Billy stood with a frown waiting for his father to arrive to say goodbye

	Billy stood with a frown waiting for his father to arrive to say goodbye. She hadn't returned his calls. Where was she? She hadn't emailed either. All her mother had said was that she could not contact her at that point in time, which was strange in itself. He couldn't just go and leave without saying anything, he couldn't! Tucked inside his trouser pocket was a Letter, like Kimberly's, a tissue of lies to explain why he had left, and why she had to forget him and carry on with her life. It was a last ditch effort to "do the right thing". Each word burned like a red-hot knife edge cutting into him as he had written it. He hadn't told any of the others what he was going to do, especially Skye, and they had put down his depressed mood to his leaving them all. He wouldn't send it yet. Only when they left Phaedos, because he might just receive a call from her then. After that, it would be over. He sighed heavily. His father 'ported in with a brave smile fixed firmly on his face. They had said emotional farewells the night before and had promised to make this brief and swift.It was a nice, quiet day at Zoom Comics. Heather, Nano's assistant and the object of Drew's affections, was dusting shelves when she heard the bell which signaled the door opening. "Sorry, we're temporarily closed," she said, turning. Then she saw who had entered. "Oh, hi Drew." Zhane smiled weakly. "You don't play that game, huh?" His gaze wandered back to the door, and he sighed a little. "My Andros always says, 'too much for your own good'." Too much for your own good... He didn't know what to make of that, but Zhane obviously needed reassuring. "I do, you know," he told his friend, the truth of that statement a little frightening in its intensity. "Love you that much, I mean." It was awkward to say aloud, but it must have been the right thing to do. Zhane grinned at him, the twinkle that Andros had missed so much lately back in his eyes. "Say that to your Zhane the next time you see him and he'll probably kiss you," he said lightly. Drew smiled, letting the door shut behind him. "Hi, Heather. Where is everybody?" "Well, Nano and Abbie are out running errands, and you'd know better than I would where Roland and Jo are," she replied. His smile broadened. "Not really. So, you're holding down the fort all by yourself?" Alarm bells began to go off in Heather's mind. Her instincts were telling her not to admit that she was alone in the shop, but she quashed them. This was DREW, for Pete's sake. There was absolutely no reason for her to fear him. So why did his smile make her blood run cold? "Yeah, I'm all by myself, at least for the next few minutes," she answered, shaking herself back to reality. "Nano ought to be back soon, though." Drew shrugged, moving closer. "That's not a problem. I'll work fast." "Take care son. Make sure you send the equivalent of a postcard when you can." his dad said hugging him tight, not wanting to let go. "I will dad, I promise. I'll just get our stuff." Billy said in a choked voice.Despite his best intentions of a quick break, he didn't want to leave his fathers embrace. Eventually though,he pulled away.

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