Elora's point of view:

I read the letter Flynn sent me over and over again. It was so real, so intense. I didn't know how to place my emotion. I felt torn, not just about the letter but of what it contained. Did he really think I wanted to be rid of him after one night? He was horribly mistaken if he thought that was the case. He didn't realize how important he truly was. How different I was just because he took a couple steps into my life.

However, what would I say to him if I really thought about it? What did I want from him? I couldn't even tell myself if I was in love with him or I just thought of him as a dear friend. I had no idea what to say. Well, he did tell me I didn't have to reply, not about that anyway. Maybe I would just write to tell him I'm alright? It couldn't hurt to write a small letter, so I took out a pen and paper and began.

Flynn,

Thank you for writing to me. I hope you know that I'll be thinking about it. Actually, it seems, I have no idea right now. It's hard to explain, you see. I feel one thing for you and then I feel a whole different thing. I don't know how my mind decides to torture me thus.

However, you did say you didn't want to speak about it in a letter. So I'll leave it for now and go on to the more regular things going on. Well, as regular as my life can be. With the family I'm in, nothing is exactly on the normal spectrum. You know this already.

Something did happen when you were away. We met two men, Emmaleigh and I. We went to a carnival about a week ago and met them there. Their names are Julius and Harry. We don't know them well, all we know is that they've just begun working up here in construction. Emmaleigh has taken a liking to Harry, and she's seen him a few more times. Me, however, I haven't seen Julius. He was kind to me and all that, but I didn't feel anything there. Not to mention the both of them give me a bad feeling. I could never tell my sister that though.

Aside from that, nothing else has come up really. I've been at home for most of the time. My father has needed help in his physical therapy and I've been the only one available. Jacob has been quite busy with Percy lately, Emmaleigh has been seeing Harry all the time and Carina has been home. My father and I are the only ones home a lot of the time. It's alright though, he and I enjoy each other's company.

Anyway, although the letter is short, I should wrap up. I hope to see you soon and all I ask of you is to be as safe as you can possibly be in that country. I don't know to what extent that safety goes to, but I hope you can stay within the limits. If not for yourself, do it for me. You've become an important part of my life, I would hate to see you gone so quickly. I miss you.

All your love,

Elora Horowitz.

I went to the post office that day and mailed the letter as soon as I could. I went to the market to pick up some groceries as well, since I was in town. I went straight back home after. I spent most of my days with my father now, since the house remained empty for a lot of the time. Jacob was busy taking care of Percy and doing his best to find a job while he worked on his music. I sincerely hoped he ended up alright. I would hate to see him and Percy get sucked into a life they never wanted for each other.

"You should go out, Elora. You're always in this house. Go to the movies or something," my father said to me as I walked into the kitchen and began to put the groceries away into the pantry and the refrigerator. I chuckled and shook my head as he sat at the little table. I remember when Flynn used to sit there and have coffee in the morning with me.

"I'm fine here with you. If I wasn't in a good mood then I would go out. Turns out I'm perfectly comfortable here I'm afraid," I replied with a chuckle. I went to the cupboard and opened up a half-full bottle of wine, pouring my father a glass. He didn't drink much but since he lost his leg, a glass of wine had helped him take some of the edge off. I didn't mind if he had a drink or two. I was lucky to have a father who understood self control.

"You used to go out all the time. I'd like to know, what changed?" He asked. I didn't want to tell him it was Flynn. I didn't know what to do myself, how was I going to explain it to him? I just wasn't ready to tell anyone about my recent feelings. Emmaleigh caught on quick but she did with everything. It was impossible to hide anything from her.

"Nothing. I've just enjoyed the simpler parts of life lately. It's no issue," I said, I sort of lied. I wished that it wasn't an issue and I could just accept the fact that I was closed off now. Instead, I was constantly wondering how Flynn could change me like this.

"You're sure I shouldn't be worried? Because something is telling me different, and that's usually a correct instinct," he replied. My father and my sister shared the same trait of finding things out with ease that I could never even dream of deciphering. He didn't know about Flynn, he probably wouldn't guess that. But the chances of him thinking it was because of a man were great.

"You don't have to be worried. I'm fine. I've just enjoyed being at home more in the past few months. If there was something wrong, I would tell you. I always have," I replied. This was no lie. He always made sure me and my siblings told him everything. Every problem or every event that happened to us so he could help deal with it accordingly. Even if it was a dream we had that scared us, we would go and tell him and he would whisper to us that the monsters weren't real. He told us the horrible creatures we had nightmares of would never hurt us for as long as he lived, that he would always be there to protect us.

"I know," he replied as he took a drink of his wine. I smiled at him and went to grab my coat. I told my father that I was going to check on Lorelei's apartment and that I would be back soon. She had entrusted me with her key so I could check to make sure the place was alright while she was gone. I had to give their landlord their rent for the month, which she said she had in a cabinet over the counter in the kitchen. Emmaleigh could never do it, she'd just forget or get someone else to do it so she could go see Harry.

I took the car and drove the twenty or so minutes it took the get there. I took the elevator to their floor and opened up the door to their apartment. It was completely empty inside, the place was totally silent besides the sounds of my footsteps on the floor. I went to the cupboard above the counter and found the box of money they had to pay their rent. I took out the amount they had for the landlord and organized it. Before I went to do that, I watered her little house plants and put away some of the books she had left on the coffee table back on the shelf.

Her landlord was a Mister Frank Ericson. He was older, his late forties at least. He had salt and pepper hair and almost overcast grey eyes. His skin was pale and ivory, and he was average height but skinny. He was always smoking a cigarette and shuffling an old deck of cards. They had to be just as old as he was.

"I have Lorelei and Mihn's rent money for you, Mister Ericson," I said to him as I walked up to his desk in the lobby of the apartment building. He looked up at me and took the cigarette out of his mouth, placing it in the ashtray on the desk.

"Right. You're her sister?" He asked as I handed him the money. I nodded and smiled as he placed the cash in his inventory.

"Elora Horowitz. Nice to meet you," I replied. He tipped his hat off to me politely and returned the courtesies of small talk. I then said goodbye and left to go back home.

When I arrived home, my father was at the table again. However, there was a slight difference. He had this look of surprise and amazement on his face. I couldn't decide it was a good thing or a bad thing that he had recently come to find out. I sat down at the chair across from him and took his hand in mine.

"What's wrong?" I asked. His brow went up for a second as he collected his thoughts.

"Well, nothing is wrong. I've just come to find out some pretty big news," he said to me, "Lorelei is pregnant."

My eyes widened in surprise when he spoke the words. Lorelei was having a baby? I didn't even know her and Mihn were even trying. Maybe they weren't at all? Their married life was actually quite private from everyone else. They would have told us if they were planning to have a baby though, right?I'm actually not sure, since they've been busy lately.

"So what happens? Does she come back home?" I asked. He shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Not yet. She will come home in three months. She will be about three and a half months pregnant by then. That's about the time she will be unable to fight. Until then she's still in the army," he replied. I nodded as I listened, thinking it was somewhat unfair that she had to fight while she was carrying a baby inside her. Maybe I was being a little over sensitive, but she was having a baby. I feel like if that were to happen she'd be exempt from killing people in a vicious war. I clearly don't know much about the United States Army.

"Why are they waiting? Don't you think she should come home if she's going to have a baby?" I asked. He nodded like he agreed but it seemed halfhearted.

"These things happen. Your mother did it when she had children, it's possible. I know she's having a baby but Lorelei is strong enough to take on the war for a little while longer. If she was too delicate to fight now she wouldn't be in the army," he explained. I had to admit he had a little bit of a point there. My sister was strong and didn't mind taking a bit of a punch. It was just the fact that there was an unborn baby involved that had me a little nervous about it.

"She does have a duty to fulfill. If you think she'll be alright then you're probably right. You usually are about these things," I replied. He chuckled and thanked me modestly.

"She'll come back in August to complete the rest of her pregnancy. Mihn will stay in Vietnam until the trial is fulfilled in October when Flynn will be coming back as well," he replied. I nodded and almost jumped at the fact that Flynn would be back in October. It felt like such a long ways away, I hoped the time would go by fast.

•••

August...

My calculations were correct when I had thought the time would go by as slow as possible. I merely hoped that it would zoom by and I would think it was only a few days until they came back. However, August came slowly, and I still had two months before I was able to see Flynn. Nevertheless, I would get to see my pregnant sister and get to spend time with her, seeing how she is doing. That was exciting enough to distract me from the wait.

The blistering hot heat didn't help as I assisted Lorelei in unpacking her things. We had them up in her apartment bedroom now, but the unpacking was just as exhausting. August was always the hottest month in Washington, where all the heat waves would make their way in and wouldn't leave for another two weeks. September would roll along and cool it down, but it would still be quite warm until the beginning of November.

"We can finish later. You want a Coca-Cola?" Lorelei asked me as she left the bedroom. I nodded and thanked her like I was desperate for hydration. She went to the fridge and handed me a newly opened, cool from the moisture bottle that felt amazing on my dry and hot skin.

"Did you have to come back when it was so hot?" I asked. Lorelei laughed as she sipped her coke. Her dress let her little baby bump poke out, making this cute bulge that showed she was making a human being inside of her.

"Sorry about that, can't predict the weather," she replied, "so, I've heard you and Flynn have been exchanging letters?"

Yes, we had been. Ever since he wrote to me all those months ago and I replied, we kept writing to each other. It was mostly just about small things. He would tell me he was alright and that things were either relaxed or previously stressful. He never had time to write when things were straining and busy. I would tell him about what I did in Washington, how the heat was getting overwhelming although Emmaleigh and I went to beach all the time. I'd also tell him that since the summer started my father improved by a mile a minute, and that he was starting to not need the wheelchair.

"It's nothing big. We mostly just talk like we're catching up," I replied. She nodded and went to the record player, where she put on some soft Patsy Cline in the background.

"Well, I don't know, but it looked to me like you really did a number on him," she replied. This confused me. How would she know how I affected Flynn? They didn't even get along, she just seemed to avoid him.

"What do you mean? How would know that? I thought you two were on a silent treatment phase?" I asked. She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. I knew for a fact they didn't talk, because Flynn explained it to me in one of our letters.

"Just because I don't talk to him doesn't mean I'm stupid. I pay attention to pretty much everything that goes on. It gets pretty boring at a military base when you aren't fighting. He just showed it, with everything he did. It was like he was a totally different person," she replied. Well, if that were the truth, then he and I certainly had the same effects on each other. I just wish Lorelei would know that was hardly realistic. I was probably more susceptible to change than Flynn, whom of which resembled a wall, ever existing but never altering in image or feeling.

"What makes you think it's me that does all that to him?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders as she leaned her body over the sofa, taking a large drink of her soda.

"Well, at first I thought it was because his dad was dead, but it can't be. Nash died almost a year ago! He would've been changed earlier than now, don't you think? So I thought to myself, what else could it be? Then I remembered noticing he spent a lot of time with you. Not to mention I saw you two going into your bedroom and sleeping in there. I also managed to see him walk into your room while you were asleep to say goodbye," she replied. Had Lorelei really seen all that conspired between me and Flynn? Nobody mentioned anything to me, so I figured he and I were the only ones to know what we did. Not that the things we did were scandalous or anything, but it would have been nice to know that my sister saw him sleeping in the same bed as me and seeing him say goodbye to me while I was asleep. Well, I wasn't asleep although he thought I was. I just pretended to be, I certainly didn't expect what he did to happen.

"I can't believe you knew that," I replied. She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders as she laid down on the couch, the bottle dipping slightly in her hand.

"I know everything. Don't worry, I won't tell dad. I doubt he'll make trouble, he seems to be friends with Flynn, but to be honest you can never be too careful. Your secret is safe with me until you two get married," she replied with an apparent smile on her face. She was always so satisfied with everything and I could hardly understand it from her. She always managed to find something to smile about, even if times were terrible. She always made a joke to brighten up the day.

"Thanks. Now, should we not finish your unpacking?" I asked. She shook her head as if that was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment. I didn't really want to do it either, but I was just trying to be polite.

"Not a chance. Come on, my apartment building has a pool. You brought a suit didn't you?" She asked. I shook my head and she told me that I could borrow one of hers, even though I was a little chestier than Lorelei. It didn't really matter, I chose one that looked like it fit me properly, and we went swimming to beat some of the heat.