I walk into my penthouse to a familiar scene - Levi cooking up a storm in my kitchen. I’d be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by his cooking skills. Fuck, I’d be impressed with a bag of Ramen noodles and a bottle of beer, so when he pampers me with fancy dishes I could never hope to pronounce the name of, I don't complain at all.

“How did your meeting go?” I ask as I toss my laptop bag onto the kitchen counter, and slip out of my heels. I’ve been on the edge of my seat all day long waiting to hear how the alimony cookie would crumble. Levi and his lawyer sat down with his ex-gold digger, presenting her with all the information my wonderful PI had dug up on her affair with Daniel. She wouldn't get one more red cent from Levi.

“Very well. She was shocked, but I guess she knew it would be coming one day. My lawyer advised me that I could sue her for the spousal support I’ve been paying. I think I just want to be done with it all, though.” He pulls two plates out of the cabinet above the sink and sets them down on the breakfast bar.

“Whatever you wanna do, Levi.” I shrug as he fills our plates with some fancy pasta concoction that smells delicious. My mouth is watering, considering I haven't eaten a damn thing all day. My stomach lets out a deep growl, and we both laugh. The mood between us is always so light; we just mesh well in every sense.

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” When those words leave his mouth, my body tenses. Those words are typically never good. Ever. Internally, I start to freak out. I should have known there would be trouble in paradise eventually.

The chip I had on my shoulder when I was trying to sidestep him all that time appears back in place. With an attitude I have no business throwing around, I jump down his throat. “What?”

“Relax, babe.” He places the plate in front of me with a smile sprawling across his face. He really is gorgeous; everything from his stubble to the way his hair falls to the side does it for me, and I can't help but not be mad, or even irritated. “I put my penthouse on the market today.” The words don't bother me.

“Whatever,” I reply, completely oblivious to where the conversation is going.

“Seven, I put the penthouse on the market.” His tone is more serious, and it draws my attention from the plate of pasta I am inhaling.

“Okay?” What does he want me to say? Move in with me? Move into my home, which has doubled as a fuck pad for the duration of my residence?

“How would you feel about buying a penthouse together?”

I drop my fork against the glass plate. It bounces off the dish and flies right onto the floor, pasta still attached and making a giant creamy mess. “What?” I ask him, my mouth gaping in his direction.

“Too much?” he asks. I don't even know how to answer that question, but my only internal reaction is to fucking run as far as I can. It was a big deal for me to agree to give him a chance. To give this whole thing a chance. We went from nothing to everything almost overnight. He’s becoming my everything, and when he walks away, I’ll be broken. I know this.

“Way too much, Levi.” I let out a deep breath, and push the plate away from me. My appetite is gone now. “I can't do this. I need a break.” I stand from my chair and start to back away from him. I need to put as much room between us as I can. If he touches me, I’ll change my mind. “This is all too much, too fast. I need a break. Please, Levi. I hate to ask this of you, but can you go?” I can feel the panic attack brewing and I don't want him to witness the nastiness that is my manic behavior.

“Seven, can we please talk about this?” His tone is pleading, and I can’t reply. I stand still, arms wrapped around my body, praying he’ll walk out of my life as fast as he possibly can.

“Please. Go.” My breathing becomes faster, and my hands shake as they harshly grip my own arms.

He turns without a word and makes his way to the elevator. Only a minute more and I can crack. Shatter. Retreat back into my fucked up head. Back to my fucked up life where I am worthless and where no one wants me. There, I am safe. The only person I am safe with is myself. It will always be like this.

I hear the slam of the elevator door and my entire body slips down the wall, sagging onto the kitchen floor as the hysterics pour out of me. First, it starts ever so slowly with tears. Followed by a meek cry. My breathing becomes more rapid with each memory that flashes through my overactive brain.

“You are destined to be alone, forever, Seven. You are just too fucked up.” Blue's words echo through my ears.

“You'll never get your shit together long enough to love anyone but yourself,” my father adds. Way to add insult to injury.

Without missing a beat, Daniel's voice slams through my ears.

“You are nothing more than a good fuck and a warm body.” He should have just carved my heart right out of my chest at that moment. “Seven, you aren't a forever kind of girl.”

No, I am not built for forever. I am not the kind of girl you bring home to your parents. That had been drilled into my head repeatedly over the years. A good fuck, a warm body. But never a forever. My labored breaths turn into gasps for air, my shaking out of control as I sob uncontrollably on my kitchen floor. I am destined to be alone. Forever. That is the only forever I will get.

I lie on the floor for hours. Well, it seems like hours, but my panic attack lasts for only a few minutes. With my legs no longer feeling like Jell-O, I stand and make my way to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, where I dig out a bottle of Xanax. I’ll sleep tonight, but not because I’m comfortable in the arms of the only man I’ve ever truly loved. It will be because I’m too sedated to actually think about my fucked up life.

* * *

Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, ring ring.

Stop fucking ringing already. Jesus fucking Christ. I don't want to be bothered. My cellphone continues ringing and vibrating until I can't take the racket anymore. Reaching over to the nightstand, I see Star's photo flashing on the display.

“Hello?” My voice is sedated, full of misery. It will be a miracle if she doesn’t pick up on it.

“Seven? Are you okay?” Star whispers into the other end of the line.

I grunt, apparently now speaking caveman. “Yeah, I'm okay. How are you?” I try to turn this around on her. She has been gone for a while. Longer than I’ve ever spent away from her, except for college.

“I think I found the people who adopted her.” I can hear her sniffle in the background; she’s crying. “They died, years ago. There’s no sign of Willow.”

Fuck. Just what I needed on top of this whole fucked up situation. How can I even offer her kind words of comfort when I’m hurting just as bad? “It's okay, Star. I promise you, we will find her.”

Her sobs grow quiet. “I hope so,” she squeaks out.

“Keep in touch, Star. I gotta go back to bed.”

I end the phone call. I can't listen to her tears without my own coming back. I want to be numb. Numb is exactly what I’m good at, although I wish I was better. I drift back off to sleep, only to be rudely awakened early by my fucking alarm screaming in my head as it pounds. Another day of work. Worst of all, I am going to have to deal with Levi and Daniel. Something I could honestly live without.

Two entire weeks have gone by. Two fucking weeks and I have done my best to ignore Levi. He has given me the space I need. He hasn't pressured me, only left sweet reminders of why I fell for him in the first place. Starting the morning after I asked him to leave.

I walked into my brightly lit office, and sitting in the center of my desk was a bright bouquet of colorful flowers. I smiled, even though I didn't want to. He was going to make this hard. Tossing my bag onto my chair, I snatched up the card attached to the flowers.

Seven,

"She'll lie and steal and cheat. And beg you from her knees. Make you think she means it this time. She'll tear a hole in you, the one you can't repair. But I still love her, I don't really care. Don't leave me, Love. I don't think I can survive without you now.

-Levi

A mixture of love and anger crashed over me. I picked the flowers up from my desk, chucking them across the room. Picking up the note from my desk, where it fell, I headed for Levi's office. I slammed the door open, and he sat behind his desk, just watching me.

I threw the card in his direction. “You can't do this to me. Please. Just let me go.” I yelled; people looked and listened. He stood up and strode across the office, slamming the door behind me.

“Seven. I will not let you go.” His body pressed me up against the door, his hard cock pressing against my stomach. I tried to push him off of me, but he was just too strong, and I was too exhausted from my lonely night. Drugged or not, I didn't sleep worth shit and I knew why. Because Levi wasn't in my bed.

I opened my mouth to speak and his lips crashed against mine. I tried to protest, but my body was such a fucking traitor. I gave in and kissed him back with everything I had. His fingers pushed my skirt farther up my legs, and I could feel him pushing my thong to the side. I moaned into his mouth as his tongue explored every corner of my mouth. He tasted like fresh toothpaste and mouthwash. Deliciously minty. Fuck!

As I pulled my mouth away to protest, I felt his thick cock press against my wet pussy. Before I could even object, he pushed in hard. “Fuck!” I breathed out, wrapping my legs around his waist. My body was on autopilot, and I was completely helpless when it came to anything that had to do with him. His length rubbed against my clit as he pushed into me roughly.

“Seven. I can't live without this,” he whispered into my ear. I tried to block out everything going on and just feel his dick inside me. Deeper than I think he has ever been.

My orgasm crashed over me, as his hand pressed against my mouth, muffling the screams. His come flooded into me a moment later. His grip loosened, and my legs slid back down to the floor, barely holding me up. Pants somewhere around his ankles, he turned to walk away from me, completely ignoring everything that had just happened between us. I pushed my skirt down and turned for the door. I felt used, which was a first. In all the years of my meaningless sex, I had never once felt used.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pulling his pants up, and I ran out the door, stalking toward the safety of my office as fast as I could. Once I was inside, I slammed the door closed and prayed no one noticed what had just happened. Fucking office gossip. I needed a damn vacation.

I make it through the rest of that day trying not to think about Levi. Which is hard because work has started to slow down. Soon enough, I won't be in the office at Alexander Mobile daily, and I can retreat back to my old building, far from Levi and Daniel's fucking nosy ass.

It would be really fucking nice if Star was home right now. I can't help but miss her. I’ve been lying through my teeth every time she calls. I won’t let her know Levi and I are over, because she’ll turn her ass around and high tail it right back to the city. She needs to be looking for her little girl. There will never be any peace in her life until she finds Willow. My heart breaks for her, repeatedly. The idea of becoming a mother has never been something I was fond of. Even under the shitty circumstances, though, Star brought that little girl into the world, and I find myself jealous. She has the opportunity to have someone who will love and want her for the rest of her life.

Had she been given the chance, she would have never let that little girl go. I know that for a damn fact. The situation makes me hate my family even more, and hers to boot.

Realizing I’ve been lost in my head for damn near an hour, I make my way home for the day. My evening will be identical to what it’s been since the night I asked Levi to leave.

Shitty takeout food, longing for something homemade by Levi. A long bubble bath, praying he will appear in the tub with me. Followed by a sleepless night, tossing and turning with nightmares about the past and the future. Will I ever be at peace again?