Cindy gently slid off of the bed, letting Lindsay sprawl out over the covers. She quickly changed and kissed Lindsay's forehead before heading out into the early morning world. The sun wasn't even up yet, and she found herself driving. She didn't know where to, just somewhere. She was only somewhat shocked to find herself parked across the street from the apartment where she knew Arik was in right now. She turned her car off and took a few breaths. He is almost as bad as a drug. I just cannot stay away. She thought, mentally kicking herself. If Lindsay found out she was here, she didn't even want to think of the reaction. She turned her car back on and pulled out of the spot and forced herself to continue driving. She looked at the clock on her stereo and hoped that by the time she reached Claire's house, by some miracle the woman would be awake. When she had her car off in front of the house, she pulled out her phone and looked through the phonebook for her number. On the second ring, she picked up. "Please tell me I didn't wake you up."

"Well, you did. But I was about to get up anyways. What's wrong?"

"Can you come out front and talk to me? I could really use someone to talk to." She said, getting out of the car.

"I'll be out in five minutes." Claire said, then disconnected. Cindy sat down on the front steps and waited. When Claire joined her, she was quiet for another moment.

"Remember when you said to trust you with my secrets and everything?" Claire nodded. "Well, if I tell you one of my secrets, can you swear to me that you will not tell a soul? Especially Lindsay?"

"I promise I won't tell. Not even Linz. This must be a bad thing, if you don't want her to know."

"It has to do with the whole being picked up from across town thing." She said. "I need to tell someone, but I can't tell Lindsay. You are pretty much my only choice."

"Tell away."

"When Linz and I got into that fight, I left and I went out to one of my favorite bars. I was completely over my normal limit of alcohol when Arik showed up. I felt a twinge of nostalgia over something, and decided I should go home. Home to Lindsay. When I stood up, I was almost falling down. Arik took me back to the apartment. From there, I really do not feel like elaborating on what happened, but I think you can get it from the fact that I didn't get home until you and Jill dropped me off. And it's eating at me now. And that mixed with the fact that Lindsay now thinks that Kiss-Me-Not is after me to get to her, it's stressing me out."

"You slept with him?"

"Why did you have to dwell on that part of it? Why not the whole stress part?"

"Because you slept with your ex-boyfriend. Who happened to have put you into the hospital three weeks ago!" Claire said, looking at the redhead. "Will you ever tell Lindsay?"

"No. I think it would break her heart. And I don't want to be the cause of it. I don't think she has to know. It's not like I did it intentionally. I mean, I was drunk."

"That doesn't change the fact that you knew who you were with, and you knew how he had treated you. You knew that you should have stayed away from him. Staying away from him does not mean falling into his bed."

"I know it doesn't, okay? I don't need the third degree here."

"Maybe you might." Claire said, standing up. "Why don't you go talk to Lindsay." She went into her house, and Cindy looked at the closed door for almost five minutes before she went back to her car. She drove back to Lindsay's, staying only long enough to get her laptop and notebooks before heading in to the Register. As she sat down at her desk, she had to resist the urge to cry.

---

Lindsay looked at her watch as she walked up to her front door. It was almost eight at night and Cindy wasn't home. From the looks of the inside of the house, she hadn't been home at all that day. She sat on the couch with the television on and finally, at almost midnight, the front door opened and Cindy came into the room, putting her jacket and bag on the chair. "Oh, you're still up." She said, going down the hallway to the bedroom. Lindsay resisted the urge to follow and kept her focus solely on the television. Near a half an hour later, Cindy came back into the room now wearing her pajamas and her hair in a towel. "I actually did work at work today." She said, sitting on the couch next to Lindsay. "I mean, I left here early, then went to talk to Claire for a little bit then swung back by here to get my notebooks and junk, but then I went in and I think I left my desk, maybe, like, once."

"Somehow, that doesn't shock me." Lindsay said, her voice tight.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't like coming home to an empty house. You think I would be used to it, but I'm not. I was really hoping that you would have been here. I needed you."

"You could have called me and I would have come home."

"Do you really think of here as home?" Lindsay asked quietly. She desperately wanted the answer to be a yes.

"I do, actually. Because I sleep here. I feel safe here. I eat here. And my toothbrush is here." Cindy replied, smiling. Lindsay put her arm around her shoulders. "Plus, I get to come here, to you, and that just makes it home. They say home is where your heart it. Mine is here. With you." She said. "And Martha." She added, reaching across Lindsay to scratch the dogs ears.

"Then when do I escort you to your old place so you can get the rest of your stuff?"

"I have no idea. Because I don't know when Arik is there and when he isn't." And meanwhile, back in reality, you know damn well when he is home and when he isn't. You just don't want to set foot in that apartment again. She thought. Slamming the door on her conscience, she looked at Lindsay. "We can try for tomorrow afternoon? It's Saturday, so he might go out somewhere with some of his buddies." Lindsay nodded.

"Then tomorrow afternoon it is." She said, smiling. She leaned over and gently kissed Cindy. "I am glad you are home. Can we go to bed now? I'm tired." Cindy stood up and pulled Lindsay behind her as she went down the hallway to the bedroom. Before they could lie down, Cindy pressed herself against Lindsay and gave her a passionate kiss.

"And this time, if you try to stop me from taking advantage of you, I am cuffing you to the bedposts." She said, pushing Lindsay onto the bed.