In the week that followed, Nicholas and I were closer than ever, and had even taken Iana out a few times as a couple. I saw people staring at us, knowing that they assumed that Iana was Nicholas's daughter, and although I was positive that Nicholas noticed and assumed the same, we never discussed it. Iana was in her element as the center of attention, and would favor the park most of all, climbing up onto the play structure and shouting excitedly for me and Nicholas to watch her. The swings were her favorite—like me—and she would cry out to be pushed higher and higher; part of me wondered if she wanted to touch the sky, and I wondered when she would realize that such a thing was impossible from a mere playground swing.

An interim location had been set up for the firm, in an old brick building downtown while negotiations with the insurance company continued to drag on. At this point, only Allie and Nicholas were back to work, while Rachel was still too shaken to return full-time, and I still had some more days while I recovered completely. Hugo, meanwhile, had been moved from the hospital and was continuing his recovery at home; part of Hugo's therapy was reading depositions, and I knew his primary care providers were quickly becoming impatient with him and his lack of interest in relaxation.

"Dad really misses you," Nicholas put in, one evening after he had agreed to embrace the whole me, and to admit that I was not broken.

"Hmmm?" I asked in response. We had just put Iana to bed a few minutes ago, and were waiting for Ian and Trevor to return from a date, while Liam was in the kitchen, just a few feet away from us, finishing his homework. "That's sweet. I miss him, too."

"Murphy?" Liam asked, turning around. "Multiplying fractions..."

I smirked, turning to look at Nicholas. "Sister duty. Pardon me for a moment," I said, waiting for Liam to turn back to his homework, whereupon I kissed him, hard, on the mouth. "I'll be right back," I assured him.

"You better be," Nicholas replied, humor in his voice as I strutted coyly away from him, moving into the kitchen.

"What do you got?" I asked, pulling up a chair and sitting beside Liam. "It looks like you have 7/8 multiplied by 9/5. Now, you remember your multiplication?"

"Yes," Liam replied.

"Good," I said. "Here," I went on, pulling a piece of scratch paper towards me, and picking up a spare pencil. "Why don't we try it like this? Put 7x9 on the top here," I continued, drawing a line underneath the sum, "and then 8x5. What do we get?"

"7x9 is 63, and 8x5 is 40," Liam said, doing the math quickly in his head.

"Right. Go ahead and write that down," I said, nodding. "Very good, Liam. It usually asks you to reduce them, but you can't reduce these, unfortunately, and they don't ask you to put them into mixed number form, so you're all good."

"Can I use this same system with other multiplying fractions?" Liam wanted to know.

I nodded. "You absolutely can, if it makes it easier for you."

Liam grinned up at me. "Thanks, Murphy!" he said.

I leaned down to kiss his forehead as he turned to work, crossing back to the couch and sitting beside Nicholas. "Sorry about that," I said quietly.

Nicholas immediately shook his head. "No, don't apologize," he said with a smile. "I like watching you work with Liam—he's a good kid. And all kids need a little help now and again, Murph, and I'm glad you're here to help."

I smiled at him, kissing him when I made sure that Liam was not looking. "Half an hour more and then it's bedtime," I called over to him.

"I know!" Liam called, scribbling even faster on his scratch paper.

"How's Hugo doing?" I asked, redirecting the conversation as I turned away from my brother to face Nicholas. "You said he was off the respirator completely, and now he's actually able to get out of bed for a while?"

"Yes, and the doctors are getting annoyed with him," Nicholas replied, a smug expression on his face at the notion of his father denying them the satisfaction of knowing that his father was complying with their rules on bed rest. "I think, if they had it their way, he'd just stay in bed all day and binge-watch something."

I crossed my arms, putting out my lips in a pouting gesture. "Yeah, and then they'd complain about the content he was watching."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Hello!" I said, throwing up my hands. "He'd probably watch Law & Order all day!"

He grinned. "You're probably right."

We continued our chit-chat for half an hour more, and then I told Liam had he'd better get his butt upstairs and into the shower. Liam muttered to himself for a moment before gathering up his things and taking them to his bedroom, presumably to fetch his towel. I heard the water running a few moments later, so I was thankful I didn't have to get into full-on sister mode and demand that he obey me. Rolling my eyes at Fiona likely doing something like that, I shook the thought from my mind as I picked up the baby monitor. Iana's careful breathing filled my ears for a moment as Nicholas watched me, and I turned and looked at him.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just that I was wondering if you wanted to take Iana to visit my dad tomorrow. Mom's taking a long lunch tomorrow, and asked if we'd all go over there. Lucas is still in town, and he wants to meet you, too."

"Your mom wants me to bring Iana to your Edwardian mansion?" I asked, looking shocked that it had even been brought up.

Nicholas grinned. "Victorian."

I blinked. "What?"

"Their mansion is Victorian, not Edwardian," Nicholas explained patiently. "And of course Mom wants you to bring Iana. She adores her, and always says how much she wants to see her. I figured it'd be a good idea, now that we're a couple, to spend time with my family, as well as yours, because of us being together..."

I leaned across the couch, kissing him then as the water shut off and as the back door opened in a simultaneous manner. Quickly pulling away from Nicholas, we got to our feet as Ian and Trevor came into the house, and we four smiled at one another. "Liam's just finishing up in the shower, and then he's off to bed," I informed my brother.

Ian nodded. "Good. I can put him to bed. Trevor, help yourself to a beer," he said, kissing him before heading upstairs.

"Hey," I said to Trevor, crossing over to him and embracing him as I vaguely heard Ian tapping on the bathroom door, alerting Liam to his presence.

"Hey," he said warmly to me. "You doing better?"

"Yeah, yeah," I assured him. "The meds are working their magic."

"That's good," Trevor replied, pulling back and looking up at my boyfriend. "How's it going with you, man?" Trevor asked, mutually clapping Nicholas on the shoulder. "Things good at the interim firm?"

Nicholas gave a stiff nod. "They're going," he replied, pulling a face. "My mother and I have our work cut out for us, since my dad and Murph are working from home."

I raised my eyebrows, a smile forming on my lips. "Are you really complaining in front of me after I saved both their lives?" I asked him.

Nicholas threw up his hands in surrender as Trevor laughed at the two of us. "No! Seriously, Murph, I understand your guys' need to work from home..."

I put my head into my hands, massaging my temples in a moment of drama. "Ugh, stop—you're giving me a headache," I muttered to myself. "The one thing I want right now is a beer, and I can't mix alcohol with my pain medication."

"Why?" Trevor asked, curious.

I lowered my hands from my face and sighed. "Because I'll get totally fucked up—that's why," I replied as Ian came down the stairs. "Everything okay?"

"Fine," Ian replied. "Liam's in his room changing."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? You didn't need to take his electronics away?"

Ian smirked. "I think my lecture on good sleep habits last week did the trick."

I crossed my arms. "Ian, you know as well as I do that Liam has not yet perfected the use of headphones at nighttime," I hissed through my teeth.

Trevor looked between us. "Am I missing something here?"

Nicholas put a hand on Trevor's shoulder. "Wait for it..."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Come on, Murph. It's not a crime."

"Ian, they ask you to check a box on those websites, authorizing that you're eighteen, and in some cases, twenty-one!" I cried, throwing up my hands into the air. "This is a topic we need to address with him, because I don't need to hear that as I'm sleeping!"

Ian laughed. "You know as well as I do that you're not sleeping."

"Hey!" Trevor said.

"Whoa, whoa," Nicholas said, stepping between us. "Let's just take it down a notch."

"Oh, please," I said, walking around Nicholas and shoving Ian gently backwards. "I know all that you do, too, mister," I said, grinning at him. "Let's just agree that Liam shouldn't be going to those websites until he's at least sixteen."

Ian shrugged. "Still illegal then."

"Yeah, but if he's like the rest of his siblings, he'll have someone to do all that stuff with so that it won't be necessary," I replied.

Ian laughed. "Not you, though."

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha," I said, holding up my hand. "I told you that Jessica and I started messing around when we were sixteen."

"But you didn't until..." Ian cut himself off immediately at my expression, and, from the corner of my eye, Nicholas and Trevor looked away. "I'm going to shut up now."

"Yeah, why don't you?" I replied.

Ian sighed. "Okay. We'll talk to Liam together."

"Wise choice," I said firmly.

. . .

Nicholas and I arrived at Hugo and Allie's lavish Victorian mansion just before noon the following day. I had insisted that Nicholas drive my car, so as Iana would feel more secure, and so we didn't have to transfer her car seat into his more luxury vehicle. When we pulled up onto the property, I waited for the car to turn off, whereupon Nicholas handed me back my keys and I got out, circling around to the back and getting Iana out.

"Big house, Mama," Iana said quietly to me.

"Yes, it's very big," I replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead to calm her in the new atmosphere that we were in. "We call them mansions."

"Man-sh-ons," Ian said, attempting to sound out the difficult word. "Why here, Mama?" she wanted to know as I followed Nicholas towards the front door.

"I told you, sweetheart," I replied patiently. "We're going to see Hugo and Allie for lunch this afternoon. This is their home."

Iana grinned up at me as I carefully climbed the three stairs to the front door. "I like them," she informed me.

I nodded. "I know you do, angel," I said as Nicholas rang the doorbell. "And guess what? They like you, too."

There was a moment of silence that followed as Nicholas stepped back, putting his arm around my waist. Finally, there was the telltale sound of heels clicking inside, and the door opened, and Lucas stood there; the easiest way to describe Lucas would be a miniature version of Hugo, but with Allie's eyes. I felt my eyes nearly pop out of my sockets then as I struggled to remain standing, and Nicholas grinned across at his younger brother.

"So," Lucas said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the door, "this is the girlfriend you're always going on about?" he asked, looking me up and down as if he was sizing me up. "I guess my next question would be, who's the kid?"

"This is my daughter, Iana," I replied, not wanting to allow Lucas to get to me with this apparent smarmy attitude. "It's nice to meet you, Lucas," I went on, attempting to keep my tone level, and not slip into language that would be inappropriate in front of Iana.

"Mama, who's this?" Iana whispered to me. "He's not nice."

I bit the inside of my cheeks immediately at my daughter's honest and innocent remark, and turned to Nicholas, who laughed aloud, so I immediately did the same. "You're right, Iana, but that's something we shouldn't say out loud..."

Lucas, however, looked amazed at Iana's remark and immediately stepped forward. "You, I like," he informed her. "My mother's cat is sleeping inside in the parlor. Maybe you'd like to come and meet her."

I was baffled when Iana willingly went into Lucas's arms, and moved to follow them, but was pulled back by Nicholas, who took my hand and walked with me inside. "Don't worry—Dad is always in the parlor at this time of day, if he's at home. He and the cat have an understanding between them, and he'll watch to make sure Lucas doesn't drop her."

"This isn't funny, Nicholas," I replied as he shut the door behind us, and I craned my neck to watch as Lucas disappeared around the corner with Iana. "Is this cat dangerous? Does it scratch strangers? I need to be in there with her...!"

"The cat is the most docile thing I've ever met," Nicholas told me in a patient manner, "and Lucas is great with kids—I promise."

I crossed my arms. "He's certainly not very great with adults," I muttered back.

Nicholas smiled, leaning in and kissing me. "It will be fine," he assured me. "You have spoken to Iana about animal do's and don'ts, right?"

I nodded. "Of course. No tail pulling and things like that..."

"Good," he replied, snaking his arm back to my waist as we walked in the direction that Lucas had taken Iana. "We can poke our heads in before going into the kitchen, where my mother is likely fixing lunch."

I rolled my eyes. "We'll have to go in anyhow, if you're father's in there," I replied. "It would be rude if we didn't greet him properly."

Nicholas smiled at my effort to authorize his compromising on the matter, and we soon turned the corner and stepped into the parlor. "Hey, Dad," Nicholas said, squeezing the small of my back briefly before anyone could see as he let me go, crossing over to where his father was sitting in a large armchair. "Feeling better today?"

"I'm alive," Hugo replied, looking past Nicholas and peering up at me, "thanks to this fine young lady right here."

I rolled my eyes, approaching Hugo and taking his offered hand. "You're far too generous with your complimenting, Hugo."

"Well, perhaps if I complimented you more, you would've brought Iana around more often," he put in with a warm smile, turning then and watching as Lucas carefully set Iana down on the couch, beside the cat, which appeared to be a ginger tabby. "That's Ruth," he said, and I had a feeling who they'd named her after. "If you like, Iana, you can scratch her gently behind the ears—that should perk her up."

Iana turned to Hugo when she realized he had been speaking to her. "Thanks, Hugh," she said, in her own little rendition of a nickname for him, and Hugo beamed when she had acknowledged him herself before turning back to look at the cat. Tentatively, Iana reached out with one finger and stroked the back of Ruth's ear, and Ruth made a small sound of surprise, lifting up her head and staring at Iana, who extended her hand towards Ruth's nose to smell. Iana waited for Ruth to smell her, and then Ruth lifted her head. "What does she want, Mama?" Iana asked, turning to look at me for a moment.

"I think she wants you to scratch her underneath her chin, sweetheart," I replied. "Cats love it when people do that."

"Oh," Iana replied, turning back to the cat and doing as I said. "Her neck is moving," she said, very nearly pulling her hand away in surprise.

"That's just Ruth purring," Lucas explained, crouching beside Iana to explain before I could say anything to her.

"Is she okay?" Iana wanted to know.

"She's just happy because you're her newest friend," Lucas said patiently.

"I like friends," Iana said quietly.

"You're feeling better, though, Hugo, on the whole?" I asked, turning back to him, conscious that I'd moved my hair to cover my bandage. In the week since I'd returned home, it wasn't as much of a sight anymore, and I felt more comfortable leaving the house because of it. "I mean, the pain medication doesn't make you feel weird or anything?"

Hugo grumbled to himself about his predicament. "Of course it makes me feel weird," he replied, folding up the newspaper he's been keeping on his lap and setting it aside. "My brain goes all fuzzy now and again, and Allie's been claiming that I've been drooling..."

"Dad, you always drooled," Nicholas put in, a smirk on his face.

"Why, you little—" Hugo said, getting to his feet and running off after Nicholas, towards the French doors which led out onto the terrace.

"Well, then," I said, turning to Lucas, who turned towards me for a moment. "I'm going to go and see your mother. Are you all right with her?" I asked.

Lucas nodded. "No problem," he replied. "Oh, and hey," he said, as I turned back to face him, "I heard from my mother that you're a huge fan."

I crossed my arms. "Maybe."

He smiled. "It's always nice to meet a fan. Sorry if I was abrupt a few moments ago."

I gave a nod at that. "No problem," I said, turning around and heading towards the kitchen, where I could smell Allie cooking. "Yeah, that's one word for it," I muttered to myself as I walked into the kitchen. "Hello, Allie."

Allie turned around then, grinning from ear to ear as she put down a turkey baster and crossed over to me. "Hello, darling," she said, pulling me into a hug. "I take it Lucas has attempted to make friends with Allie by introducing her to Ruth?"

I laughed, hugging her back for a moment or two before pulling back. "Your suspicions are correct, Allie. He's...quite an interesting character..."

Allie immediately looked worried. "Oh, dear. I mentioned to him that you were a fan, and, sometimes, he can be a bit rude to them..."

I shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. The main thing is that he's nice with Iana... He has experience with children, doesn't he?"

Allie grinned. "Oh, my, yes. Before he made it big as a model, he worked in the daycare center where Charlotte worked. That's how he got noticed—by watching the children of high-profile clients there, and the staff."

"So, he's good with children, you would say?"

"Of course—very good," Allie gushed, turning around and putting the whole chicken she'd been basting in the oven, which was surrounded by potatoes and other vegetables. "It will be much better when Benny gets downstairs..."

"Oh, Lucas!" came a squeal from the next room. "She's absolutely gorgeous! Who is she?" came the same voice from the parlor.

"Benny?" I asked, turning back to Allie. "The name and voice sound familiar, but I can't quite place them..."

"Benjamin St. James—his co-star on the show," Allie explained patiently as Iana came running into the kitchen, and she promptly knelt for Allie to run into her arms, which she did. "Hello, princess. Are you right as rain this afternoon?"

Iana nodded her raven-haired head. "Yes, Allie—right rain," she informed her. "Mama, strangers with kitty," Iana said, turning around to face me.

"I'm sorry," said Benjamin as he stepped after Iana and into the kitchen. "I didn't mean to frighten her, really..."

"It's okay," I said quickly, and Benjamin's eyes locked to mine. "You didn't mean any harm, I can see that."

"Oh, and you must be that delightful creature's mother—you have the same shade of beautiful brown eyes!" Benjamin said in a voice filled with delight as he stepped forward and put out his hand. "Call me Benny."

"I'm Murphy—nice to meet you," I said, taking the offered hand and smiling at him. "And this is my daughter, Iana."

"Oh, of course," Benjamin said, nodding as he shook my hand. "Nicholas's girlfriend and the wonderful young woman who saved Hugo and Allie's lives!"

"Careful, maybe she's not used to our kind," Lucas said as he stepped into the room behind Benjamin, before kissing him on the cheek, which caused me to laugh aloud. "Something funny about me kissing my boyfriend?" Lucas wanted to know.

Immediately, I shook my head. "No, of course not. It's just that you said I wouldn't be used to people who are gay. Believe me, I am."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"

"I'm a twin," I explained, "and my twin brother is gay. So, trust me when I say this, I don't have an issue with it."

Lucas crossed his arms as Benjamin approached Allie—still holding Iana—in an attempt to make friends with her. "Sometimes people say that being gay affects both twins."

I smiled. "I know."

"Were you affected by it?"

I laughed. "Yeah," I said. "Yeah, you could say that."

"So, you're—" Lucas began, as Nicholas came into the room and promptly put Lucas in a not- so-gentle headlock.

"It doesn't matter what she is, you hear me?" Nicholas said into Lucas's ear as Hugo came up behind them.

"Come on, boys," Hugo said diplomatically, separating them as he walked towards the table on the other side of the kitchen. "Lucas, don't provoke Nicholas. And Nicholas, please try to be a bit more considerate towards your brother."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Point taken."

Nicholas smirked from behind Lucas before moving to stand beside me. "I suppose there was no harm done to the merchandise."

Lucas scoffed. "Watch it, Nick."

Nicholas's eyes hardened, although the smirk remained frozen in place. "You, too, little brother," he replied. "You, too."

. . .

I drove myself to the hospital the following afternoon to get my bandages taken off my wound. It would be a pleasant experience, I thought, as the only stitched I'd had to deal with were the dissolving kind, and they'd gone away earlier in the week. Now there would only be a few moments of momentary fuss, and I'd then have another couple of weeks off from work to get the last of the pain and the medication out of my system. I pulled into the parking lot at the hospital and got out of my car, making an effort to remember my location as I walked into the building and towards the elevator, pressing the button to the correct direction.

Once the elevator had arrived, I stepped inside and pressed the fourth level button, feeling the box lifting me up and feeling that momentary out-of-body sensation of something weightless pulling at me. When the elevator dinged at the correct floor, I stepped out onto the highly-polished white tile and towards the waiting room. I gave my name at reception for a Dr. Weiss to see me about my bandages, and was told it would be just a few moments.

As I found a seat and sat down, I texted both Ian and Nicholas, informing them that I'd made it to the doctor's in one piece and that I was currently waiting for my appointment time. Ian got back to me immediately, telling me that he had brought Iana and Liam to the park with Trevor, and to maybe swing by afterwards to pick them up on the way home. I rolled my eyes, not making any promises as a text from Nicholas arrived, informing me of even more negotiations from the insurance company that he and Allie had to deal with, which likely involved many hoops to jump through.

I rolled my eyes at the hierarchy of the system, wishing Nicholas luck as the door opened, and Dr. Tori Weiss stepped into the waiting room. She was a young woman—close to Fiona's age—and had light brown hair trimmed in a pixie cut. Her kind pearl-gray eyes took me in then from behind her stylish frames as she caught mine, and I got to my feet.

"Come on back, Murphy," she called.

I smiled, getting to my feet and slipping my phone into my purse, following her to the exam room along the hallway. "Thanks for seeing me so quickly."

"Nonsense, you're right on time, and I like to be prompt," she replied, gesturing for me to sit down upon the table as she washed her hands. "Now, let's move your hair back and take a look at what we're dealing with here," she said, all-business.

I reached out then and maneuvered my hair back around to the other side of my back, securing it with a hair tie for good measure. "That good?" I asked.

"That's just perfect, Murphy," she replied, snapping on a pair of gloves and taking ahold of the edge of my bandage. "Okay, let's gently get this thing off of you." She deftly pulled at the edges, not wanting to take even more of my skin off in the process, and gently eased it away from the danger zone. "Well, it's certainly healing nicely... You've had members of your family helping you with the cream application?"

"Yes," I replied. "My brother, sister, and boyfriend have been helping."

"That's wonderful," she said, grabbing the magnifying stick that doctor's used so commonly in routine exams to get a closer look. "Well, the skin is still new here, but it's healed nicely, so I think the bandages can formally come off today."

"Oh, thank god," I replied.

"It's good when my patients are happy," she went on. "I recommend that you still use the cream once in the morning, afternoon, and just before bed, but other than that, you don't need the insulation of the bandage."

I nodded. "I can do that."

"Wonderful," she said. "And, just making sure, did you want the name of a plastic surgeon to deal with the scar?"

I blinked. "No," I replied, shaking my head. "I've got another scar, so what's one more?" I asked her with a shrug. "I don't mind having scars, Dr. Weiss, because it means that, even though I've been through something, I lived to tell the story, and I'm perfectly happy with that, because it tells the world that I'm a survivor, not a victim, and when you're an attorney, people need that image if you're going to get hired."

Dr. Weiss nodded. "Well-said, Murphy," she said. "And I wasn't suggesting it by any means—it's just a formality that us doctors have to go through. You wouldn't believe how many of my patients want to get rid of the scars. I think it has to do with forgetting," she put in. "If they no longer have the scar, they think they won't be pained by the memories associated with them but, as I'm sure you know, that's not the case."

I shook my head at her. "No. No, it's not."

"Well, you're all finished," she said, and I hopped down from the exam table. "Have a fantastic day, Murphy."

"Thank you, Dr. Weiss. I will," I replied, stepping out of the exam room and making my way towards the waiting room. I stepped out of the back area and into the waiting room, making my way directly towards the elevators. I pressed the button, waiting for it to open, and when it did, I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Hey," I said, stepping inside and slightly annoyed when the other passenger didn't get out.

"Hey, Murphy."

"Lot of patients today?" I asked casually as the elevator doors closed.

Josh shrugged. "I'm on lunch right now, so..."

I nodded. "Going to see Chrissy, then?"

He sighed. "Look, Murphy, you need to fucking get over this," he said, his tone clipped. "You were acting the same way I was."

I shook my head at him. "No, Josh, I wasn't, and it's total bullshit that you think we're on the same level here," I replied. "Yes, I cheated on you, and it was an immature thing to do. I guess, if I'd been a more mature person—which I should be, considering that I have a daughter—I would have confronted you and ended things far sooner."

"So, the rumors are true, then?" he asked.

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, pulling up my purse again. "What rumors could you possibly be referring to that have anything to do with me?" I asked him, my tone clipped, as I really didn't want to have this conversation—or any conversation—with Josh.

Josh shrugged. "Well, I did see Nicholas leaving your room the day that you were admitted to the hospital," he replied.

I felt something jolt within me then at this piece of information—so, had Nicholas been to see me?! Of course, I was shocked, to say the least, but, then again, I could've also merely fabricated what he had said to me...

"You didn't know?" he asked.

I bit the insides of my cheeks, resentful that he could read me so well. "I was pretty doped up that day, Josh. I'd just saved my bosses from a burning building, and I was pretty exhausted on top of that."

"Exhausted from spreading your legs for Blomqvist?"

Immediately, and without hesitation, I smacked Josh full across the face. "You'd better watch your fucking mouth, Josh," I said through my teeth. "You remember what I did to your perfect little nose—don't cross me. I mean it."

Josh smirked then, running his hands over his cheek for a moment, which became inflamed from my handprint. "Oh, Murphy," he said, "I knew that a part of you didn't want to be with me anymore, but why would you stoop to such a lowlife as a murderer?" he asked.

Knowing that there were cameras in the elevator, I knew I couldn't allow myself to go totally mental on Josh's ass, no matter how much I wanted to. "You just keep Nicholas out of your thoughts," I whispered to him, "because if I ever see you in my neighborhood, you're going to fucking get it, Fairfax."

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Josh replied, as the elevators dinged, letting him out. "I hope you have a nice day, Murphy," he said, his voice a summery song as he walked away from the chrome box.

I flattened myself against the wall as the elevator doors closed. I couldn't believe what Josh had said to me, and I also couldn't believe that he had waited to see it when I wasn't in a position to defend Nicholas appropriately. Shaking my head, the elevator doors dinged again, letting me out across the street from the parking lot. Shivering all over, I pulled my leather jacket closer around me as I got to my car, fishing my phone out of my pocket, and dialing the number faster than lightning speed.

"Hey!" said Fiona's voice when she picked up.

"Fi," I said, barely managing to keep it together as I unlocked my car and let myself inside. "Are you at the diner now?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"No," I replied, leaning down and putting my head down onto my steering wheel. "No, everything is a fucking mess..."

"What's up, little sister?" she asked, her voice caring.

I sighed. "Can I come over there?" I asked her, feeling the hot tears as they spilled down my face as I continued to rage inside.

"Yeah, of course, Murphy," she said softly. "Something's wrong... I'll bust out a slice of chocolate crème, okay?"

I nodded. "Please," I replied, my voice breaking. "I just need my big sister right now, and I'm sorry I haven't seen you in a while..."

"Hey, we all have our shit," Fiona replied gently. "You come by and tell me everything and we'll work it out together, okay?"

"Thanks. I'll see you soon," I said.

"You too," Fiona replied.

I hung up my phone and dashed the tears from my eyes. Still continuing to shake all over, I gripped at my steering wheel, attempting to hold it together. While the rest of my siblings had had Fiona to help with their problems growing up, I'd missed out, I thought to myself as I stuck my key into the ignition. And, I reasoned with myself as I pulled out of the parking lot and down the street towards the highway, I was in desperate need of making up for it now. For when the shit hit the fan, you needed the closest thing you had to a parent, and for me, at this point in my life, that was Fiona.