I'm supposed to be studying for exams... blahh. Who really needs to know about capitalism and condottieri and charles VII anyway? ;)

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The last thing Massie saw before she blacked out was the fiery, perfectly glossed red curls of Dylan Marvil. Everything after that was fuzzy and inky black.

She vaguely noticed Chris catch her before she hit the ground and scoop her up protectively in his arms. "Mass? Are you okay? Everything's okay, I got you."

His comforting, concerned words sounded distant and far-off. The next thing she heard was a faux-sweet voice with a subtly menacing undertone. "I'll come back at a better time. Don't worry, I'll be around for who knows how long."

That made her go woozy all over again. She settled for burying her head in Chris's shoulder and keeping her eyes closed as tight as she could. This couldn't be happening. It was all some horrible nightmare. When she woke up, none of this would be real.

The thumping bass line faded out as Massie felt herself being carried up the stairs and set down gently on a bed. In just a second, she would wake up and everything would be blissfully happy again.

But she never had been a lucky one.

"Massie, can you hear me? Are you okay? Squeeze my hand if you're okay." The springs on her bed shifted and she could feel Chris's weight right up next to her. She feebly attempted to grab his hand.

He sighed in relief. "You're worrying me. Do you want me to call 911 or something? Get Derrick, maybe?"

That did it. Her eyes flew open and she sat up as quickly as she could, only to be met with sickening dizzyness. She flopped back against the plush stack of pillows and shook her head. "Why is this happening?" She whimpered. "I thought it was all over, but she won't let me move on."

"Massie, who was that?" Chris demanded, the calm draining out of his voice. "What did she do to you? The second you saw her you went all gray and collapsed. I know you don't like talking about Cali, but I need to know what's going on. The whole truth."

Massie bit her lip so hard she could taste the bittery copper blood seeping across her tongue. "Dylan... she- she's here for me. She knows what happened. I can't tell you. She's going to get me."

"It's ok. I'm here, Mass. I won't let anything hurt you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He closed the half-foot gap between them and wrapped his arms around her, as if to shield her from anything that would try to hurt her. A nagging voice in the back of her head pointed out how this much physical contact with Derrick put her on guard, but with Chris, it felt as natural as breathing.

At that moment, the bedroom door was flung open and it hit the wall with a bang. Alicia stood outside, panting and limping in her high heeled cowboy boots. "Oh my God, Massie! I saw Chris carrying you upstairs and I freaked out! I ran all the way up here and I think I twisted my ankle."

Massie tried to smile and failed miserably. "You actually ran up here?"

Alicia frowned. "Of course. I was worried about you. What the hell is going on? Are you okay? I saw Derrick storm out of here like a half hour ago."

Chris shot her a warning look and mouthed something that Massie couldn't make out. Alicia's mouth snapped open, and she glowered out the window. "He's a jackass."

Turning her attention back to Massie, she said, "What's going on? For real, Mass."

"She's here. She's going to ruin me," Massie said softly.

"Who's here? What's happening? Massie!" Alicia whined petulantly.

"You would hate me if I told you everything," She whispered, her voice muffled by Chris's shirt.

"Try me," He said, not a hint of doubt in his voice. "I always knew something was up with you. The way you always touched that scar on your neck when you got nervous, how you always got cagey when it came to talking about why you moved back here... I knew something was off, but I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Given," Alicia added. "I could tell you were always hiding something, but you're the best friend anyone could ever ask for. You're always here for me. You're like a sister to me, M. You brought us all together. I'm not going to let you fall apart."

Then the tears came. They cared. Someone wasn't going to judge her on what had happened. Someone was going to be there for her. Actually, two someones.

She took a quivery breath and started. "I was one of the party girls in California. Reckless, crazy, out of control. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, so I just kept flying through life to keep myself busy. And it was like that for almost two years, until... until..." She trailed off, and the salty tears came harder.

"Until what?" Chris prodded, tightening his grip on her.

"July twenty-third. There... there was a party. At this old, abandoned barn out in the middle of nowhere. It was completely insane. All these crates of beer were stacked up all over the place, everyone was drunk and out of control, and all the guys were hooking up with whatever girl looked their way. Dylan wanted to go, and she brought me with her. She was my best friend, I guess you could say. If you count someone to carpool to parties and get hungover every other night with a best friend," Massie said bitterly, her voice tinged with regret.

She paused to steady herself for the next part of the story. The part that had driven her 3,000 miles away. She ignored the faint music that drifted up from the oblivious party, and focused her steely gaze on the window.

"Dempsey Soloman was kind of like Derrick. Blonde, popular, overconfident, always wants to go further. But Dempsey... he was single-minded. Once he decided he wanted a girl, he got her. Not to mention his alcohol intake... off the charts. Anyway, the word at this party was that he wanted me." Massie broke off to examine their faces. Alicia looked half-murderous, half-sympathetic. Chris kept a cool mask of calm.

"They were right. After an hour, he came to find me. Of course, he was already wasted. I was sitting on a hay bale by a wooden post, texting, under the loft. I was just waiting for Dylan to be done so I could drive her home. He tried to hit on me, I said no, and he got mad. He set all his stuff -a lighter, his phone, a jacket- down on another bale and pushed me against the wall to kiss me."

By this point, they both looked enraged. She forced herself to keep going. They needed to know this.

"He was too strong. I couldn't get him off. But I didn't want to be his next conquest. I... I... I grabbed a bottle of beer that he had put down next to me and dumped it over his head. He only stopped for a second, but it was enough. I ran. I hit all his stuff off the bale when I passed it, and it... it knocked the lighter into a pile of dry hay and it caught on fire. And since he was covered in alcohol..." Massie collapsed in shuddering sobs. "I didn"t mean for it to happen. I was mad, and I thought he would get that I wasn't into him when I dumped beer on him and knocked his stuff off. I never even thought about the lighter and the dry hay and the alcohol... I didn't think."

"He died. The barn was burning, the wood beams were falling, people were screaming. There was smoke everywhere. I didn't know where I was going. I ran, and a nail caught my neck on the way out." She automatically placed her icy hand on the silvery-pink scar.

"I ran straight to the nearest hotel, checked in, and when the drama died down, I caught the next flight to New York. You know the rest."

Alicia pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "It's not your fault. He was technically molesting you, and you had to stop him. You can't keep letting this destroy your life."

"She's right. I mean, it's awful that he died and about the fire and stuff, but he was going to hurt you." Chris was obviously fighting to keep his face void of emotion.

"What does this have to do with what's going on with Dylan?" Alicia asked.

"She knows. She knows what happened that night... and she doesn't want me to leave and start over. She wants me back on the party circuit. Knowing her, she's just trying to wreck my life now." Massie's eyes widened with fear. "I don't know how far she would go. She might tell people about all that, but there's no actual... evidence."

"You're not a murderer," Chris and Alicia said simultaneously.

"Don't worry about it. We're here, and we're not letting her get to you," Chris said firmly.

"Yeah. I'll stay here with you until this psycho bitch goes away," Alicia promised.

"Thanks," Massie said simply. "You guys are amazing. I love you both so much. I don't know what I would do without you."

Massie's phone vibrated from her back pocket, and she hesitantly pulled it out, expecting the worst, and then getting it.

DYLAN: I'm so happy I can come visit you! Too bad Dempsey can't anymore. :(

"Massie, look at me," Chris ordered. "We'll make this stop. We're going to get through this."

"Whatever it takes," Alicia said with a hint of a devious grin.

"Thanks," Massie repeated. "The only thing I'm worried about is just how far she will go to get her way."


Was that dramatic enough? ;)

Well... in the next chapter... Dylan and Massie talk. Dun, dun, dun.

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