Okay, so I didn't fool my mom. She knew I was covering for someone but because she couldn't pull from me who or why she was forced to play along.

My Dad didn't take the news well either. He was furious actually. Can't blame him just got my foot healed and now this. I was grounded for the week but as I currently have no social life it wasn't much of a punishment. He did, however, warn me if I got booted from the game he wasn't sure what he was going to do but he'd think of something.

My face was the worst part of this whole thing. It hurt so bad, I wasn't sure something wasn't broken, but I'm guessing I would notice.

I head upstairs to my room to do my calculus assignment before bed and my phone rings. It's Brynn and she's trying to facetime me. I decline the facetime and call her back. She answers.

"Coward!" Brynn declared the moment she answers the phone. "Call me back when you're ready to face me!" She hangs up.

I sigh and call back to facetime her. She answers and gasps when she sees my face. "What the HELL were you thinking?!"

She sounds so much like my mom. I knew there was only one way she found out about today. "What did Adam tell you?"

"That you got hit today trying to defend him to Mike."

I couldn't help being surprised he told the truth. "Did he tell you he was the one behind the letters in your locker?" I inquire.

"Yes, but he wasn't behind me getting pushed down the stairs."

"Mike said Jessica paid him to do those things to you."

"I don't believe that for a second," Brynn said with absolute certainty.

"Adam said as far as the letters she didn't have to pay him because he hates me that much he'd do it for free."

I see her grin. "Now that I would believe."

"Great! Thanks!" I smile but it hurts. She giggles.

"Thank you, Finn." Her face becomes more somber. "I really appreciate you looking out for Adam like that."

"The way he laid out Mike. I don't think he really needed me to. I think he could have handled himself."

"You don't understand. If he came home beaten up?"

"What?" I ask, her face shows a display of emotions. From sad to concern and then anger. What the hell is going on?

"Adam. He doesn't have parents. They are still in Japan. He's being fostered by a family here while he goes to school. He hasn't seen his real family for about seven years now."

"Damn!" I couldn't imagine living like that.

"His foster family well they aren't exactly the nicest of people, and if Adam came home beaten up he would more than likely been beaten again when he got home."

"Why does he stay? Isn't there anyone he can go to?" I suddenly remember his question as he went out the door about not wanting his guardians to be called.

"Shit!"

"What?" Brynn looked alarmed.

"My mom said that all parents and guardians would be contacted. I wondered if they would have been called tonight. You don't think he's in trouble now do you?"

Brynn just shrugged but it was hard not to see the worry on her face. Shit, Shit! Shit!

"I just talked with him he looked fine, but he's good at guarding his feelings."

"Give me Adam's phone number?"

"Finn, I'm not sure that's the greatest of ideas."

"I don't want to save him from Mike only to get him in trouble at home. What is the point of that?"

Brynn sighs. She hangs up on me. Seconds later I get a text with Adam's number and the words, 'good luck, call me back.'

I call and Adam answers. "Who's this?"

"Adam? Finn."

"How'd you get this... oh... you two are still talking?"

"Yeah. You didn't get in trouble did you?"

"Why would I..."

"Cut the crap, Adam."

I hear him sigh. "No, they aren't here at the moment. They're away."

"Away? Who's there with you?"

"No one," Adam tells me like this is a perfectly normal everyday occurrence.

"You're home all on your own with no one there?"

"Yeah, look I prefer it this way okay? You've done your good deed for the day. Now you can go back to ignoring me and leaving me alone."

I shake my head. I just can't believe this guy. "You need a serious behavioral adjustment, you know that? What you can't handle the fact of someone being nice to you?"

"Is that what you were doing?"

"Okay, you know what you're right. I don't think we should be talking anymore. I stood up for you because it's the right thing to do. You said 'Why bother explaining things when I've obviously already made up my mind about you.' Well, maybe you should think about being guilty of the same shit when I hang up on you."

I do hang up on him, just because he irritates the hell out of me, and call Brynn back.

"That didn't take long," she says.

"I see why you'd be surprised. After all, Adam is such a sparkling conversationalist."

Brynn tries to stifle a giggle; probably out of guilt of knowing I'm right.

"So?"

"He's fine, for the moment. His guardians are away somewhere. Is he usually left alone like that?"

"He prefers it that way."

"Yeah, he said that." Something keeps needling the back of my mind. I know I should probably let it go but I can't.

"Brynn, while Mike and Adam were fighting at one point Adam's shirt rode up and I'd seen...well, I saw what looked like scars over his stomach. You don't think his guardians did that to him do you?"

Brynn is silent for a really long time on the phone so long I thought we may have accidentally been disconnected or she's hung up on me.

"Brynn?"

"Sorry." Her voice sounds shaky like she's trying to keep herself from crying.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. It's the last thing I would want to do."

"It's not you, Finn." She lets out this long slow sigh. "I didn't meet Adam in high school like you may have thought. We've known one another for much longer."

I can't believe she's opening up to me and I hope I don't screw this up.

"When did you meet?"

"When I was younger in grade school."

"Adam was in our school?" I know I could be oblivious sometimes but I thought I would have at least remembered seeing him there.

"No."

She's quiet for a long time again and I can't take the silence so ask. "Where did you meet then?"

"In the suicide unit of a mental hospital."

Her answer floors me and I'm stunned into silence.

"Finn? You there?"

"Yeah...yeah... I'm here. Were you volunteering there like you do at other hospitals?" I ask, hopeful.

"No," came the not so hopeful answer. "I was patient there and so was Adam."

"Adam I can see but you Brynn?" I just couldn't wrap my mind around it, maybe because I didn't want to, for the obvious reasons of what it implies.

"Adam wasn't always like how he is now. The first family he was placed with were really great but they fell on hard times and couldn't afford to foster him anymore so he got put back in the system. The next family was not so great and he started getting really depressed, missing home and he started cutting himself. One of the social workers that came to check up on how he was doing in the new place caught a glimpse of the cuts on his arm. She pulled him from the house and put him away in the mental institution.

He was only there to get his head straightened out and the woman got him in a better place when he was released. He was such a different kid during that time. He actually smiled and laughed. He's got a really good sense of humor although a bit sarcastic."

I thought of some of the comments he said to Mike when he was mad. "Yeah, I can see that."

"So you two were... close... during that time?" I hated that even I could hear the note of jealousy in my words.

"We were kids, Finn but yeah we dated if you want to call it that."

I know ADAM would definitely call it that.

I was so curious about what brought her to that place but she wasn't offering and I didn't want to pry so continued to ask questions about Adam. "So what changed?"

"Once again, Adam got bounced to a different family, the family he's with now and once again it isn't a good situation. In fact, it's far worse. They threatened him if he ever told the councilor anything they'd do far worse to him than he could ever do to himself."

"That's horrible! There wasn't any way to help him?"

"Gran tried but there wasn't anything she could really do without proof that they were being abusive to him."

"I didn't know he was back to cutting himself." Brynn's voice breaks again. "He covers the scars on his arms with the makeup he told me about when my eye got bruised. That's how he knew what to recommend. He uses it himself when it gets too hot for him to wear long sleeves. I guess this time he chose a place where no one would see."

Her voice catches on that last part and I can tell she's crying. She sniffles trying to get control.

"We were in eighth grade when they placed him with that family. He wanted to run away. He wanted me to run away with him, but I couldn't. I wouldn't leave Gran like that. We had a huge fight about it. He stayed because we promised to always look out for one another. I just didn't know how bad things have gotten."

"You can't hold yourself responsible for someone else's actions, Brynn."

She gives a halfhearted laugh. "You sound like Gran."

I laugh in earnest. "That's because she said it, but that doesn't make it any less true. In fact, it probably makes it more so."

"I know, but I hate to think he's in that much pain and all because of me."

"Hold up there Brynn. Adam is a big boy. He's a bit disturbed but he needs professional help not an almost 18-year-old girl...woman... young woman... you know what I mean, looking out for him. He is capable of looking out for himself. He's made it this far."

"But I promised," she said and I know the feeling. "And I promised Adam you wouldn't get hurt but life happens, things aren't always in our control no matter how much we would wish them to be."

I wish I could hug her. Hold her. "Any chance I can see you this weekend?"

"What?"

"You know in person?"

"You're not grounded for fighting?" Brynn asks surprised.

"Damn, yeah, I forgot." Not believing I had a reason to care I completely disregarded it.

"You working this weekend?" she asks, still sniffling a bit, but my request has seemed to distract her.

"Yeah, I'll be there. Why? Thinking of ordering a pizza? I don't think we deliver that far out but I'd be willing to make an exception."

She giggles a little. "I was thinking perhaps I could stop in. Maybe we can share a Cookie shake on your break?"

"Share?! You know how I feel about sharing." I can't help but smile thinking of that conversation we had at the diner and she rewards me with her real laugh this time.

"Okay fine, we'll each have our own, but I could really use a hug."

"Say no more," I tell her. "I'll text you when we can meet up. Look at you being a bad influence on me again."

"Ah, ah, ah," she says and I can hear the smile in her voice. "Remember what Gran said, 'We can not hold ourselves responsible for other people's actions.' So if you're being bad that's on you."

"Fine," I say, "I don't care about getting in trouble so long as I'm getting in trouble with you."

"Oh REALLY!" she says and I feel my cheeks heat up as I didn't realize until this moment that those words could be misconstrued as a double entendre. Then I thought I really didn't mind that idea.

"I'm game if you are?"

"You can count me in." She tells me in a way that holds so much promise I'm now excited on several levels.

"Thank you, again, Finn. Can't wait to see you."

"The feeling is mutual. Looking forward to it."

She giggles. "Sweet dreams."

"Guaranteed. Sweet dreams, Brynn."

She hangs up and I still have math homework to do but I feel satisfied as I may have lost the fight, but I'm definitely gaining ground in this battle.