The sounds of impatient drivers, honking their car horns easily reverberated through the thin walls of her bedroom as if the infuriating sound would give the cars jammed along the street the initiative to move the few extra car lengths down the road.

One would've guessed as much as these drivers traveled their tireless commute to their individual professions that it was blatantly obvious the rush hour traffic was always the same: between the morning hours of seven thirty and nine o'clock there was always a guaranteed blockade of traffic down the main stretch of downtown Boulder.

Despite the irritating sounds of honking horns and the occasional raucous sounds of neighbors, slamming their doors perhaps with a little extra force than needed, and the forlorn essence of seclusion it was all a reassuring reminder that she was away from London. Rey left every rotten memory of the place behind that she considered a hopeless life beyond salvaging, having endured many years of sleepless nights after being placed into the custody of her abusive Uncle Plutt.

The only memory worth recalling within that decade of misery was the hours spent locked in her room of their flat with only the company of her art easel, displaying a blank canvas and holding the paint palette within her grasp, consisting of the various colors of oil paints and a paintbrush in the other hand.

There was a rare moment in which Rey initially discovered her calling to happiness within the early years of living with her uncle. Purposely, she had been trailing behind the blubbery blob that could pass for a man through downtown London.

She scowled in disgust at the fact that Plutt remained nonplussed that his pants were significantly too small to cover his noticeable plumber's crack when she discovered a painter - an elderly man with puffy brown hair and subtle highlighted patches of grey to further enhance his age, sitting by the local corner market with only the company of his easel and paint set.

Rey paused her stride, hindering her from following her uncle as she carefully watched how the man tuned out the world around him with a noticeable impassive expression on his face whilst remaining entirely focused on the blank canvas in front of him. Wordlessly, Rey perceived every stroke the man made with his brush: how he purposely took extra paint than what should've been necessary onto the brush and jabbed, forcefully into the canvas to set up the basis of the scenery and from there on out. She noticed how extra careful he was while taking on the lighter colors, carefully the man grazed the brush over the darker hues of shadow to enhance the highlights of where the light was subtly targeting each object in the image.

She couldn't recall for how long she spent staring at the exquisite piece of work that was of the surrounding buildings in the neighborhood coming to life on the canvas, but it had only been long enough to further pique her interest in pursuing the art.

Annoyed, Plutt had gripped her by the crook of her arm, realizing further down the street Rey wasn't behind him where she'd once been and forcefully pulled her away. She never got the chance to ask the artist any questions, regarding the skill. Surprisingly, it didn't take much convincing for Plutt to purchase Rey a set of paints of her own, thinking it would be well worth the investment so long as it kept her out of his hair, or what little there was left on the shininess of his significantly bald head.

Rey was pleased to see that she'd apparently had a natural knack for the newfound ability as she spent secluded hours painting her own images of landscaping, whether it was a simple portrait of a flower of images within her imagination.

Her personal favorite had been of an island: surrounded by blue waves of the roaring ocean with hues of pinks and oranges above the horizon enabled by the sunset. By doing so it only served as a reminder that there was beauty everywhere if one could simply look hard enough to find it – even if it was only a simple milkweed that was attempting to break through the crack along a sidewalk.

When the day came to leave Plutt's clutches the thought of leaving her works of art behind had been a painful, knowing full well that the chances of him heaving into the dumpster behind the shithole of a shack he lived in were relatively high. Unfortunately, it was the price she had to pay when it came down to making the ultimate decision of bettering her future.

Other than the clothes on her back with only the worn-out knapsack clinging to her shoulders containing the few necessities in clothing, her passport, a small drawing tablet, a few No. #2 pencils and her favorite set of oil paints she took the small sum of her parents' heritage and hailed a cab to Heathrow. Everything past the taxi's interior was no longer important; no longer worth taking up the mental space within the back of her mind it made the internal voice telling her to look back easier to ignore.

The next daunting task she had to consider upon her arrival at the airport was the decision that forever changed the course of her future: where was she going to go?

Surprisingly, the decision ended up being easier than she thought as she stared wide-eyed, chewing her bottom lip in thought whilst perceiving the overwhelming dozens of monitor screens hanging throughout the airport's hectic registration center, ignoring the irritated groans of hurrying passengers that had to step just a few quick strides out of their path around her.

Rey glanced down at the small lighted screen on her phone, narrowing her eyes at the digital numbers that stared back at her in which read 7:45 A.M. She smiled at no one in particular as the final sense of resolve flashed before her eyes, affirming the choice of where she was heading to. For reasons unknown she settled on purchasing a ticket to the first destination that was the closest to boarding on that early spring morning:

Boulder, Colorado
9:00 A.M. Departure: On time

She had no correlation of family there. No friends or vital obligations tying her to that location; however, discovering a new place on her own and at her leisure made the new defining chapter to her life all the more exciting. Nerves regarding the notion that she was boarding her first British 747-Airliner, momentarily replaced the thoughts of what her overall plan was once she got to Boulder.

Just as fast as her anxiety ascended Rey abruptly swallowed it down as the plane began to quickly climb higher into the Earth's stratosphere, saying goodbye to the Hell that was once her life in England for the last decade and welcomed what waited in her newly proclaimed home – even if she did end up taking residence in one of the cheapest apartment complexes on the block located within the more prominent run-down sector of the city.

From the usual fetal position on her side that Rey normally slept she rolled onto her stomach, burying her face into the down-filled pillow she groaned in frustration, muttering incoherent obscenities at the drivers that withstood no chance of ever hearing her.

Reluctantly, Rey relinquished her sleep as she opened her eyes to acknowledge the particles of sunlight piercing their way through the drawn blinds of her window, declaring her attention that it was officially time to start the day. She yawned deeply, recognizing the lingering amount of sleep within her body before heaving the shielding warmth of the comforter away from her figure, and lazily swinging her legs over the edge of the significantly small twin-sized bed.

A shudder rapidly coursed through her body, alerting her of its protest as her bare feet came in contact with the coldness of the hardwood flooring beneath her. She allotted herself a moment or two for her body to warm up at the abrupt contact of the cool air conditioning against her bare arms and legs, having been uncovered due to her sleep shorts and t-shirt that she normally slept in.

As per usual, eventually forcing herself from the comfort of her bed Rey greeted the day as her hand reached up to pull the cord to draw open the blinds, allowing the warmth of the sunlight to brighten up the darkness lingering within the room and to reveal the mountainous landscaping far off in the distance, easily perceived from the top floor of her apartment's building. She gawked at the stunning scenery, allowing a smile to cross over her face as it was always more than capable of rendering her breathless with its natural beauty.

Out of sheer habit she proceeded to check the primordial flip phone lying on top of the small nightstand next to her bed. A small glass of daisies she'd plucked from one of the flower beds at a nearby outdoor shopping plaza occupied the empty space next to the device. She acknowledged the blank screen, having no messages with a frown; as if she wholly expected a call or text from someone to share the early hours with, or any remaining parts of the day for that matter.

After all she had made the decision to come here – alone. The thought of being free from the amiable memoirs of her past had appeared far less daunting, until she formally parted from the familiarity of everything she'd ever known.

On second thought, being alone wasn't necessarily anything new to her. She'd spent her entire childhood living invisible, surely it wasn't about to change now as society was too engrossed with their noses taped to the smart phone in hand to pay any attention to the world outside the electronic device. Nowadays, it was comically possible to consider going nude into public with the chance of hardly anyone noticing, or to even appreciate the beauty their city had to offer.

One of the public spots Rey began to favor was an outdoor shopping mall just two miles down the road from her apartment: a stretch of small businesses, ranging from gourmet cafes to boutiques just off Pearl Street. A brick-paved road ascended through the boulevard with garden beds of tulips now in full bloom. Some of beds had petunias with a single tree to provide extra shade along the aisle of restaurants, having small iron-fenced enclosures with small tables and umbrellas to allow their customers to comfortably sit and enjoy the fresh air of the outdoors. The old-fashioned light poles brandishing lanterns provided just the right amount of lighting to illuminate the pathways at night.

One of her favorite shops was the small art studio next to Armitage's Bait & Tackle. The studio itself was considerably small; merely the size of her apartment with a rather charming interior and, conveniently, it offered just about every color in paint and brush size that she would ever need.

Where she had intended to scout the area for employment opportunities, considering the inheritance from her parents wouldn't last forever Rey most often hindered from the mission to take up temporary residence on one of the wooden benches under a tree for hours on end after visiting the shop, purposely with a sketch pad in hand to draw the rather inspiring scenery from different views, harboring the intention to paint what she saw at a later date.

Speaking of…

While briefly reminiscing, it only served as a reminder that she needed to pick up some extra bottles of select oil paints, specifically, the variable hues of blues and greens for the current project she intended to work on in order to brighten the dullness of the white walls in her apartment.

There may have been the intended thought of avoiding the local Wal-Mart, especially since there was only the milk and eggs in her fridge that were already a week past their expiration date. What was one more day of avoiding grocery shopping?

Deciding to pass on her usual morning shower and foregoing on the make-up Rey quickly threw on a pair of cut-off jean shorts, laying haphazardly amidst the other piles of laundry that had yet to be put away. She pulled on a shabby grey hoodie with the front pocket nearly completely torn from the garment, remaining indifferent to the various colors of paint she'd accidently splattered across the front with her favorite pair of red Converse shoes, and threw her hair up into the usual style of three buns.

If anyone willingly took the time to look at her that day they would've undoubtedly, considered her to be a bum from the streets. It had become her source of armor to remain hidden from unwarranted attention. At least that was what she thought initially, as she reached for the satchel hanging from her bedroom doorknob before it became clear that the day was withholding other plans for her outing.

"Is this seat taken?"

While sitting cross-legged from her spot on the usual wooden bench of the outdoor pedestrian mall, Rey glanced up from the drawing pad in her lap, acknowledging the source of the voice. It suddenly occurred to her that if only she had been mentally prepared to consider the handsome face of the man, staring back at her.

His expression was gentle, kind, looking no more than possibly a few years older than she was. His dark brown eyes were hidden under dramatically, unkempt eyebrows. His rumpled black hair further consisted of short, tousled curls. While he was undoubtedly, attractive it was the genuine smile beaming through his subtle four o'clock shadow that rendered her internally, into an emotional frenzy.

God dammit – of course he had to be fucking hot!

Of all days for someone to acknowledge her presence he had to pick this day in which she decided to forego showering or applying any sort of make-up for that matter in which she normally went for a more natural appearance. Humorously, she inaudibly snorted at the fact that she had at least made the attempt to brush her teeth earlier on. At least she didn't appear to be all horrid in that essence.

For a brief moment the thought crossed Rey's mind that there was someone else behind her that he could've been conversing with. To confirm her suspicion Rey noticeably turned her head to glance around their general vicinity, but only discovered that there were no other visible signs of human life – only the typical sounds of early birds chirping far off in the background.

Her brain finally caught up to acknowledge the coherent fact that the man was still standing before her, patiently, waiting with his hands tucked in the pockets of his dark denim jeans for her to answer his query in regards to the bag of paints that was taking up the empty space on the bench next to her.

"Oh! Um," Rey started, blinking rapidly at first to mend her momentary flustered state of mind. Her cheeks blushed a subtle shade of pink as she purposely, shifted the bag of paints to the narrow space opposite of their former location. "No, it's not."

The man offered her a grateful smile, curtly nodding to her acceptance as he moved to take a seat next to her. A fleeting moment of an awkward silence hung in the air between them before he, thankfully, was the first to attempt breaking it.

"You must be new around here?" He inquired with genuine curiosity. His elbows rested casually on his knees, allowing her to easily perceive the subtle hints of lean muscle in his arms hidden underneath the short sleeves of his white Henley.

Not really, she considered answering at first although, judging by the way he asked it was apparent he occupied the area rather frequently. It gave her all the more initiative to wonder how long he'd known her to be here.

"Sort of." She offered casually in response, shrugging her shoulders subtly. "I just moved here, actually, from London about a month ago."

He quirked his brows in surprise, "London – that's a rather significant distance to travel just to move. What in the hell made you consider Boulder?"

Rey pursed her lips in thought, debating on if she really wanted to pour out the sob story that had significantly been her life to a stranger, but her thoughts were abruptly cut-off by the man's seemingly apologetic tone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to come off as sounding so blunt." He stated rather sheepishly, offering her an apologetic smile in assurance. "Nothing exciting ever happens in this part of the state so I was just curious."

"Oh, no – you're fine, actually." Rey countered for save. And fine looking, she mentally thought. To further ease him of bearing the burden of listening to her blathering about her struggles early on in life she settled for a more vague explanation. "I guess," her words trailed off whilst chewing her bottom lip in perception of what all she was willing to tell him. "I needed a change. My life wasn't necessarily all rainbows and warm fuzzies, and Boulder seemed appealing enough to begin that new chapter."

The young man smiled, perceiving her initial hesitancy he simply nodded in acquiescence without attempting to pry any further. "Well, I hope it's okay for me to say that I hope you consider staying – I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

Rey smiled warmly, feeling more at ease that he didn't feel the need to question for further details on the life she purposely left behind. "Rey Adams. And you are…?"

Rey. He smiled knowingly, finally able to put a name with the face he had been longing to meet since the day he saw her from behind the window of the Bait and Tackle store. For weeks he had been pestered, incessantly by his friends, Armitage Hux and Finn Cooper whom were also colleagues at the bait shop as well as roommates. Time had certainly been on his side as he had been debating to go to the diner down the street when he saw her, conveniently sitting at the bench just outside Hux's shop.

"I'm Poe Dameron," he stated with the smile that had already been capable of rendering butterflies in her stomach. "And it's finally nice to meet you, Rey."

"Finally." She repeated with heavy enunciation, arching a brow quizzically at his admission. "So, I take it that you work around here, then?"

Poe chuckled whilst nodding at the unintended confession. "Yeah." He stated simply, biting his lip while his eyes flickered over her face. "Not that I was purposely creeping on you or anything, but my buddy owns the Bait and Tackle store next to the art supply shop here."

Rey simply nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed that he'd seen her dressed like this on the apparent more than one occasion. "Forgive me, but I never would have perceived you as a guy working at a bait shop."

Poe snorted in retort. "Well, don't always let looks deceive you, Rey. I do enjoy the sport as a hobby, but, I actually hold a financial partnership with one of my other friends to the owner. And since we're on the topic of professions – you're an artist I see?"

Rey offered him a toothy grin in response, allowing him to better view the quick scribble of the prominent architecture within the area. "Well, not professionally, I suppose. I haven't been able to find a job yet, but for now it's a hobby that helps surpass the time."

"It's very impressive, honestly." He stated, cocking his head to the side as he considered the notable depiction of the surrounding area. "And actually, you may be interested in knowing that the owner mentioned the other day that he was planning on opening a position for full-time hire."

Rey eyed him skeptically, but it was hard to hide the subtle glimmer of excitement within her eyes at the thought of working around art rather than it simply being a hobby only. Before she could answer him the embarrassingly, loud rumble of her stomach growling interrupted her thought.

Poe chuckled lightly, following him stating the apparent observation. "Are you hungry? Believe it or not, I was actually on my way to the diner just down the road before I got sidetracked."

A subtle blush crept across Rey's cheeks, initially forgetting the fact that she was clearly not entirely presentable to consider going on a – date? The term may have been a bit loose to use at this point, but the thought did seem rather nice to contemplate. She smiled happily, accepting his offer without further hesitation.

Throughout the duration of their breakfast Rey was able to engage further into questioning Poe; unashamed and eager to learn more about the man that had been the first person to ever approach her since her arrival to Boulder.

Aside from his incredibly, good-looking appearance there were the less apparent facts that still remained mysteries to regard. For instance, Poe was also a remarkable pilot who occasionally, flew for his father's privately owned commercial flight commerce just outside of Boulder.

He also enjoyed the entertainment of fly fishing with said partners at the bait shop, which had only been enough to pick her interest and accepting his offer to cater along at the next opportunity. While he had been more than happy to indulge her with information as she questioned at her leisure Rey remained undeterred from expressing the melancholy that was only her past. For once in her life it was easier to forget where she came from and simply be happy as that single date lead to another, and another from there on out.

Six years later…

If there was one lesson in life that Rey had learned to desperately cling to throughout her adventure into adulthood it was, undoubtedly, that patience was a virtue. At the age of twenty-four it had become a lifeline earned through the assorted acts of tribulation that life continuously threw her way.

After having endured the arduous steps to claim her citizenship within the United States one would have guessed that she was ready to take on the world after having obtained that piece of paper with a stamp to further prove her citizenship.

She had learned that patience was essential in customer service when it came to the endless hours she'd spent at the art studio in the outdoor pedestrian mall; which she happily accepted the honor of having partial ownership of the business. There was no greater feeling than turning the hobby that became a defining part of her life into a career that she so ardently loved.

What she severely lacked when it came down to the act of so-called 'patience' was something that life hadn't properly prepared her for: men, whom begrudgingly made up approximately forty-nine percent of the world's population.

It was approximately two years into their relationship that there was a dramatic increase in demand of private commercial flights. For the most part he was forced to cater to the clients residing within Los Angeles; which, unfortunately, had resulted into him having to stay a few nights for layovers.

Now, adding in the task of finish planning a wedding - that was fast approaching and every detail need to be polished and planned it made it all that much harder to do so when her fiancé was essentially missing fifty percent of the time had begun to drastically render a toll over her nerves.

The days had fallen few in between since she had been able to focus wholly on her art whilst tending to the business aspect of it, and essentially having to make a majority of the decisions for what was to be the happiest day of her life – of their life.

Aside from the fact that she merely spent every waking moment, wading elbows deep in wedding plans what she missed the most was having him there with her. It was within those moments where she woke in the occasional mornings, acknowledging the empty space next to her in their bed that she'd taken him being there for granted. Hell, it felt more like ages since the last time they'd had sex, but that may have been a bit of a dramatic exaggeration.

One of the first steps they took after becoming engaged was choosing their first home together – a charming Cape Cod style bungalow on the other side of town. Officially, Poe had made the first down payment on the house and was now move-in ready the following week after their honeymoon. After he proposed the idea of her moving in with him at his residence with Hux and Finn, Rey willfully put all of her belongings into storage, including her art supplies that had been neglected after the prolonged months of planning the wedding.

There was no doubt in the back of her mind that having the extra company helped to further ease the ache of Poe's absence, but for just once it would've been nice to enjoy a full two days together before he was abruptly whisked away to tend to another call.

After trading in her dinosaur age flip phone to meddle in the advantages of owning an iPhone, it helped having those brief moments of FaceTime with him while he was away, but it was obviously different looking at someone on a screen versus being able to touch them in person.

Luckily, she was about to have him home longer than usual for a few days and planned to meet him for lunch at the diner just down the road from the studio with the remnants of wedding papers or rather precisely the seating arrangement in hopes of going over them with him. While in the booth waiting for his arrival, Rey sat with her elbow planted into the table top's hard surface, resting her cheek against her fist whilst twirling the three carat French cut pave diamond ring on her finger. Her eyes flickered over the empty spaces of the seating chart, debating wordlessly over who was going to be sitting where.

While scrutinizing the daunting blank papers in front of her Rey's attention abruptly shifted to acknowledge the welcoming touch of a hand against the cool, silk fabric of her blouse. She smiled as Poe abruptly leaned down, greeting her lips with the softness of his. "Hello beautiful."

"I missed you." Rey stated softly as he slid into the cushioned seat of the booth across from her. "How was your flight this morning?"

Poe snorted, "Not bad - same shit, but at a different altitude."

Rey scoffed at his brash retort, pursing her lips in thought as she deliberated over her next words. "So, I suppose it's a bad time to suggest going over the seating arrangement with you then?" Her suspicion was quickly confirmed as Poe acknowledged her query with a fleeting moment of silence. Rey clenched her jaw as she closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "You're leaving again."

"Rey, I promise it's only going to be a quick trip to LA, and back. And I may have agreed to pick Ben up on the way home."

Rey frowned at the evident hint of exhaustion within his voice whilst scowling at the last words of his statement.

Ben Solo, Poe's lifelong friend since childhood and a well-known photographer for issues of Sports Illustrated. Occasionally, Poe and Ben would reunite while he had been on one of many trips to Los Angeles. Throughout the years she'd known Poe she had never met the man in questioning; nor did she particularly care to as every time he was around Ben he'd call her in some ridiculous frame of mind or at one of Ben's parties amongst the famed models, stupidly drunk and beyond legit coherence. It was a wonder Poe had managed to dial the correct contact in his phone.

Rey sighed heavily whilst groaning in frustration. Defeated, she nodded her understanding. "Fine, but no more nookie for you until you decide where your father's golfing buddies are sitting."

While it was more than apparent that the Dameron family was well off, financially, the notion of having her future in-laws needing yet another reason to further enhance their distaste for her was less than appeasing to consider at the moment. There had been more than one occasion in the past of which Shara had cynically expressed her dislike towards Rey's more humble upbringing in life.

Thankfully, Poe always remained unabated from his parents' insensitive remarks in regards to Rey. There were moments at the beginning of their relationship in which she always attempted to decline any sort of gift he attempted to give her. But Poe was insistent, tenacious and always managed to get his way when it came to spoiling her whenever he could. Regardless, of the numerous items in which he tried to give her there was nothing that remotely fulfilled her heart than just simply having a moment or two alone with him.

Poe chuckled with a curt nod. "Tomorrow – I swear to God tomorrow you will have my undivided attention, and in more ways than one."

Rey blushed at the evocativeness behind his words. All the while throughout their shared lunch she couldn't shake the formidable feeling, brewing within the pit of her stomach. Her intuition told her – no, begged for her to push harder to hinder him from leaving. But it was going to take more than that of a simple hunch to convince Poe not to leave: no matter how strong her instincts were.

To further prove her aversion Rey snubbed him as he attempted to kiss her before leaving once more, marveling in the fact that it was surely enough to enhance how much she hated him constantly being on the go. As Rey turned to leave the opposite direction as him down the sidewalk, a fleeting moment of guilt rushed over her, prompting the tiny voice at the back of her mind to scream, urging her to chase him down and kiss him before he was gone. However, she was as equally stubborn as she was ridiculously in love with him.

For the remaining hours of the day Rey spent her time at the studio, perceiving the digital numbers on her phone's screen that seemingly passed at their leisure. The hours passed by at that of a snail's pace in mid-winter, waiting for that phone call after his arrival to his destination. Rey cursed herself for the one time she'd forgotten her charger, having drained the battery from the excessive times she'd pressed the button at the bottom of her screen.

Just as she was readying to lock the studio up for the evening Rey flinched in alarm at the abrupt rapping at the window of the shop's door. She rolled her eyes, acknowledging Hux's rigidly pale face through the glass he wasted no time in berating her the moment the door opened.

"I've been trying to fucking call you all evening, Rey! Why in the hell is your phone off?"

Rey blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the sudden outburst. "Hello to you too, Hugs." She quipped with a goading smirk, knowing how much he hated the derisive nickname. "And sorry, the battery died again."

"Finn has been on the phone with Solo for the past hour," Hux stated as a matter of fact with a noticeable amount of desolation behind his words.

Rey furrowed her brows in confusion, "And why would that concern me, exactly?"

Hux stood silent, momentarily, as he ran a hand over his mouth in thought while the other hand pressed into his hip. Rey watched him intently as his eyes remained fixated on a spot somewhere on a board of the studio's wooden flooring before finally, he acknowledged her inquisitive gaze with glassy eyes. "Poe never made it to Los Angeles. Rey, there's been an accident..."