A few things turned into an entire outfit. A tennis skirt, blue polo, and silk headband later, Ashley and Juniper were out the door. It had taken them two hours to leave the house, mostly because Ashley couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror. The girl staring back at her seemed older, and sad.

"This is so weird." Ashley smoothed her skirt for the tenth time. "It's like looking at who I'm gonna be."

Juniper smiled at her, looking like a proud mother.

"You do look older. You should get used to dressing like this all the time," she grimaced, "even if that skirt is a little short for your actual age."

"You sound like my dad." Ashley ducked her head, ashamed that she'd mentioned him.

"Nothing wrong with that," Juniper said softly.

Not knowing what else to offer, she replied, "Thank you."

Juniper didn't ask what for. "You're welcome. It's already three. Let's get going."

"Okay."

Once they were on the main floor, Ashley remembered something.

"Hang on, I'll be right outside."

Juniper was halfway out of the door with Ashley's luggage. "Hurry up!"

Ashley raced down into the basement. Christopher was out on errands, or so Juniper had told her. A dark basement confirmed his absence. She flipped the lights on, tore a piece of paper from a notepad on his desk, and began writing.

Thank you for helping me.

After that, Ashley was going to sign her name, but on an impulse, she scribbled,

By the way, I think she loves you too.

It was all she could think of in way of returning the favor. Finished, she ran back upstairs and out to the car.

~*~

It was done. Ashley was on the plane. She had Juniper and Christopher to thank for that. If Ashley'd had her way, they both would have been sitting in the seats next to her. As it was, first class was fairly empty.

Ashley was on her own. Twelve was too young an age to be responsible for everything, and Ashley was scared shitless. However, the thought of starting a new life also filled her with excitement. She was eager to forget about the horrible things she had seen in the last day, but she was depressed to be moving on without her father.

"Here's a crazy idea: why don't you and Christopher come with me?"

They were parked in the lot at the airport. The windows were down, with Ashley drumming her fingers on the hot surface of the car door. Planes flew overhead, lights twinkling against the blue sky.

Ashley's sudden question hung in the humid air. Juniper looked at her, a sad smile spreading on her face.

"That's sweet, kid, but it wouldn't work."

"Why? Don't you love him?"

Juniper seemed taken aback. She sputtered, finding her words after a moment.

"I---that doesn't matter. I can't go." She lost her bravado and began mumbling. "Can't go anywhere."

"But why not?"

There was a second when Juniper seemed to considered not sharing, but then she did.

"Because, I killed a man." She corrected herself. "No, not just any man. A cop."

"Oh."

Ashley had been hoping her friend was something more, but it seemed Juniper was a stereo-type of herself after all. A college-dropout turned hooker turned cop-killer. Ashley was surprised she was still alive. She tried to think of what she could say to leave the car quickly and without seeming ungrateful. It would be unwise to anger a killer. Her plans died when Juniper continued on with her murder story.

"He wasn't only a cop, though. He was also my pimp, and a bastard. I killed him so that I could be free. But all of his cop buddies are looking for me, his partner in particular. It's possible his partner is even worse. Some girls that he's taken to his house never came back." Juniper stared off, not Ashley thought she wasn't really looking at anything, just thinking hard. She came back to what she was saying after Ashley cleared her throat. "Anyway, there's no way I can leave the city by plane."

"Are you waiting on him?"

"Christopher? No. He's waiting on me."

Ashley sat back and sighed. "Adults are stupid."

"Yes we are. He's asked me to marry him, a few times."

"Say yes the next time he asks."

"Trap him in marriage with a whore? He deserves better, someone brilliant like him."

"He doesn't want to marry someone like him. He wants to marry you. Plus, he's rich. You wouldn't have to...work anymore."

"I don't want his money." Juniper voice became unusually harsh. "And I've tried to quit before, to find a real job. Since I can't put 'hooker' on my resume, it always looks empty. People don't wanna hire an undergraduate who hasn't worked in five years. Then, my rent is due and I go right back to my old job."

"There's no shame in being with Christopher so he can help you, like you helped me."

"That's why you're pushing this? To help me? Pay me back?"

Juniper's questions came out quick and angry, and Ashley ran out of words. An angry Juniper was intimidating. Her presence, or her psychic power, left a crackling in the air.

"Not like that, but I do want to help you."

"Don't worry about me. I help myself."

The crackling built up and it scared Ashley. She reached for the door.

"Forget it." She got out of the car quickly.

Ashley's bag was in the back seat. Grabbing it meant sticking around another second, a gruesome prospect. But, she needed her things.

"I'll see you," she said when she had her bag.

Juniper didn't look at her. "Yeah, okay. Bye."

The exchange left Ashley confused. Juniper was odd. While she had wanted to help Ashley, she had also seemed reluctant about it. And she had also shared so much about herself, but had been angry at Ashley's innocent advice.

Before boarding the plane, Ashley walked along the rows of stores in the airport marketplace, looking for a store that sold magazines. At a small bookstand, she bought a paperback by someone named Atwood, along with a few trashy magazines. While waiting in line, she glanced at the newspaper rack positioned by the cash registers. A headline gave her pause:

U.K. SAFEST PLACE TO LIVE.

The subhead read: "Crime rates climb everywhere else".

Underneath the newspaper, a tabloid's main story was:

"BOY SPOTTED WHAT HE CLAIMS TO BE 'A MONSTER IN MY CLOSET'".

Though laughable, the story reminded her of the boy by the bench that had tried to hurt her. God, she needed to leave the city.

Ashley shifted in the cushy airplane seat. She wanted to forget everything. To keep from screaming, she needed to forget about bad men, and monsters in the closet. Those memories could be written over with new ones, and old ones. Although, she would not forget her grandparents, or her father, how he had saved her, or how he had loved her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the 'fasten seatbelt' sign. We are about to take off. Please remain seated and buckle up. Thank you."

Ashley moved to put on a pair of headphones to help her sleep. A voice beside her made her stop.

"Hey."

She looked across the aisle and couldn't believe it. The boy from the alley sat right next to her. As she kept staring, he grinned and transformed. His handsome face melted, and he was the monster she glimpsed in the water's reflection. Ashley screamed and closed her eyes. When they opened again, she saw a boy, but not the same one she had imagined. He was a different handsome teen.

His eyes were as big as an owl's when he asked her, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, sorry. You scared me."

"I was just gonna ask what you were listening to."

A sheen of sweat shone on her forehead. "Nothing yet. I was planning on going to sleep."

"Oh, okay. Sorry to bother you."

Ashley turned from his disappointed face. She put the headphones down over her ears. The Smith's hummed a melody. She turned it up to drown out the voices on the plane, the handsome boy included. Best to stay away from boys, and men, Ashley thought. There was only one boy she wanted, and she was sure she would never get to see him again. He was gone.

And so was she.