Abbie's insomnia had returned full-force. She spent the night tossing and turning until her brother finally knocked on the door and snapped, "Your room is right beside mine and I can't sleep when you're moving around like that. Could you stop?"

"Shut up," she growled. "How do you even know that I'm moving around?"

"Vibrations," he explained.

"Oh," said Abbie sarcastically. "That explains everything."

"Could you stop being such a bitch? Take those stupid pills your stupid shrink gave you and go to bed. Maybe then you wouldn't be so cranky all the time."

She gaped at him for a moment, astonished that he dared to say such a thing. Then the fight drained from her eyes, because she knew she'd deserved that. "Sorry. I'll try to be quieter."

Graeme just stared at her, and Abbie knew why. She had never before given in so easily. But he turned on his heel and left, and that was what she had wanted.

She rolled over so she was facing the wall and cradled her head in her hands. She didn't sleep. She couldn't. She just stared.

Abbie was momentarily daunted when she realized that he was also in her French class. That was just great. She stuck close to Alex, who tossed her head and gave him an earful when he tried to get close, which worked for the moment.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Abbie, but is he the one –?" She just decided to come out with it. "Is the he the one you have nightmares about?"

Abbie was too emotionally drained to even be upset at the question. She just nodded. "Stay away from him, Alex. Don't let yourself get hurt like I did."

Alex gave Abbie's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "If there's anything I can do –"

"There's not," snapped Abbie. Then in a calmer voice, she added, "But thanks anyway."

As if on cue, he sauntered toward them and plopped himself down in the chair beside Alex, wrapping an arm around. "Hey, babe. How's it going?"

She batted his hand away. "You stay away from us!"

"Us, as in you and that slut?" He gestured to Abbie.

"She's not a slut," snapped Alex. "She's my friend. And if you can't leave us alone, I swear to God I'll have my parents charge you with harassment and you'll get thrown in jail."

He smirked. "Right."

"Do you know who my parents are?"

He shrugged. "No. Nor do I care."

"They're William and Marianna Cabot. They have more money than you could ever dream of and they could get your sorry ass tossed in jail before you could even utter a single apology."

He stared at her for a moment, then smirked again, but obediently got up and trotted away. "But you –" he said, pointing at Abbie, "– haven't seen the last of me."

Abbie regarded Alex with a mix of admiration and disdain. Alex usually didn't flaunt her parents' social status like that. But then, she was glad that she had a friend to stand up for her. That would be useful in the long run. She swallowed her pride and murmured, "Thanks, Alex."

Alex gave her a wan smile. "Don't mention it."

Abbie stuck close to her friends for the entire day. There was safety in numbers, she supposed.

She was unsettled, but unsurprised, when she realized that he was in every single one of her classes. She made sure she never went anywhere by herself, but then she decided that she couldn't go on like this. She couldn't live in fear. She wouldn't live in fear. She had to get over him. She couldn't let him control her. She couldn't let him rule her life like this. If she did, he won. And she couldn't let him win.

She'd spent the last four months trying to be strong, indifferent, detached. She couldn't do it anymore. She had to either take a stand or keep running. And the latter wasn't feasible at this point, so she didn't really have a choice. She would have to face her fear.

When he tried to approach them at lunch, Olivia told him to, "fuck off, or I'll rearrange your teeth." He raised his eyebrows, winked in the general direction of Abbie and Alex, before turning on his heel and walking away. "You okay?" Olivia asked Abbie, and she nodded, because she was. For now.

Alex came to school the next day looking as if she hadn't slept at all the night before, her face even paler than it usually was, dark circles beneath her eyes. She plopped down in her seat, her usual grace absent from the gesture, and rubbed her eyes.

Abbie couldn't resist raising her eyebrow and commenting, "You look like me."

Alex fixed Abbie with her icy gaze and didn't say a word.

Abbie suppressed her smirk. "Now you really look like me."

Alex picked up her books, shooting Abbie one more glare, and started to walk away. But Abbie grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Hey, I'm sorry. What's wrong?"

Abbie sighed and lowered herself back onto the chair. "It's Damien."

Abbie flinched at his name, her barely suppressed smirk disappearing in an instant. "What about him?"

"He called me last night." Alex took a deep breath. "Twenty-six times." She met Abbie's eyes. "How did he get my number?"

"I certainly didn't give it to him!" snapped Abbie. Then she realized that Alex's gaze wasn't at all accusatory, just questioning, and she sighed, shrugging helplessly. "He has his ways."

Alex, for the first time since Abbie had known her, looked unnerved. "Okay, so give me your infinite words of wisdom."

Abbie loved how both Alex and Olivia could match her wit . . . and her sarcasm. It was nice. But this was serious. "Actually, I don't have any."

"He called me twenty-six times, Abbie! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"What do you want me to tell you?" snapped Abbie. "If you want my advice, I would say run, because that's what I did. But guess what – it hasn't really worked for me. So you're the smart one. Figure it out."

Alex just stared at her for a moment. "Take a Midol. The last time I checked, I was –"

Abbie pulled a clump of her own hair in frustration. "Why does everyone keep telling me to take fucking pills?"

"Don't you think they might have a point?"

"I don't inject foreign substances into my body," said Abbie primly.

"Maybe they would help."

"Okay, you know what? Deal with him yourself. I'm just glad he's not onto me. You'll end up just like I did, lying on a bed somewhere with your pants around your ankles and wondering how you got there."

That stopped Alex in her tracks. "What?"

"Fuck you," Abbie hissed.

But Alex was no longer interested in their argument. For the first time since Abbie had known her, she abandoned the fight and said in a much gentler, more level tone, "What did he do to you, Abbie?"

The fight drained out of Abbie at Alex's words and she sighed. "He raped me. He beat me, and then one night he drugged me and he raped me. That's how it is with him. And if you're not careful, you'll find yourself in that same place."

Alex blinked. "Why didn't you –?"

"Why didn't I press charges? Oh, I did. He got off. It was a waste of time."

"What about a restraining order?"

Abbie bit back the retort that came to mind. She wanted to tell Alex she was a child, but she couldn't say that, so she just sighed. "It's just a piece of paper."

"Would it make you feel better?"

Abbie shrugged. "A restraining order wouldn't stop a real psycho."

"Do you think he is a real psycho?"

"I don't know," admitted Abbie. "But I don't think I want to."

And then Alex hugged her. Abbie flinched at first, just because it was unexpected, but then she found that she didn't mind. "I'm sorry," Alex murmured.

Abbie shrugged, too worn out to pick another fight. "You didn't know." But then she saw the fear in Alex's eyes, and she knew her friend was worried that what had happened to Abbie would happen to her. And Abbie felt bad all over again, because she realized how cruel it had been to tell Alex that it might. It was true, but that didn't make it okay. "He's not going to hurt you, because you know what he is, and you're going to take precautions so he doesn't." It was all she could think of to say, to make up for her earlier words.

Alex sighed, then looked up at Abbie and admitted, "I'm scared."

"Me, too," Abbie confessed.

"Well, he's got his sights set on me now," Alex said dryly. "So I think you're okay."

"Well, some girls fight with their best friends over a guy. We're the other way around," remarked Abbie.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Aren't we just a breath of fresh air."

Abbie sighed. "No, seriously. If he's harassing you, tell someone. Someone who can help, I mean. I don't want you to get hurt like I did."

Alex sighed too. "Wow. This is just . . . wow."

Alex Cabot at a loss for words. Abbie marvelled at that for a minute. She'd never thought she'd see the day.

And that was when he entered the room. He dropped his books at his desk and sauntered toward the girls, plopping himself down beside Alex and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Alex looked disgusted and pulled away.

"Ooh," he said, grinning. "Someone's playing hard to get."

"No, someone's going to knock your teeth down your throat if you don't leave us alone."

He glanced at Mme. Rochman, than back at Alex. "In front of her?"

"Don't tempt me," growled Alex.

He laughed in her face. "You wouldn't."

"Yes, actually, I would."

"Go ahead."

Abbie, even though the wicked part of her badly wanted to see this, put a hand on Alex's arm to stop her. "He's not worth it."

Alex quirked an eyebrow. "So I'm told."

He scooted closer to her. "Well, smack me or fuck me, I don't care which. I like my babes feisty."

"Guess what? I'm not your babe."

"Oh, you will be."

She pulled away again. "Is that a threat?"

"No, darlin'. That's a promise."

"You are –"

"What, a player? A bastard? A son of a bitch? I've heard it all before, babe."

Alex glanced at Abbie, who was just sitting there, frozen. "I was going to say, 'You're unbelievable,' but I'm sure I can think of a better way to say it."

Mme. Rochman clapped her hands and called, "Please takes your seats, mes élèves."

He grinned at Alex. "See you at lunch, babe." He sauntered back to his seat.

"We'll see," she said in the icy voice that made everyone, even fiery Olivia, stop and think twice.

But he didn't seem bothered and didn't even spare her a second glance as he sat down and clasped his hands.

"I'm going to talk to the principal if he continues to harass us," decided Alex in a tone that left no room for negotiation. "Are you with me?"

Abbie nodded. "But isn't it practically impossible to get a meeting with him?"

Alex shrugged dismissively. "I'll have my parents call first. Don't worry about it. One of those times when the old Cabot name actually comes in handy."

Abbie raised an eyebrow. "Just one?"

She smiled. "Well, aside from the secure trust fund, the world travelling, the designer outfits . . . yes, just one."

Abbie rolled her eyes. "You know, I envy you."

"Don't. My life isn't as perfect as it looks."

"Right. Neither is mine, as you see."

"Okay, maybe not as bad as yours," amended Alex. "But my parents aren't home a lot. I miss them."

That was something Abbie wished she understood. Her parents wanted nothing more than to help her and to make all her pain go away. They loved her, but they went about it the wrong way. Yet she was the one pushing them away, when all they wanted was to hold her close. The simple truth of Alex's admission jarred her for a moment, and she had to take a moment to think about what to say. She'd definitely met her match in Alex Cabot. "My parents –" And then she stopped, unsure how to put it without sounding completely corny. "My parents aren't home a lot either. I mean, physically they are, but emotionally, they have no idea how to deal with this – with me." She looked at the ground. "I push them away, even though I know I shouldn't." Then she was surprised at herself, how candid she'd been with Alex.

Alex just looked at her through sad blue eyes. "Take advantage of it," she said quietly. "They love you. Try to let them in."

She almost snorted. Where did Alex get off, telling her how to deal with her parents, how to solve her problems? Alex didn't know. Saying she should let them in was one thing, but actually doing it was a completely different animal. But then she realized that Alex probably understood, and she wasn't trying to boss Abbie around – she was just trying to give her advice, and Abbie couldn't fault her for that.

"Thanks," said Abbie quietly, and she meant it.

Okay, Abbie gets slightly less, for lack of a better word, "bitchy" in the next few chapters. Review for chapter fourteen!