"What do you want, John?" Slit said lazily.
"Just to see who this new…" he made a sarcastic face, "Friend is."
Through clenched teeth I answered, "I'm Miranda, and I can talk for myself."
I untangled myself from Slit, unwillingly, and stood up. Luckily, it was a long T-shirt. "Do you want anything else?" I asked, regretting the question the instant I asked it.
"Could you do me a favour, Miranda?" He asked with a smirk. I looked at Slit, and he mouthed a silent no.
"Depends," I answered casually.
"Well, if it involves me, you, no clothes and a king-sized bed are you in?" he asked, stepping closer to me and reaching out for my hand.
"Yeah, right," I said, removed his hand from my waist, and slapped him. He winced, glared at Slit, and was out the door. "I'll be back, Miranda, whenever you want to reconsider my offer."
"Slit, I wanna get out of here," I said, and felt tears come to my eyes.
"It's OK… It'll be OK," he said, and hugged me. I thought it was weird how my head came to his shoulder, and he always seemed to say what was on my mind.
"Want me to make some coffee?" He asked, lifting my chin with his finger and kissing me gently.
"No. No. I want to get out of here, but..." I trailed off. How selfish of me would it seem if I demanded that he come with me?
"It's OK, wherever you go, I'll come too," he said.
Within an hour we were dressed and at the park. I was sitting on the tire swing while he pushed me. He had gently explained that his brother was just coming out of depression, which he had gotten while he was in jail for raping somebody.
"If it's the last thing I'll do, I'll make sure he never ever lays a hand on you, OK, Mir?" he asked, and rested his hand on my shoulder.
" OK," I said, and got up and hugged him. We stood there, not knowing which other happy couple consisting of a blonde girl and a curly dark-haired guy was watching us, the blonde muttering something about betrayal.
(A/N Sorry that the chapter's so short, but it's late and I have to go for coffee. Yup, I'm a Starbuck's addict!)