I've been in the bathroom five minutes now, continuously puking my guts out.

It's not fun.

Waves of nausea pour through me. I rest my head against the bathtub, praying for the dizziness to stop. I swallow hard, hoping to bite back the bile that threatens to peak at any moment.

A knock at the door disturbs me. "Hello? Amy, you doing okay?"

What do you think? Is what I really want to say, but I hold back.

"Maybe," I croak.

"Amy, I'm coming in." I hear the door click open. I weakly lift my head towards her, trying to look at her. A quick wave of nausea stops me. I groan.

"Oooh," Allison kneels by my side, "you don't look too good."

I borrow one of Allison's infamous eye rolls. "Thanks, Allison."

She sighs. "Here, Amy, let me help you up...or at least sit-up."

"Okay," I whisper. It takes a slow, careful minute before I sit up. Allison held onto my shoulders the whole time. I'm very thankful to her at this moment; I have no doubt that it doesn't smell good in here, and that I don't look the greatest.

Which she clearly claimed.

I slump against the bathtub, closing my eyes. After a few deep breaths, the nausea is slowly starts to fade.

"How you doing?" Allison asks.

"Better." I take a deep breath, taking my words slow. "At least I can speak without feeling like I'm going to cough up a lung."

Allison scrunches her face. "That's...a wonderful picture, Ames. Thanks for that."

I release a small chuckle. "No problem."

"I've been meaning to ask," Allison starts. "Where is your phone?"

I close my eyes, angry at myself."I'm so stupid, Allison!"

"What do you mean?"

"I left it at Jack's."

Allison and I stare at each other for a while before she replies. "Oh, crap!"

"Yep."

"That means you have to go back!"

I shake my head. "Uh-uh! We-" I point a finger at her and me, "-we are going back!"

"I don't want to see that asshole! I'll kick his ass!" Allison screeches.

"Shh!" I snap. "Don't want the others to hear."

Allison waves it off. "Don't worry. They're in the other room. And I promise not to mention a thing."

I pat Allison's hand. "Thanks. Oh! How's Lola?"

Allison's eyes brighten. "She's good! I don't know what you did to gain her trust so much, Amy, but I can tell she likes you."

The sentence warms my heart. "That's awesome."

Allison agrees. "It is. Honestly, I thought she wouldn't give you a second glance and just walk the other way."

"She very nearly did."

"What made her stop?"

"I think she was frozen with fear..." I smirk.

"Oh!" Allison smiles. "That's so cute. I mean, that's sad, but also cute."

A new thought enters my head, one that has been on my mind the whole time my head was in the toilet. "So, what's Erik's problem?"

The smile slowly vanishes from Allison's face. "Listen, Amy," Allison sits down on the wall across from the toilet. "You have to understand that these people have been treated horribly by people like us; some worse than others."

"By 'us' you mean..."

"I mean people who don't have their "condition"." Allison places air quotes around the word "condition" and gives a big eye roll.

I wince at the word. There is no way to put it lightly, though there are ways to make it sound more gentle. "What happened to him to make him act this way?"

Allison sucks in a deep breath, then releases it. "I think...I don't have the right to tell you."

I almost object to her answer. My mind is dying to know what happened, but at the same time, I know why she won't tell me. That's his business, and if he wants to tell someone he can. I shouldn't be so selfish. "I understand."

"Beside, I don't even know what happened."

That catches my attention. "What? You don't know? How come!?"

"He hasn't told me," she shrugs. "He's very emotionally blocked-very guarded. He's been more open to me now than he ever has been in the past two years. It took him that long to start trusting me, and even then he doesn't trust me all the way."

"Wow..."

A pause.

"He's very protective of the others, isn't he?" I ask.

"Very." Allison conquers.

"This all has to do with trust?" I knew it.

"Trust and horrible bullying." Allison shakes her head. "I've heard some stories from the others, they're all terrible! Absolutely disgusting and horrifying! I've never been so ashamed of humanity..."

I let my brain process those words. It sounds so serious. I wonder what happened to them. Actually, if I'm more honest, I mostly wonder what happened to Erik. He's so distrusting...so mysterious...magnetic...musical...

My heart starts to pound.

I shake those thoughts away, focusing on the thoughts that actually matter.

It's so sad that he's like this. It must be hard not to trust people, to be on your own because you can trust no one but yourself. What a lonely life...

That's when I come to a decision: I will help them all! I will help them trust again! I will be their friend.

I will be Erik's friend.

I'll do my best to be the person they all need me to be.

I know that in some ways this will be a long, hard process, but with Lola and Allison's help...it might not be so bad.

And maybe it will help me in the process...help me gain support and new friends.

A journey to a new life and experiences.

"Allison." I let her name fill the air for a moment. "I think I'd like to join your church group." I look her dead in the eyes. "And I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."