Time of death 0528hrs

Oh god

hello 911 yes this chapter right here

ouch

it’s 5am why am I doing this to myself

God damn it

Rereading this again because DAMN

Oh, this is SO GOOD.

He IS a mess. And what an ASSHOLE! He's...well...that's Elliot for you. He oversteps. He's presumptuous. He's pushy.

And...Oh, GOOD FOR LIV for driving away, even though it hurt.

I'm glad she got to hear him say the things he needed to say (and needed to have said). I'm SO glad that she is embracing what she gained from him leaving-despite how badly it hurt-because they were too enmeshed for her to untangle THEM to be HER. I don't think she'd have given up being his partner to be his boss or supervisor.

What an amazing study in trade-offs and long-un-dealt-with pain and loss. Brava. I LOVE this story.

Wow...what a total mess.

Fantastic description of WHAT a mess.

This is so sad...and SO believable.

I love her reflection on what might have been...and what she might have missed out on if he'd stayed.

Man.

OMG...Kathleen asking, "Did you?" ...and that DROP in Olivia's stomach (and mine!) as she realizes that EVERYONE in the family, they ALL KNOW. They know how Elliot shut her out. They know about Lewis.

And Olivia...she's been the one in the dark.

And your Kathleen? She's PERFECTION. Blunt, direct, not letting up, speaking the truth about how ill-fitting many things are... This is stealing my breath away.

Oh...the dangling unspokens...

MAN.

And he kept up with her...without contacting her. And he wouldn't say it for her, wouldn't take that step...let her know he knows about Noah.

And her thinking, in response to what he asked her to say, that she didn't know if she believed those things herself...which...as she sits there, haunted...of COURSE she isn't sure.

And the jagged puzzle pieces that don't fit? SO GOOD.

This is ...beautiful.

The unfolding of how incredibly awful...a stalker, Olivia struggling to avoid thinking about Lewis, but the dates, the indelible dates...

And...oh...the way she's sad that his departure didn't save his marriage or family after all...that he's asking for help because Kathleen could die...

So. Good.

Oh, gods.

Oh...that is terrible.

But real.

And the description of him, the description of the sound of the chair as he sat, how he saw her hands around the glass and gave her space...

I LOVE her trying to hold onto keeping her anger bigger than her love. I BELIEVE that writing choice.

And this whole thing... It's so brittle and difficult and GOOD.

This is beautiful writing. The way she aches for closure is palpable...her near-deletion of the number...it being in a list of people she didn't stay with or who didn't stay with her...

Excellent work.

Your little COMPLETE at the end was super cute. Nice try babe.