Raye sighed as she finished with the last peice of the firewood. For the last hour and a half, she had been chopping and placing the wood into a wood pile in a corner just outside the building that housed the Fire Room. With a sudden thought about her friend, Raye looked to the temple and realised that Lita had not left yet. If she had, she had not bothered to say good-bye. Curious to see whether or not her friend was still in there, Raye crept towards the Fire Room.

The young priestess stopped just outside of the doors that led into the room. From inside she could hear a sound that she recognized but was surprised to hear. It sounded like weeping. Concerned for the person inside and no longer sure that Lita hadn't left, Raye opened the doors and entered, making sure not to make a sound. Raye's eyes widened when she saw the sight that lay before her eyes.

Sitting in front of the fire, legs crossed and eyes closed, was a weeping Lita. The priestess stared at the scene for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Of all of the Scouts, she and Lita were the two who were the least friendliest. They got along okay, but chances are that had the two of them not had Scouting in common, they would probably never have met, let alone become friends. She wanted to do something to comfort her friend, who was obviously in pain but she wasn't exactly sure what to do to help. She, like the rest of the Scouts, had never seen Lita cry, let alone with so much pain and anguish that these tears seemed to hold.

Hating to see her fellow Scout in so much pain, Raye spoke up. "Lita, what's wrong?" she asked, softly and carefully.

Hearing this unexpected voice, Lita jumped and quickly wiped the tears away, ashamed that someone had caught her in such a vulnerable state. "Raye!" Lita exclaimed as she tried to hide the fact that seconds ago she had been crying.

"Lita," Raye began, the concern she felt for her friend showing on her features and in her voice, "What's wrong?"

"N. . . nothing," Lita stuttered, hating that Raye had obviously seen her tears.

"Something's wrong," Raye said, not wanting to give up so easily. It was obvious that something was bothering her, why wouldn't Lita just admit it? "Lita, whatever it is, you can tell me. I won't go telling the others if you don't want me to."

"You wouldn't understand, Raye," Lita said quietly. So quietly that Raye had to struggle to hear. "No one would."

"Try me," Raye challenged, hating that Lita didn't feel close enough to her to be able to confide in her.

"Raye, I c. . . can't," Lita stammered, staring down at her hands with her red-rimmed eyes.

Raye looked at Lita, concerned. This was not at all like the tall Scout. Something was seriously bothering her. Quickly, Raye went to her friend and sat down beside her. Brushing her hair aside, Raye looked into her friend's eyes.

"Lita," began, seriously worried about her friend, "What is it? Did something happen? Tell me, Lita."

"Raye," Lita pleaded. Please, don't do this.

"Lita, something's wrong. If you don't tell me, I'll call Serena and. . ."

"No!" Lita cried out, terror joining the fear and sorrow in her eyes, "Please, no!"

"Then, tell me," Raye begged. She had never seen Lita like this before and it was beginning to frighten her. What was causing Lita so much pain? What could have hurt her so much?

"F. . . Freddy's back," Lita stammered.

"Freddy?" Raye asked, knowing she had heard Lita mention that name before. "Isn't he your ex-boyfriend?"

Lita nodded her head in reply.

Raye frowned. Yeah, okay, she thought, So, Lita's old boyfriend was back in town. Was that any reason for her to get so unglued? Raye shook her head. Lita might go a little nutso whenever she saw a cute guy, but they never effected her like this. There had to be more to the story. "And. . .?"

Lita drew in a deep breath. Making sure that no tears were going to fall, she spoke. "Raye, this will never leave this room," Lita warned the dark-haired Scout.

"Okay. Fine. No problem."

"I mean it," Lita warned her. "I don't want Serena, Mina, or Amy to know."

"Lita, I promise I won't tell them," Raye assured the tall Scout, her curiousity growing by the second.

"I never used to be like this." Lita stared down at her hands as she spoke.

"Like this?" What did Lita mean?

"The way I am. I never used to be strong or tough. Truth be known, I used to act a lot more like Mina or Serena."

Raye's eyes widened in disblief as Lita told her this but she stayed silent.

"That all changed after I met Freddy. He broke up with me really soon after my parents died. I took the break-up really badly. I was determined that no one would ever hurt me like he did. I was really messed up for a while there, Raye. My parents death and then Freddy. . . everything was too much for me. My uncle saw this and decided to take me to a nice retreat where I stayed for a while. It was at the retreat that I learned to toughen up."

"So," Raye began, wanting to make sure that she understood what her friend had told her, "Freddy broke up with you, and because he hurt you, you toughened up to make sure that no one could ever hurt you again?"

"Pretty much."

Looking at Lita, Raye said, "Why do I get the feeling that you're leaving something out?"

Lita narrowed her eyes. "Like what?"

Raye shrugged. "I don't know. I wasn't the one there. You were."

"It's nothing."

"So there is more." She knew it!

"No," Lita said, jumping to her feet and shaking her head and holding her hands up defensively. "No, there's not. I never said there was!"

"You said that it was nothing," Raye reminded her, also getting to her feet. "If there wasn't anything more, than what was 'it' ?"

"Raye, I'd rather not say anymore," Lita told her friend, "It's kind of private."

"Lita, it may be private but it obviously hurts you. Maybe you should share whatever 'it' is, so that you can get over 'it'. Who knows? Maybe if you tell somebody 'it' won't bother you as much anymore."

"Raye, you wouldn't understand." There was desperation in her voice now. She really didn't want to let anyone else know. How could she let anyone else know? How would they ever forgive her once they knew?

"Try me," Raye challenged. Now that she knew that there was something more, she couldn't let Lita get away without telling her. She had to know what bothered her friend so much.

"W. . . well," Lita began timidly, glancing down at her feet. "T. . . the night my parents died, Freddy was over at my house. That same night, we, um. . . well, we slept together. I didn't really want to," Lita rushed out. "But he wouldn't take no for an answer." Once she had finished, she bit her lip to hide back the tears that once again threatened to fall.

"He raped you?" Raye asked quietly.

"It wasn't like that," Lita said defensively and quickly.

"You told him no, but he didn't listen, right?"

Lita nodded, still too ashamed to look at her friend.

"That's rape, Lita. I don't care what you say. If you told him no and he didn't listen, it's rape." Raye was silent for a moment, waiting to see the effect her little speech had had on Lita, if any. When there was no visible reaction, Raye stepped closer and gently gripped Lita's chin, forcing the taller Scout to look her friend in the eyes. "Lita, listen to me. What happened in the past was not your fault. You couldn't control it. You have absolutely no, and I mean NO, reason to be ashamed of what happened. If anything, the person who should be ashamed of what happened is Freddy."

"Raye, I gotta go," Lita said, suddenly feeling really uncomfortable. She hadn't wanted to let anyone know about her secret,and now that Raye knew. . .

Without another word, Lita turned and ran away from the temple as fast as she could, leaving Raye standing in the Fire Room, speechless.