"Addy," Reed was saying, softly so as not to startle me. I remembered immediately what was happening. We were still driving on a dark highway. I looked at him, eyebrows raised.

He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Sorry, chérie. Hi. We're almost there," he said, apologetic. He knew I would want to fix my face before seeing people.

I looked at the clock on the stereo. 5:15. I wanted coffee in a major way.

"Neva calls me 'chérie'," Dane mock grumbled. "Still awake then, Intou? Good job. Need some tea, mate."

"I'm sure Ari will have tea for you."

"I'm sure she will, at that," Dane agreed. "Dépêche toi." Hurry up.

I flipped down the visor and began fixing my makeup, focusing first on the circles under my eyes. A few hours of sleep did not look good on me. I touched up my scars so they were barely noticeable, grateful I'd washed my hair the night before. It hung straight and sleek just where it was supposed to, thank God. I needed that curtain. Anxiety chewed at my insides like an alien.

Reed yawned, and I looked over to see him rub his eye with his fist like a three year old. "You need to sleep," I said, as if he didn't know.

He gave me a smile. His circles were dark, the bruises on his face worse today. "I will. We both can."

Hopefully that meant together, because the thought of being on my own made me freak out inside. I was neurotic. I kind of figured I came by it honestly, after my life, but still. It got annoying.

He took an exit ramp and my heart sped up. It went into residential and he turned into the driveway of one of the first houses. A red Camry was parked in the other half of the driveway, and a black Chevy truck on big wheels in front of the mailbox. There were lights on in the house.

I looked at Reed as he pulled the key out and took a deep breath. He held my eyes and gave me a reassuring smile and said, "Just my friends here. You'll like them."

I swallowed and clutched my purse and backpack strap. "'Kay." We got out.

"You'll jus' want to plan on plain ignoring Ari," Dane advised, with amusement in his voice. He seemed to be amused frequently. "She's well mad at this one." He nudged Reed, who gave him a look that clearly said shut up.

I didn't even ask. I was too tired. I just followed them up the steps, Reed reaching for my bag, but I shook my head. The weight was grounding me. It was cold but I was sweating from nerves, and uncomfortable all over. I fixed my hair again, covering my face. Reed texted someone and then the door was being unlocked.

A tall, tall Black man in his fifties stood there, solemn before his face broke into a smile, and he embraced Reed and Dane at the same time. "You scared us, son," he said to Reed as he pulled away. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I know, I'm sorry, I am," Reed swore, looking up at this man the same way he used to look at my father.

The man turned to me. He had a little goatee and warm, parenting eyes. "You must be Addy, dear. I'm Don. Welcome. I apologize for the chaos. We didn't wish to bring you into this, but circumstances led us here anyway. Did you have a good trip? You're probably all tired. I'll get some drinks. The bedrooms are just through the family room, down the hall."

Too much information. Reed took my hand for comfort (mine) and we went into the next room, which boasted two couches and four big chairs.

That was when a girl around my age burst through the swinging door at the other end of the room, long red hair swinging behind her as she came right up to him, in his face and therefore in mine, and began yelling. "What the hell were you thinking, Intou! Are you fucking crazy! How could you be so fucking careless!"

I was exhausted, stressed, still recovering from Remy's attack, and this stranger's tirade against Reed pushed me to the very edge. The straw that broke the camel's back was the fact that she was wearing black leggings and one of Reed's shirts as pajamas.

Without a thought I reached out and shoved her, hard, so she fell back onto her ass. I was furious. I wanted to jump on her and take out every last bit of anger and confusion I had, which was plenty. The fact that she was so familiar with him was there above all else. And the long red hair, matching those on him at my house. Ugh. Of course she had a perfect face, perfect unscarred skin. Just as I'd known she would.

"Go ahead," I spit, even as Reed took hold of me. "Do that shit again."

She just sat there on the hardwood floor, hands on either side of her, incredulous. Then Dane burst out laughing and she turned her ire onto him. "Shut the fuck up, Dane." But she took his offered hand and let him pull her up.

"Totally 'ad that comin', love," he told her, but hugged her in greeting even as he threw me a wink, and she let him.

"I'm sorry, Ari; I am." Reed was saying as he was turning to me, trying so hard to bite back a smile, and he held my hand again, squeezing. "Deep breath, Addy. It's okay."

I noticed he used my name instead of my pet name, and wondered paranoidly if he was doing it because of her. I knew only one thing for certain; if he called her chérie I would claw her eyes out. He didn't even notice she was wearing his shirt, but I was choking on it.

Now he looked at her, with his don't be like that look. "Ari--" he began.

"Like hell," she said, her eyes sparking. They were such a vivid blue it was disgusting, and held a challenge I was immediately up for. I hated her guts already. "I told you this wasn't going to work. She can't act like that!"

Reed placated her with a gesture. "Ari! You were being crazy. Addy's had a rough month. You triggered her, and understandably so. Let us begin again. Addy, meet Arianna, who is not as crazy as she seems when she's upset. Ari, Addy." He was nervous, his hand sweating. So this was like his work wifey. Lame. He pronounced her name "Are--e--on--uh."

But I sucked it up and performed. "Sorry about that. Enchante," I said, meaning pleased to meet you, though from my tone it was evident I lied. Why the fuck was she wearing his shirt.

She one upped me immediately by asking something in rapid French, smirking at me. Because of course she spoke fluent French, too. Of fucking course. She spoke too fast for me to understand, too. Intentionally.

Reed said something sharply to her in French, also intelligible to me. I just stood miserably, trying not to look it. "Let's just speak English," he added. He turned back to me, probably saw I was about one second from bursting into tears, and pulled me down the hall. "We will talk after a nap," he called over his shoulder. "I promise."

Great, now he was making her promises.

"N'importe quoi," she responded with a snort, making the French whatever sound just as teenagery as an English one.

We went into the first room we came to and he closed the door. I couldn't even see anything. My eyes were full of water. I sat on the bed and put my hands over my face and stopped holding the tears in, reaching blindly behind me on the bed for a pillow to muffle it. I would be damned if she heard me crying. She'd worn that shirt on purpose. Girls were like that.

He sat by me, to my right, and moved his palm in a circle on my back. "Shh, ne pleure pas, chérie, please." Oh, so I was chérie again behind closed doors. "We'll get this all figured out. We're safe here."

He thought I was worried about our safety. I probably would be, later. "She's wearing your shirt," I said, not able to stop myself. That was the only explanation I cared about, even though I had no right to. I especially had no right to question him about it. It's not like he was my boyfriend.

His hand stopped for a moment on my back. Then he got it. "Wait, no. It's not like that. We're not, she . . . " He faltered. Then sighed. "She maybe has, mmm, I don't know. Yes, I do know; she has some feelings for me. But they're not returned, and she knows that. She's just a dear friend. And she's not, that is, we haven't . . . it's never been like that. We've never, um, never." He cleared his throat. "I haven't even ever, I mean, not that I hope everyone is aware of that." His face was red.

I felt immensely better, as well as amazed. Reed, a virgin? Would wonders never cease. Hallelujah. In terms of virginity, survivors of molestation don't count that abuse.

I took my hands off my face but my hair blocked him from me. "That's a lot of nevers," I said, trying to lighten up. I wiped my face, embarrassed but relieved. "Sorry. You don't have to answer to me or whatever. I was just wondering so I know what's what." Oh such lies.

He hugged me, tightly. "I am happy to answer to you, especially now that I can actually tell you things."

"Right?" I turned into him and snaked my own arms around him. Warm, delicious. Solid. Most of all, there.

"Also, may I point what you were wearing when we arrived," he added with a little amusement.

Shit, his hoodie. Good point. Probably had set her off, if she had a thing for him. "Oh. Yeah."

He yawned hugely. "Can we sleep?"

"Yes, please." I went to use the little bathroom and wash my face. He took his turn while I took off my jeans and his hoodie and slid under the strange sheets of the double bed. I could see now the room was plain and white and the comforter blue. He joined me a minute later.

"I know this is hard, all things considered," he said, his words almost slurring from fatigue. "But please try to be kind to Ari. She's been terribly mistreated, and to be honest, she's incredibly jealous of you, because it is you I come home to. This cannot be easy for her, either." He whispered the words that made my very bones sing, and then he was asleep, and I not long after. With a smirk on my face, probably.