Ray visibly stiffened when the shrill ringing interrupted an interesting and detailed account of the time she and Ali managed to find their way onto the school roof. They'd all just finished a tasty dessert and sat nursing cups of coffee or tea. It had long since gotten dark outside, though it was only a little after 7pm. Since the only people who knew her mobile number were her parents, Ali, and her boss, she was a little wary of answering it. She excused herself from the table, going to her bag, which hung on the back of the couch, and rootled through it to find the device. Ali quickly began speaking again, and she took the phone into the quieter bedroom to answer it.

"Hello?" She asked hesitantly. The screen said it was an unknown number, and she was wary about who it could be.

"Rachel?" She froze, the familiar voice sending spikes of ice down her spine. Her fingers tightened painfully around the phone, and she was afraid she'd break it in her grip.

"Caleb?" She whispered. There was no denying it was him, she'd remember his voice absolutely anywhere. She doubted she'd ever be able to forget it.

"Rachel! Baby it's so good to hear your voice." His voice was ever so slightly slurred, and she shuddered. He was drunk, but not completely so. She could never decide what was worse, the angry kind of drunk where he'd smash his fist into her face, or this one, the touchy one who'd hold her down and roughly kiss her, hands needily groping her.

"How did you get this number Caleb?" She demanded, trying to force the terrified shaking from her voice.

"It doesn't matter. Listen baby, don't you think you've punished me enough? Just come back home, I miss you so much." His voice was begging, and Ray was horrified when she actually considered his words for a moment. It would be far simpler, just to go back and finish her life there with him. There wouldn't be any more effort, the strain of getting up, forcing herself to go to work, just making herself eat was a chore. The hushed voices and clinks in the other room grounded her though, reminded her of how much progress she'd made just tonight, letting in two men, cooking a proper meal, taking care of Eddie for an afternoon. She was getting a little better, she didn't need Caleb.

"I'm not coming back Caleb." She said firmly, managing to keep the tremor at bay.

"What? Baby you aren't thinking straight, just come home and we'll sort this all out." His voice grew more agitated. Ray's fingers tightened around the phone.

"No." She told him.

"Baby-"

"No Caleb. It's over. Lose this number. Please." He began to grow angry as she held firm.

"Don't talk to me like that! You're cheating on me aren't you? Who's the guy? Rachel, I swear to god, if you're cheating on me I'll fucking-" She never heard the rest of his angry tirade, the phone plucked from her hands suddenly by someone who'd quietly appeared behind her.

"Listen shit-for-brains," Levi's cold voice started speaking, and Ray whirled around, stumbling slightly. Levi grabbed hold of her arm to stop her falling. "She said it's over, it's over. Call this number again and I'll personally have you arrested for harassment." He hung up before Caleb could get a word in. Ray felt horrendous shakes wrack her body, and he steered her to the barely used bed, sitting her down. After a moment she felt something heavy wrap over her shoulders, a thick blanket. She shivered and gratefully pulled it round her. "I've blocked the number he used." Levi said, placing the phone on her nightstand. Ray nodded mutely, clutching the edges of the blanket as though it were her lifeline. Steps and hushed voices came from the other room, but she paid them no mind, even when Ali's face popped around the doorframe worriedly, and she exchanged concerned words with Levi, who was going through her phone. She seemed to lose time for a little while, and when she looked up, Levi was still there, looking at her.

"How did he get my number?" She asked, her voice hoarse and barely louder than a whisper. Levi shrugged.

"Could've gotten it from anyone you know." He answered. Ray looked crestfallen, only maybe five people knew her mobile number, meaning one of them had given it away. She was about to speak again when Levi's voice interrupted, except he wasn't talking to her, he was talking into his phone.

"Hanji, did you give somebody Rachel's mobile phone number?" He asked, foregoing greetings. He had seen the few contacts in Ray's phone, and narrowed it down to only one or two people. Hanji had her number for work purposes, and she was the only one who wouldn't know how crucial it was to not give the number away.

On the other end of the phone line, Hanji was reclining back on her sofa, two large, slobbering mutts piled over her.

"Yeah, a woman came in earlier today." She answered slowly. "She said she recognised Ray and asked if she could possibly have her number. Why?"

"Because her ex got his hands on it and just phoned her." Levi's voice was sharp and accusatory, though he hardly meant it that way. He understood Hanji wouldn't have known the consequences of her actions, since Ray had told her nothing and she only had scraps of information to go on. Hanji was silent for a moment.

"That's bad, right?" She asked, biting at a hangnail on her thumb.

"Yeah. I've got to go, Rachel's going into shock." He hung up before Hanji could demand to know why the two were together this late at night. She sighed, throwing her phone to the desk across the room and missing spectacularly.

Back in Ray's room, Levi grudgingly knelt next to the bed. He understood that perhaps she wasn't eager for reassuring touches, if she was jumpy normally who knew what she'd be like in that moment, so he just kept his distance while assuring she knew he was there.

"Hanji told him?" She croaked out. Levi nodded.

"I think it would be best you explain to her why it's a bad idea to do that again, and how dangerous it would be." He was making a suggestion, but it came out more like an order. "That way if someone comes asking after you again, she can warn you." Ray nodded, acknowledging his suggestion.

"I need to look after Eddie," she declared, her voice suddenly much stronger as she forced herself to her feet, the blanket falling haphazardly behind her. Levi raised an eyebrow as he too got to his feet. One minute ago she could barely stand she was so afraid, and now she was suddenly looking as determined and confident as he'd ever seen her. He had half a mind to tell her to sit the fuck back down, but he could understand her motives. She was using babysitting Eddie as something to ground her. She had to look after him, rather than wallow in her own fear and self pity. He knew she wanted to become her 'old self' again, though he didn't know what that was like, and as the elder sister, that meant looking after her brother like she used to. She shook visibly as she left the room, leaving Levi to sit quietly in his thoughts. He'd called her a brat a fair few times, but he privately admitted that she at least had a spine now.

o0o

Ray felt more than a little nervous as she gently pushed open the café door, listening to the light tinkling of the bell above it. It was her day off, and she'd expected to stay home and sulk as usual, but instead she'd decided to come down and talk with Hanji. Ali had been extremely supportive of this decision, saying it was a chance for her to socialise and make new friends. The original plan had actually been to just phone Hanji and explain what she should do if someone asked after her, but Ali had hidden her phone and forced a reluctant Ray to practise small talk with her as they walked down the road. She'd then cheerfully abandoned her supposed 'best friend' to walk to her doom herself.

Hanji was sitting at an empty table by herself, books and papers scattered around her as she feverishly wrote something. For some reason there was a large bowl of spinach beside her that she periodically took handfuls from and stuffed into her mouth. Ray approached slowly, removing her denim jacket now that she was in the cosy warmth of the café. Hanji glanced up at her, expression becoming surprised and slightly guilty as she sprang up.

"Rachel!" She greeted enthusiastically. Ray shifted nervously.

"Um, hey Miss Zoe." She replied. Hanji waved a hand nonchalantly.

"Please, it's just Hanji." She told her. "What can I do you for?" She gestured to the seat opposite her and began gathering her papers and books to stack them on the floor out of the way. Ray carefully sat down, folding her jacket on her lap and fiddling with the hem of her dress.

"It was suggested to me by Levi that I explain some stuff to you." She started. Hanji nodded.

"Yes I assume that's what this was about," she replied apologetically. "I'm so sorry for giving out your phone number like that, I thought you'd know the person and I didn't think." She looked so downtrodden in that moment.

"It's fine, you didn't know." Ray hastily rebutted her. "I should have explained the situation to you, it's me who didn't think." She tried to smile warmly but it may have come across as a little strained. Hanji sat heavily in her chair and rested her head on her hands, peering closely at the younger woman.

"Let's just end with nobody being blamed and settle for it never happening again." She conceded. Ray nodded.

"Sounds good to me. But I do owe you an explanation and an idea of who you should be looking out for." She replied. She held up her jacket and rootled around in the pockets, pulling out her phone. Quickly entering the password she pulled up an old picture and showed Hanji.

In the photo were two people, a much younger Ray and her ex, Caleb. Ray's hair was much shorter and had been gelled up in all directions so that her head resembled a hedgehog, and she had on thick black eye makeup and bright red lipstick. She was sticking her tongue out and raising a middle finger at the camera, face and ears decorated with spikes and studs and chains. Beside her was a tall, muscular man with his arm casually thrown over her shoulder, also throwing a middle finger at the camera. He had a very handsome face, with far less piercings than Ray, and dark hair that had been mussed in an attractive I-don't-give-a-fuck kind of way. His arms were heavily coloured with a plethora of tattoos, and he was looking at Ray in a way that could only be described as loving. The picture had been taken on what Ray had believed then to be the best day of her life. Caleb had taken her to see her favourite band, they'd had a few drinks, and university was almost over. She'd felt as though she was on top of the world back then.

Hanji was surprised that was even the same person in the picture, Ray looked so confident and carefree, and the man beside her looked as though he'd give her the world should she ask. She lifted her gaze to look at the girl opposite her, who was pale and gaunt, far too skinny, looking like she wanted to sink into the floor and disappear completely.

"That man's name is Caleb," Ray said, her voice slightly hoarse. "He's my abusive ex-boyfriend. Should you see him in or around this café or my flat I would like you to inform me immediately. It would also be best not to approach him or make him aware that you are in contact with me, since I am unsure of what lengths exactly he will go to find me. He has something of an explosive temper." She managed to get through the practised words without her voice trembling, a feat she congratulated herself on. Hanji's mouth thinned slightly as she pressed her lips together. It didn't matter that Ray had only been working there a few weeks, or that the girl was so unsociable she barely knew anything about her, Hanji considered every employee her family, since her own had turned her out and rejected her. She felt protective over each and every one of them, and to hear and now see this man had hurt one of her family pissed her off to no end.

"He should be in jail," she couldn't help but point out. The girl had clearly been damaged in a severe and long term way, and the ass who'd done it still had the ability to walk free and harass her.

"He should be, but he isn't." Ray agreed, not elaborating. Hanji pressed the matter anyway.

"Why not?" She asked. More demanded really. Ray shrugged.

"Reasons." She answered cryptically, looking at the ground.

"That you can't tell me?" Hanji probed. Ray nodded silently. A tense silence lapsed between them as she locked her phone and replaced it in her jacket pocket. After a moment (during which Ray wondered if she would be allowed to leave) Hanji suddenly pushed forward the bowl of spinach. "Want some?" She asked. Ray raised an eyebrow and shook her head, cocking her head at the bowl questioningly. "Leftover from a failed experiment." Hanji explained. "I ordered several large bags and now I have to find a way to get rid of it all."

"Oh," Ray replied eloquently. "Was that for those spinach buttercream potato cakes?" Hanji nodded gravely. "Right. I thought those were a bit funny. Why don't you just try to make something else with the spinach?" Hanji looked intrigued, leaning forwards over the bowl.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked eagerly. Ray was slightly taken aback by the face suddenly looming in hers, but didn't flinch back.

"Um, well I guess it the fact that you put spinach in buttercream, which is sweet, which was disgusting." She pointed out. "So just put it in something else. Make it into a syrup and drizzle it on potato cakes, or mash it into a paste and put that on them. Don't make it into a sweet and savoury mix, just keep it savoury and label it as organic so all the health nuts come running." All of her own ideas sounded disgusting to Ray, but Hanji seemed interested. "If none of that sounds good I'll take some of the spinach home with me and mash it up to make a weird kind of paint for me to use." She had in fact used weirder materials in the past as a substitute for paint when she couldn't afford the good stuff or was banned from painting after making a mess.

"You're a genius Rachel!" Hanji exclaimed, clapping her hands together enthusiastically and leaning back in her chair. "Organic! Why didn't I think of that?" Ray shrugged.

"Cause you were too busy trying to incorporate it into a sweet." She pointed out, relaxing slightly as she forgot some of her nervousness. Hanji nodded and leaned forward to rest her hand on her hands again.

"So, you paint?" She asked, switching the subject. Ray nodded.

"Didn't for the past couple years, but been getting back into it." She had used to avidly draw everything around her that interested her. With the group of friends she used to hang out with, this meant she met a lot of people she deemed interesting and would sketch them down. Caleb had hated this, got stupidly jealous when she drew men she passed on the street and had burned all her old sketchbooks. She had been beyond devastated by this.

"Would you mind showing me sometime?" Hanji asked eagerly, reaching into the bowl of spinach and stuffing some into her mouth. Ray shrugged.

"I mean, they aren't great since I'm only just getting into it but I guess." She blushed slightly and looked away sheepishly. Hanji arched an eyebrow at her and waved a hand.

"Eh, can't be as bad as the stuff I've see Levi draw." She chuckled. Ray glanced up at that, opening her mouth to ask what she meant, when they were interrupted by the default tone of her phone in her pocket. Ray jumped at the sudden noise, fingers scrabbling to grab the device from her pocket to answer it. She shot Hanji an apologetic look, which was waved off as Hanji took the opportunity to go and refill her coffee-hot chocolate. Ray raised an eyebrow as she read the caller ID, which turned out to be Eddie, who should really be in school right then.

"Eddie?" She asked when she answered. "What's up?"

"Hey Ray, listen, you need to come pick me up from school," Eddie's sheepish voice greeted her and she furrowed her brow.

"Whyy?" She asked slowly.

"Hang on, Mr Rice wants me to hand the phone over so he can explain." She could practically hear the eye roll in her half-brothers voice. There was the sound of muffled talking and then a voice she vaguely remembered from her high school days. Mr Rice was the headmaster, someone she'd become rather acquainted with due to her adventures with Ali.

"Rachel Nicoll?" He asked.

"Yes, that's me. Is there a problem?" She heard Mr Rice give a rather long, exasperated sigh.

"I'm afraid your brother appears to be following in your footsteps." Apparently Mr Rice remembered her well enough. "He got in a fight with another student earlier, he is being suspended for the rest of the week. We've been tolerant recently but I will not abide violence." Ray sighed and dropped her head to rest on her hand.

"Okay, but why are you calling me?" She asked. "Why not his parents?"

"His father is held up at work and his mother is out of the city for the afternoon." Ray sighed again and pursed her lips.

"Alright, I'll come pick him up." She muttered. She and Mr Rice exchanged a few more words and she hung up. By then Hanji had found her way back to the table, a steaming mug in her hands.

"Everything alright?" She asked curiously, cocking her head. Ray nodded and got to her feet, tugging her jacket on over her dress.

"My little brother got in a fight at school, I have to go pick him up." She explained apologetically, fiddling nervously with her phone. She'd have to go by herself to pick him up, a daunting task to someone who had never even left her flat alone. It was always with Ali, and that one time with Levi on the way home. But Ali would be at work for the next few hours, and she had only expected she'd have to walk home alone. Then again, the high school was only a ten minute walk from the café, and if she took Eddie to her flat she wouldn't have to take him to his own house, which was a 20 minute walk from the school that she didn't think she'd be able to manage.

"Want me to go with you?" Hanji offered, noting the tense expression on Ray's face.

"No, you should stay here, it's not far away, I'll be fine." It sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself really. Hanji nodded slowly.

"Alright, but if you want some company or need to be picked up I'm just a phone call away." She smiled widely, in a way that was probably supposed to be comforting, but came across as slightly maniacal. Ray managed a small smile in return and bid her employer a goodbye.