Recovery.

"Ten months, two weeks, three days," she whispered to herself as she stared at my smiling photograph. Ten months, two weeks and three days since I'd been snatched so cruelly away from her.
'Has it really been that long?' I thought, as I watched her squeeze the frame containing my photograph before carefully setting it down with so much care, seeming as if the memories of me that she was clinging so tightly to, were so fragile they might shatter if not handled gently.
The doorbell rang, appearing to echo in my surroundings like most other noises. I followed her closely as she glided numbly from our bedroom. I wanted to reach out to comfort her, but I withdrew my hand, as always, not wanting to cause anymore pain, whether it was for her or for me.
"Norah!" I heard an overly-enthusiastic voice exclaim, obviously hoping the emotion would catch on.
"Hi, Ellen," came Norah's monotonous response, her voice being the only noise to resound clearly in this invisible field that was so loosely connected to the world of the living.
"How do you feel about coming out for a few drinks tonight?" Ellen asked, as she stepped through to the lounge.
"Not tonight." Norah's usual response.
"Come on, it'll be fun!" Ellen's normal response.
"Not tonight." Norah's usual response.
"You're coming and that's final." Not Ellen's normal response. I frowned as I detected the irritated edge that Ellen's voice had adopted. She'd usually just reply with a half-hearted 'Maybe some other night then.' but she had obviously grown tired of Norah's washed out way of living.
Norah stayed silent and, as I entered the living room, I saw the shocked look in my imagination brought to life on Norah's pale features. Saddened, I realised it was due to the repetitive lifestyle that she was now so used to. I knew that the recurring factors of each day made her feel safe and comforted, lulling her into a false sense of security. She thought that if she lived each day the same, life could never spring something so unpleasant on her again.
"I'm not feeling up to it."
"You're coming, even if I have to drag you out of the house dressed like that. You still haven't met my new boyfriend! Well, he's not exactly new anymore seeing as we've been together for just over five months. He's got a few single friends, maybe I can hook you up with one of them. One of the guys is exactly your type. He's called Tyler. Tall, blond, a bit of muscle."
I tuned her out as she began her long, almost practiced speech about her boyfriend's friend.
Norah cut her off. "Like Greg." It wasn't a question.
A look of reluctance passed over Ellen's face and she sighed. "Norah, you need to let go. Just this once. Come out and have fun."
"How can I have fun knowing he's not there?"
Ellen ignored her. "Come on, let's order a pizza and get ready."
Norah stared. "It's only four o'clock."
A mischievous grin spread across Ellen's dark skin. "This is a huge turning point. If we're going out we're taking it the whole nine yards!" She grabbed Norah's wrist and dragged her up from her seat on the couch, proceeding to pull her upstairs to the bathroom.
"Hop in the shower and I'll order the pizza. How does ham pineapple sound?"
I just watched on as Norah nodded dumbly at the sudden turn of events.

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"Ellen. I'm not so sure about this," whispered Norah. Panic could be clearly heard rising in her voice as the taxi pulled up outside the club.
"Don't worry about it, you'll be fine! I'll be here! If you want to go home at any point just let me know okay?"
"I want to go home."
"Within reason."
Ellen opened the taxi door and climbed out, holding it open as Norah timidly climbed out behind her. I watched as Norah waited nervously for Ellen to pay, smoothing out her dress, though she didn't need to. She looked beautiful. So beautiful that my body ached as I wished with all my heart to be able to reach out and touch her.
"Come on," said Ellen, excitedly, as she grabbed Norah's hand and pulled her over to the queue.
"Ellen, over here!" someone called.
"Carl!" she called back, jubilantly, dragging Norah along behind before thrusting her ahead. "Norah, this is my boyfriend Carl and his friend Tyler. This is my friend Norah," she finished, though the last sentence was mainly aimed at Tyler.
"Hey," he said, smiling.
"Hi." She returned the smile, though I knew, with a rush of happiness, that it wasn't genuine. "It's nice to finally meet you," she said to Carl. "Ellen talks about you a lot."
"Right back at ya-"
"Carl!" We all turned to look next to us at the man now squeezing his way into the queue.
"Gabe!" Carl stepped forward for a man hug, the eyes of the new arrival locking onto Norah's over Carl's shoulder. "When did you get back in town?"
"Just a few nights ago," he replied before turning his eyes back to Norah. "And who's this lovely lady?" he asked, taking her hand and lightly kissing the back of it. I ignored the blush that crept into her cheeks. I didn't feel threatened by him: he wasn't her type. The tall, dark and handsome ones never really seemed to grab her attention though, if I was aware of the fluttering sensation in her stomach, I wouldn't have been quite so carefree.
"Gabe, you freak! Don't scare her!"
"This is Norah," said Ellen, seeming slightly put out that Gabe was making more of an impression than Tyler. I could imagine her inner self shrugging as she thought 'As long as someone catches her eye.'
Gabe looked like he was about to speak again but was interrupted as they reached the front of the queue. I followed them into the club, curious as to how the evening was going to play out.
"Let me get you a drink," Gabe said in her ear as they approached the bar.
"O-Okay," she stuttered, his warm breath shooting down the back of her neck making her shiver. I saw Gabe smirk and knew that was exactly what he'd been aiming for, 'the showoff' I thought, bitterly.
He offered her a barstool and stood next to her, leaning on the bar as he waited to be served.
Norah cleared her throat. "So you've been out of town?"
"Yeah. I've just got back from touring with my band." He looked a bit uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.
Norah seemed to notice. "You're a famous rock star then?" she joked.
He smiled. "Something like that."
Gabe ordered the drinks and then moved closer to Norah, his mouth by her ear. I told myself that he was only that close so that they could hear each other properly but I realised, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, that she seemed to be enjoying the attention.

He was more of a threat than I'd first thought.