Adam and I were standing outside at the bottom of the steps, just hugging for another few minutes.

"Adam?" I hear a females voice call from the top of the steps.

I look over my shoulder quickly and smile when I see Alesa.

"What are you guys doing?" She asks.

Adam looks down at me and nods slightly.

"Hey, Alesa." I say, smiling and waving.

Her facial expression shows nothing but surprise when I say hi to her.

"Did you just-"

I laugh a bit and smile then nod. "You shoulda seen Adams face when I talked to him," I laugh a bit.

It feels different, but good at the same time to finally be able to say what I've wanted to say for the longest time.

"Well, he does always have the best reactions." Alesa laughs a bit as I grab my ice cream and go up the stairs.

"Oh, Adam, guess who's here?" Alesa asks, smiling as he comes up behind me.

"Who?" He asks as he walks into the house after me.

"Me!!" A girl with a prosthetic arm and short.. Ish hair comes from around the corner.

"Cass!" Adam says and pulls her into a hug.

Alesa laughs at her fiancés childish behavior.

"How long has it been since they've seen each other?" I laugh softly.

"Four, five months. She's Max' best friend, and lives with him, Ross and Tim as their fourth roommate." Alesa explains.

I nod a bit and smile slightly then look at the girl hugging Adam.

Beautiful. No. Gorgeous.

"How are the guys doing?" Adam asks, looking into her eyes.

"Great," she says, smiling as they separate from the hug. "We all are moving into our new house now.. It's exhausting -"

She cuts herself off when she sees me.

"Who's this?" She asks, raising her eyebrows at Adam slightly.

"This," Adam walks over to me and smiles then turns back to face her. "Is TJ. I just adopted her about a month ago."

"Nice to meet you, TJ." She says and steps forwards then smiles and holds a hand out for me to shake. "I'm Cass."

I take her hand and shake it then smile a bit. "Nice to meet you, too." I say softly.

"How about we all go to the living room? I have a bit of a story to tell you," Adam says and turns to lead us to the room.

I follow him quickly and sit beside him on the couch, Alesa sitting on the other side of Adam, and Cass sitting on the chair beside the couch.

"So, when I first met Tee, it was down in LA. I found out about her over some letters she sent to me. I had also found out that she couldn't speak, so I knew if I were to adopt her, it'd put a lot of weight on my shoulders. But by adopting her, I saved her life. If I had waited another month, possibly less, she may be dead by now. The reason being, she's living with cancer. Leukemia, to be exact. When I took her to the hospital, she was weighed at 99 pounds at only 18. She now weighs 110 pounds, and hopefully gaining. But she does have to take a pill daily, three times a day."

"And she can talk now? Since when?" Cass asks curiously.

"Since today, actually."

"Why couldn't she- talk before?" Cass asks, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"Tee? Care to tell the story?" Adam asks, looking down at me.

I look at him and sigh then look at my lap before looking at Cass.

"I was born as a normal kid. Or.. I thought I was born a normal kid. I had toys, I had fun, I had friends. But what I never realized, until I was in middle school.. My parents were abusive , and drug addicts. They both physically and mentally abused me, up to the point where I couldn't speak, even though I knew deep down somewhere I could speak." I say softly.

Cass stares at nothing, her hands resting in her lap.

I raise my eyebrows slightly, curiosity quickly getting the best of me.

"Did.. Did I say something wrong?" I ask worriedly.

"No." Cass says and looks at her lap. "I had a stepfather back in my childhood who was abusive, both physically and mentally, and a drug addict."

"Oh.. I'm sorry." I say softly.

"Don't worry about it," she says and looks at me then smiles a bit. "You didn't know." She says and sighs softly.

"Can.. Can I ask you why you have only one arm?" I ask softly.

She slowly pulls her shirt down, showing a little scar on her collarbone. "I was shot right here. Something in the past, the girl is in jail, and we don't have to worry about her anymore."

"Actually, Cass," Adam says, furrowing his eyebrows. "She was just bailed."

Cass completely freezes and her eyes widen.

"What..? You can't be serious."

"She was. I don't know by who, but I have a bad idea of who it might be."

"Uh.. Shit." She mutters and looks down at her phone, quickly typing a text message."

"What are you doing..?" I ask softly.

"Sending a text. She has some crazy obsession over Max, and I don't want to take any chances." Cass replies.

I nod a bit and look at her as she stands up. "Can I come meet him? If it won't be a bother? I'm a huge fan," I laugh softly.

"Sure, why not. I've gotta go soon anyways. Adam? Alesa? You won't mind if I steal her, will you?" Cass asks.

"Go ahead," Adam says, smiling. "It'd be great for her to make as many friends as she can while she lives here in Seattle."

I get up and walk to the kitchen to put my ice cream in the freezer.

---

Changed my mind. The prosthetic arm story will NOT be changed, but it won't be because Cass is married to Max. Because she's not. Haha