Heartache envelops Nicole Martin, the way a hug from her fiance or her 7-year-old son once did.
It’s been that way for nearly a year now, since a dropped cell phone set off a chain of events that has left her alone.
“I have lost more than one person should ever have to lose,” she said.
Martin steadies her voice as she recalls one of her best memories of the before days.
It is a warm April evening in Ellijay, Ga. In the front yard, a tall man and a little brown-haired boy with a big grin – both dressed in white T-shirts and blue jeans – slide their mechanics’ creepers under a car.