Ray shifted nervously from foot to foot, too apprehensive to sit down, her eyes flicking to the door every couple of seconds. It was her day off, and she'd agreed to take care of her younger half-brother after he'd finished school for the day. She had barely seen her family over the past 2 years, and Ali had actively encouraged her in talking to them and getting involved. She'd met with her mother after two weeks staying with Ali, and spoke with her sister over the phone a few times. Edward, who had recently turned 15, was starting his tenth year of school and was incredibly unhappy about being babysat for the evening while their mother went out to a charity dinner and dance with her husband.

For what felt like the millionth time Ray smoothed her hands down her clothes, deep red jeans and a black halter neck crop top, picked by Ali, who had also insisted on an armful of black bangles and an assortment of rings to complete the ensemble. She looked like she had before, which was what they had been aiming for, to ensure Edward felt comfortable around her. A knock at the door startled her, and Ray leaped forward, unlocking it with shaky hands and pulling it open, even leaving the chain off for once. Standing in the hall was a short boy, clad in uniform Ray recognised from when she'd been at the same high school. He'd made all the same amendments she had, unbuttoning the top buttons, loosening his tie, untucking his shirt, badges covering his blazer lapels. The only difference was that he didn't wear a black skirt hiked up high over his knees. His dark hair stuck up at all angles, grass and mud staining the bottom of his trousers.

"Your hair looks like shit." Edward greeted, shoving past her and entering the flat, throwing his school bag down on the floor. Ray shut the door with a smile, turning to find the boy already examining her flat, peering at the few books and CD's on the shelves.

"Nice to see you too Eddie." She replied, striding over and ruffling his hair the way he'd always hated. He swatted her away, pulling a face.

"Whatever. I'm starved, you got any food?" The teenager moved onto the small kitchen. Ray followed, leaning against the counter.

"Probably, Ali keeps me stocked up." She told him. Edward glanced at her.

"You're still friends with Ali?" He asked, his voice a little funny. Ray smiled.

"Yep." She stepped forward, pulling the fridge open to peruse the food. She hadn't even looked in there since the incident with the bacon. It was surprisingly full, and not with food that had gone off and rotted.

"So, how is she?" Edward asked, leaning casually against the wall. Ray pulled out a carton of milk, closing the fridge and moving onto a cupboard, finding a clear plastic box filled with double chocolate chip cookies.

"She's good, got engaged." She glanced at Edward out of the corner of her eye, noting how crestfallen he looked at her words. "This look good?" She asked, holding up the cookies and milk. Edward shrugged, wandering over to sprawl on her sofa.

"It'll do," he answered dejectedly. Ray hid a smile. Edward had always had a crush on Ali, ever since he was little. She grabbed some glasses Ali had bought for her and brought them to the coffee table, setting them down with the cookies and milk.

"How's school going?" She asked, sitting cross legged on the other side of the sofa. Edward made a face, grabbing a cookie.

"It sucks, don't tell dad but I got another detention today." He told her.

"And you're still friends with Riley?" She asked. Edward had been best friends with the tall girl since forever, always getting into trouble with her. Edward shrugged.

"We're friends, but she's acting a bit weird lately." He answered glumly. "She hangs out with people I don't like, she cancels a lot when we arrange stuff." Ray frowned. Riley had always been a good kid, with a few problems due to people teasing her for her height, and her parent's divorce.

"She's hanging out with a bad crowd?" She asked. Edward nodded, finishing his cookie.

"I think she might be smoking, I found a lighter and an empty packet of tobacco in her room." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further.

"Have you talked to her about it?" Ray asked. Edward shook his head. "Maybe you should try, ask her what's going on. Try and help her out." She suggested. Edward snorted derisively.

"What, like mum did for you?" He asked pointedly. Ray paused, looking at her brother impassively.

"I think that Riley's situation and mine are slightly different." She told him carefully. Edward leaned forward.

"What happened to you though?" He asked. "I mean, you were basically gone for two years. Mum was depressed for most of that time, and you weren't there for her." He sounded slightly angry now. Ray bit her lip, leaning her head on the back of the sofa tiredly.

"I was living with Caleb." She told him.

"I know that," Edward retorted. "What were you doing with him that was so important you couldn't even visit?" His words cut through her like a knife.

"Has mum told you anything at all?" Ray asked, hating the faint tremor in her voice.

"No." Edward answered curtly. Ray gulped. She had been dreading this moment, when she'd have to explain what had happened. Her mother knew, minus any details, and so did her step-father. Hannah, their older sister, also knew. Edward obviously deserved to know, being the only one in the dark about everything. She shifted in her seat, sitting up further.

"Eddie," she started softly. "I haven't visited for two years because I have been in a… well… Caleb was…" she tried to think of how to put it. "He was very controlling. And, well… abusive." She winced at the word, she hated to use it, especially to describe the man she'd once loved. That was why she'd stayed at first, a twisted form of love. When she realised she didn't love him, she stayed out of pity, and eventually she was simply too tired to care what happened.

"Caleb was… abusive?" Edward asked, his voice sounding slightly funny. Ray nodded silently. He cleared his throat a few times. "He hit you?" He asked tightly. She nodded again. "That bastard!" Her eyes widened and she glanced up to see Edward's face contorted with anger, hands tightened into fists.

"Eddie," she pleaded, hands rising to clutch at his shoulders. "Calm down alright?"

"No!" Edward shouted. "I won't calm down Ray!" He shook her off, jumping off the sofa and pacing the living room.

"It's fine Eddie," she tried to tell him, but he just shot her an incredulous look.

"No it isn't." He told her. "It's sick! It's disgusting! It's not alright, and you don't have to pretend it is just because you don't want me to be angry!" Ray ran a hand through her hair, biting her lip.

"Look, Eddie," she tried, forcing her voice to sound firm and unshaking. "I'm trying to get back to a normal life. It's hard enough already when I feel so shitty all the time, but when people get angry about it and try to make a big deal, it just makes it worse. I want to never think about it and move on, but I can't do that if people keep telling me I have to be angry or want to get revenge for me or some shit." A silence fell between them and she found herself holding her breath, praying he'd understand. After a little while, Eddie sighed, falling back onto the sofa dejectedly.

"Can you tell me about it?" He asked quietly.

"All of it?" He shook his head quickly, sensing the slight apprehension in her voice.

"Just… I wanna know about it. Not specific details though." He seemed afraid for upsetting her with his request, but Ray felt it was normal. Of course he'd want to understand, he would be curious about what happened.

"How about you ask me questions, and if I don't want to answer I'll tell you, and we can avoid those topics?" She suggested, picking up a cookie and lightly nibbling on it. Eddie nodded, following her lead and grabbing a cookie for himself, drawing his feet up onto the sofa and getting comfortable.

"So," he started awkwardly. "Was he always uh…y'know, abusive?" He seemed to have trouble with his phrasing, worrying that it might upset her. Ray smiled gently.

"It's okay Eddie. Caleb was abusive," the words sounded funny even to her own ears, to sum up the man she'd once loved, the complex poetry lover squashed into one category. "I have to get used to saying it, like everyone else. Skirting around the word will just make it worse." She bit into her cookie, chewing slowly so as to give her time to get her thoughts together to answer his question. "And to answer, no, he wasn't always like that. The only reason he managed to catch and keep me was because I loved him. When we moved in together, that's when it started, and even then it was small stuff. Telling me what to wear, giving me times to get home, checking my phone constantly, always having physical contact with me when we went out." Looking back, she always wished she'd spotted those signs, but she'd just thought Caleb was stressed. He'd been made redundant, and was relying on her income to keep financially afloat. Later she discovered he's quit his job and lied to her. Eddie was studying her face, watching her expressions.

"So why did you stay?" He asked. Ray shrugged.

"Many reasons. At first it was love, but it quickly became apparent he didn't love me, and I didn't love him. He was in love with the idea of controlling someone weaker than him. After that I tried to leave a few times, but he'd lie and cheat and guilt me into staying, making out it'd be better. After a while I stopped believing him, and then I was just staying because I'd become so reliant upon his controlling behaviour that I didn't believe I could make it in the world alone. I was too tired to leave." Her breath hitched and she swallowed a lump that had appeared in her throat. "I lost who I was. He shattered my self-esteem, he forced me to become his puppet. It was hell." A tear rolled down her cheek, and Eddie looked as though he wanted to cry too, setting down his cookie and reaching out to wrap his arms around her shoulders, burying his face in her neck.

"I'm sorry." He muttered hoarsely. Ray nodded mutely, wrapping her arms around him too. They sat like that for several minutes, neither willing to admit that they were crying. Eventually they pulled away and gave each other watery smiles.

"Any more questions?" Ray asked, wiping her eyes on her hands. Eddie looked hesitant.

"You don't have to… we can do this another time." He suggested warily. Ray shook her head.

"It's okay, I want you to understand and not be in the dark." She told him, waiting for the next question and sipping her milk. Eddie drew in a deep breath.

"Okay. When did he, y'know, hit you?" He asked. "Was it really bad?" Ray paused. She had to mentally prepare herself for this, the most prominent of her memories of Caleb.

"The first time was when I suggested he move out for a little while and get his own place." She told him. "I'd begun to feel suffocated. He was furious with me, slapped me in the face." She remembered that day clearly. Caleb had never been one to slap her about, he could get quite creative, but it was almost always punched and kicks and the like. The few times he'd outright slapped her were easy to remember, they'd make her feel so small and fragile. They seemed to highlight how weak she truly was. "After that he apologised, promised to look for a job and back off. We had a lovely dinner that night, and I saw a guy wearing a Metallica shirt. I struck up conversation with him, and Caleb got jealous, thought I was flirting with other men when all we discussed were decent bands. When we got home he shoved me down and screamed at me, beat me black and blue and stormed off to drink, leaving me to clean up the mess." Eddie sucked in a breath at her words.

"Asshole." He muttered eloquently. Ray let out a strained laugh.

"Not as creative as Ali, but you'll get there," she joked, trying to lighten the mood slightly. "Let's stop with the questions now though." She'd thought she'd be able to handle them all, but she'd reached her limits now, and Eddie instantly nodded, letting her know it was okay. Eddie's presence grounded her and stopped her from sinking into a pit of self-pity however, encouraging her to stay focused. He reminded her that she was trying to get away from Caleb and get back to her old self. "Chicken pie and roast potatoes." She announced suddenly. Eddie lit up, immediately understanding what she meant. Growing up she and Hannah often had to babysit Eddie, and those times were the only times Ray could cook them dinner, chicken pie being hers and Eddie's favourite, roast potatoes being Hannah's favourite.

"Sounds perfect." Eddie replied, grabbing the remnants of his cookie and dunking it in her milk.

o0o

Erwin and Levi had bumped into Ali on the way home from work, exchanging polite greetings with each other as they all traipsed up the seven flights of stairs. The air between them was vaguely awkward, not quite comfortable enough with each other to be considered, not exactly strangers either. At least Levi and Ali weren't, Erwin had just passed the blonde occasionally at the café or around the block of flats. As soon as they arrived on floor 7, their eyes all seemed to simultaneously widen in surprise. A delicious smell was wafting through the corridor, and none of them really believed where it was coming from.

"Did someone move into the empty flat?" Ali asked abruptly, hardly daring to believe. Erwin shook his head. It was only him, Levi, and Ray here. "So that's Ray cooking?" Ali asked reverently. Levi and Erwin raised eyebrows at how happy she suddenly seemed. They both knew about Ray's failed attempt at a bacon butty, so it was surprising to realise she might be capable of actually using an oven. Ali however, was overjoyed for a different reason, the only one really understanding how damaged Ray was after Caleb.

"So she is capable of cooking without setting fire to the building." Levi commented snidely. Ali rolled her eyes, pace quickening as she strode to Ray's flat and banged on the door excitedly. It whipped open with surprising speed to reveal someone who was not Ray, though they could hear her protests in the background.

"Hey Ali," Eddie greeted cheerfully. Ali grinned, ruffling the boys hair as Ray had done.

"Wassup champ," she greeted. "What's cooking?" She sniffed the air appreciatively.

"Chicken pie and roast potatoes." Eddie answered proudly. "Plus I managed to get Ray to make her awesome sticky toffee pudding for dessert." He puffed out his chest smugly. Erwin lingered at Ray's door, while Levi watched him with a raised eyebrow. Ray pottered over to the door, wearing bright yellow rubber gloves and a frilly pink apron (novelty gift from Ali).

"Hey Ali," she greeted nervously, carefully pulling the gloves off. Ali grinned broadly at her.

"Hey you!" Her friend gave her a good natured shove, pushing breezily into the flat and setting some bags on the coffee table. Ray looked at Levi and Erwin, a blush on her cheeks.

"It's nice to see you again." Erwin told her, smiling warmly.

"Same to you," she replied, beginning to untie the apron and pull it over her head, revealing her form fitting clothes. She was rather aware some of her stomach and arms showed in this top. Levi was surprised by himself as he traced the skin he could see with his eyes, admiring the tattoos that decorated her. From the distance he stood at he was unable to make out any details however.

An idea seemed to strike Ray and she nervously looked over her shoulder at Ali, who was peering into the oven curiously. "Would you like to come in and have dinner?" She asked her neighbours. Erwin had said something before about getting dinner one night, and since it was incredibly unlikely that she'd ever go to a restaurant and be comfortable with him, this seemed the best option. Erwin looked surprised at the offer, while the only indication Levi was shocked was the elevation of one thin brow.

"That would be lovely," Erwin answered for both of them. "As long as it's not too much trouble." He added. Aware of her situation, he knew she'd be delicate and it must be a rather big step to invite two people into her safe place like this. She shrugged, though her body was tensed, giving away how nervous she really was.

"I have yet to use the new dining table so the more the merrier, eh?" She stepped aside to let them in, and Levi inwardly sighed rather huffily, but made no comment as he followed his friend/boss/guy-he-hated into the apartment. Ray closed the door behind them, and Ali looked up from where she and Eddie were spooning toffee straight from the can. They shot her a questioning look, and she smiled uneasily. "Erwin and Levi are gonna stay for dinner," she announced. "Since I made way too much for just three of us anyway." She shrugged again, like it was no big deal, and put her gloves back on as she went back into the kitchen, leaving Erwin and Levi to make themselves comfortable on her couch.

Levi grudgingly admitted that the place was a lot cleaner than he expected, and the fact that she wore gloves to cook set some of his ill-thoughts at ease. Any take-out containers and rubbish had been cleared, and it looked as though someone had actually swept the place (it might even have been mopped, but Levi didn't get too hopeful). It still needed a lot of unpacking, there were boxes stacked in one corner, and it had little to no personal possessions on display, except for an easel squeezed in behind the door, a stack of haphazard sketchbooks piled beside it. The rectangular dining table she'd mentioned fit perfectly in the large space behind the living area, with enough space left for 6 chairs to comfortably fit around it, though none of the chairs actually matched.

"Drinks?" Ali asked, approaching the couch and taking over as hostess for the moment.

"Just water for me thanks." Erwin answered. Ali nodded and glanced at Levi questioningly.

"Tea please." She nodded and turned back to the kitchen, shooing Eddie out to the living room as he attempted to take a sip from her glass of red wine. The boy rolled his eyes but obligingly sat at the other seat, a blue armchair that definitely didn't match the red couch.

"I'm Eddie by the way," he introduced himself to the guests. Erwin smiled kindly.

"I'm Erwin, and this is Levi." He replied. "Are you Ray's brother by any chance?" When the boy nodded his smile widened. "Thought so, the resemblance truly is uncanny." The two shared the same shade of almost black hair, had the same long face and sloped nose, the wide, thick lips. The only real difference he could see was that Eddie's eyes were hazel, while Ray's were a blue that was, at times, disconcerting.

"We're only half siblings, but we both took after our mum." Eddie explained. "Whereas Hannah, our sister, has really light hair and takes after her dad apparently." Erwin was interested by this.

"There are only three of you?" He asked. Eddie nodded. "Funny, I'd just assumed this whole time that Ali was Ray's sibling, or a cousin or something." This appeared to be a common misconception, if Eddie's laugh was anything to go by.

"Yeah, they get that a lot, 'specially when they were kids, they were basically inseparable. I remember a time when they'd wear matching outfits almost constantly." A throat cleared nearby and they all glanced up to see Ali, holding a glass of water and a mug of tea. She raised an eyebrow at Eddie, who shrunk back into himself slightly, looking sheepish. "Or not. Maybe they were perfectly normal kids who didn't ever dress up in tutus and leg warmers and make up dance routines on the trampoline." He muttered. Ali rolled her eyes, handing Erwin and Levi their drinks.

"Nice save kid." She replied dryly. "Don't forget we've got all the juicy tidbits on you as a kid as well." She winked mischievously and swept off back to the kitchen. Erwin raised an eyebrow at Eddie.

"I can imagine being raised alongside them was rather adventurous." He commented, though from what he'd seen Ali was the adventurous one. Ray seemed like a quiet girl who got dragged into things with no short amount of frustration. He couldn't really imagine her initiating anything particularly unruly. Eddie vigorously nodded at his observation.

"Those two nearly got expelled like, a dozen times," he told them. "I blame them for any trouble I get into, Ray was a terrible influence growing up."

"Was not!" An indignant voice wafted from the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes.

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Shut up and lay the table pipsqueak!" Eddie rolled his eyes and got up from his seat, while Erwin chuckled at the childish display. He looked down at Levi, who looked bored as he sipped his tea, and nudged the smaller man gently.

"Smile a little, it isn't that bad here." He murmured. He knew how unsociable his friend could be, but he had to be able to see that this was kind of an honour, to be allowed into Ray's home after her ordeals. He knew how paranoid the woman was, and it was a huge step to see her letting them in. Levi shrugged non-committedly.

"It's not bad, but it's not what I had in mind for my evening." He muttered. Behind them Eddie began to lay cutlery down at the table, and there were clinks and scrapes as food was dished up in the kitchen. Pretty soon they were all seated around the table, Ali leading the conversation animatedly, while Ray sat quietly and ate, occasionally adding her 10 cents. It had been a while since she'd been so sociable, and her energy quickly ran dry. It wasn't an entirely un-enjoyable evening however. That is, until it was almost over, and her phone rang.