"What could you offer her?" Rick said sternly, pacing Eli's room, and glancing over at his son who sat on the edge of his bed.

Eli said nothing, simply looked down at his hands, and clenched them into tight fists.

"-Well? Eli?" Rick asked, knowing that the question was infuriating his son.

"Not a hell of a lot" Eli said coldly, not lifting his head.

Rick creased his brow, hoping he wasn't lowering his sons self esteem too much "Exactly" he said, looking over at his son.

"No, I'm so worthless-" Eli began, now raising his head, and fixating his eyes on his father's now still body "- who could possibly love me? -" Eli asked, and he saw Rick open his mouth, regretting what he had said "- and I'm such a cold hearted bastard, how could I ever know what love is-?" Eli now stood up, taking a few steps towards his father.

"Now, Eli, I didn't say that-"Rick began, but Eli interrupted him.

"- Yes you did dad!" Eli said coldly, and his father turned away from his son's hurtful stare "- you're so willing and keen to throw me out on the street, because I found someone who means something to me! And maybe, just maybe, I mean something to her!" Rick opened his mouth, but Eli wouldn't give him the satisfaction trying to explain himself "- cause I'm Eli- the good for nothing, druggie, dumbass, underdog son of Rick Sammler-" Eli turned around, walking over to his desk.

"Eli, I'm sorry- I didn't mean that, but you have to see-" Rick began, but Eli turned to face him again.

"- Just say what you need to say! Tell me you think it'd be best for everyone if I just LEFT!" Eli spat out, and felt tears begin to prick his eyes.

"No, Eli- we just want you and Grace to see this isn't right, for either of you-" Rick said, stepping towards his son, resting a heavy hand on his shoulder.

Eli shrugged him off "- but it is right dad! I LOVE her and she loves me, and nothing has ever felt so right in my entire life! I know I've screwed things up in my before, but I don't want to screw this up-" Eli said, staring blankly into his fathers eyes "-and I wont let you screw it up for us either!" he added, coldly.

"NO! Eli, you are stepsiblings- it could never work, and this isn't the sort of thing that you can just run away from when it gets too hard. What you and Grace do affects the rest of this family. What if you broke up, and parted on bad terms? That would DESTROY this family!" Rick pleaded.

"Maybe that will happen-" Eli said, and he saw his father's face ease "- but I couldn't live with myself if I walked away now, never knowing what could have been!" and with that, his father's brow creased again.

"So, you refuse to drop this 'thing' between you and Grace?" Rick asked.

"Thing? This isn't a one-night stand, we want to have a RELATIONSHIP- and we hoped you and Lily would understand-" Eli said.

"Well we don't, and if you insist on continuing with this pointless 'relationship' than-" Rick paused for a moment "- Lily and I think it would be best if you moved out!" Rick said the words, each one tearing at his heart.

Eli stood for a moment; catching his breath as his father's words stabbed at him "you want me to leave? You're throwing me out?" Eli asked, and Rick turned away.

"- We can help you get a place, help you out financially. But because your old enough, and we wont condone or encourage this thing you have with Grace-" Rick went on, but Eli wasn't listening, all he could hear was a pounding in his head "- we also think you should stay away from Grace for a while-" Eli's felt his heart twist, his stomach roll over and the rest of his body shake with anger/fear and hurt.

I want Grace- Eli thought to himself, while his father's words droned on somewhere in the distance.

I want to feel her silky, creamy skin underneath my fingers, brush the loose strands of hair from her face…..I want her to comfort me while I cry in her arms.

I want to look into her dark, rich eyes and know that there is order and meaning to the universe; I want her to run her fingers through my hair and tell me everything is all right, and that I am loved.

Eli felt himself become more and more unsteady, as he realized, Grace wasn't with him; she couldn't hold him in her arms, and comfort him.

He might never see her again- and that thought made Eli want to vomit.