ALLY Guilt had me wrapped inside her cloak like a black fog. Death and her poison consumed me day in and day out. The vortex of grief captured my soul. Until.... Temptation is dangled before me, enticing me to taste. Will it be sweet or sour? Should I walk away or chance finding the love which will shatter my dark secrets and bring me back into the light? The love which could make my broken soul whole again. Could this be the lifeline I so desperately need to pull me from the pit of despair and the drowning rapids of her disgust and disapproval? Could he be the one to breathe new life into me? XAVIER Family. Ink. My brothers. Sand. Surf. Everything that matters. My weakness - emotion. My mother is my world and as her memory fades, my inked exterior is shattered. My mind is sucked into a vortex of darkness with no thought of ever finding love. Love means only pain - the pain I see every day in my father's eyes as his soul mate slowly slips away. Then....... Like lightning on a summer's day, I'm blindsided. She was there before me, so near but so far. My fingers twitched to touch her. My arms ached to hold her. Could this be the soul I needed to help me breathe in this world? Could she be the one to take away the pain? If you found someone who could help you breathe, could you give that up?