"Hey," Paul smiled, sitting down next to her, and she smiled up at him weakly, then collapsed into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist, rubbing her face against his shirt.

"Oh Paul! Paul!" She sobbed, shivering, and he held her, rubbing her back, feeling a confusing mixture of guilt and shame with happiness as he felt her in his arms again.

"I'm so sorry, Valerie," he told her, and she nodded.

"Paul, I'm- I'm so lost," she groaned, grabbing the bottle and chugging it, nearly finishing half of it in one stretch before Paul grabbed it and pulled it back down, some wine spilling down and staining her...