None of this fair. It isn't fair for this city to just take someone away or back or whatever had happened. It isn't fair that this place brings people from all over, even when they're annoying and hurt her and she loves them despite herself. Her feelings towards Dmitry had been a complex puzzle, a messy knot of emotions that she had been trying to sort through. His avoidance of her had both helped and hurt the problem, putting feelings in perspective. How could she trust someone who claimed he loved her and then ran away? Ever since the fourth of July things had been a little better and a little worse.

Now there is just this. His cat at her doorway and no sign of him. He wasn't just avoiding her; he was gone.

It isn't fair to involve Gleb in her confusion and heartbreak, but Anya doesn't want to be alone right now. There are others to call, but the one person who can make her feel better is Gleb, his arms around her, solid and sure. She knows it must hurt him, to see the pain this other man had caused. That it might worry him.

Selfishness has seized hold of her. She isn't ready to let go of him or turn him away, instead she's seizing it and calling him to her. Holding tight to him she inhales the scent of him deeply. "You are. Oh Gleb, I don't know what to do. I just needed you."