A/N: So, I know that the last chapter was a bit heavy. I'm going to try to keep it lighter if I can, but no promises there :P Also, I have researched and was unable to find exactly whether or not the Quileute Indians had two-spirit people, so disclaimer: I have no true knowledge of the Quileute people and I do not wish to offend anyone. Please remember that this is merely fiction. Also, I know that this is an extremely short chapter, but it's hard for me to write this kind of separation; and if you read my other work, you'll understand :P

XXX

Brady

I didn't want to think about anything that had happened to me. I bypassed my mom, who saw me and the worried look on her face told me that she was seeing straight through my carefully - okay, not so much - composed mask.

"Braid?" She called.

"I'm fine," I answered, but my voice broke as I started walking up the stairs. I sighed heavily, hearing her getting up. Great. I made it to the safety of my room, but not before she was at the base of the stairs making her way up them.

"Brady, what's wrong?" She asked as she made it to my room, opening the door, finding me sitting on my bed, tears streaming down my face. "Brady!" She gasped. She nearly ran to me, dropping on her knees.

"Baby, what's wrong?" She said, hugging me to her. I just sobbed, letting the emotions of the night fill my room. Finally, I was able to choke out what happened, and I heard her gasp in terror as I told her what Tommy had done.

"Thank GOD that you were able to get a hold of Collin," She said seriously, holding me back so that she could see my face. "You realize that I have to call the cops on Tommy, right?"

"Yes. Do it fast, before he bails," I said, sighing heavily. "I need to get some rest, okay?" She nodded, leaving the room.

I laid down, eyeing my ceiling. I started counting the grains that I saw, and before I knew it, I'd lost consciousness.

I woke to the sound of sirens outside of the house, and I heard my mom answering the door. I heard my dad stumbling wearily down the staircase, mumbling incoherently.

There was a knock on my door, and I sat up, realizing that I was still dressed. I looked through bleary eyes as a woman appeared in my doorway. She was in uniform, so I guessed that she was a cop.

"Hi," She said, closing the door and sitting on the foot of my bed. "I'm Chief Melissa Reins, from Seattle PD."

"H-hello," I stuttered, realizing just how cold I was feeling. "I-I'm Br-Brady."

"Hi Brady," She said smiling gently, before her face fell into a more serious look, her eyebrows coming together. "Listen to me Brady. I need you to think for a few minutes, okay?"

I nodded in agreement, and she flipped out a pad of paper and a pen.

"I need you to think about Tommy okay? I know that it's going to be hard, with what you've been going through, but he wasn't there when we got to his house. I need you to think about where he may have gone. Does he have any relatives or close friends that might be harboring him?"

My brow furrowed. It was too early in the morning for this, I thought, catching that the clock said 1:30 on it. Wow, the Seattle PD was really slow. My thoughts turned to Tommy, trying to remember everything that I could about his life... Wow, so much I didn't know about the guy I'd been dating for nearly a year.

"Um, he has a grandma in Forks. That boy from town, Mike... Newton, the Newtons, they own the outdoors outlet. Tommy and Mike are cousins on their mom's side by marriage. He could be there. Or he could be at his best friend Terry Jacks' house back in Seattle. They live three streets apart," I said, hesitating in places. My memory wasn't that good this early in the morning. Chief Melissa Reins was writing all of the information furiously, pen flying across the paper.

"Okay, Brady. Thanks for that, I think we'll be good for now. Try to get some sleep. I'll be in contact with you later, alright?" She told me. I nodded as she left the room, lying down.

I fell asleep almost immediately. I was plagued by nightmares that first night, and I would be for nights to come. Always the same one, Tommy and the knife, standing over me, me cowering in the corner. Collin appearing out of nowhere, throwing Tommy into the table and smashing it. Over and over. I would wake up shouting, sweat pouring off of me. It got to where after the first week, my mom stopped coming to check on me and comfort me. I started hanging with Seth more, attempting to get rid of the feelings. But they wouldn't stop. I couldn't make them. I didn't know what more to do.

Collin

When I got home that night, I was shaking very hard. All I could think about was that little piece of shit getting ready to hurt my best friend. I climbed out of the car, slamming the door shut. Why was I so mad? I hadn't been this angry since the first time I'd phased, and I sure as hell didn't want to have to worry about that again. It had been four years since I'd phased last. I had to get my anger under control.

I leaned against the car, breathing deeply, pinching the bridge of my nose. Finally, after what felt like ages, I'd managed to calm down. I made my way inside of the house, realizing after I'd already shut the door that my parents were out. There was a note on the kitchen door that I ignored, making my way to my room.

I heard sirens zoom past my house, and I knew, just knew, that they were going to talk to Brady. Of course they would have to talk to him to figure out what happened. I just hoped that he would conveniently forget to tell them that I had been involved. I threw my clothes into a pile on the floor of my room, and walked to the bathroom stark naked. I flipped the light on, catching a glance of myself in the mirror. I did a double take, and then moved in close, examining my reflection. There were deep purple shadows under my eyes, and the eyes that glanced at me were a mixture of anger and fear. I shook my head, and turned to start the water for a shower.

As I slid into the hot water, pellets jumping off my skin and raising goosebumps, my thoughts turned to Brady. What if I hadn't made it there in time? What if I'd been just a few minutes late, and something terrible had happened? No. I couldn't afford to think these things. I'd made it and that was all that mattered. I'd saved him from anything life-threatening.

Brady had always been the weakest of all of us, even as a wolf. He was just too... feminine. Even Leah was more masculine than he was. Everything about him brought on the bullying that he had had to deal with at school. Living on an Indian reservation, most of us had long hair, so that wasn't anything different. But when you were a guy and you acted as feminine as Brady, a lot of people would pick on you, and not because it wasn't unheard of, but because of the world around us. Actually, according to legend, in our tribe, we had these things called 'two-spirit' people. Essentially, gay guys and lesbian women. They were sacred to our culture, and we saw them as being beautiful gifts and reminders from the Spirit that was. We had descended from wolves, yes, but we still had other legends.

I couldn't think about anything involving Brady anymore. I just couldn't. He was my best friend, but I couldn't hurt him anymore because I wasn't able to accept his imprint. No. I had to move on.

I wasn't able to sleep that night.

When my parents got home, it was very late, somewhere around four. They were drunk, I could tell that much because of how loud they were being. My mother giggled as she made her way up the stairs and my father's heavy breath filled the silence that had previously been placating me. I slammed my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep as my parents opened my door to see if I were awake. I sighed in relief when I heard their door shut behind them, opening my eyes to the ceiling above me.