Ciara sighed, putting her bag over her shoulder. She hated to be going back to her mother's house. She loved her mother, she just hated the tension of being around that guy. She brushed her hair before opening her bedroom door. Castiel was sitting in the couch, his attention drawn away from the television set when she stepped out of her room.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked. She nodded. He led the way to the door and to the car. She climbed into the passenger's seat as he started the car. "What's wrong?" he asked as he began driving.

"Nothing," she sighed.

He chuckled. "That's obviously not 'nothing'," he said.

"I don't want to go back to mom's house," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, "I don't want to see that guy."

"Don't worry," he said, "If he ever hurts you, I don't need Maya's permission to punch him in the face."

Ciara smiled. "I'd like to see that," she said quietly.

The rest of the car ride was silent, until they pulled into her mother's driveway. She hugged Castiel tightly. "Bye, dad," she said, "I love you."

"Love you more," he said, ruffling her hair. She giggled before climbing out of the car. She closed the door and slowly walked towards the front door, skipping up the stairs. She took a deep breath and opened it. Her mother was standing near the door with Celeste and Lysander. They looked prepared to leave.

"Ciara," Maya said, reaching towards her. Just before she could touch her, Celeste pulled her into a swift, firm embrace.

"I missed you!" Celeste said.

"I missed you too," Ciara said, chuckling.

Once she managed to pry off Celeste, Maya hugged Ciara as well. "Okay, honey," she said, "Stay here with your dad. We're going out but we'll be back soon, okay? Behave."

"My dad?" Ciara said, looking around, "He went home, he's not here."

Celeste chuckled and Maya sighed. "You know who I'm talking about," she said.

"Whatever," Ciara muttered, pushing past them and approaching her bedroom. She waited until they were gone before she took out her cell phone. She called one of her contacts.

She couldn't help but smile when she heard him answer. "Hey, Nick," she said, quietly so Nathaniel wouldn't hear, "Do you want to come over? Nobody's home right now."

"Yeah, sure," he said, "I'll go now."

"Great," she said, "See you then."

"Later," he said. She hung up her phone and stuffed it in her pocket. She hurried to the living room, peeking out the window. She knew Nathaniel was asleep; that was mostly what his days off consisted of. She waited by the window until she saw Nick ride into view on his bike. He leaned it against her porch and hopped up the stairs. She glanced back before opening the front door.

"Hey," she said smiling as she took his hands. She closed the door with her foot and led him to her room. She closed the door, just in case Nathaniel awoke. When she turned, she met his gaze. What was that look in his eyes? It didn't frighten her but it made him look a bit unapproachable. She stepped closer to him. "How was your day?" she asked him.

"Fine," he answered simply. He lifted a gloved hand and touched her cheek. She blushed, avoiding his gaze. He was her first boyfriend so she wasn't sure how to react when he did things like this. He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. Her heart raced wildly in her chest; it was her first kiss. She kissed him back nervously. After a few long moments of him leading her through it, he began folding up her shirt. She pulled away.

"Nick, I don't really want to go that far," she said slowly.

From this close, she could see the red tint in his eyes. Was he on something? She felt a tug of fear on her insides as he took her hands by the wrists and pinned them against the wall behind her.

"Stop," she said, struggling to pull away. He used his free hand to pull up her shirt and she let loose a scream.

"Shut up," he said sternly, pulling a pocketknife out of his pocket. He took out the blade, aiming it towards her. "You're going to do whatever I say," he said.

She screamed again, struggling desperately when the knife began approaching her. It seemed like slow motion but at the same time it was moving so quickly. Everything became a blur. She could see the door open from her peripheral vision and she gasped. Suddenly, her hands were free. It took her a few moments to gather what had just happened. She was gazing at someone's back; no, it was Nathaniel's back. She took a step away to see what had happened. He was wincing, the knife piercing his chest as he held the blade to keep it from going any deeper.

"Oh… my…" she couldn't even manage to finish as tears poured down her cheeks as she fell into convulsions. Traumatized, she fell to her knees. She barely noticed as Nathaniel pushed Nick away and pinned him down.

"Ciara," he said, "Get your phone and dial nine-one-one."

Still trembling, she sat there, gazing at him with wide, frightened eyes. It took her a few moments to register what he'd said. She slipped her cell phone out of her pocket and called the number.

"Nine-one-one emergency, what's your emergency?" was the answer she got after a few rings.

"Uh… um," she said slowly, her mind going blank, "M-my dad… got stabbed."

"Okay, could you give me your location?" the woman said.

Ciara described where her home was as best as she could.

"Okay, honey, we'll be there soon," she said.

Ciara hung up the phone without another word. She couldn't gaze at the bloody scene in front of her any longer. She gazed at the floor in front of her, her tears dripping from her chin on to her hands in her lap. Was this some kind of nightmare? She began to feel so dizzy that the ache in her head began to weigh her down until she fell back, inundated by the whole scenario. Everything went blank.

Ciara finally came to and found herself in someone's arms. She was being held like a crying baby, her head over his shoulder and her knees hooked on to his sides. She could tell who it was just by the warmth of him, but she couldn't help but wonder why he was there.

"Dad," she murmured, "Is he going to be okay?"

"Of course," he said softly, "Don't worry about anything, Ciara."

She couldn't mute the sound of a woman crying in the background. It took her a few minutes to realize that it was her mother, only because she rarely ever cried. She bit her lip. This was all her fault; all of it. None of this would've happened if she never decided to go behind Nathaniel's back and invited Nick over.

"Dad," she said quietly, "Why is mom crying?"

"It just took her by surprise," he said, "Everything will be okay."

Castiel gave her a gentle yet comforting squeeze and she buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm scared," she murmured.

"Don't be," he said softly.

"Dad," she said, "Can… can you put me down?" He nodded and set her down gently, using her shoulders to steady her when she stumbled. She turned. They were on the front porch. She could see inside her house that her mother was sitting on the couch, Celeste beside her, comforting her as Lysander handed her a glass of water. Where was Nathaniel? She took a step inside and Castiel took her arm.

"Look, it's probably best if you stay out here," he said, "Actually, tonight you're staying at my house, okay?"

"Why?" she said, "Do… do they hate me now?"

"Of course not," he said, "It would just be better. She needs to calm down."

Ciara hesitantly nodded as he took her hand and led her to the car. "Where is he?" she asked.

"At the hospital," he said, starting the car.

"This is my fault," she said quietly, leaning her head against the window, "If… if I was never born, I bet everybody would be happier."

Castiel squeezed her hand closest to him. "Don't ever say that again," he said, sternly, "You have no idea how loved you are."

"I made mom cry," she said, "I got dad stabbed in the chest. I ruined Celeste and Lysander's visit here. I think you're the only one who still loves me."

"That's not true," he said, "Do you think he would've jumped in front of you to take the knife for you if he didn't love you? Your mom suggested I take you to my house because you were so traumatized that she didn't want you sleeping in the room where it happened for a while. She was only crying because she was worried, not only about Nathaniel but about you too."

She sighed. "It's my fault this happened," she said, "All because I invited that stupid boy over… I didn't think he would ever do something like that."

"The cop said he was on some drug," Castiel said slowly.

"But he's only fourteen," she sighed, "Why would he resort to something like that?"

"People can surprise you," he said, shrugging.

Once they arrived at his home, Ciara hurried to her room and locked herself in it. He didn't bother her, thinking it best not to. Around midnight, she decided to take a bath before returning to her room. She laid in her bed for half an hour until deciding she couldn't sleep. She got to her feet, feeling weak. She went to Castiel's door and knocked on it lightly.

"Come in, Ciara," he said quietly. She opened the door to see him sitting on the edge of his bed in pajamas.

"I can't sleep," she said softly, "Can I sleep in here?"

He nodded and she climbed into the side of his bed opposite him. He laid down beside her, facing her with a worried look on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"I'm worried about you," he said quietly.

"I'm okay," she said, "Why are you worried about me?"

"Because you've never asked to sleep next to me before, not even when you were a little girl," he said.

"Well it's not every day I watch my boyfriend take out a knife on me and my dad take the blow," she muttered.

Still looking worried, he pulled the blanket over her shoulder and kissed her forehead.

"Dad," she said quietly, "Why does mom bring me here every other day?"

He took a deep breath as if he was thinking. "I guess because it'd be good for you," he said slowly as if he wasn't sure, "She and I are close."

"But why?" she said, "She's close with Celeste too and I've never spent the night at her house."

"That's different," he said quickly, "Let's not talk about this now, okay?"

"Just tell me," she said, "I can tell you're keeping something from me."

He bit his lip. "This is something you need to talk to your mom about," he said.

"I'm asking you, though," she said, "If mom doesn't want me to know, I promise I won't tell her that I know."

"It's not that," he said, "It's a big secret that nobody knows but me and her."

"Not even my real dad?" she said.

He chuckled. "The irony," he said, looking away.

"Just tell me," she said.

"Okay, look," he said, "You have to promise not to tell anybody at all ever, okay?"

"I promise," she said.

He took a deep breath. "Okay," he said slowly, "Your life is a lie."

She chuckled. "What?"

"Nathaniel… he isn't your real dad," he said slowly, "If you catch my drift."

She gazed at him with wide eyes. "Are you joking?" she said, "I want the truth."

"It is the truth," he said, "He's not your dad."

"So you're saying that you're my real dad?" she said after a pause.

"Yeah," he said, "Your mom and I were best friends back then but it was just a one night stand."

"Everything makes sense now," she said, "So why doesn't my other dad know?"

"It's complicated," he said, "Maya doesn't want him to know for… relationship purposes, I guess."

"So she cheated on him?" she asked.

"No," he said, "They were broken up at the time."

"That's why I'm more like you," she said, "But… I feel guilty because of what he did for me today."

"Don't feel guilty," he said, "If he ever finds out, it's on me and Maya, not you."

She moved closer to him, tilting her forehead against his chest. "Can we go see him tomorrow?"

"Whatever you want," he said softly, holding her tightly.