week, this wasn't the way i wanted to see him. as i took in another breath, i walked over to him, sat down, and took the glass out of his hand.

"ellery," he slurred.

"come on, connor. it's time to go home," i said as i helped him up.

"are you coming too," he slurred.

"yes, i'm coming home. now let's get out of here."

he put his arm around me as i held him up and helped him to the door. he could barely walk and he was stumbling so badly that he almost took me down. we reached the doors and stepped outside. the cab was parked at the curb. i opened the cab door and tried to help him in.

"get in the cab, connor."

"i want to talk first. i don't want to get in the cab."

"get in the cab, connor," i said a second time as i pushed him in.

he wouldn't slide over, so i shut the door, got in the other side, and gave the cab driver our address. connor looked over at me. all i could see was the sadness in his eyes. i was really pissed off that he went to the club, but that was an issue we'd deal with later.

"you're so beautiful," he said as he ran his hand down my cheek.

"you're so drunk," i replied.

he leaned his head on my shoulder, but he kept falling forward. i brought his head down to my lap and softly stroked his hair as he closed his eyes. shortly after, we arrived in the garage of the penthouse.

"do you need help getting him out, ma'am?" the cab driver asked.

"i think i can manage," i replied as i handed him a large tip.

"thank you so much, ma'am!" he said with excitement.

"thank you for your patience." i smiled.

i sat connor up and told him to stay there while i walked around to the other side. i opened the door, grabbed his arm and helped him out. he stumbled and it took every bit of strength i had to hold him up and not fall.

"isn't this a familiar scene?" i said to him as i walked him to the elevator.

i leaned him up against the wall while we waited for the doors to open. his eyes never left mine.

"i want to f**k you so bad," he said.

"not tonight, baby," i said as the elevator doors opened and i helped him inside.

when we arrived to the penthouse, i helped him off the elevator and tried to get him up the stairs. he kept tripping over the steps and falling.

"connor, you have to help me out here."

i helped him climb up the stairs on his hands since he was way too drunk to walk up them. as soon as he made it to the top step, i stood him up and helped him to our bedroom. "are you going to be sick?" i asked.

"yeah," he said as he nodded his head.

"hurry and get to the bathroom!" i exclaimed as i pushed him.

he made it to the bathroom just in time, and he started vomiting in the toilet. i left him there, went into the bedroom, and turned down the bed. when i went back into the bathroom, he was lying on the floor. i shook my head and sighed as i ran a washcloth under warm water and put it on his head.

"come on; you need to get in bed," i said as i sat him up.

"i'm sorry for everything, ellery. i wouldn't blame you if you left me and never wanted to see me again."

"i'm not going to leave you, connor. please give me some help here, so you can go to bed. you need to sleep the alcohol off."

as he was sitting up on the bathroom floor, i lifted his shirt off and helped him up. with my help, he made it to the bed and fell back on it. as i unbuttoned his pants and started to pull them down, he grabbed my hands.

"i love you so much," he slurred.

"i know you do, and i love you too. now, lift your ass up and help me get your pants off."

once i had him stripped down to his boxers, i told him to turn around and lie down on his pillow.

"now, remember to lie on your side," i said as i covered him with the sheet and wiped his forehead with the cloth one last time before he closed his eyes.

as i sighed, i got up from the bed and changed into my pajamas. i washed my face, put my hair in a ponytail, and lay down next to him, watching to make sure he stayed on his side.

i opened my eyes and looked at the clock. it was nine o'clock a.m. already, and i couldn't believe i'd slept that late. i rolled over and connor was still sound asleep. i got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and headed to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. as much as connor hated my hangover cocktail, he was going to need it desperately when he woke up. i gathered the ingredients and put them in the blender. i was pouring myself a cup of coffee when i heard someone clear his throat from behind me. i slowly turned around and stared at connor as he leaned up against the wall with his arms folded.

"didn't i go over the rules with you last night?" he asked.

i couldn't help but smile as i bit down on my bottom lip.

"come here, baby," he said as he held out his arms.

i walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him as tightly as i could.