"What are you, Gin?" Effy asked in a flat voice. The question felt odd as it rolled off her tongue. She had never dreamed that he was anything more or less than human...yet here they were. It was Effy's turn to look a Gin, to have her heart broken due to the state he was in. He seemed so small, almost as if he had been deflated. She couldn't take this. Swallowing her fear and ignoring her instinct, she move closer to the shell of a man that stood before her. Forcing him to look into her eyes, she spoke "For months after the attack, I was terrified. I couldn't leave my loft. When I met you, it was like you breathed life back into me. I wasn't afraid anymore. You made me feel safe. Despite what you are...you still make me feel safe. God, I want to hate you. I want to tell you to leave and never return, but I can't. I fucking can't." her voice shook, and tears continued to spill down her cheeks. "You stupid bastard. I...I love you, and part of me knows I always will." She pressed her lips to his once again, channeling all her anger, pain, and sorrows into the kiss.
Things would never be the same. For as long as she lived, things would never be the same. What this meant for her and Gin, she did not know. All she knew as that she could no longer stay here. Effy glanced around the small loft, her heart breaking even more. This was one vacation she had no desire to take.
She let out a shaky breath as she pulled out her hair, letting it fall down her back like a blonde, curly waterfall. Effy ran her hands through it repeatedly, a nervous habit she had developed over the years. "Let's leave before someone comes looking for me." She grabbed her duffel bag and headed for the door without another backwards glance.