I woke with the sunlight that morning. I got up, wrapped the sheet around my naked body and walked out onto the balcony. I was still amazed that I lived here. It seems that just yesterday I up and moved my son and myself to Los Angeles. My heart grew dark as I remember why I’d moved here three years ago.

Eric had moved me and our son to Tennessee about five years ago. We were fine for about a year then some strange things kept happening. Tires on our vehicles would be slashed, windows broken, cryptic messages left on our answering machine. Men even came through my job posing as entertainment lawyers just to talk to me about Eric’s job and money.

We fought and fought, and for the longest time he never told me what was going on. That was until our son Joshua got picked up from daycare by his "uncle." Joshua was only four at the time and he didn’t know any better. The night he was returned safely to us, we had an epic fight. He had admitted to a gambling debt he owed back in Texas and now followed us here. I packed Joshua and I up and drove West and never looked back. I had stopped back in Texas and filed for divorce and put out a restraining order once I got to Los Angeles because of these men that were after Eric.

I moved us into a cheap studio apartment once we got there, I didn’t have a lot of money. I closed my account at the bank before I left; before Eric could gamble it all away. But, I found a job quickly as an Executive Producer at Lionsgate films, my reputation at Alphaville preceedes me. I was pretty well known around the film industry. Before I knew it, I was able to get a better apartment and afford furniture and private schooling for Joshua.

As I stood there, I had another thought. A thought that broke my heart. I left her. I could never forget the look of hurt on her face as I left her after we had made love. She doesn’t know how much I cried after I left her that night. How I sat in front of her house for nearly an hour crying. I never stopped thinking of her and if I ever saw her again, I don’t think I could apologize enough. After I had moved away, a stunning realization hit me, I loved her. I tried getting into contact with her, but she disconnected her number and had moved. No one knew where, and her sister had left as well. She was off the grid, I looked for almost a year, but came up with nothing. I had royally screwed up.