Vincent walked into the lobby, looking for Ava. It was eerily quiet as he walked down the hall, confused as to where she'd gone. He walked into the girls' bathroom, shocked to see Ava sitting on the floor, a silently sobbing Faythe lying in her lap, holding onto her for dear life. Ava looked up at him as he stood motionless, a weak, rueful smile on her lips, tears in her eyes as well. Vincent rushed over, holding the girls, but mostly Faythe. She clung to Vincent as tightly as she had to Ava, hiding her face in his neck. Ava gathered herself, standing up and going to excuse herself and Faythe from practice.

Vincent slammed the back door, throwing his keys and dropping his bag and storming downstairs to Danté's room. With an aggression he never knew he possessed, he threw the door open, glaring angrily at his brother. Danté looked up from the hand mirror he was bent over; it took him a minute to realize who it was, a smile spreading across his face.

"Hey, baby brother! What are you doing here?" he squawked, his eyes glazed over, unfocused, and blood-shot.

"What the hell was that? Or- or this?" Vincent screamed, gesturing to the mess on the floor around Danté.

He looked confused, his smile fading as he looked around, "What are you talking about, Vincent?"

"You screwed everything up! You had her: the perfect girl and you screwed it all up, Danté!" he shouted, tackling his big brother, holding him down to the floor by his neck. Danté's nose began to dribble blood; Vincent's eyes widened as he stared at the trail. Danté tasted it, the smile returning as he laughed hysterically. Vincent let his brother go, getting up and leaving him laughing, coughing, and bleeding on the floor.

Ava lay on her bed with Faythe, her friend slowly calming down. Faythe hiccupped; clearly she was making herself sick. Ava rubbed her arm, looking down at her.

"Do you want some food?" she asked, sitting up. Faythe nodded weakly, sitting up as well.

"Can I take a shower?"

"Of course you can, Faythe; you know you don't have to ask." She paused, getting Faythe a towel from the hall cupboard. "Here; I'll go make you some Mac n' Cheese, okay?" Faythe nodded again, walking downstairs with Ava.

She sighed as soon as she heard the shower door close, pulling down her phone and texting Vincent. Once she was finished, she set to work on cooking some comfort food for Faythe. Her phone vibrated as she poured the macaroni into the boiling water. Faythe was still in the shower; she was probably crying.

'Danté's on coke.' It read; it was like a steak to Ava's heart, or a slap in the face.

"Oh, shit…" she muttered, unsure of how to feel. Ava picked up the phone replying:

'Come home? The two of us need you right now.' She sent it, sitting back down and waiting for his reply. It wasn't long before Vincent walked into the house, not bothering to take his shoes off as he walked up the few stairs into the kitchen. Ava jumped slightly at the unexpectedness of it, standing up at the sight of him.

"Hey."

"Hey, where is she?" he asked. He was still fuming as he moved over to her, kissing her. There was an almost-permanent frown on his face.

"Still in the shower, I'm making her some food. Why didn't you text me back?" she answered, putting a hand to his face as she sat again, Vincent kneeling down. "How bad is it?"

He sighed, "Bad. I walked in on him… I was already on my way." He answered with a faraway look in his eyes, dodging the question at the last second. "How do we get him to stop?" Vincent finally asked, looking up at her with desperation.

They were silent for a long time, the sound of the shower door opening ending it. Ava chuckled, for a moment, a smile spreading across her face, but never touching her eyes. It was almost bittersweet.

"What?" Vincent asked, curious though still frowning.

"We'd be great…" her smile faded.

"What, Ava?"

"Hm, I was just thinking, if you and I can deal with this… we'd be great parents."

Vincent smiled weakly, "Yeah."

Faythe walked into the kitchen at a slow pace, her long hair hanging around her and Ava's pajamas baggy on her small frame. She looked around, Vincent seated on the awkward looking, obnoxiously red stool. Ava was standing at the stove, finishing mixing the fake cheese, butter, and milk into the hot noodles.

"They're SpongeBob, honey. I hope you like them." Ava said, spooning some into a bowl for her. "Fork or spoon?"

"Fork, thanks." Faythe muttered, taking the bowl, a shy smile on her face.

"Would you like to watch a movie, or some TV?" Ava asked, almost as though Faythe were one of her nieces. Faythe nodded despite the inflection to her friend's voice. The three walked back upstairs, Ava turning Prom Night on for Faythe to watch. She ate her Mac n' Cheese in silence, not looking like she were even thinking. Vincent lay next to Faythe, Ava on the other side of her.

Faythe didn't even get halfway through the movie before she finished eating, lie down, and fell asleep. Vincent and Ava watched over her in shifts, both staying up until she went back to sleep.

The weekend came to a slow close, Faythe staying the whole time at Ava's house. The car ride to school Monday was awkward, and quiet. As she pulled up next to Vincent, Ava noticed Danté's car was missing. She gave Vincent a wayward glance, Vincent nodding in understanding at the look.

'Where is he?' she texted him in first hour, looking across the room at him.

'I left him in his room this morning. Said he was getting dressed.' He replied.

She shook her head slightly, 'Maybe they should talk?'

'No way. Faythe's pissed now and Danté's so high…'

'Good point. Keep him sober as long as you can. I'm going to get Faythe to come around tonight.'

'You're so brave.' He answered, knowing the conversation was over, and going back to his English work.

Ava spent their lunch period talking to Faythe about how she was feeling, Vincent trying to get Danté to text him back.

"Alright, let me get this straight: you're not going to talk to him… at all?"

"No, I'm not; we're done." Faythe said, crossing her arms, looking at Ava as though she were retarded.

"Faythe? What if… what if I told you that you might actually save Danté's life?" Ava asked quietly.

Faythe looked suspiciously at her, "What are you talking about?"

"Baby, he was high when he hit you." Ava said, even quieter, Mr. Wells walking past them. Faythe considered it quietly; her brain raced through all the information, talking it all in, everything adding up at last.

"What? When… how?" Faythe sputtered, feeling a whole new level of terrible.

Ava shook her head, "I don't know, Faythe."