Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I've already established multiple times that I don't own any of it. :(

A/N: I'm so surprised at the number of reviews that this story has gotten! Thank you all so very much :) Special thanks to: MauMauKa, NA, and magikedforyou for the advice on rape victims. I shall try and incorporate all of it into the story! Alright. Thanks again to all of the readers/subscribers/reviewers! As always, if you had comments/complaints/suggestions/ideas, hit the blue letters at the bottom of the page!

The next morning was uneventful. I woke up with a sharp pain between my legs, and I stumbled to the bathroom to take more Advil. I borrowed some more of Emily's clothes, grateful that I had lost so much weight; this time it was Elie Saab wide-leg white pants, and an Alexander McQueen blouse with Chanel heels. I applied her thick foundation over all of the bruises on my face and arms. Taking a good look in the mirror at my almost-perfect reflection, I was startled when I saw my eyes. They had lost its sparkle and looked almost dead, but there was nothing I could do about them. My appetite hadn't gotten any bigger, so I skipped breakfast and waited for Serena and Emily to finish getting ready. When they were prepared, we drove to work in silence. Emily offered to get the searing hot coffee from Starbucks, and I nodded my head in thanks, not saying a word. I sat down in my chair and felt extremely guilty. I had taken her residence, her clothes, and her makeup. Not to mention adding a ton of extra stress on both her and Serena.

I leaned forward in my chair and tilted my head to the side before resting it on the desk and closing my eyes. I was an awful person. I didn't deserve her kindness. I was making her and Serena both suffer from what I had gone through. I should never had told them. The problem was, where would I go if I left their house? I didn't have enough money to buy my own apartment, and I didn't want to become homeless. A slight gentle cough interrupted my inner turmoil. I blearily looked up and was immediately trapped by two cobalt eyes in a steady gaze. Miranda. Shit. I scrambled up and rushed to her side.

"I'm so sorry Miranda," I blabbered. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Nonsense Andréa," she responded and the sexy way of her pronouncing my name made shivers run down my back.

Her gaze looked me over a couple of times before giving a slight incline of her head. Usually, that would have made my whole entire day, but I was different now. No matter how many times she gave me a nod, I would still feel ugly. I took her coat silently, not even daring to do the usual subtle brush of my fingertips along her neck. I didn't even deserve to be in her presence. Taking her bag in my other hand, I put both of them in the closet and returned to my desk, noting that Miranda had gone into her office. I was so stupid for falling in love with her. I'm no where in her league. She's gorgeous and powerful, and I'm...me. An abused and raped victim. Tainted forever. I sighed. I didn't even deserve her friendship.

"Andréa?" her whispery voice floated out of the door.

I got up and went into her office, keeping my eyes firmly focused on the floor.

"Yes Miranda?"

"Where is my coffee?" she didn't sound angry though. She sounded troubled.

"Emily is getting it," I responded hollowly, still keeping my stare locked on the ground.

"Andréa-"

But she was cut off by a breathless Emily running in with her coffee.

"So sorry Miranda!" Emily panted.

I heard Miranda take a sip of it before spitting, "Is it too hard for an assistant of nearly seven years to get my coffee right? This coffee is not adequate. Get me a new one."

"I'll get it," I jumped in, wanting the chance to leave her presence before I did something irrational like bursting out into tears and running in her arms.

I spun on my heel and strode out of the room, hearing Miranda fire out orders to Emily. Making my way to Starbucks, I went into the coffee house and strode back out again in less than 2 minutes. Sometimes it was good to have connections. I smirked. Rushing back to Runway, I made it back in about 7 minutes and went to Miranda's office. She was facing away from me, so I set the coffee gently on her desk and turned, fully intent on bolting from the room until I heard her chair spin around.

"Andréa. Close the door," she commanded. I shut my eyes before doing as she ordered. I shuffled back to her, training my eyes on her desk.

"Yes Miranda?"

"Look at me."

I tore my eyes away from her translucent desk and swallowed as I looked at her fully for the first time today. I let my eyes quickly roam over her body. She was wearing a grey Michael Kors dress with a black belt and looked breathtaking-as usual. She stood up and made her way over to me. I instinctively flinched before I remembered that it was Miranda and not Nate. I tried to calm my racing heart and wiped my suddenly disgustingly sweaty hands on my pants. I looked away again, rapidly blinking away forming tears. It would not do to fall apart in my secret love's office. Then, as if I were dreaming, she reached out a perfectly manicured finger and tilted my chin up so I was looking again in her crystal-blue eyes. I could not help the tiny gasp that escaped me when I studied them. They had a hint of something in them. Was that sadness?

"Andréa," she spoke softly, "we are friends. Is there something bothering you?"

I wanted to scream at her 'Yes! I am hopeless in love with you, but you will never see me as anything more than a friend. And if I tell you, you will be so disgusted with me. And I simply could not bear having you look at me with contempt.'

But I refrained from saying that and answered, "No Miranda. I'm just a little...tired."

"Your eyes look so...haunted," Miranda shivered. I was appalled. Miranda never shivered. Needing to soothe her, I resumed the position we were in yesterday. I grasped her finger that was still firmly resting under my chin, and pulled it up so that her hand was laying on my cheek, and held it there. She caught her breath, but didn't push me away, so I closed my eyes and cradled my head into her hand. It was almost like I needed her calming presence. Ineeded a soft caress. Consequences be damned. Soon, I felt her other hand gently stroking my hair and I snapped my eyes open. There were tears in her eyes and I internally cursed myself. God. I seemed to be hurting everybody. I tried to back out of her hold, but she tightened her grip and resumed gently running her fingers through my hair. I succumbed to the sweetness that Miranda was emitting and sighed contently, ignoring the voice in my head that said that I didn't deserve that gorgeous creature touching me. After what seemed like an eternity of Miranda's soothing caress, I gently pulled away, mourning the loss of contact, and cleared my throat.

"So, uh, is there anything I can do for you Miranda?"

Miranda gave me one last lingering gaze before she seemed to reluctantly drop the subject and turned back to her desk.

"Yes. I need you to make plans for Fashion Week in a month. We are going to Milan," she said, sitting down in her chair.

"Who's we?" I inquired, secretly excited. I needed to get away from New York. And him.

"Emily, Nigel, you, and me."

"Alright."

"And Andréa?" Miranda fixed me with another one of her piercing gazes.

"Yes Miranda?"

"If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm here if you want to talk."

I was shocked and didn't know what to say after that, so I simply nodded and turned away. Opening the door, I walked through it and sat down at my desk. Emily was looking at me with a look of concern on her face, so I inclined my head towards her to reassure her; I couldn't bring myself to smile at anybody. I focused my attention on the glare of the computer screen, and began finding adequate restaurants where we could dine and hotels where we could stay during our trip to Milan.

A/N: I don't actually know how long Emily has been working at Runway, so I just guessed. I hope I portrayed Andy as a real abuse victim. I wanted the setting to change, so I sent them to Milan! I'm excited! :) (Paris is so overrated, and almost everybody sends them to Paris in their stories! :P) Thanks so much again for all of the advice and reviews!