My phone laid there on my nightstand. Completely silent, as it had been since I shut it off yesterday.

My head was a little clearer now. Kai and Nya's parents being Ninja made a lot of sense, actually. It explained why they'd left pretty well. Why I wasn't important enough for them to stay. But also why they had cared so much in the first place.

They were parents. They had kids. Of course they comforted a child being bullied at school, encouraged them to try harder, be better. I couldn't begrudge Kai and Nya for having parents that loved them. Loved them enough to quit being Ninjas for. Though that didn't explain why they had come back now.

Ugh. Thinking about this was making my head hurt again. I'd barely slept last night. Dreamed about... that, again. The reason I had been in the hospital that one time. What led up to it. How scared I'd been. All the adults around me freaking out, so sure my hours were numbered. My dad, just completely losing it.

But this was no time to think about that mess. No time was a good time to think about all that. Right now, I needed to think about my friends.

My friends who surely wanted to chat about the awesome sleepover we'd had. Who'd surely been texting and calling me yesterday and getting more and more frustrated at not getting through.

I couldn't avoid them forever. There was only so long before they caught on that I was... distracted.

The simple answer was just to continue avoiding them. They'd all be safe. Dad would never find out who Kai and Nya's parents were. Everything would go back to the way it was before they came into my life.

My stomach twisted painfully at the thought. No. No. I can't... I can't do that. I don't think I would be able to stand being in the same classroom as them, to see them every day at school, and have them treat me with the same disdain as everyone else. Maybe worse, since in their case it'd be because I really had been a jerk to them. Taken their selfless friendship and loyalty and thrown it in a garbage can.

I can't do it. I can't be alone again. I need them.

I chewed my bottom lip as I rehearsed my excuse. I forgot to charge my phone. So simple. Everyone does it at some time or other. I forgot to charge my phone and didn't notice that it had shut off.

Taking a deep breath, I reached out and took it in my hand. Held down the power button. Typed in my passcode.

Forty-six texts. Twelve voicemails. Holy crap. I quickly scanned through them, realizing they'd been getting genuinely worried at my lack of response. Jay had gotten it into his head that I'd been kidnapped by a biker gang (what the...?) and the others were trying to talk him down while also being worried about me.

I quickly shot off a group text.

[I am soooooo sorry. Everything's fine. Forgot to charge my phone is all. Totally my bad.]

In seconds Jay, Cole, and Zane all shot me relieved replies on the same thread. Then Nya. But Kai...

[We need to talk.]

Oh, crap. That was a private text too, not on the group chat.

[I saw you plug in your phone. Don't try that lie on me. What's wrong?]

I started typing, but deleted it. Tried again, deleted it. Oh, crap. My fingers were starting to miss letters. My head was spinning with excuses, each more feeble then the last.

[Are you hurt?]

Huh? At least that one I could answer.

[No.]

[Is it your dad?]

I started to type another negative, then realized that would sort of be another lie.

[Not exactly.]

I frowned and quickly typed a little more.

[Something just came up. I had to think.]

There. Still not a lie.

There was a long pause. The three little dots indicated Kai was taking a long time typing out his answer. Maybe deleting and rewriting like I had been.

[Don't do this to me, little bro. I can't do all these stupid secrets anymore. What do you know? You figured out something and it's killing you. You're hiding from us again. Talk to me. Please.]

Could I? Could I trust Kai with this? Maybe?

[I met your mom before.]

I closed my eyes and hit send.

[Damn], he quickly sent back. Shortly followed by, [So now you know?]

[How much do you know?] I asked warily.

[I swear, Nya and I didn't find out until that evening after we met you. Our parents were all 'of course he's a nice boy' and we were probably just as weirded out as you are now.]

Oh. Well, that's a bit of a relief. At least our friendship hadn't started on a lie. On some well-meaning adults' interference.

I guess I took too long, because Kai sent another text.

[They love you.]

And... and... oh crap.

[ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME CRY?] I couldn't help but explode. I probably shouldn't have sent that, but it was too late now.

[They didn't say so, but c'mon. We can tell. Why do you think Nya and I started calling you bro so quickly?]

Man. He WAS trying to get me to cry. And it was working.

[Seriously, Kai. This sucks. And I hate using that word. Your parents are Ninja. I owe them my life. You can't come over to the volcano again - it's too dangerous. Being around ME is too dangerous. They quit for a reason.]

Now the tears were really pouring. I looked over the text at least three time before hitting send. It needed to be said. If he wanted honesty, it needed to be said.

Kai needed to see things from his parents' point of view. He needed to realize my dad WAS dangerous, at least to him. He had to realize that made ME dangerous. He had to see that, that this friendship was a really bad idea.

I typed, [I love all of you too], but quickly deleted it. That wouldn't help him make the right decision.

[I don't WANT to leave you, but...] DELETE.

[Please, I...] Delete delete delete.

He didn't reply for a long time. I laid there feeling miserable and sorry for myself. Annoyed that the tears wouldn't stop. Irritated at my now running nose and scratchy throat. Glad that there was still tissue on my nightstand from the last time I'd been sick. Probably around five minutes ticked by, and I jumped when my phone buzzed again.

[Come over. We'll pick you up at the cove.]

I started typing a reply, a rejection, but he was faster.

[We'll be waiting. Please come, little bro.]

I can't do this. I can't do this. No. No way. Too hard. Too much. I couldn't. I... I...

[ok]

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

[I'm telling him. I'm telling him everything. All these secrets and prophecies and destiny and everything.]

Kai hit send. He was in the car with his mom, who he'd run to get as soon as he told Lloyd they were coming for him. She'd scanned through his text conversation with Lloyd, paled, and grabbed her keys without any questions.

Cole replied first. [Go for it. Let us know if he needs us.]

Jay was next. [Finally!]

Then Zane. [Master Wu will be angry. He will just have to deal with it.]

And Nya. [When the heck was this decided?! Kai - where ARE you and mom?!]

Kai realized he probably should have told his twin what was going on before now. Oh well. Her fault for not paying attention.

[Lloyd lied about his phone. He totally turned it off. He recognized mom yesterday and has been thinking who knows what depressing angst ever since. We're going to pick him up at the cove before this stupid mountain of lies and misunderstandings gets any bigger.]

[You should've told me! I want to come too!] was Nya's reply. [Would it have killed you to knock on my door?!]

[We'll bring him home with us.], Kai promised. [It's still early - we've got a whole day before he has to get home to his dad.]

[We'll hang out at the warehouse.], contributed Cole. [If our green bean is up for it, bring him over when you're done. Everyone good with that?]

[Absolutely!] answered Jay.

[Yes.], was Zane's simple affirmative.

[I shall have my revenge.], was Nya's response. [I wanted to tell him!]

Kai rolled his eyes and tucked his phone away. They were nearing the cove. It was unlikely Lloyd would be there already, but then his shark mech was pretty fast.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

I'm not sure how I got to the cove. Like, I know I must have driven the shark mech, but I don't actually remember going down to my workshop, climbing in, turning it on, driving over, parking... It's an autopilot blank.

Kai and his mom were already waiting on the shore of the cove. Right where the sand turns to grass. His mom. Maya. Water.

She knows that I know now.

Will she hate me? Will she explain everything? Why is she here? Shouldn't she just deny, deny, deny?

I'd come this far. I took a deep breath and jumped down from the mech.

Kai was hugging me almost before I regained my balance. Before I even could say anything, he grabbed my shoulders, spun me toward his mom, and demanded, "Mom! Apologize!"

What?! "Kai! She didn't do any-"

And oomph, suddenly it was Water's arms around me and she was kissing my forehead and crying and oh what a mess!

"Worst mistake of my life," she said softly, her palms on my cheeks and staring into my startled face. "Our lives. Ray agrees with me. We should have stayed. We never should have left you. We should have taken off our masks and let you three be together ages ago."

I was going to say it was okay. I understood. It was too dangerous. Instead, all I could choke out was, "Why didn't you?"

She took my hands in her own and kissed them. I don't get it, but it made me feel... special. Is this a woman thing? Maybe a mom thing?

"We were stupid and scared," she confessed. "I am so sorry, Lloyd."

"Is... is this because of the green-"

"No!" she interrupted fiercely, not letting me pull away.

"So... that night?" I choked out. "You n-never came back. You d-didn't explain..."

She pulled me into another hug. "I promise it had nothing to do with you, Lloyd."

"My-my dad?"

Her breath hitched. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. Yes. He said... he threatened some things. We shouldn't have let that make us quit. Ninja never quit, but we did. It was wrong, and that decision hurt you, when this was between your father and us."

"He threatened Kai and Nya, didn't he. That night. When I got beat up and poisoned and they didn't know with what and the doctors told Dad I was gonna die."

She pulled my head up so we could meet eyes again. "If it had been Kai or Nya, could I really claim I would be the better person?" she asked softly. "Don't blame your father. He was hurt and scared and angry. Garmadon just... when he's hurt, he has to hurt others. I don't think he can help it."

There was something about the way she spoke about my dad. Respectful. Understanding. Almost affectionate. Even while explaining his faults and crimes. And I knew I had been right all along. I could trust her. She did care. For some reason, he was important to her.

I was important to her.

She stroked my hair and kissed my forehead again. It seemed a bit much, but it was too nice to pull back from.

"We'll explain everything back at the house, sweetheart," she said gently. "For now, can you ever forgive me?"

I hugged her back, nodding. "Just-just don't leave again," I mumbled into her shoulder.

"I promise," she whispered back.

Safe in her arms, feeling loved and wanted and understood like I hadn't since the last time she held me, I again let my tears fall. But these tears were of relief and joy.

I didn't feel alone anymore.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Author's Note: Hope that ending left you all in a better frame of mind than the last one! I promised more than one person that, yes, Lloyd will be getting those hugs he so badly needed!

Just to let everyone know, I'm afraid there won't be any updates for the next couple weeks. I will be going on vacation and likely will not have internet access for a good chunk of it. The good news is that I'll have plenty of time away from work to get more chapters written!

Next chapter, which I plan to post no later than June 7th, will have Lloyd getting some much needed closure with both Ray and Maya.

Special thanks to my amazing beta, Sunny Lighter! Who reassured me that talking is good and this is just the right amount of sweet.

Also thanks to all my wonderful reviewers from last chapter: Beaner97, Pitch'snieceanddaughterofMew, Little-BluWhale, EMPFangirl02, Carrie2sky, MasterOfMusic139, Watcher321, and Savannah-the-Caracal. You guys keep the inspiration flowing and it's always awesome to hear from you!