Author's Note:

Well, I'm back quicker than I thought I would be! I have been working the kinks out of this story for the past few days, trying to figure out how to get to where I want it to eventually go. This chapter is just the introductory but it also takes place later than most of the story. We will eventually catch up to where this chapter is in a few down the road. Plus it's very short. I did not want to have a prologue or epilogue in this story since it takes place within the Revelations world. As promised, this takes place between Chapter 17 and the Epilogue of Twisted Revelations. As of right now, the story is just above a teen level but it might change depending on how the story runs. It will be like the others with some language and probably violence at some point as well though I have to warn you that this story is predominately a drama. There is not much of a mystery here to be solved however there are mentions of cases that they do have throughout the story along with a bigger one towards the end. I hope that you enjoy the story and please leave a review to tell me what you think! Have a great weekend!

Chapter One

She ran through the woods, branches and bushes snatching at her dress. Roots moved to trip her but she was able to jump over them before she tumbled. Her eyes darted this way and that, looking for the unknown terror that chased her. He was coming but she couldn't see him. A disembodied voice called out to her, his laugh sending shivers through her body. The ground beneath her gave way, sending her down into an abyss. Her hands reached out, grabbing a hold of the rock and dirt before it fell away. For a second, her eyes shifted below her, the endless chasm stretching to infinity, the darkness engulfing the light and everything around it.

Suddenly a hand shot out of the darkness, seizing her ankle. She screamed in terror. The bodiless voice rose again, her skin prickling with fear. "If this is how I go, you're coming with me!" Pain ripped through her as the hand yanked on her ankle, her fingers becoming bloody from digging into the rock. As she was finally torn from the rock, her scream and his laughter were all she could hear as she plummeted into the darkness below…

Nancy continued screaming, struggling to get out of her nightmare. She fell out of bed, landing on the floor with a loud thud, her heart hammering in her throat. When she finally untangled herself from the comforter, Nancy looked around to see that she was in her bedroom at home. She could feel the beads of sweat pouring down her face mixed in with the saltiness of her tears. Nancy waited, looking toward the closed door. All she wanted was for someone to comfort her and then it hit her. She was alone in the house, the stillness ever present within its walls.

Hannah had left two weeks before for a long extended vacation with Nancy's Aunt Eloise. The housekeeper wanted to stay behind but Nancy and Frank insisted that she go after Hannah had stayed at the house for the six months Nancy was gone. Frank, she thought. He left a few days after Hannah, more than likely returning home to Bayport after Nancy asked him to leave. The two had a major fight during one of their cases and hadn't spoken since. Nancy never felt more alone than in that moment.

Getting slowly off the floor, she looked over at her alarm clock, the red digits displaying the time of 3:16. No one to call for it was too late and there was no one there to comfort her because she pushed everyone away. Nancy sighed, turning on her bedside light and opening the door to the darkened house. Although the alarm system was armed, she still felt vulnerable in the solitude. Looking over at the closed door across the hall from her room, Nancy suddenly felt even more alone. She padded over to the door and opened it revealing her father's room. Even though it had been over a year since his passing, Nancy still didn't have the heart to remove his belongings. The room remained as it was the day he died: clothes laid out on the bed just waiting for him, flung there in haste. The scent of his cologne no longer lingered but Nancy felt as if he were still there. She wished he were there then she wouldn't feel so alone.

As a child, Nancy would climb into bed with her father after having a nightmare. Although it didn't happen often, she still reminisced those moments where a father comforted his young daughter. Thinking of her memories, Nancy missed him more than anything. He always had a way of making her feel better even the most dire of times. Sniffling, Nancy slowly backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the room where Frank had stayed while he was there. Nancy could still smell the aftershave he used that permeated the air every day. She looked around the room for anything that he might have left behind only to find nothing. It looked as if Frank left for good, taking everything with him.

Nancy remembered the day she told him to leave. It broke her heart to do it but she felt that it was best for him. Although they had talked over the course of a few months since opening their business, working things out and getting stronger as a couple, Nancy still felt as if she took him away from his family. When tragedy struck them down, she couldn't take it any longer. She blamed herself rather than at what happened. Nancy felt that if she hadn't brought Frank to River Heights, nothing bad would have happened. It was time for them part, at least in her eyes. He deserved to be happy and she wasn't going to be able to give that to him.

She fingered the chain around her neck, its "charm" no longer hanging from it. That was the hardest part of all, giving back the ring he found just for her though they were technically not engaged. Frank never asked her officially. Nancy had found the ring the day after he bought it and asked him about it. It was a few days before they left for CJ's christening. To that day she didn't understand what possessed Frank to buy a ring when he knew that they weren't ready to get married. Frank was okay for her to wear it around her neck, a constant reminder of what he might actually ask in the future. That future though was now lost in the thoughts of her mind.

Walking downstairs, Nancy turned on lights as she went, the emptiness of the house getting to her. She went into the kitchen to boil water for tea. Remnants of her single meal sat on the counter, the half eaten piece of chicken dried out and the green beans limp. As she waited for the tea, Nancy dumped the food into the trash, rinsing off the plate and putting it into the dishwasher. She thought about maybe calling someone when the sun came up but then she remembered. Bess was getting ready for her wedding that was in a few weeks. George had moved to Arizona to be with Dean about a month before Frank and Nancy finally opened for business.

Not wanting to bother her friends with her own unhappiness, Nancy settled for the comfort of a single cup of tea, steeped in chamomile. She sat at the island, staring at the mug, steam rising from its depths. Looking around the empty room, Nancy thought about her decision about Frank. He meant everything to her and she pushed him away, just like she always did when things got complicated. All she wanted at that moment was for him to wrap his arms around her and tell her that everything would be okay.

Suddenly, Nancy burst into tears, her tea forgotten in front of her. She nestled her head into her arms on the counter and sobbed loudly, the sounds echoing throughout the house though no one was there to hear them.

"What have I done?" she cried. Nancy looked up at the ceiling as if waiting for divine intervention. She thought about the events that led her to this and wondered if she should have done something... anything... different.