The next morning Ty had woken up early to make breakfast. He had invited Amy over, hoping that she could help ease the tension between him and Jamie. He was in the middle of flipping pancakes when he heard the door of a car being shut. He turned off the stove and walked outside. "Hey Amy," said Ty. "Hey," replied Amy as she walked up to Ty. Ty pulled Amy into a hug. "So I'm assuming things didn't go so well last night." "It was so awkward Amy," responded Ty as he let go of her. "Where is Jamie?" asked Amy. "I think he went for a run." "So what happened? Why do you think it was so tense?" asked Amy. "I wish I knew." They both turned when they heard the sound of heavy breathing coming closer. "Hey Jamie," said Ty with a smile. Jamie looked at Amy as he caught his breath. "You must be Lou." Ty and Amy both looked puzzled. "No…I'm Amy." "Why would you think she's Lou?" asked Ty. "Isn't Lou your girlfriend? The one who made dinner for us." "Oh. No I guess I should've explained. Lou is Amy's sister." "Nice to meet you Jamie," said Amy with a smile. Jamie nodded. "I'm gonna go grab some breakfast."

Ty and Amy watched as he walked into the trailer. "Well that wasn't awkward," said Amy. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on with him." "It's okay. But I think you should talk to him. Figure it out." "Yeah you're right. I just don't know what to say," said Ty. "Well from what you've told me. It sounds like you two used to be pretty close. So if you were friends once, you can be friends again. Right?" Ty nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna go to talk to him. Are you coming?" asked Ty. "I think you should do this alone," said Amy. "Yeah. I'll call you later then," said Ty as he leaned in for a kiss. "Okay. See ya," responded Amy after they parted.

Ty peered through the glass window separating him and Jamie. He watched as Jamie picked up the phone. Ty hesitated before picking up the receiver on his end. "Ty," said Jamie with fear in his voice. "Hey buddy," replied Ty. "How are you?" asked Jamie. "I'm okay." Ty noticed that Jamie had a bruise on his forehead. "Jamie what happened to your head?" asked Ty. "Oh I was playing baseball at school and the ball accidently hit my head." "Oh. Okay. Make sure you ice that." Jamie nodded. "Ty why did you do it?" asked Jamie. Ty sighed as he pondered how to respond. "He was a bad man. And he deserved it. I don't regret what I did Jamie. But that doesn't mean what I did was a good thing. I mean look where it got me." Jamie nodded. "Ty I'm scared." "Of what?" "That I'm never going to see you again. You're my only friend Ty. The only person who cares." Ty didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to break his little cousin's heart. "You'll see me again buddy. When I get out the first person I'm gonna see is you. I'm not going anywhere," said Ty. "Promise," said Jamie. Ty nodded. "Listen Jamie I'm gonna be in here for a while, so I don't want you to come too often. Okay? These places can get pretty tough for a kid," said Ty. "Okay. Can I call you?" "Um. I don't know. I'll ask." "Okay." "Okay. I gotta go." "Okay. See you later," said Jamie with a smile. "Goodbye Jamie," replied Ty not knowing when he would see him again.

"Why were you so rude?" asked Ty angrily as he shut the door to the trailer. "I wasn't. I was just hungry." "Are you kidding me? It takes two seconds to say 'Nice to meet you too' or even a simple 'Hello'," said Ty. "She's your girlfriend. Right?" "Yeah. So. What does that have to do with anything?" "So I don't need to get to know her. You'll leave her and get another one. Isn't that what you do best?" Ty was taken aback. "Look James. Amy isn't just any girlfriend. Okay? I love her very much." "Whatever. I don't really care," said Jamie. "Why are you so upset with me?" asked Ty. "Look the only reason I'm here is because my stupid mom can't afford housing on campus. I'm not here to be friends with you and I'm especially not here to be friends with your girlfriend. So why don't you just stay out of my way," said Jamie. Ty was shocked. "What happened Jamie?" Jamie sighed. "My mom happened. This family happened. You happened. The day I get away from it will be the best day of my life," said Jamie as he walked outside and slammed the door.