"It's all healed," the doctor muttered as he examined my wrists. "I'll give you an ointment to help with the scars. It won't completely disappear, but it will be less visible."

"Thank you," Tyrone told him. "If you're done. . .?"

"Right." The elderly doctor removed his gloves and dropped them in the small trash can. "Any more dizzy spells or such?"

"No, she's healthy."

"That she is." He smiled down at me. "You've gained some weight which means you now weigh as much as someone your age and length should."

I blocked him out as he continued to explain. My eyes darted from Tyrone to the door. I wanted to go home. I wanted to get away from all the strangers who kept staring at me. I wanted to crawl inside that space in my head and let Tyrone take control.

Finally, the doctor said goodbye.

Tyrone gripped my hips and lowered me to the floor. I slipped my hand in his and silently followed him out of the small room. The moment we stepped out I was assaulted with the smell of disinfectant and medicine. It made my stomach roll and my throat close up.

Tyrone squeezed my hand as he led the way towards the exit. It was so close yet so far. We got stopped two times by someone asking for directions. By the time we walked finally out of the hospital, I was close to having a panic attack. The heat of the sun beat down on us as we walked to his truck. Sweat broke out over my skin.

He unlocked the door and helped me inside. As he got in, I stared. It didn't look as though he was affected by the heat as badly as I was.

"How about some ice cream before we head home?"

Ice cream sounded great. My mouth watered as I imagined the flavours I'd order. But then the image died down as another thought entered my mind.

"Don't take me back," I almost screamed at him. "I don't want to go back."

"Go back where? We're getting some ice cream and then heading home."

"I don't want to go back to live with Draven. I want to stay with you and Bella and Michel." I unbuckled the seatbelt and slid across the seat to grab his arm.

The truck jerked to the right—straight into the lane of incoming traffic. Tyrone cursed and jerked the wheel. My head hit the back window as the truck hit a bump. We came to a jarring stop on the side of the road. I shrunk back when he turned angry eyes on me.

"You don't fucking do that!" he yelled. "Jesus Sin! What the hell were you thinking? You could've gotten us killed."

Tears filled my eyes. I blinked up at him as he continued to curse. His hands slammed down on the steering wheel. Fear filled me. I tried to carefully move away from him, but the moment I moved, his eyes snapped to me. They widened and then softened. I flinched when he reached for me. Tyrone gripped my arm and pulled me onto his lap. With his hand on my cheek, he pressed my face against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "You scared me baby. You don't take your seat belt off or grab the driver's arms. We could've had a very bad accident."

"S-sorry d-daddy."

He sighed and pressed his lips against my hair. "As your punishment for doing something so irresponsible, you won't get any ice cream. It's a good punishment, don't you think?"

"Yes daddy."

"Good." He pressed another kiss to my hair. "Now get back in your seat so we can go home."

I avoided his eyes as I crawled back into my seat. Tyrone leaned over me to fasten the seatbelt, and then we were on the road again. This time I kept my hands clasped in my lap. I didn't reach for him again, no matter how badly I wanted too. Once we reached home Tyrone went straight to his office. I stood in the doorway and watched as he made calls. When he was done, he unlocked a drawer and pulled out a thick book. He started writing in it after doing some calculations.

I sighed, allowing my shoulders to droop. It was pretty obvious that he was still mad at me. I turned, ready to walk out, but stop. Sucking in a deep breath, I slowly blew it out as I entered the room. Stopping in front of the desk, I waited. He didn't even spare me a glance.

"Why doesn't Bella want me to watch you?"

His hand froze and then slowly he glanced up at me. "Bella is confused."

"Michel said that too, but then we talked and kiss, and I thought everything was fine."

"Sin," he muttered, shaking his head. "Have you ever liked someone the way you like Bella? Have you ever looked at her the same way you look at Bella?"

"No," I whispered.

Tyrone dropped the pen and leaned forward with his hands clasped on the desk. His eyes trailed over my face before locking with mine.

"Bella was raised in a way that—" He stopped. "Bella's parents made her believe that being attracted to the same sex is wrong. She feels conflicted between choosing what she wants and what she feels is wrong. She needs time to come to terms with how she feels about you."

"Then being with two men is wrong too. She said if wasn't wrong to be shared by you and Michel. What's wrong about me watching you?"

"Baby, you don't understand."

"Then make me understand!" I yelled. "It's not fair! Every night you guys get to play and I'm alone in my room. It makes me feel lonely and like an outsider. You won't let me sleep with you, but Bella gets to! She won't let me sleep with Michel either. She won't let me do anything! You said that if I wanted to be part of this relationship, I needed to accept all of you, I have! Bella is the one that won't accept me. We don't have to kiss or do anything! We can be friends too, but she doesn't even want that!" I sucked in a breath and blinked away the tears. "Why doesn't she want me here? Why was she happier to be my friend when I lived at Draven's?"

I stumbled backwards when he stood. "I don't want to go back there," I whispered.

"I know baby," he said softly. "Just let me talk to her, okay? I'll find out what's wrong and we'll sort this out."

"What if she doesn't want me here anymore?"

"Then we'll work something else out Sin."

Spinning around, I ran from his office and up the stairs. They gave me a guest room to use. I'm not a guest. I'm supposed to be part of their family. They told me I'd be part of their family. My eyes darted around the room. There were no photos or personal items like there was in the rest of the house. I didn't share a bed with them. I had to sleep all alone in the big bed while they all slept together.

I raised my arm and stared down at the ragged line on my wrist. Would it have been better if I had died? Nobody would've truly been sad. With tears streaming down my face, I grabbed the bag from under my bed. All the clothes that was in the closet fit into it. My eyes fell on the blue teddy bear on the bed. My heart ached. I wanted to take it too.

"You don't have time to be little Sin," I whispered to myself. "It's time to grow up and be and be an adult."

With the bag hanging over my shoulder, I quietly made my way downstairs. I could hear Tyrone talking on the phone. Tears filled my eyes. I was going to leave him. They were the best thing that has ever happened to me and I'm going to leave. But I had to leave. I couldn't stay here knowing that Bella would never accept me.

With a deep breath and tears streaming down my face, I walked out of the house. I used the key off Tyrone's truck to open the gate. I stood outside to make sure that it slid close again, before turning away. My heart cracked a little more with each step I took away from him.

It was for the best.

But why did it feel like I was dying?

***

"What the hell were you thinking?"

I shrank back further against the seat and tugged his jacket tighter around me.

"Do you have any idea what they would've done to you?"

I pursed my lips. I didn't need a reminder.

A shudder raced through me. If he hadn't showed up I would've been dead. The throbbing of my body was proof enough. Thunder echoed above us seconds before lightening slashed through the sky.

I flinched.

"Why did you leave Sin?"

"I was angry and sad," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Michel muttered. "Tyrone is worried sick. You were going to leave us without an explanation."

"He knows why."

"And he said that we'd sort it out." Michel slowed the car and turned to look at me. "It's not safe on the streets Sin. You could've gotten kidnapped. You almost got killed!"

"I didn't know they were going to do that!" I yelled. "She asked me for help."

"And you walked straight into their trap!"

"I just wanted to help," I whispered, tears burning my eyes. "I wanted to make a friend."

Michel sighed. He placed his hand on my thigh and gave my leg a squeezed. "Making friends isn't always easy sweet pea. You don't make friends with druggies or anyone that live on the street."

"I know it now."

"Besides, Bella is your friend."

"It doesn't feel like she's my friend anymore."

Michel said nothing. His hand rubbed my thigh as he drove. Half an hour later he parked the car in front of the house. I unclipped my seat belt and reached for the door, but it opened before I could open it. Cold rain drops hit my face and body as I climbed from the car. I winced when the skin on my knee pulled tight.

Michel pulled the jacket tighter around my body before wrapping his arm around my waist. I stayed silent as he hurried us down the path towards the house. The front door slammed shut behind us.

Not even a second later Tyrone appeared. I gasped when I suddenly found myself smashed against his chest with his arms restricting my air, but I didn't really care.

"Please don't ever fucking do that again," he whispered against my ear. "Promise me."

"I promise."

After a long moment, he slowly pulled back to glance down at me. His eyes slowly trailed over my body from head to toe. They lingered on my bleeding knee. He pursed his lips. Tyrone pulled me against him again and then bend slightly to hook his arm behind my knees. I quickly grabbed onto his shoulders to steady myself as he spun around and headed for the stairs.

Instead of carrying me into the guest room, he walked straight into his room. Tyrone carried me into his bathroom and sat me on the cabinet. I watched him silently as he started to fill the bath with water.

He tested it with his hand before closing the taps and turning to me. Stepping closer, he unzipped Michel's jacket and pulled it off. The rest of my clothes followed. He carried me over to the bath and gently lowered me into the water. The burn was instant. It made me suck in a sharp breath. I would've jumped right out if it wasn't for him keeping me down.

"Wash every inch of your skin with soap baby." He stroked a finger down my cheek. "I'm going to make you something warm to drink. Then I'll take a look at that knee."

The moment he walked out of the bathroom, I slid down into the water. I stayed under until I couldn't hold my breath anymore. Sitting up, I wiped the water from my eyes before opening them.

My eyes widened.

"B-Bella?"

She hesitated in the doorway. Her eyes dropped to my chest before darting away. Bella nervously shifted from foot to foot. After a few seconds she entered the bathroom. She licked her lips and sank to her knees next to the bathtub. With her chin resting in her folded arms, she watched me.

"You left because of me." It wasn't a question. "I'm sorry Sin. It was never my intention to make you feel like an outsider. I was so caught up in what I was feeling that I never thought of how you must be feeling."

"It's just as strange for me as it is for you," I whispered.

Bella sighed. "It didn't feel strange when we kissed?"

"I liked kissing you."

Bella stared at me. She blinked and then shifted slightly. Her eyes once again dropped to my chest. Letting out a sigh, I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

"We don't have to be more," I whispered, locking eyes with her. "I don't want it to ruin our friendship. You're my first ever friend. I want things to be the way they were before."

"Okay," she muttered. "Let's try to get thinks back to normal."

I smiled and so did Bella. It was the first step to rekindle out friendship. Although I wanted more than Bella's friendship, I was satisfied with having her friendship back.

Bella stayed for a few more minutes before leaving. I washed myself and then got out of the tub. Wrapping a towel around my body, I exit the bathroom. My steps faltered when I saw Tyrone sitting on the edge of the bed. He patted the space next to him.

"Put your leg on my lap so I can clean your knee."

I did as he ordered and watched silently as he cleaned the wound. Tyrone soothed the burn by blowing against it. He rubbed some ointment on it and then covered it with a pink Band-Aid. My eyes widened when he leaned down and pressed a kiss to it.

"Dinner will be ready in about half an hour," he said as he closed the first-aid-kit.

I squirmed under his intense gaze. "Tell me what happened," he finally said.

I bit my lip, hesitating.

Letting out a sigh, he turned to face me more, his hand resting on my thigh. I stared down at the movement of his thumb against my skin.

"I was angry and sad," I whispered. "I didn't want to stay here any longer."

He nodded slowly. "I told you that I'll talk to Bella, and I meant it."

"I'm sorry."

Tyrone studied me silently for a few seconds. "Do you know what will make you feel better?"

"W-what?"

"Punishment. I know Michel already gave you a piece of his mind." He glanced around. "It was very irresponsible of you. You don't know the area. Where were you planning on going?"

I lowered my head in shame. "W-what kind of punishment?"

"A spanking."

I hesitated. "I've never been spanked before."

Tyrone smiled and on tugged my wrist until I stood. His eyes caught mine briefly and then dropped to the towel. Reaching up, he tugged on the material until it dropped to the floor. He pulled me closer between his parted thighs.

I sucked in a shaky breath when he gripped my hips.

Eyes locked with mine; he gave me a small smile.

"I want you to count for me baby," he said softly. "I don't have a number of spankings in mind. So we'll go until you can't handle it anymore."

"O-okay."