All of this was overwhelming for her. Being surrounded by Ana’s touch on every surface of the house, by her picture, by the suffocating presence of her widowed husband, and the reason for their forced interaction breathing down her neck. The last thing she clung to was her writing, a world far removed from this one that she could throw herself into because she knew every single piece of that world. Nothing was out of place, no character’s motivations were hazy, and should she wish it, everything could be wrapped up with a neat little bow at the end of the way. The options were there, and in this one facet of an otherwise crumbling life, she had control.<br/><br/>If not for that, what else did she have apart from borrowed time?<br/><br/>His voice pulled her out of herself again, eyes that had begun to haze over beginning to see the world around her again that she’d almost desperately tried to zone out.<span style="font-style: italic">What’s he saying?</span>the woman asked herself.<span style="font-style: italic">Listen to what he’s saying and leave the rest. You can’t deal with both right now.</span>With a shaky breath, she braced for what he’d tell her, hoping beyond hope that he couldn’t and wouldn’t advise her to stay there with him any more than she had to. That would’ve been too much; she’d have gone crazy. But…to her surprise and chagrin, he acknowledged that she did have a routine and that it had to be adhered to…to catch Rafe.<br/><br/>How could she have been so blind? So naïve? Of course she had to keep up her routine or Rafe wouldn’t be able to find her. If he couldn’t find her, they couldn’t catch him. If they couldn’t catch him, her life would never resume. She’d forever be trapped there in that house with Vincent and they’d be stuck in an uncomfortable loop until one of them snapped or until the world ended.<br/><br/>Somehow, she didn’t think the world would be ending any time soon.<br/><br/>Just as she was going to tell him the logistics of always having someone with her were slim to none because they had responsibilities that were far greater than her, he continued and caused her to falter, lips having parted to speak but no sound emerging. All she could do was listen, was process, even the sound of her heart in her ears dulling as he received her undivided attention.<br/><br/>The words were thoughtful ones, kinder than Sofia had expected him to say, even after the moment they’d had a short while before. “I…” she started, her voice unsteady, uncertain as the single syllable hung in the air between them. “I’ll try to consider this my home, but…it’s like you said…it’s going to be hard… probably as hard as it was to say the words to me of all people…” There was no judgment in her voice, no anger, no resentment or accusation. No, the tone was calm, reserved, almost resigned. “But you’re putting your life on hold to help me, so I’ll…I’ll try to do as you said and I’ll try to stay out of your hair as much as I can…”<br/><br/>With that segue, she continued, “For meetings, making sure I have Sheba at least if you or your partner aren’t available, that’s one thing…but a press release? An interview? Your life can’t stop just as much as mine can’t. Do I need to get clearance to do any of them before I leave for such an event? There was also a charity gala I was supposed to go to…I’m not the most social for things like that, but it’s under my contract so I’d have to go through proper channels to get out of them…stalker or not…”<br/><br/>Drained. She felt drained and weak, and all she wanted to do was lay down and not move. For the first time since this whole thing had devolved into terror and sleepless nights, she wanted to give up and give in, to go out and meet him to whatever end waited her as it would’ve been easier than all of this. Yet, she wouldn’t even sit on the bed. To sit on the bed would have been to disturb Ana’s memory, her presence. While she’d not physically been there or set it up, this was her space and she was invading it.<br/><br/>“I just want to make sure I don’t make your life harder than it needs to be. Once I know the ground rules, I’ll abide by them.”