A week later, my parents came home.

I was lying next to Tim in my bed. We were talking quietly about him getting back on the team with smiles. There was no funny business and we were fully dressed, keeping our hands to ourselves. None of it mattered when my mother knocked and walked in. Her eyes were wide and then she saw Tim Riggins in her house. Her eyes sharpened.

I followed my dad outside while he shouted at Tim, thoroughly kicking him out of the house. Tears were rolling down my cheeks watching my dad belittle Tim. The flatness on Tim's face did nothing to make me feel better.

When my dad stomped back inside the house with a call of my name, I cradled Tim's face in my hands. I couldn't stop crying. I apologized over and over for my dad's rude words, for the way my parents viewed the Riggins.

Tim pressed a long and passionate kiss to my mouth to shut me up. "I'll be fine, Cat. Don't apologize for them. I'm gonna see if Tyra can help me out, find me a place to go. Don't worry about me."

"I'm always gonna worry about you, Tim."

Another kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded and let Tim climb into his truck. I refused to go back inside until his taillights were out of sight.

My dad was waiting for me in the foyer. Mom sat at the dining table with her chin up.

"What the hell are you doing with that Riggins boy?" He pointed toward the door.

I glared. "I'm datin' him and I'm gonna keep datin' him because he's the most real person in Dillon and is far better than who this town makes him out to be."

"He's not a charity case, Catherine."

"You think I'm datin' him to make him a better person?" My voice was reaching new heights. "Tim Riggins is as good as you or me, Dad. I'm with him for who he is, not for who I can make him."

"Why was he in our house?" Mom piped up from her seat.

"He had nowhere else to go."

"Did you have sex with him?"

"No, and he's never asked me to."

Mom's sharp eyes cut through me. "I don't want you seein' that boy anymore."

My face contorted in rage, but my voice lowered severely. "I have never gone against you and I know that's why you're orderin' me to stay away from him. But I'm not listenin' to you this time. Tim and I are going to continue datin' until we've had enough or he asks me to marry him." My mom took a quick breath. "If he hurts me, it's on me. Just to spite you, I am going to love on that boy until I have nothin' left to give. You take that from me and I'll never come back here. I'll never be the perfect daughter you believe you have. Call this disrespect, and I'm sorry it is, but you treated him worse than the dirt on your shoes. I won't stand for that. I'm gonna go to bed now, so goodnight."

I ignored my dad's shouts to come back and the nasty things my mom uttered about Tim.

Tim found a place with a dude named Guy Raston outside of town. There were rumors about that guy that left me uneasy. It didn't make me feel any better when Tim refused to let me go over there. His excuse was that the house smelled like ferrets and he didn't have a reason to spend time there.

There was a morning Tim came to pick me up when he told me what he found out about Guy. Apparently, there was a camper in the backyard where Guy cooked meth. If my parents were on their next trip, I would have gotten Tim out of there in a heartbeat. I didn't know what kind of guy Raston was, but I didn't want him around Tim. I trusted that Tim would never touch the drugs. The people of Dillon on the other hand... they weren't so forgiving.

Living with Guy didn't get better for Tim.

I heard the familiar sound of Tim's truck coming up the drive late one night. I rushed outside to see what was wrong. His face was pale and he looked terrified. He grabbed me, set me on the hood of his truck, and buried his face in my torso.

I held his head close and kissed it. "What happened, Tim?"

"I can't live there, Catherine. He pointed a rifle at me. He woke me up to scare me. I thought I was gonna die. I-I can't stay there anymore."

I made Tim look at me, pressing a light kiss to his lips. "Go to Coach. I'd let you stay here again if Mom and Dad were gone. For now, go to the Taylors'. I'll come by in the morning. Please, go there."

He nodded. Tim rested his forehead on my shoulder and held me a little longer. I ran my fingers through his hair, letting him stay as long as he needed.

"I need to go before I fall asleep standin' here."

An idea popped into my head. "Let me drive you there. You can sleep on the way and I'll just stay with you tonight. They'll have to be up early for Gracie's christening, so I can get back home before my parents leave for church. I'll bring your truck to you after."

Tim nodded and pressed his lips to my forehead.

We woke up to Coach Taylor tapping on the window the next morning. I peered out at Coach and shook Tim awake. The man motioned for us to get out and follow him. Tim held my hand.

Coach opened his garage and got down a sleeping bag for Tim. "You need a place to stay, too, Catherine?"

"No, sir. I came to make sure Tim found a safe place to stay. I was ready to convince you if you said no."

Coach looked at Tim. "You hang on to her, Riggins."

"Yes, sir."

He took another look at us before going inside.

I squeezed Tim's arm. "Get some sleep, okay? You deserve proper rest. I'll come back over after church and we can get lunch."

He kissed me and nodded. Tim stared down at me for a few more seconds before going inside the Taylors' house.

I pulled away in Tim's truck with a relieved smile. The Taylor family would take care of Tim where I couldn't. It made me feel so much better about where he'd fall asleep at night. I couldn't thank Julie's family enough.