Erik had called Rosaline's mobile once every day, ever since he bravely took the initiative to call her that very first Sunday three weeks ago. Twenty-one phone calls were made in total so far and each went by ignored. Despite Rosaline's obvious reluctance to speak to him, Erik was still hopeful that one of these days she would give in and answer his call. He told himself that he wouldn't even care if she proceeded to lash out at him and call him every possible derogatory name invented, so long as he had the opportunity to hear her angelic voice and spend a few minutes of her time. Erik's main aim was to convince Rosaline as to why he deserved the chance to explain not only what happened on her birthday, but more importantly, how some of the decisions he made in his past, had begrudgingly resurfaced and sadly destroyed their once loving relationship. His greatest setback thus far however, was in trying to patiently wait for the moment when she would finally accept his all.

Meanwhile, locked away in her bedroom with a novel resting on her lap was sweet Rosaline. Although she was trying desperately to ignore her deviating thoughts, she couldn't disregard the throbbing headache in which she currently was experiencing, no doubt a direct result from the incessant phone calls she had received from Erik each day and the amount of time she had spent thinking about him and the possibilities of what would happened if she answered his calls. As the weeks went on, it had become habitual for Rosaline to weigh up the pros and cons of speaking to Erik. On one hand, she strongly felt the need to keep her distance and protect herself from further agony, particularly when she thought about her family and their frustrations given her relationship with Erik. But on the other hand, she couldn't switch off her emotions that easily and pretend that she didn't love Erik anymore, because if she was being truthful with herself then she knew there was still a hopeful part of her that was confident Erik loved her too.

At that point, it was quite easy for Rosaline to mull over the thought of Erik and how much she missed him. She longed for him in ways that brought upon such intense sorrow and sadness, that even she was surprised at how one person could crave the presence of another so fiercely. She missed his tenderness, his kindness and his considerate nature. She missed his strength, his bravery and even his bossiness at times. She missed his laugh, his heated touch and especially his smooth and sensual kisses. But most of all, she missed being loved by him because his love for her did unexplainable things and made her feel purely invincible. She needed him as much as she needed her next breath and the longer she went without breathing, the higher the risk of a tragic death there was that awaited her.

At approximately half past four in the afternoon, Rosaline's mobile phone buzzed. As with each phone call made from Erik, Rosaline's heart skipped a beat as did her palms begin to sweat and her eyes begin to sting with an overwhelming sense to cry. Unlike all of Erik's previous attempts to call, where Rosaline would merely stare at her phone until it stopped ringing, this time she carefully picked up her phone, walked inside her ensuite bathroom, locked the door behind her and sat on the small, rectangular piece of carpet that rested against her bathtub. She was shaking nervously, as she swallowed her fears and hesitantly pressed the accept button. As she raised the device to her ear, she was half-expecting to immediately hear the sound of Erik's masculine voice flutter in through the receiver, but as she waited she realised that perhaps he wasn't sure if she had accepted his call to begin with.

"Erik?" Rosaline quietly spoke.

"Rosaline?" He timidly mimicked.

At the first sound of his voice in what felt like an eternity, Rosaline's eyes betrayed her as she begun to silently weep.

"I'm here." She whispered into the phone.

"I can hardly believe you answered." Erik sadly admitted.

"I'm beyond grateful that you did." He added in a relieved tone.

Instead of acknowledging his response, Rosaline chose to remain defensive out of natural instincts to guard her feelings.

"Is there something you wanted?" She calmly asked, whilst fidgeting with the thread of the carpet beneath her.

"I know I don't deserve your time but that is exactly what I want from you. An opportunity to explain myself, to have you understand how sorry I am for the way things unfolded on your birthday." Erik desperately bargained.

"I'm listening." Rosaline numbly spoke.

"I know I shouldn't ask this of you, but there was a part of me that was hoping we could meet to discuss this in person." Erik anxiously proposed with a quiet voice.

Upon hearing his suggestion to come face to face with one another, Rosaline wasn't quite sure what to think. If she was being completely honest, she was still processing the fact that she had initially answered Erik's call and was talking to him. She knew her next choice of words would potentially hurt him, but when she remembered the extent of her own sufferings caused by him she didn't feel as guilty in speaking them.

"I'm not sure I can do that." Rosaline softly confessed.

"I understand." Erik sympathetically answered, after a prolonged moment of silence.

"If it's more time you need..." He uneasily began to suggest.

"Yes, I need more time." Rosaline quickly agreed, noticing just how difficult it was to speak with Erik over the phone after a long separation.

"I can wait." Erik instantly promised.

"Do you know how long you might need?" Erik carefully asked after a short while.

"No." Rosaline responded, suddenly feeling overcome by too many conflicting emotions that it was starting to make her feel physically ill.

"I have to go." She said in a panicked tone, listening as Erik's voice filtered in through the receiver one last time.

"I love you Rosaline, please never forget that." Erik spoke, seconds before Rosaline ended the call and raced to the faucet to splash her face with some cold water.