"Penny for your thoughts, Princess?" I asked her. Before answering, she looked at me a moment. "I would really enjoy it if everyone would shut the fuck up for one god damn minute." She said it quietly but with authority. She hardly ever cursed and when she did, you knew she was upset. Everyone around us became quiet and still. She stood up and came to stand behind Double Dee and me. Leveling her eyes at the room, she commanded, "Sit down. Be quiet. Don't talk. I have a few things to say and I'm pretty sure none of you are going to enjoy it. Especially you, Sy." She looked at her girlfriend in the eye after saying this and Sy had the decency to look sheepish. When no one moved, she raised her voice. "I said sit down!" They all scrambled to do what she said. Double Dee shrank into my side. This didn't go unnoticed by Princess. Reaching down, she laid her hand on his shoulder. Causing him to look at her.

"Double Dee. I am so sorry this is happening the way it is. Your situation shouldn't be taken lightly. It's clear to everyone that you're depressed and wanting help. And it seems that everyone has forgotten that. Except Kevin." She said, looking at me and smiling her all-knowing smile. Standing up straight, she looked around the room. Meeting everyone's eyes, she didn't speak for a minute. When she did, this is what she said,

"Double Dee is depressed. Severely depressed. But have any of you noticed this? Probably not. He puts on a fake smile and reassures everyone that he's happy to be back with us. But deep down, all he wants to do is hide underneath a rock. He doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him, so he puts up a front. A front that ya'll have clearly accepted and proceed to ignore that this kid is asking us for help. Is it any wonder why he came to Kevin and not the rest of us? It's because Kevin has been there for him. He was there when he came home, by himself, at two in the morning. He was there when he finally came back to school and tried his best to acclimate, which, thankfully, he did. And he was there when his parents disowned him, officially. He's waited patiently for him to come down from his room and join us for damn near a month. And the moment he gives us the full story, ya'll, especially you Sy, jump on Queenie. Queenie, who may or may not have been put up to it. Queenie, who was basically saved his life that night four months ago. Or have you forgotten that? The people we should be blaming, are his parents. His parents who have abandoned him and left him to his own devices for years. The kid just wants a family. A family. Isn't that what we are to him?" She finished her speech and looked down at Double Dee. Her eyes were shining with tears. Dee detached himself from my side and walked behind the couch to her. Wrapping her in a hug, he let his own tears flow. You could not only see it in his shoulders, but you could hear his sniffles. All Princess did was hold onto him and silently let her tears fall. It was clear that she loved him like the brother she never had.

I looked around the room and everyone had tears on their cheeks. Except Rave. I don't think he ever cried. But Nat was leaning on his shoulder and the grip on the back of his shirt said it all, Rave was affected by her speech just like everyone else. Before Princess could say another word, after Double sat back down on the couch, there was a knock at the door. I looked at Edd and he shrugged his shoulders. Extracting myself from Double Dee, I walked to the front door. Needless to say, I wasn't all that surprised that Queenie had showed up on my doorstep. I knew she would show up sooner or later. Looking behind me, I made a motion for her to stand back. I closed the door behind me.

"Why are you here, Queenie?"
"Because I want to apologize to Double Dee for what happened."
"And?"
"And for not telling him that I came here because his parents suggested it. Or rather, his mother did. His dad barely said a word to me."
I looked her over. "Okay. But you have to tell him the whole truth. Don't leave anything out. He's already lost his family, he doesn't need anyone else to deepen his depression." She nodded.

Walking back inside, Queenie following behind, I heard Princess shouting. "And furthermore, where the hell do any of you get off on ignoring Double Dee's feelings?! Not a single damn one of you have asked him how he's felt or if he's doing okay or if he needs something. Kevin has. And I am damn ashamed of myself for not thinking of him. Double Dee is our best and closest friend. And we couldn't even be there for him. Not even when he needed someone." Princess was standing in the middle of the room, back turned to us. As we approached, everyone's eyes were on us and Sy was the first one to jump up.

"Why the actual FUCK are you here?" She said, nearly getting into Queenie's face. Queenie looked down at the floor. "Sy, she's here to apologize to Double Dee." I explained. "Oh really? Care to tell us why, or are you just going to lie to us again?" She said, sneering. Princess was on her in a second. "That is enough, Sy! You don't have any kind of right to say anything. So I suggest you sit your behind on down. And don't say another word." She said, hands on her hips, dating back Sy to object. Thankfully, she didn't. She spared all of us the fight that would have ensued.

I sighed. Leading Queenie further into the room, I approached Double Dee. "Dee?" I asked. He looked at me, apprehension and fatigue clashing with one another. "Dee," I said again, "Queenie is here to explain a few things. She's agreed not to leave anything out." In a quieter tone, I added, "She also misses you, Dee. Hear her out." He nodded and I sat back down next to him. Almost immediately he curled himself into my right side, his head resting on shoulder, hand gripping the edge of my shirt. "Okay," he said, "Please."

she took a deep breathe and let it out slowly. "About a year ago, my mother started stealing from my company. I hadn't known because the books never let on that there was something wrong. I should have noticed. By the spring, I had come out with at least three new lines. All three were for men, women, and children. One day, one of the bookkeepers came to me and said that there was a mishap in the books. I asked what he meant and he had told me that my company, my design house, was nearly on the verge of bankruptcy. How that came to be, we didn't know. At the time. So I called a meeting. Every department had come. It was mandatory. My teams had thrown out suggestions. By coming out with another spring line, this one exclusively for the rich and famous and personally design an outfit or two, I could get my company back to where it was. It was only then that I saw my mother was acting strangely. I figured out right there that my mother had been stealing from me. It wasn't enough that I had gotten her out of the worst possible part of town and brought to Hollywood Hills. It wasn't enough that I had bought her at least two vacation homes and a beach house. It wasn't enough that she had the latest fashion trends and the best new car money could buy. My mother thought she had needed more. So she stole from me. The trial lasted six months. After the countless hours in the courtroom and hearing countless amounts of testimonies, the jury found her guilty for embezzlement. After all of this, I needed to escape. I needed to recharge. Your father was treating me for migraines due to the stress. Your mother was my ob/gyn. She suggested I come here and live in the house. Told me where the key was and told me the code to the security. Your father never said a word unless it was to appease your mother." She paused, looked at Double Dee who was now sitting on the edge of the couch. Slowly, he got up and walked towards her. They both had tears in their eyes.

"Despite what has happened, I am not angry with you. I am just so glad you told me." Double Dee wrapped his arms around her waist and cried into her shoulder. She was crying into his hat. I smiled. Double Dee had already forgiven her, so there was no need to say it out loud. The hug was enough. Pulling apart, he stood in front of her, his arms still around her waist, and he smiled. She smiled back.

"There's one other thing, Dee." She said.

He looked at her, confused.

"Your dad told me to tell you that he would see you soon. Do you know what he meant?" She was just as confused as he was. I was confused. Everyone was confused. But, in the end, it didn't even really matter. What did was Double Dee forgiving Queenie. And he really needed it.

Three days later, he moved back home. And honestly….I miss him more now than I did before.