Hello again! Time to pick up where that cliffie left off!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh. If I did, this would be the next movie, and I'd make sure it won at least four Academy Awards.

Yami could not believe what he was seeing. Deep, long marks were all over Jenna's back, as if she was whipped with something. They looked like they had been there for only a few weeks or so.

"How did you get these," he asked her in a concerned tone.

"I...I can't tell you that..."

"And why not? If something's going, it's a good idea to tell someone you trust. And you can trust me. I promise."

"...Are you in the mood for a long story, then?"

"If you'll tell me where you got those grooves, yes."

She took a deep breath. She wasn't expecting to tell him this. " It started about 10 years ago, when my brother was born. Before that, both my mother and father loved me equally. After he was born, however, my mother got more abusive to me. She revered him and reviled me. She screamed, threw things at me, did all kinds of crazy things. And it was never my brother's fault. He hates to see her do things like that to me. He prays every day that it will finally stop. And my dad has tried everything to get my mom to stop, but now she threatens him if he does anything. It's a never-ending cycle. And it's only getting worse. Even my sister has gone nuts.You didn't see her last time because she was in rehab."

Yami felt himself starting to shake. This was frightening for him. Here was this girl, so beautiful and innocent, getting beaten in her own home?

"Yami, what do I do? I'm almost afraid to go home, it's as if I won't be alive by tomorrow...I can see a large knife laying on the counter at home, just waiting for me to come through the door so it can plunge itself into me..." Small crystal-like tears were building up in the corners of her eyes.

Not knowing what else to do, Yami did the only thing he could do: He gathered her close in his arms and wrapped the covers around her. "Shh," he said soothingly," it's going to be okay. I promise." Or I hope I can promise, he thought.

Feeling a small shudder against him, he looked down and saw that she was crying freely.

Even though they were in the dark, Yami could see tears streaming down the young girl's face.

He hugged her even tighter. "Jenna. Look at me." When he was sure that he had her attention, he gave her a warm smile. "No matter what happens, I will be there for you. I can promise you that. If something comes up, you call me and I'll come running. I'll get you out of there. I won't let anything happen to you. Ever."

She dried her eyes. "You know, you're the first person I've been able to trust in a long time," she told him as her smile returned to her face. She hugged him. "Thank you so much. This is something I've never had."

"What is?"

"A real friend. One that's actually going to be there for me. No one would ever do that for me in the past. And now I have you."

He let her hug him some more, then the song Jenna had played down at Jou's popped into his head.

Look at me, still in your mind

our memories so intertwined.

Too much of the same stories in our lives...

It's us, he thought. It's exactly like the both of us.

She yawned again, then snuggled down into the covers, releasing Yami from her grip. Within a few minutes she was fast asleep, not making a noise. Yami looked down at her and just smiled. You may not know it yet, but you and I are very much alike, his mind spoke to her. Then he, too, nestled down into the covers and shut his eyes, but not before gently wrapping his arms around her and giving her a gentle kiss on her cheek. He then rested his head on her shoulder, assuming a very protective position, as if to say, "Back Off."

He yawned and stretched, then noticed that there was a lot of room in that bed. Something was missing. "Jenna? Where'd you go?" He sat up in bed, then glanced at the clock. 10 in the morning.

"Hey, where are you?" "In the kitchen," came her voice through the door. He quickly dressed himself and went out to see her. She stood by the stove, making pancakes. "See? I promised you I'd make breakfast this morning." "And they look great. I'm starved," he said over her shoulder. She flipped a couple more, then said, "Hey," in a hushed tone.

"Hmm?"

"About last night...I wanted to say thank you...you made me feel safe and secure..and that's something I can never get at home anymore."

She turned her head and gave him a kiss right on his lips. His eyes widened in shock and surprise, but he soon joined her in sharing the kiss. It went on for about two minutes, then Yami smelled something strange.

"Do you smell something..burning?"

She did, and it turned out to be one of the pancakes that she had forgotten to flip over. "Shit," she said rather loudly, trying to get the now stuck pancake to turn over. He raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever heard you swear before." "I had a good reason to," she told him. "Look what happened to it." She showed him the pancake. One side was a golden yellow. The other was as black as tar. "This is why I'm not a chef," she laughed. "Don't worry, I'll eat this one. I have to learn from failures." "But this is easy to fix," Yami said smiling. He took the pancake and sliced it in half like a bagel. He then took the black side and threw it away. "There, problem solved." She started to laugh again. He loved to see her laugh. Just that smile was enough to give him goosebumps.

After having breakfast, Yami took care of the dishes this time while she gathered her things together. He felt a sudden ache. He didn't want her to leave. He couldn't believe himself. He thought that he sounded really stupid, saying that he didn't want her to leave. But he didn't. He didn't want her to go back to her mother. He feared that he may never see her again if her mother got at her. But he couldn't worry like that. He felt silly. I'll see her again, he told himself.

She came back into the living room. "Alright, everything's packed and on the bed. Should I call home for a ride?" He thought for a moment. "No. I'll give you a ride home. Then I can meet your family and introduce myself as a friend. How's that sound instead?" "Sounds cool to me," Jenna told him. He lead her downstairs and helped her load her things into his car. He had a nice car: a little red Mazda. Jenna thought that it was "kind of cute," and laughed a little because it was the exact same model as her car, just a different color. She playfully called him a copycat.

As they were riding home, Yami couldn't help being a little anxious. With everything he had heard about her family, he wasn't sure if this was a good idea now. With every turn they made down the road, he considered just turning around and heading home after dropping her off. "Alright, take one more turn here and it's the first tan house on your right." He spotted the corner of it, but almost missed it, because there were two huge pine trees in front of it. He spotted the little golden Mazda in the driveway, and he pulled up next to it. "Alright, there you go. It was fun having you." "What, you're not coming inside so everyone can meet you?" "I don't know if I should...I mean..won't your mother...?" "I don't think so...she doesn't act that way when company's around. And we say you're a friend and not my boyfriend, she'll be cool." "Well, okay..I'll visit for a little while." He got out of the car and took a good look at the house. It was a long, large house, all tan and white, with large windows in the front. "It's kinda pretty here...kinda quiet feeling." "You kidding? That road down there is the main drag. It's like living next to the highway." He chuckled before following her inside.

"Leave your shoes there," she told him while pointing to a rug near the door. He did as he was told, then she opened the door and called out, "Guess who?" Thud thud thud thud. "Jenna," cried out her brother, flinging himself onto her in a big hug. He saw Yami. "So how was Grandma's," he asked while giving Yami a wink that seemed to say, "Don't worry, your secret's safe." "Just fine," Jenna told him. "Liz came home today," Joseph told her. "Is she okay?" "She's doing a lot better." "Hello, honey," a deep voice said, deeper than Yami's own voice. He looked and saw a tall man with a beard and slightly gray hair. This must be her father, Yami thought. he watched him embrace his daughter, then direct his attention at him. "Who's your friend?" "This is Yami. I met him last night while at Grandma's. He's really nice." " Pleased to meet you young man," he said while squeezing Yami's hand. The squeeze hurt a little. That man was strong. He told Yami to come closer. "You're more than friends, aren't you," he whispered in Yami's ear. "Yes, sir..." "Good," her father told him. "The sooner she finds a good man, the sooner she can get out of this death trap." He thumped Yami's back.

Jenna was now in their living room, sitting on their couch. When Yami saw her, he was surprised to find her sitting normally. "Well, aren't you going to flip again?" "She flipped," her father asked. "Yeah. The first time she came up, I left the room for a few minutes, and when I came back, I found her like this..."-he flipped upside down to show him. Joseph giggled. "She hasn't done that in years," her father said. "Oh...I feel special now...," Yami said with a grin.

Another person entered the room. She looked more like her father. She had wild-looking eyes, eyes that made Yami feel a little uneasy. "Who's this," she asked in a sort of snooty, who-the-hell-are-you-and-what-are-you-doing-here kind of tone. "My friend," Jenna said as calmly as she could. "Oh," the girl said in the same tone before leaving. Yami raised an eyebrow at her.

"Liz?"

"Liz."

"'Kay."

They heard the sound pulling into the garage outside. "That's mom," Joseph told Yami in a bit of a hushed tone. Yami felt nervous again. He didn't want to get hurt...or let Jenna get hurt either. "Maybe I should leave..." "No, things will be fine. Just stay put." The door opened. "Hi mom," both kids answered. "Hello," she answered. Yami thought she sounded nice. "Jenna made a new friend," Joseph told her. "Let me see her." "Jenna tried not to laugh at Yami's face, his immediate reaction upon being called a girl. "HE's in the living room." "It's a he?" "Yes, ma'am, I'm a he," Yami said from the living room. "I don't know...I think I need proof." Yami's eyes were as big as dinner plates. "You... don't want me to...?" Her mother's laughter came from the kitchen. "I'm only kidding, I wouldn't do that..." He let out a huge sigh of relief. She walked in and saw him siiting with Jenna. "Oh...this is your friend...," she said in a tone that seemed to have lost the cheery feeling it had earlier. Jenna hid a little behind Yami's side, a little afraid. "Well he looks nice...and fierce...just look at those eyes.." "I'm from Egypt. That's why they look like that." "Oh. Okay."

Yami stood up. " I must leave. Thanks for letting me stay for a bit. But Jou and Honda will wonder where I've disappeared to. Thank you once again." He stood up and got ready to leave. "Bye, buddy," she told him before hugging him. He felt her mother's eyes burning into him as he acepted the hug. "Bye. I'll see you again soon." Then he left for his car.

Hopefully her mother won't do anything serious, he prayed as he buckled up and turned the car on.

But no sooner had he left the driveway, heading for home, did Jenna's mother pull out a long belt and started striking her with it, yelling curse words over the cries of pain.

Someone's in a bit of trouble...Next chapter: A bit of bad news and a bit of good news.

Please R&R! Also please keep in mind that I have a very busy schedule to attend to, so forgive me if I don't publish as often as I normally do.