The back of Jay's head was tingling again.

He was sitting in an armchair in a public parking lot, which didn't make much sense, but Laura said to trust her. He did.

There was a massive mural behind him and all kinds of people around him; a man carrying an umbrella to shade him, a girl and a guy who spent nearly 25 minutes putting makeup on his face, and another girl who kept putting stuff in his hair and adjusting his tie. Jay loved having all these people fussing over him as much as he loved seeing Laura in her element. She was beautiful and confident with her hair back in that sleek ponytail as she directed her crew. Jay swore he'd never loved anyone more.

He sat and smoked and let the fake blood drip a crimson trail from his nose and a spot on his cheek. Laura moved up and down and all around him, maybe giving him an instruction here or there, but mostly just letting him do his own thing. Jay felt like he owned the world. And in that moment, he did.

That afternoon, Nate was seated at his spot at the picnic table with a bowl of oatmeal when Jay banged through the fence.

"I'm in love!" the older boy announced, his arms flung wide open.

Nate chuckled to himself.

"I'm in love Nathaniel. I fucking-" he leaned down to squeeze Nate's cheeks and dramatically smooch the top of his head "-am."

"You definitely fucking smell like it," Nate shot back, shoving his older brother's hands off him. Gross.

"That's passion," Jay declared. He smacked Nate on the shoulders. "My world is unfolding in beautiful ways! I hear birds I haven't heard. I find beauty in the common crow. And flowers, and nectar, and you know. Oatmeal!" He dipped his finger mercilessly into Nate's blue bowl, swiping a large glob onto his finger and into his mouth.

"Whoa, whoa! Fuck!" Nate protested.

"It just tastes oat-ier!" Jay continued. He took a seat next to his brother. "And she's smart. She knows about art and photography. And she can't get enough of me," he said proudly, pulling on the lapels of his jacket. "Yeah! The sex? You ask?"

Nate averted his eyes and shook his head.

"Well, it's – holy fuck. I'm seeing angles I haven't seen before, and I'm not just talking position. I'm seeing whole new fucking doors opening up right now. Pheromones and vibrations. I'm tapping into something deeper here, you understand? And-"

"Jay? Jay."

"Yeah?"

"I gotta keep some of this down," Nate said, motioning to his oatmeal, "okay?"

"Okay. Now listen to me," Jay said, quickly switching gears and giving Nate a hard slap on the arm. "I know you don't like to talk about it, but I want you to know that I love you, and that you're gonna murder this motherfucker, okay?"

Nate nodded.

"So!" Jay said, standing up and peeling off his jacket. "What do you need from me right now, and how can I help you?"

"I'm all set."

Jay started to walk away. He spoke to Nate over his shoulder. "Okay. Lisa and I are gonna go meet Garo, and then I will see you at the fucking gym."

"Did he get you a fight?" Nate asked, interested again.

"He. Fucking. Better."

"Wait, Jay!"

The older boy turned.

"Mom's inside. She's been crying," he said awkwardly.

Jay sighed and trooped up the front steps. He went inside and pushed the bathroom door open to find Christina braiding her hair in front of the sink. "Hey."

"Hey," she said. "I didn't think you'd be home."

"Yeah, I gotta get right back out, but Nate said that you were upset."

"Your dad and I signed the divorce papers today."

"Is that bad?" Jay asked quietly, unsure.

"Yeah, Jay," she snapped. "We got a divorce."

Jay looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry you're upset," he said. He sure as hell wasn't sorry they were finally divorced, though.

Christina made a face at herself in the mirror. "Whatever."

Jay stood there uncomfortably for a moment, unsure of what to say. The more time had gone by, the less appealing it had been having Christina around. There was hardly ever any affection anymore - just negativity. Jay was beginning to see what the twins had seen all along. But she was family, and Jay stuck by that. He wasn't going to let her go anywhere, and that meant not speaking his mind right now or saying something that might make things worse. He quietly cleared his throat and retreated back to his pile of clothes on the end of the couch.

He pulled on his flamingo tank top and headed back out the door.

"Nice and easy. Elbows, elbows…"

Alvey and Nate were sparring lightly in the cage. All the hard work had been done, and now it was time to relax and enjoy the fight.

"Let's just break a sweat. Alright?" Alvey directed. "Just breaking a sweat."

Nate was all steel focus anyway, hitting just a little too hard. God knew he deserved it with the week he'd had.

"I'm gonna hit you back," Alvey threatened. "I ain't that old, sonny boy." He couldn't help but laugh at himself. He reeled it in a little as Nate kept throwing hard punches. "Aww, look at the tiger. Okay, stop it. Lay down, lay down."

Nate obeyed, relaxing his shoulders a little and spreading his arms on the cage floor. Knowing what his father was after, Nate went ahead and kicked one leg up to him so he could stretch it.

"Okay. How's the hamstring?"

"Ah, it's good."

"You look good, man. You look better than I've ever seen you look – no shitting. You worked hard. You're fast. You're explosive. Your head's in the right place. It's gonna feel like you shot out of a cannon." He slapped Nate roughly on the chest. "Trust me. I got you. But you gotta control that, alright?"

Alvey's son caught his breath. "I'm gonna fight my fight," he said. And in some ways it was a line – he'd heard Alvey preach it to every fighter he'd ever had – but for the first time, he was starting to understand it in a way he never had before.

"That's right. You're gonna fight your fight," Alvey echoed. "You're gonna breathe. Your pace, the whole thing. You know it!"

"I'm just worried about that food after the fight," Nate admitted, a small smile creeping onto his face. "I'm fucking starving."

"Yeah," Alvey said knowingly.

"We doing Italian still?"

"Nah, Shelby fucked the reservation up, so Lisa bought a bunch of steaks. We'll have it at my house."

Nate nodded as Alvey switched his feet. God, steak sounded delicious. "Alright."

"Invite your little girlfriend," Alvey suggested.

Nate scoffed, almost laughed. He caught himself before he did.

"What? What's the matter?"

Nate shook his head. "Yeah, I don't know, she's…"

"What happened?"

"Ah, she's pissed off about something."

"What'd you do?" Alvey asked again, conspiratorially this time.

Nate gave in. "Training, you know? She just doesn't fucking get it."

"Ah, they never make it through training camp, never. None of them. Not a single one of 'em."

Nate sighed, so Alvey continued, "Don't bother with girls. They're no good for you."

Nate had to laugh at that. Oh, if only Alvey knew.

"Anyway, what's your mind on?"

"Taking the guy out in front of me," Nate recited.

"No, you know where it's at? Your mind's on winning, son!" Alvey shouted, a wide grin on his face. He smacked Nate hard on the chest again and pulled him to his feet. "Get up."

"I can't believe you didn't give me Nate's first fight back," Garo complained. He and Lisa were sitting across from each other at a conference room table waiting for Jay.

Lisa had to fight not to roll her eyes. "You didn't have a spot for him."

"I was working on it."

She did roll them then. "Really? Cause it kind of seemed like you were slow-playing us to see if he was healthy."

"Is that what you think?" Garo asked, mock offended.

"Yeah, I do. Also, I heard about the Ryan deal. Six fights at a frozen rate? That is fucking extortion."

"Now, hold on, hold on," Garo protested. "We all got a little dirty on that one."

Lisa huffed.

"It's for the best."

She chuckled in disbelief. "Right. Okay. Whatever you say."

"Hey, let's not fight. How are you? How is the baby?"

Just then, the door opened; thank god. Lisa hated talking about the baby, especially to men. It was just weird. And it seemed like Jay was the only one who cared about it, anyway.

"There he is! The man of the hour," Garo crowed.

"Hey, Garo. How are you? I'm sorry I'm late," Jay greeted.

"Who wants to start?" Garo asked.

Jay held up a hand. "Before we begin, I would like to reiterate my sincere and most humble apologies for any role that I might have played in the skirmish the other night."

"Well, it was more than just a skirmish," Garo noted, eyebrows raised at Jay's watered down wording. "It was embarrassing. You make us look like barbarians."

Lisa let that statement hang in the air for a second, and then she instructed, "Let's move on. Obviously, we have a problem here. Jay's fights keep falling apart. It's costing us money. I know it's costing you money…"

"I agree. It's not good. It's not good at all. But I may have a solution."

Jay's cell phone started vibrating loudly on the table. He glanced at the Caller ID – Laura. "Excuse me," he said. "I have to take this."

"Jay," Lisa reprimanded.

"You guys continue doing what you do. I'm the talent, you know? I probably shouldn't be hearing this shit anyways," Jay grinned. He ducked out into the hallway. "Hello?"

"You are so fucking hot."

Jay smiled as Laura's voice came through the phone. "What?"

"I'm looking at pictures from the shoot this morning."

Jay brightened even more. "Oh, yeah? I look good?"

"Well, I haven't gotten dressed yet, if that tells you anything."

Jay sighed happily and put on a seductive tone. "Yes. Yes, it does."

"Hey. I want you here right now," she said.

"I know. Me too."

"Well, where are you?"

"I'm talking to some promoter, so I should probably get back," he explained reluctantly.

"Once again, I have to take care of myself."

One short sentence had Jay closing his eyes and willing himself not to get hard in a public hallway.

Zoey stole a pair of sharp shears from the kitchen and tucked them into her sweatshirt pocket. She disappeared into the private bathroom next to the front office. There was school tomorrow, but Zoey didn't care. She'd been cutting on her thigh where no one could see, but cutting on her wrist was a special treat. She was going to let herself do that today.

She was a little bothered by it because the last few times she'd cut, there hadn't been an immediate reason to. Usually she only resorted to hurting herself when she was trying to shut down fear or sadness, but not this week. After the visit from Ryan, she'd started to feel hope again, but she was still harming herself every few days.

A quick anonymous search at the library that afternoon had her pulling up articles about addiction.

Fuck.

She was just as bad as her mom after all.

"Forgive me. Well… What did I miss?" Jay asked, waltzing back into Garo's conference room.

"You missed me having an amazing idea," Garo boasted, no trace of humility in his voice. "May I?"

"Oh, go right ahead," Lisa said sarcastically, lightly waving her hand in dismissal.

Garo put on his speech voice. "What do you value the most in this world, Jay? Money, respect, women, glory?"

"All of that shit," Jay grinned. "Yeah."

"These things I just named, my friend? These are the spoils of a champion." Garo was just getting to the good part when Lisa jumped in and cut the drama.

"He wants you to fight Ryan," she said, dismissing it like it was the worst idea she'd ever heard.

"Think about it!" Garo said, quickly defending himself. "Ryan Wheeler… Jay Kulina. One has blond hair, the other has brown hair. Friends, rivals... enemies, perhaps? Either way, I'd buy a ticket for that."

"Okay, we'll talk about it," Lisa told Garo.

"I am intrigued," Jay said, smiling mischievously.

"Is that a yes?" Garo replied hopefully.

"Well, Lisa handles all my logistics, but I am very, very taken by this idea." The two men reached across the table to shake hands. "You… you, sir… You're an impresario."

"We'll get back to you, Garo," Lisa stated flatly.

"I like that," Jay was still saying. "I like your fucking style."

"Okay, but don't fuck me around. I have to move on something, you know… At least something for Wheeler after that shit show he pulled last time."

Lisa rolled her eyes for the millionth time. Garo was ridiculous.

Jay bounced down the hall after Lisa. As soon as they were outside, he asked, "What do you think?"

"It's… interesting. It's definitely good for Garo. I don't know if it's good for you."

"It's a title fight, Lis. How is it not good?"

"You're just building momentum!" she reminded him. "What if you lose?"

"Yeah, and what if I win? That's the real problem, though, isn't it, huh? Cause it fucks with your and Alvey's plan with Ryan."

"I don't have a plan for Ryan," she snapped.

"Lisa... Are you managing me...?"

"Oh, god," she groaned. Not again.

"…or are you managing Alvey's business?"

"You," she answered condescendingly. "But it's complicated, and don't act like you can't understand that."

"I appreciate the complications. I do. But I want this fight. However you have to work that out with Alvey, that's what I want." He pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "Yes, ma'am! I want this fight!"

"Dolphin?" The whisper came through the silence in the dark staff room.

Zoey sat up, squinting into the light from the hallway. There was a silhouette in the doorway, and it only took Zoey a moment to place it as Sophie. She motioned the girl forward.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Zoey nodded and pointed to a spot on the wall where the light was. She took a moment to quickly run her fingers through her hair while she was still in the dark. She was sure that even with it up in a ponytail, it was still a mess.

Sophie fumbled for a moment, her fingers sweeping blindly across the wall until she found the switch. Bright, fluorescent light flooded the room.

The younger girl came nervously toward the older one. She was clad in pajamas with her hair down; Zoey hadn't realized how long it was. It easily reached the bottom of her ribs.

"I had this dream, and I – it made me realize that I'm ready to talk about why I ran away," Sophie mumbled, kneeling down on the edge of Zoey's sleeping mat. "I didn't know who else to talk to."

Zoey nodded, prompting her to go on.

"So, um. I'm in seventh grade at home. I have a little brother, and my mom is really nice. But my dad… he's always been in and out of our lives, and he moved back in with me and my mom and Tyler a couple of months ago. And then he started coming in my room really late at night and like." Sophie swallowed hard. "Touching me?"

Zoey was overwhelmed – she was filled with anger and sadness, but also with comfort. There was a level of empathy flowing through her that she'd never felt before. She reached out and clasped one of Sophie's hands. She pointed at herself and then held up two fingers. Me too.

"Your dad?"

Zoey shook her head and then began tracing letters into Sophie's palm. D. D.

Sophie looked up at Zoey with wide eyes, and it was like a connection formed between the two girls. There was an instant link between them. It wasn't like what Zoey had with Nate; that was almost spiritual. This was different, something Zoey had never been lucky enough to find. This was someone who shared her darkest experience, who knew what she'd gone through without her having to even say a word.

"I knew I could trust you," Sophie whispered.

Zoey nodded. You too.

"Is it okay if I talk about it a little more?"

Zoey nodded again and motioned for Sophie to pull the other mat over and lie down next to her.

Maybe it made her a terrible person, but the longer she listened to Sophie's stories (the first time she caught her father looking at her strangely, the way he always seemed to come up to her when she was by herself, the first time he came into her room, the time she tried to talk to her mom about it and her mom refused to believe her…), the more the tight feeling in her chest seemed to loosen. She felt like the stress she'd been carrying for nearly a year had started to dissipate. This was good. Listening to Sophie was good.

Zoey didn't know it, but this talk was the true beginning of her healing.

A half hour or so into Sophie's account, both girls had begun to drift off to sleep. Zoey could feel the familiar rhythm of punches hitting Nate's skin, and tonight it relaxed her. Or perhaps she was already so relaxed that she didn't mind the feeling.

Sleep came to Sophie first, and Zoey was faintly aware of her slow breaths in the otherwise silent room. For the first time since she'd left home, Zoey felt completely calm. She was content. Fuck everything else – Zoey never wanted to stop feeling like this. But then –

Zoey bolted up with a sharp gasp. Her mouth was wide open in shock as she bolted up off her mat and toward the door.

"Dolphin?" Sophie asked urgently. "Dolphin, what's wrong?"

But Zoey was already flinging the door open. She flew down the hallway, clutching tightly to her jaw. Ellen, Ellen! Ellen! Her mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. Zoey stopped short in front of Ellen and Jo's door and banged on it hard.

Sophie caught up to Zoey before Ellen could get to the door. "What the hell is going on?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

Zoey frantically shook her head no. She turned back to the door and started banging again.

"Dolphin, stop!" Sophie cried, pulling her hand back. "It's okay!"

Ellen opened the door. "What in the Sam Hill…?!" But when she saw Zoey's face, her eyebrows rose. "Dolphin?"

Zoey desperately held up her hand like a phone.

"You need to call somebody? Baby, it's the middle of the night. Do you want some water?"

Zoey violently shook her head. She repeated the motion.

"Dolphin, calm down. Here, calm down, honey."

Ellen moved forward to hug her, but Zoey took an angry step back. It was all she could do not to bare her teeth. Zoey had never asked for a single thing from Ellen, and now she needed one thing, a simple phone call, and the answer was no?

"I was talking to her and we fell asleep and she just woke up and freaked out," Sophie explained. "She was totally fine before, I swear. I don't know what happened, but something's really wrong now."

"I see," Ellen said, not taking her eyes off of Zoey.

Jo was now peeking around the corner. "Mom, just let her use the damn phone. Look at her."

Zoey nodded pleadingly.

"Okay, come on," Ellen conceded. She led the group to the front office and Zoey flew up to the desk.

"Don't forget to dial nine," Jo advised.

Zoey hit nine and then put Jay's cell phone number in as quickly as she could with her trembling fingers. It rang and rang. She hung up and dialed again.

Pick up, pick up… Jay, come on!

"Hey, you've reached Jay Kulina. You know what to do." Beep.

On the third call, Zoey's hands were shaking and tears were filing her eyes. She couldn't feel Nate anymore. He'd been there, fighting like normal, and then all of a sudden, it was like a blackout had occurred and he was just gone. Gone! An entire part of her felt like it was missing, and now Jay wasn't answering the phone, and –

"Hello?"

At the sound of her brother's voice, she couldn't help it anymore; she promptly dissolved into tears.

"Hello?" he asked again.

Zoey tapped frantically on the receiver. Don't hang up, please don't hang up, she willed.

"Zee?" Jay asked quietly. She could barely hear him – he was somewhere loud. "Oh my god, Zee, is that you? Did you feel that? Hold on. Zoey? Don't hang up. Please don't hang up." There was the sound of a door slamming, and then the background noise was majorly reduced. "Zee? You there?"

Zoey tapped twice. It's me.

"He's okay."

Zoey collapsed into the desk chair. The only sound coming out of her was breath even though she was weeping freely. Oh god, that had scared her so badly. She sincerely thought Nate was dead.

Ellen shooed Jo and Sophie out of the room.

"I hear you," Jay reassured her. "I fucking know it's you. Oh, god, it's you. I fucking love you."

Zoey tapped four times on the receiver. I love you, too.

"He was fighting and he fucking got knocked out. That's what you felt. He just got knocked out, but he's okay. Well, I mean, he probably has a goddamn concussion, but he's awake now. He's okay. Zee, it's okay."

He was gone, she wanted to tell Jay. He was there and he was fine, and then I couldn't feel him anymore. I was so scared.

She need him to hug her, but that was impossible when she was a five hour trip away, so instead, she pressed the phone so hard to her ear that it hurt. She just wanted to listen to Jay's voice. Oh, she ached inside. She wanted to be with her brothers right that second.

"Breathe," Jay coached softly. "You're okay, he's okay. Everybody's just fine, alright? I got you. You're fine. I'm right here."

I wanna go home, she mouthed. The words weren't for anyone in particular, but it felt good to finally say them.

Ellen, who was hearing Jay's voice but not any of the words, wrapped Zoey in a tight, motherly hug.

Zoey leaned into her.

"You want me to talk to him?" Ellen inquired.

Zoey shook her head.

"Who is it?" Ellen nudged a pen and pad toward her.

Big brother, she jotted.

"Zee, you can't talk?" Jay chuckled sadly. She could practically feel him scrubbing at his face with his hand. "Wanna do like we used to? Once for yes and twice for no."

He wasn't referencing her last bout of mutism but to a "game" they used to play to communicate when Dad was in a rage. Jay didn't trust Zoey to keep herself from crying after they'd gotten screamed at or they'd watched Jay get hit, so he'd lock Nate and Zee away in a bedroom or a bathroom or a closet and whisper questions to them. (Are you hurt? Are you okay? Did he hit you with anything? Do you want a hug? Is it bleeding?) They'd blink their answers at him. It kept them all more focused than nodding would have, and it forced them to remember not to speak.

Then he asked again, "You can't talk?"

She tapped.

"Wait, you can?"

She smiled in spite of tears and tapped twice.

He laughed. "Okay. That's what I figured. Um. Are you somewhere safe?"

One tap.

"Good, good." He sighed. "We miss you, kiddo."

She tapped three times before she could stop herself. Miss you too.

"I know." There was some noise on his end of the phone and then he said regretfully, "Hey, fuck, I gotta go. The doctors have a bunch of questions about Nate."

Zoey could feel herself bursting into tears all over again. She covered her eyes with her free hand.

He must have been able to hear her breathy crying, because he apologized immediately. "I know, baby girl, I'm so sorry." He sounded just as upset as she was. "Can I keep you on the line? The number was blocked so I can't call back."

Two sad, quiet taps.

"Okay," Jay whispered. "I love you so much, Zo. Stay safe."

She put the receiver back down. It clicked softly as the call ended. Zoey pulled her knees to her chest in the chair and let Ellen hold her as she sobbed.

Even though it had been a good four minutes since he'd woken up, Nate still felt like he was in a haze. His dad was hovering closely (too closely), and Jay had disappeared on his cell phone. Thank god for small mercies; Nate couldn't handle two overprotective Kulinas right now.

He was aware of a distant state of panic, but more, he was aware of pain. His head ached, his entire body ached. Every punch he'd taken felt amplified, and that last hit, which he currently couldn't remember, must have been brutal.

Nate slowly undid his prewrap as his father thanked and dismissed the EMT that had helped them. He tried and failed to relax in the hard plastic chair.

"You got a concussion," Alvey said softly. He walked over to Nate and leaned down to be at eye level. "We're gonna watch it."

"Should've finished him," Nate mumbled regretfully.

"You got caught. It happens." A beat of silence passed as Alvey waited for Nate to protest again, but he didn't. "Let's get out of here. You can come back to my house."

"I think I'd rather go back to mine if that's cool."

Alvey nodded. He wasn't surprised. "Yeah. Okay. I'll have Jay keep an eye on you." At least Alvey knew he could trust Jay to keep close watch over Nate when he was hurt.

Nate stood slowly, done with the conversation. He was a little dizzy, but he knew it was only going to get worse.

"Come here," Alvey said. "Let me see this." He caught Nate around the neck, all gentle hands.

Nate tipped his head sideways so Alvey could get a good look.

"Aw, yeah," Alvey sighed. "That's a beauty, huh?"

Nate scoffed quietly.

"I know it feels like shit, son. I do. But it's just one loss. We learn from it, and we move on. That's it. Right?"

"Yep," Nate replied flatly.

"Look at me."

Nate looked.

"I'm proud of you. Always."

Nate bit down hard on his lip, and he hoped to god that Alvey didn't see. The words were so soft and sincere, and that coupled with the distant grief he felt… It was almost too much. He swallowed hard, keeping the feelings under wraps for the moment.

Alvey was gentle as he pulled him into a hug. This is what Nate needed years ago – not now. It was too late. But he let his father embrace him, because he knew Alvey needed it now. Nate could give him that much.

"It's okay," Alvey said softly. "I love you."

At the words, Nate let his hands rest on Alvey's back. He took a slow breath and shut his eyes. "You, too."

Jay walked up to Laura, shaking his head.

"Sorry," she said, her mouth pulled down to one side. "He was doing so good, and the other guy just got one lucky shot-"

"I know," Jay mumbled. "Sometimes that's all it takes."

"Is he alright?"

"He will be, yeah."

"How do you even handle that? I mean, what are you supposed to say?"

"You say I love you, and you move on. There's nothing else to do. He's just got to get past it." Jay hesitated for a beat and then decided to spill. "My, uh. My little sister just called."

"You have a sister?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, Zoey. She's," Jay began, scratching the back of his neck. The next part came out as more of a nervous question than an actual statement. "She's missing?"

"What?" Laura's eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah. She's just a kid. She ran away last July, and we hadn't heard from her at all. But then Nate's birthday was a couple weeks ago, and they're best friends, so she sent him an email. We couldn't trace it or fucking anything, but it's still something. And then she just fucking called my cell phone."

"Well, what'd she say? Is she alright?"

Jay sighed. "I don't know. She does this thing where she's, like. She can't talk. It's a trauma thing, like PTSD, so… but we were able to communicate enough that I figured out it was her and told her what was going on."

"How does that work?" Lisa asked curiously.

Jay shrugged. He'd said too much. "Uh, I don't know. She's kinda like my kid, so."

"You said that about Nate, too, right?"

Jay smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Zee's only seventeen, though. She's always been my responsibility. But yeah, uh, speaking of Nate – I gotta take him home, though, so."

"Yeah, I'll call an Uber," Laura nodded understandingly.

"I'm sorry about all this." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "I appreciate you. Um, let me walk you out."

Laura led the way.

When Ellen and Zoey went back into Jo and Ellen's room, they found Jo and Sophie sitting on one of the cots. They were silent. Sophie was kicking her feet back and forth but stopped as soon as she saw Zoey's tearstained face.

"Back to bed, honey," Ellen said to Sophie gently. "Thanks for helping Dolphin out."

"She helped me, too," Sophie said. She stood up and gave Zoey a hug. "Love you, Dolphin," she mumbled for only Zoey to hear.

Zoey squeezed Sophie's wrist in response before the younger girl headed back to the girls' room. Well, the girls' and Jamie's room.

"You okay to go back, or do you wanna sleep in here?" Ellen asked.

Zoey pointed out the door in the direction of the staff room.

"Sure? You're welcome to stay with us."

Zoey shook her head and gave a small smile of thanks.

"Alright. Goodnight."

"Night!" Jo added.

Zoey waved and then retreated back the way she came. When she got back to the room where she slept, tugged her blanket tightly around her body. She said a quick, silent prayer for Nate and let herself fall back to sleep.