Hold On

Three years ago, Karinne, had the best night of her life that ended on the most beautiful note of a mutual promise to meet again. At least that's what she thought. It seemed like that stranger didn't like the idea very much. It had hurt, but her academic work and refusal to compromise on her own freedom propelled her forward. Now she was nearly done with her PhD. Just one more project. Since that night she had met several people but, that husky voice, mischievous smile and rough but comforting hands refused to leave her mind. For Nora, her own happiness was something she could compromise on. She finally got some direction about how to proceed in her life as a new member of the Domestic Violence Investigation Unit and if that involved keeping a big part of herself a secret from the people she worked with, she would do it. She had learnt the hard way that acceptance is a privilege not many are entitled to and she wasn't going to screw up her chances. But in those days lonely nights, she was haunted by the images of that stranger in the club. Those innocent glances, the alluring laughter and the certainty in her voice--they engulfed her. Three years later Karinne and Nora cross paths again when the both of them work on a joint project to build more domestic violence shelters in their area, as part of Karinne's PhD research. Karinne is determined not to let this chance go while Nora doesn't know whether she should give in to her desires for this woman or hold on to the semblance of normalcy she had built for herself. Added to that, danger lurks around the corner as really someone doesn't want this project to succeed.