"What was that with Lynch?" I muttered under my breath. As soon as we had pulled up to the familiar, detached three-story house, I'd unwrapped my arms from around her waist and swung myself off of the bike.

"It's better Lynch knows we're looking out for you if he's been giving you trouble," Jun explained

Lynch hadn't been giving me trouble - at least not until now. I wasn't sure how he would act around me now that he knew Jun, and my connection to her. If my fears were correct, if the guys were running in the same circles as Wraith and my brother, it was likely they didn't have a good relationship with Jun. The way Jun and Lynch had reacted to one another outside the gym did nothing to disprove that.

I hardly expected Lynch to keep his mouth shut. Markus, Alec, and Andres would all know by now, too. Did this mean I would have to find a new gym? Markus worked there, after all. I would never feel safe knowing that Wraith or my brother could return whenever they wanted. I would have to find somewhere else to train.

My eyes were wet as I looked back at Jun. She was taking off her helmet when I offered her a grim smile and said, "Thank you for coming to get me."

Jun - still astride her bike - shrugged a shoulder. "You know I don't mind. As long as you're safe."

"Still..." I readjusted my backpack, eyes falling to the ground, familiar with the feeling of being so damn helpless. "Thank you."

"You want to talk about it?"

I shook my head and exhaled deeply. "I don't know what to say. I... I saw-"

The front door swung open in front of me, and a cry of, "Oh my gosh! Daisy!" cut me off. Before I could stop it, I was pulled into a bone-crushing hug, my face buried into a hijab as thin arms wrapped tightly around my mid-section held me captive. I recognised the voice, the small build, and the familiar, floral perfume instantly, and found a tearful laugh escaping me as my own arms rose to wrap tightly around Farah.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, pulling back just enough to scan me from head to toe. She was glaring as she exclaimed, "We haven't seen you in nearly a year, you bitch! You don't even text!"

Even in a year, she hadn't changed all that much. She still wore her makeup the same with not much more than concealer and a natural lipstick, and still favoured neutral coloured clothes. Today she'd dressed in matching wide-leg cream coloured trousers and a loose fitted, simple long-sleeved cream blouse. Though, it surprised me to see the splash of colour in her blush-pink hijab, decorated in a deep red Ginkgo leaf pattern. It was a sign that things had changed while I had been gone. I hadn't expected the sharp pang of regret at such a realisation.

I had missed these guys; Jun, Farah, Quinn and Daksha. The four people who had been my home when I had needed one the most, who had supported me through everything and, even now, welcomed me with open arms and wide smiles.

"I know." I winced. "I'm sorry. How are you all doing?"

Farah waved me off. "We're fine. The same as usual. Nobody else is home yet, but Quinn and Daksha should be back in about an hour. How's University? Who are you living with? Have you made friends? Are you dating anyone?"

"Can we wait 'till we're inside for this?" Jun drawled from behind us, agitated as she gestured inside the house. "I think we have a lot to talk about, and the important stuff can't be done on the driveway."

"What's happening?" Farah was quick to ask, her tone suddenly far too serious as she and Jun exchanged a weighted look.

"Let's go inside, and Daisy can explain." Jun ushered us inside.

This was going to take a while.

"Shall I put the kettle on?" Farah asked, already heading off towards the kitchen as I kicked off my shoes. I didn't answer her, but followed her through the house I knew so well, and set out three mugs on the kitchen counter while she filled the kettle with water.

My mug, a white, square mug with specks of gold and the initial 'D' printed on it, had been a gift from Farah after I first moved in. The handle was chipped, and had been since before Farah had gifted it to me, but I'd treasured it in a way I often did with silly inanimate objects. She'd bought me it, worrying that I hadn't felt welcome. Everyone in the house had their own mug; so she'd gone out early one morning to buy it for me, wrapped it in some black tissue paper, and left it on the kitchen table with a gift tag attached.

It had been an enormously sweet gesture. I wasn't sure why I had left the mug behind when I moved out.

I cleared my throat and said quietly, "You look nice," as I spooned the coffee out in three equal measurements. Black coffee for Jun, two sweeteners for Farah, and a sugared, milky mess for me; we were like Goldilocks' three bears but for coffee, not porridge. My coffee preference was, of course, the one just right, and no amount of arguing with Farah would change that.

Farah's arm brushed mine. A shy smile curved across her face. "Thanks."

"New hijab?"

"It was a gi-"

"It's a gift from her boyfriend," Jun interrupted before Farah could finish, sounding amused.

"Boyfriend?" I whirled around to face Jun and try to gage if she were telling the truth. Her expression, while smug, held no hint of a lie. Turning to Farah next, my eyes were wide as I asked, "You have a boyfriend?"

Farah tried to wave me off, but it was no use when Jun was so willing to share everything. "They sit across from one another in the conservatory and read each other poetry. It's the mushiest, most heartwarming thing you'll ever see."

"Oh, Farah," I cooed, reaching out to pinch her cheeks.

She slapped my hands away, scowling at me. "Are you going to tell me what's up with you, or are we going to talk about Asif? Because I don't have time for both."

"Asif," I mused, wiggling my shoulder in excitement. "Is that his name? Why don't we have time for both? Is he coming over? Is that why you're dressed so nice?"

Farah didn't answer. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and avoided my gaze as she poured out the hot water.

"Oh my gosh, he is."

"Daisy," Farah huffed, sliding my mug towards me. "As much as I would absolutely love to talk all about my love life; I would prefer to talk about whatever's brought you here. It must be something serious, right?" she asked, glancing over at Jun.

Jun raised an eyebrow at me, silently asking the same question.

Throwing my head back, I groaned loudly. "Do we have to talk about it? Really? Can't we pretend nothing happened? I'd rather hear about your boyfriend."

"Well, someone's had a mood shift in the last five minutes," Jun joked dryly. "You seemed to be in a desperate need of a vent before."

"I just..." I breathed, groaning again as I slumped against the counter, well aware I was acting like a dramatic fucking baby. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to think about it. I just want to curl into a ball and sleep for about a month and pretend the world doesn't exist, okay?"

Jun sighed, and the amount of disappointment I heard in that small sound sent pins into my chest. I didn't want to disappoint Jun, the woman three years my senior, who I viewed as an older sister. When my actual brother had failed to support me and proven useless as a sibling, Jun had been the one to pick up the slack.

"I saw Jarred at the gym, all right?" I shrugged my shoulders. "I saw him and he wanted me to pass on a message to someone and I had a stupid little panic. I wasn't thinking, I just texted you, and I'm sorry. I should have just taken an extra five minutes to breathe, to calm down and think. You didn't need to be bothered by all this. It was nothing. I'm making it seem worse than it is."

"Stop it." Jun stalked closer to us, coming to a stop at the kitchen table. She yanked out the chair closest to me, the wooden legs groaning horribly against the tiles. "Sit down. Drink your coffee. Stop spouting nonsense."

I flopped into the chair, adamant as I proclaimed, "It's not nonsense."

"I disagree." Jun passed me my coffee from the counter and took a seat opposite me while Farah claimed the chair to my right. "If you want to text me 'cause you saw a bloody spider, I'd be fine with it. Seeing your brother certainly justifies an immediate extraction."

I laughed weakly at the idea that Jarred was simply an overgrown spider, and again at the sudden image of Jun scooping him up in a large glass and throwing him out the window. "Sarah, my flatmate, she hates spiders, too. Her ex used to get rid of them for us."

"Then it seems my services are desperately needed," Jun joked, though her voice dropped into a much softer tone than before. I avoided her eyes and the worry I saw in them. "Come on now, tell us what happened. Everything. Don't hide it away."

A moment of silence passed between us; a silence that felt so unbearable with both of them watching me with that same stupid, worried look. Unable to bear it, after a deep breath, I confessed, "I saw Wraith today too. At my University."

Jun and Farah stilled. They didn't seem at all surprised. A weight settled in my stomach, heavy and uncomfortable.

"This isn't the first time he's been around here, is it?" I asked, a bitter taste filling my mouth at the realisation. How many times had we crossed paths without noticing one another? How many times had we been on campus together?

Farah hesitated, her mouth opening silently as she glanced towards Jun for help.

"You didn't want updates on him. You wanted nothing to do with it," Jun explained firmly. That was true. That was the whole reason I had moved out in the first place, the whole reason I had contacted none of them since I started University. "I thought it best to leave you oblivious, as long as we made sure he stayed away from you."

Did he know I was at Thorpefield Uni? Did he know I still lived in the city? Was he looking for me?

If Wraith hadn't known before, it was likely Jarred had now told him where I was. Or worse, if Lynch was in contact with him, he could have been the one to tell Wraith. How long would it be before Wraith reappeared in my life?

"Why did Jarred show up at the gym?" When no one answered, I added, "What does he want with Lynch? Do they... work together? Is that why you dislike him so much?"

"Are you close with him?" Jun asked, frowning, and her avoidance of my question only exasperated my fears.

"Who, Lynch?"

"Lynch," she said with a wave of her hand, "and the others. I didn't realise you knew them. I knew you were at Dev's gym, of course, but I didn't realise you knew them."

"Is it a problem if I do?" I asked defensively. Then, correcting myself, I answered, "I don't. Not really. I know Markus, sort of; he was going to train me at the gym when Dev's was unavailable. Do you know him?" Why I was downplaying our relationship, I wasn't sure. I wasn't someone to get shy about my sex life around friends.

"Markus, as in Grim? I know Markus." Jun seemed amused. I desperately wanted to ask just what she found so funny, but bit my tongue. There were more pressing issues at hand. "He's a good guy; not too keen on Lynch, but that's just 'cause he's an arse."

"You never answered my question. About Lynch, about his connection to Wraith." Again, no one said anything. I looked to Farah for answers, but she merely blinked at Jun as if she'd lost her tongue. Why the fuck wasn't anyone telling me anything? Any trace of joviality evaporated from Jun's face, and the usual stern expression that she wore in public took its place.

This wasn't a very fun game to play, all these half-truths and avoidances, and it did absolutely nothing to calm my mind. The only conclusion I could draw from their silence was that Lynch was connected to Wraith - enough for it to warrant Jun's silence upon my question. I knew they were merely doing as I asked, keeping any information on Wraith away from me, helping me distance myself from that piece of shit, but it was still so fucking frustrating.

Suddenly, I couldn't stand to be sitting here, in this house, with the threat of Wraith's continued existence bearing down on me. It felt as if he were here now with one arm curved across my shoulders, his weight pressing me firmly into the ground, his mouth at my ear.

I pushed back from the table, the force of my unexpected movement causing the three coffees to spill around the rim of the mugs. My chair screeched against the floor, and Farah flinched at the horrid sound. Jun's attention fixed heavily on me, though. She watched my hands shake as I fiddled with the ring on my index finger.

"Can you take me home, please?"

"Daisy." Farah reached to grab my hand to comfort me.

I stepped back from the table, forcing a smile. My voice was too thick with emotion to sound natural, as I asked once again, "Please? I just want to go home and sleep. It's getting late. I have work tomorrow."