The warden dragged a cot into Lucie's room, much like the ones in the boys' tents, and set it up across the room in front of the closet door. Lucie sat on her bed with her arms crossed and watched with narrowed eyes as Jake prepared that side of the room for his stay.

"How long are you going to be here?" She asked coldly.

"That's up to you, babe. You tell me you'll come back to me and I'll leave tomorrow. The longer you wait, the longer I'll be here."

"You're wasting your time because that is never going to happen."

"I think you'll come around." Jake said grinning. He plopped down on his cot and stretched out. "This isn't so bad."

Lucie rolled her eyes and lied back on her bed. "You are the most stubborn person I have ever met."

"Well, when I decide I want something, I don't give up until I get it. This is no different."

When Lucie didn't respond, he gestured toward the closet and laughed. "I have a nice view of yours and Squid's little love nest."

Lucie huffed and sat up. "Nothing happened in there, Jake. I told you already."

"I just don't understand why you wouldn't do it with me, but you would with some guy you barely know who's in a correctional facility."

"For the last time, Squid and I made out in there, but nothing else. And we haven't had sex anywhere else either. I don't care if you don't believe me."

Jake sighed. "Okay, I believe you. I know you're a good girl."

Lucie rolled her eyes again. "You believed me all along."

"Yea, I was just having a little fun."

Lucie couldn't stand the tone in Jake's voice. It sounded as if he was constantly mocking her. She had never seen this arrogant side of him before. She stood up and opened her drawers, taking out some pajamas and a towel.

"I'm going to go take a shower. Then I'm going to sleep somewhere else. I can't stand to be in here with you."

Before Jake could protest, she was out the door, but stepped back in to add, "And don't sleep in my bed."

After her shower, Lucie peaked into the living room to check for her aunt. She wasn't in there, so Lucie quickly went out the front door and headed to D-tent. She knew they would let her stay with them.

"Guys," she said when she was standing outside their door. "Can I come in?"

"Yea, come on in," someone answered.

She walked in holding a blanket and a pillow and smiled weakly at them, her eyes quickly darting around to everyone. "I need to stay in here tonight." She told them. "If it's okay with you."

Everyone looked concerned and Squid went quickly to her.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Aunt Lou wanted Jake and me to stay in the same room, but I just couldn't stand it. I didn't know where else to go. Aunt Lou will probably make me stay there tomorrow night, because I'm sure Jake will tell her what I did, but at least for tonight I can be away from him."

All the guys nodded and some of them made remarks like, "I can beat him up for you," or "We need to teach that woman a lesson."

Magnet shook his head and said, "It's like they're in it together or something."

"You don't think the warden called him and told him to come, do you?" Zig Zag asked. "Because I know she doesn't like the idea of you and Squid being together."

Lucie shrugged. "I hadn't thought about that, but I wouldn't put it past her."

They all sat around and talked for a while, some about Lucie's situation, but mostly about just random other things because everyone knew she needed to think about something else for a while, which she did. She kept looking over at Caveman who was sitting on his cot listening but not participating in the conversation. He never looked at Lucie, not even when she spoke. Her heart sank. When would he ever forgive her or understand?

Squid volunteered to give Lucie his cot for the night, and he used her blanket and pillow to make a pallet on the floor. Soon after the lights went out, the room was filled with snoring, but Lucie was still wide awake. Sure that all the guys were sound asleep, she sat up and buried her face in her hands, silently weeping. It felt like everything hit her at once and she just let it all come out through her tears. Thoughts of the time she and Jake spent together ran through her mind as well as painful memories of their breakup.

Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Squid bent standing over her.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

Lucie nodded, although she knew Squid would know she was lying.

She was right. He sat down on the cot next to her and let her lean into him. He stroked her hair as she continued to cry and let her simply cry on his shoulder. When her tears subsided, he pulled away and put his hand on her face.

"Tell me about it all."

"I haven't told anyone the whole story," she told him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Wanna start with me?"

She took a deep breath. "We had been going out for almost a year when he first brought up the subject of…of sex." She said and then stopped to peer through the darkness, trying to see Squid's reaction. He just nodded for her to go on. "I told him I wasn't ready and that I wanted to wait until I was married. After that, he didn't bring it up again for a while. My best friend Emaleigh was a lot more experienced with guys than me. Jake was my first serious boyfriend and before him I had never even made out with anyone. Emaleigh had already slept with two guys by time Jake brought up the subject, and when I told her about it, she told me it was no big deal and that I wouldn't regret it if I did it. But I knew I would. I knew we were different and since it was so important for me to wait, I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I did." She stopped again and swallowed, searching for the right words to continue. Squid put a reassuring hand on hers.

"When he didn't bring it back up, I assumed he had just decided to drop it and respect my decision. For five months we were just so happy. We spent all our free time together and we seemed closer than ever. I thought I was falling in love with him. I'm not sure now if I was or if I was just so happy that I made myself believe it was love. But I know that I was sure he was the one. He was just so perfect. But then, something happened. I can't exactly remember when, but one day when we were together, he brought up sex again. He said he thought we were ready for it. For a while, we just sort of danced around the issue and never seriously discussed it, but then we were at his house one night and his parents weren't home and he just started touching me and tried to get me to come up to his room with him. I got really upset and left. I cried when I got home because I knew then we were on totally different levels, but I also knew I still wanted to be with him. So I allowed myself some time to think, and a few days later I called him. He apologized for what he had done and said he wanted to be with me. We went out again the next day and had a really good time, just talking and laughing and spending time together. It was almost like nothing had happened." Lucie felt a lump rising in her throat. Tears that were building up in her eyes threatened to spill out but she blinked them back. Squid sensed that she was getting the tough part and scooted closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay. Just take your time."

Lucie took a few deep breaths and continued, but with a shaky voice. "One day I called him on his cell phone after school because he had said during the day that he wanted to go out that night. He didn't answer, so I called his house and no one answered there, either. I got worried and decided to drive over to his house to see if he was there and when I got there, I saw his car in the driveway. I knocked on the door a few times and after no one answered, I let myself in. I was scared to death that something had happened to him. I checked the living room and the kitchen and finally I went to his room."

Tears started pouring down Lucie's cheeks and she didn't bother to wipe them away.

"I opened the door and found him in bed with Emaleigh. They were both naked and it was obvious they had just had sex. I didn't know what to do. I just started screaming and I ran out and drove home. He called me a lot, and so did Emaleigh, but I ignored their calls and I skipped school for a few days. When I finally went back, neither of them tried to talk to me and they didn't until a few weeks later when the school year was ending. Both of them came to me separately and told me they weren't together anymore and they both apologized, but I just couldn't forgive them." She shook her head and wiped her face off with her arm.

Squid shook his head, too. "I am so sorry you had to go through that." He hugged her closer. "I don't even know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Lucie told him.

"I know why you didn't trust me, now. I completely understand."

"I was wrong not to trust you, Alan. You are nothing like Jake."

Squid smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm here for you now. I just wish I could have been then."

"You've helped me get over him. I can't thank you enough for that."

The two just sat together for what seemed like a long time. Finally Lucie spoke. "We should get some sleep. Early morning tomorrow."

Squid nodded and kissed her sweetly, letting his lips linger on hers. "Goodnight."

He stood up and started back toward his pallet.

"Hey, Alan."

He stopped and looked back at her. "Yeah?"

She patted the cot beside her. "You wanna stay up here with me tonight? That pallet can't be very comfortable."

"You sure about that?" He asked, smiling a little at her.

She nodded and smiled back. "I trust you."