He didn't go directly to her house. Mostly because he had no idea what to even fucking say to fix things.

He knew he majorly screwed up. That was a total dick move. And saying sorry wasn't goin to be enough to mend the damage he caused. He had to give her something more than that.

He checked the address for what felt like the millionth time, sitting in his car, parked creepily outside her apartment complex. Running a hand through his hair, he finally just said fuck it and got out, not stopping to think about anything until his feet carried him up the stairs to her door.

It was that moment he realized, he had no idea if she lived alone or had roommates, but he was seriously hoping she lived alone. He wasn't in the mood to hash it all out in front of a bunch of people.

Raising his fist, he rapped lightly on the door with his knuckle, holding his breath until the door flung open, Charlie standing before him in all her glory.

She looked as though she wanted to close the door in his face, but she didn't.

"Duncan gave you my address."

It wasn't a question. She knew it had to be Duncan, always going around and sticking her nose in everyone's business.

Still Bass nodded, scratching the back of his neck as he glanced down, "Yeah she did. Told me to come over and apologize for being such an ass."

Looking at him expectantly, Bass sighed, "Can I at least come in?"

Charlie nonchalantly shrugged, "I mean, if all you came here to do was appease Duncan and apologize, I don't really see a reason. It's late. I'm tired."

"Fuck," he grumbled, "I didn't—I didn't just come here to say sorry, and especially not because Duncan told me to."

Charlie had no idea what he was there for then. He couldn't possibly be thinking he was going to get laid. So why was he here?

"I just—I wanted to explain myself," he mumbled.

Charlie shook her head, holding the door with one hand, "you don't owe me an explanation, really—"

"I'm not doing it because I owe it to you," he cut her off, mid sentence. "I'm doing it because I want to tell you. I don't owe it to you, but you should at least know the reason why I hate that part of my life so much, why I get so defensive."

Nothing was said for a few minutes and Bass was sure she was going to open her mouth and tell him to go to hell. But Charlie surprised the both of them, granting him access into her apartment, ushering him in with her hand.

Complying on command, he strolled into her apartment, following behind as her hips sashayed their way into the living room. It was hard for him not notice every aspect of her body, even though that wasn't what he came there for.

Sitting down on the couch, she motioned for him to do the same, because his awkward standing started to freak her out. Although it was obvious he was out of his element.

They were usually on his territory, so being here was different.

Nevertheless, he shrugged out of his jacket, sitting down beside of her, but keeping enough space between them.

"I'm going to tell you as much as I can, but you have to promise not to interrupt," a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth when Charlie rolled her eyes.

"My family died in a car crash."

That's all he said for a whole two minutes, and Charlie promised to stay quiet so she was forced to sit there and let the room thaw out on its own. He already mentioned they died, but never how. Things started clicking into place for Charlie.

Finally, he took in a deep breath, starting again, "my parents and two sisters were coming home from a movie one night. They were hit by a drunk driver and died on impact. I guess that's the reason I chose to be a mechanic after I got back. Being close to cars everyday was hard at first," his mind immediately started flashing back to all of the bad times he went through during that period of his life.

"Every time I looked at a car, I pictured them, trapped inside with no way to get out," his hollow voice drew Charlie closer to him like gravity, and Bass didn't miss it.

"But it got better. I was determined to make this work. I couldn't let their death take everything I loved away, and I've always loved cars. It wasn't the car's fault, and as stupid as that sounds, I believed it for awhile. I guess it was easier to cope that way if there was something I could hate, besides the asshole who hit them. He wasn't within my grasp, I couldn't physically punch and beat the shit outta him, so I had to go with the next best thing."

A light smile illuminated his face, "after awhile, it became like, a part of them were with me every time I worked on cars. Instead of seeing their bodies decaying, I saw their happy, smiling faces. Those same faces I saw every time we took road trips when the girls were babies. I felt like fixing cars was slowly starting to fix me. Like if I could take a completely, almost beyond repair damaged car and restore it back to its former glory, then I could do the same with myself. It gave me hope."

The smile on his face vanished as his eyes shifted down, "but I went through some bad shit in between that self realization or whatever. I started hanging out with the wrong people, and it wasn't Duncan's fault, I don't blame her. Yeah she organized the whole thing and sucked me into that lifestyle of racing, doing illegal shit, and not giving a single fuck about what happened…whether I lived or died. But ultimately, it was my fault I let myself go."

Turning his body, Charlie flinched when his eyes bore into hers, "listen I don't know what kind of place you're in, or what happened to put you there. I do know that I've been in a shitty place before, and I thought this was the answer to all my problems. I thought it would just be for fun, a way to let off some steam, and for awhile, it was. Until it turned into something more, something like a crutch I couldn't function without."

Breaking connection, he looked away, "anyway, that's what I wanted to come here and tell you. And I'm sorry for being an asshole when you didn't deserve it. Thanks for hearing me out."

He stood up, intending to leave, but Charlie's soft voice rung out, "what made you change?"

His eyebrow rose when he turned around to face her.

"You did a complete 180, so what happened? What changed?"

"I had a best friend who literally kicked my ass back into shape when I couldn't do it myself," Bass chuckled lightly, shaking his head.

"Had?"

His head snapped up at the realization of his words, "no, I mean, I still have him. He just moved a few towns over and has a lot going on in his life, but I still have him."

"A guy I once loved died," she blurted out, instantly wanting to pull those words back and shove them into her mouth.

She never talked about Adam. It was too hard because she really thought she loved him…or could've loved him.

But the words seemed to effortlessly flow, "I guess, maybe that's why I do it, although I'm not suicidal or anything. I just—I like the feel of adrenaline. It makes me feel—"

"Free?"

Bass offered as she struggled for the right word. But Charlie shook her head.

"No. It just makes me feel in general."

She sighed, "For awhile, after his death, I didn't feel anything. I was numb to it all. I had never been that close to death before. I obviously wasn't coping well, no matter how much I lied to my family and said I was. My uncle was the only one who could ever see through my bullshit."

Charlie chuckled, "he always told me I had a terrible poker face, and he was right. One night, I just started to think what would happen if I kicked it into overdrive right now and sped down the road, not even bothering to wait for green lights or check for oncoming traffic. So I did it. And nothing happened. Nothing except I felt a rush surging through my body."

She looked over at him as he stood, curiosity etched across the entirety of his face, "that was the first time since his death that I felt anything. Life's short," she trailed off, hoping he would understand. And he did.

Nodding, he thought back to all those times he raced, and she was exactly right. It was the only time he ever felt something worth feeling.

"I don't," the words got caught on her tongue, "I don't think I can stop. Not right now at least."

Peering up at him through hooded lashes, he saw a vulnerable girl.

"You fixed yourself, and I'm so glad for you because you aren't one of those guys, no matter what you think. I'm just still not done coping, and I'm afraid that if I let go, it'll all come crashing back. Like after an accident. That shit never hurts until the next morning and everything sets in."

"You don't have to quit although," his low, quiet voice carried over to where she was, "you're way better than any of them."

He paused, "I get it Charlie. I understand, but there will come a time when you have to let it go and put that shit behind you, or let it consume you one."

Taking a few long strides, he was in front of her again, kneeling down, "and I'm not going to let it consume you. I will fight tooth and nail to make sure you never end up too far gone."

She shook her head, "you can't be the one to save me Bass. I need to save myself."

Running a finger along her cheek, Bass tilted her chin up until her eyes were level with his, "well then I'll be here while you save yourself. And if there comes a point where you need me, I'll be there. It's not weak to need help. It's weak to watch yourself sink further and further when all along, all you had to do was ask for help."

"Do you want to stay tonight?"

Boy, her mouth was just on a role tonight, blurting things out before even thinking about it. Not that she didn't want him to stay; she just didn't want to spring it on him like that. Plus she didn't even know if he was the type to stay the morning after sex. She had no idea if he was even into just simply sleeping with a woman, no sex involved.

Seeing him grin she realized she had just said all of that out loud.

"Contrary to popular belief, I am capable of just sleeping in the same bed as a woman. Although," he stood up suddenly, tugging on her hand until she was on her feet, "with you it may be a little harder."

The way he huskily said 'a little harder' made Charlie jokingly roll her eyes, smile spreading across her face.

"Well as long as you keep your hands to yourself you can stay," she smirked.

Bass pretended to think about it, gloomily replying "no promises."

Charlie laughed, shoving at his chest as she walked past him, into her room, Bass right on her tail. All joking aside, she knew she could trust him, she knew she was safe with him.

She couldn't remember a time she slept so soundlessly, not waking up one time during the night, all due to Bass' comforting presence. His arms stayed wrapped around her body the entire night, like a cocoon, sheltering her from the outside world.

Twisting her body slightly, so as to not rouse him, her eyes roamed over his face, memorizing every line, every wrinkle, everything that was distinguishably Bass, until her phone interrupted her ogling.

Loudly on her bedside table, Charlie's hand shot out to retrieve it, not bothering to glance down at the screen.

Apparently she had been ignoring her phone, and everyone, because Miles was screeching on the other end. He was so loud; Charlie was surprised the whole neighborhood wasn't awake by this point.

She wasn't sure about the whole neighborhood, but Bass was certainly awake. She heard him groan under his breath upon hearing some muffled, random voice. Flinging an arm over his face, he tried to block the sound out until Charlie finally stood up from the bed.

Pacifying him, she allowed Miles to ramble on for a few minutes before interjecting.

"Miles, tone down the drama, it's 11 a.m.," she deadpanned.

Bass' body froze as his eyes shot open, removing the lifeless arm from his face. He couldn't have heard her right? She didn't just say Miles did she?

"Christ, uncle Miles, calm down, I'm not dead, jeez. I've just been busy," she rolled her eyes at his dramatic antics.

Fuck, she definitely said Miles, but what are the odds it's the same Miles? I mean, that was a pretty common name right? She couldn't be the same niece…no because her name was something different. Fuck, he kept racking his brain. What the fuck was her name? Charlotte? Something like that. There, different names, so this had to be a different Miles.

She snorted, "well, Duncan tends to overreact…alright, I'll be over soon, don't have an heart attack."

Whatever he said must've been irritating to Charlie because she made a face into the phone, "yeah, yeah, don't drag out my whole first name. I'm not a child."

Double, double fuck. Charlie was short for something. But it could be short for something else right? Like Charlene or something.

That was it. Her real name was Charlene, Charlie for short, with an uncle Miles, but different from his own best friend named Miles.

Even Bass wasn't stupid enough to believe this load of bullshit he was feeding himself.