Lily tucks her purse into her glove compartment and then grabs her keys, stepping out of her car and pocketing them. She looks up at the large emblazoned 'Hudson Family Shelter' sign on the top of the building, surely huge enough to catch the attention of anyone in the area of Horseshoe Bay who could possibly need any sort of help.

Taking a breath to compose herself, she situates her hair then walks in the door, immediately greeted by crowds of people. She knew the nights and even days were getting a bit colder, but it's busier than it usually is.

Skirting past cafeteria-like tables and into the next room, her eyes are drawn to a familiar face, who seems to be helping a young man. Walking over, she smiles and greets the woman. "Kate Drew! I'd say it's a surprise to see you here, but we both know that wouldn't be quite true."

Kate grins and stands up fully, seeing Lily's face turn to shock. "Lily Hudson, honor roll student. A bit of a difference from your wild child mom", she giggles. "But Lucy is still a sweetheart. I must say it is a bit of a shock to see you here. How are you? How is your college search going?"

Lily looks her over, still in shock at her newfound state before clearing her throat. "Uh...college. Well, I'm still looking but you know how my family is. Family business takes precedence and all...", she trails off. "I'm sorry, but if I may state, or rather, question the obvious. You're pregnant? When did that happen? I thought you and Carson couldn't conceive."

Kate grins and laughs softly. "You're right. We couldn't we've tried for close to twenty years. I may be forty but, IVF has been a lifesaver, and one stuck. I'm so thrilled that we finally get to be parents. That's all we have ever wanted and dreamed of."

"Wow...well, that's great. Um...when are you due?" Lily asks. She adores her former high school counselor, and the whole town knew of her and her husband's inability to conceive. She should be thrilled for them but for some unknown reason, she can't help but feel this hurt, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"About a month and a half. It's a boy", she grins. "We're going to name him Kason. I know it may seem cliché, but a mix of his and my name. A nod to our journey to his existence", she smiles sweetly.

"A- a boy? That's great. Congratulations", she forces out, still not sure why she feels upset about it.

"Thank you…oh! Gosh, look at me being rude. Lily, this is N-"

"Nick", the young man interrupted. "I-I'm...Nick."

Kate gives him a bit of a confused look but says nothing. "He is one of my clients. He's been staying here for a while, but I have been trying to convince him to confront his demons, so to speak."

"Why? What happened?"

Looking over at the man, he nods slowly, allowing Kate to tell her.

"Well about six months ago he was at a party, and he and his friends got a bit too drunk. His friend started fighting with this other guy, and the fight got pretty vicious. The attacker was hurt, and Ne-Nick's friend was killed. Nick saw the whole thing, but he froze, and he was disoriented from the drinking, but the courts are trying to charge him with conspiracy since he didn't stop the fight."

"Holy crap...that sucks, I'm sorry, Nick. But I agree with Kate. You can't run from this forever. You didn't kill your friend, and you just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not your fault."

"It doesn't matter", he mumbles. "My friend is dead, and I did nothing to save him. What type of sick person am I to have just been able to watch that?"

"You were inebriated. Fight, flight, or freeze takes over anyone in that kind of situation. You just happened to freeze. That does not make you responsible. But if you keep running, that makes you look guilty. It won't help your case at all. Kate's right. You should confront it head on. That's the only way you'll ever be able to make peace with what happened, and you need to tell the courts the truth. Hopefully, the truth will set you free. Isn't that what they say?"

"Yes. But the other guy that killed my friend is still after me. You both forget that he knows that I witnessed the whole thing. If he gets to me before I get to law enforcement...I'm pretty sure he'll kill me too. He doesn't seem to have any aversion to murder. Especially if it's to keep people quiet. The fight started because he used to cause so much trouble in my town. I'm from Florida. He wasn't invited to the party. My friend realized he crashed it and confronted him. If he killed him over that, he would surely have no issue getting rid of me for wanting to squeal on him."

"His hearing is in a few days. He and I are the only suspects, but they had hardly any evidence because as you can imagine he ran right after killing Jason, and I...well...I ran too. Because how was that going to look if they showed up and I was still standing there? Unfortunately, a few others from the party told the cops that it was only the three of us out of the balcony so, they made their assumptions and we both have hearings. I just ran from it. Not because I'm guilty, but because he will say I am. And let's be honest, who are they going to believe? The high school jock with a million friends to lie for him in fear and rich parents, or the mechanical geek with a select few friends and a low to middle class income?"

Lily bites her lip and nods slowly. "Ah...yeah, that might be a problem. I wonder if you could get like, protection from the police somehow on your way back to Florida. If so, you could make it there safely. It's he said, he said. If you don't state your side, they have no choice but to believe him because running makes you look guilty, Nick. You have to go there and tell them exactly what happened and make sure they know you only ran out of fear of him."

Kate places a hand on Nick's shoulder. "I'm not the only one who thinks you need to do the right thing. I'll go back to the office and get in touch with the authorities, but I'll make it clear that you need protection. Okay?"

Taking a shuddering breath, he reluctantly nods. "Alright...I guess I have no choice if I don't want to become a criminal fugitive..."

"You guys are a lot alike, y'know", he chuckles, looking from Kate to Lily. "It's a bit eerie."

"Well, great minds think alike", Kate muses, chuckling.

"Yeah", Lily mutters, the sinking feeling getting even deeper. "Well um, I'm going to help hand out the donations. I'll see you two later?"

"Yeah sure, see ya."

"See you later, Lily. Thanks for your help."

"Of course, Kate. Nice meeting you, Nick."

As she heads to the donations room, her mind races as the uneasiness in her gut seems to tug at her heart as well. This is her life, but why does reality seem so...off...all of a sudden?

Shaking it off, she allows the smiles of the kids in need receiving warm clothing to drown out any residual feelings of apprehension that she had been having for the day.