Reid paused by the door, watching the girl on the bed. "Hey."

Rylie swallowed. "Hey."

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Fine," Rylie answered slowly. "Um, what are you doing here?"

Reid shrugged. "Just thought I'd come see you. You know, see if you were okay."

"Why do you care?"

"Believe it or not, I care about what happens to the families. And like it or not, you're part of the families," Reid said, walking over to the bed. Rylie pulled her legs up and the blonde Son sat down.

"I wish I wasn't," Rylie mumbled, looking away.

"Ry, don't say that."

"It's the truth. Everyone would be better off. Me, mom and Caleb, you guys. None of us would be mixed up in this crazy mess."

"You also wouldn't have met Leila, and you two seem to be really good friends," Reid said gently.

Rylie sighed. "I guess."

"So. Everything you said downstairs was true?"

"Yeah."

"About your dad and your… Power?"

Rylie nodded.

Reid looked thoughtful for a moment. "What did that Devon guy mean about how you and him had already… had sex?"

"Caught that, did you?"

Reid nodded, watching the young girl.

Rylie's eyes met the blonde's, and she felt an insane need to tell him. She couldn't lie to this boy. "When I was sixteen, Devon and Cassandra caught up to us. Leila and I split up, and Cassandra went after Leila, and Devon went after me. A few months later, he found me. I tried to fight him off, but…."

"But what?" Reid asked gently.

"I wasn't strong enough. He beat down my defenses like they were nothing, and decided he wanted to take things farther." She turned her gaze away, unable to look into his eyes. The memory of that day pressed into her mind, but she forced it back, not wanting to relive it.

"Did he rape you?"

She couldn't answer. Saying it aloud would make it true. Sometimes the memory seemed like a dream, and that was how she wanted to keep it.

"Ry."

She bit her bottom lip, closed her eyes, and nodded.

She felt the bed shift, and Reid pulled her to him, wrapping his arms protectively around her. She inhaled deeply, taking in his spicy scent.

After a minute, Rylie pulled back and lifted her head to look at him. "Why aren't you mad that I didn't tell anyone? About any of this?"

"Like you said. We made you feel like you couldn't. I had a feeling something was up, and knew you were lying about something."

"And you didn't rat me out," Rylie stated.

Reid shrugged.

"Why are you being so nice? What happened to the badass I grew up with?"

Reid's mouth lifted into a smile. "You mean the one you talked to Leila about?"

Her cheeks burned as color rose to her face. "Um, yeah."

"Oh, he's still here."

Flames flashed through Reid's eyes and a breeze brushed around her. Glancing down, she realized her shirt was now lying on the bed next to her, and her red bra was in full view.

"Reid!" She wrapped her arms around her upper body, trying to cover herself.

Reid smirked.

Rylie went to grab her shirt, but it vanished. "Reid!" She glared at the blonde boy. "Give. Me. My. Shirt."

"What do I get out of it?" Reid asked, opening his hand and closing it around the shirt when it appeared.

"You get to live," Rylie growled.

Laughing, Reid laid back on his elbows, the shirt still in his hand. "Come and get it."

She could use and easily retrieve her shirt. But Reid had already Ascended, and she hadn't yet, which meant he was more powerful. She knew it was a trap. It had to be. But her body didn't listen. She jumped at him and reached for the shirt.

Reid's hands closed around her wrists as he dropped the shirt, and his leg tangled with her own. In one skillful move, he flipped them both, pinning Rylie beneath him.

Rylie sucked in air sharply as the memory of Devon on top of her flashed through her mind.

But when she looked into those cobalt eyes, any panic she felt melted away. Her body burned. Reid watched her, a smile playing on his lips. And then he bent down, and his lips met hers.

Fire flared through her body at the contact. His tongue grazed her bottom lip, and she parted her lips. Their tongues danced together, the tempo increasing with each passing minute.

Her mind raced through her memories, focusing on the ones where Rylie had looked at the blonde Son as more than a friend to her brother. The innumerable times she had wanted to run to Reid when she was sad. The nights in Ireland where she had lain awake, wondering if he missed her like she missed him. And then to this moment, where Reid lay on top of her, making her body burn for him. Her feelings for him came forward, a dream becoming reality.

All too soon, he pulled away. "I never hated you," he whispered into her ear. He slid off the bed and walked to the door. "See you in the morning." He opened the door and left.

Rylie lay on the bed, breathing heavily. Her heart was pounding frantically. She replayed the last few minutes in her mind again and again. Reid had kissed her. He had kissed her. It wasn't a dream or a fantasy. It had really happened.

* * * * *

Reid entered the living room to find the other three Sons in deep conversation. The image on Rylie on her back, looking up at him with pure happiness in her eyes, was imprinted in his mind. Tyler looked up as he approached.

"How is she?" Pogue asked.

"Tired, mostly I think," Reid answered, dropping down on the couch. "Where's Leila?"

"Went up to the guest room. She's pretty beat," Tyler said.

"I can't believe Rylie never told us," Caleb said, running a hand over his face.

"Can you blame her? She was right. We were all asses to her and never wanted to hear what she had to say," Reid replied.

"But this isn't some stupid girl issue," Caleb said. "This is huge."

"She knew you wouldn't have wanted to hear it."

"Who's side are you on, Reid?" Caleb snapped.

"This isn't about taking sides," Reid said. "This is about the truth."

"Since when do you care?" Pogue asked.

"Since I saw the fear on Rylie's face when Leila showed up." Reid's eyes never wavered from the oldest Son. "Your sister is terrified. And after everything that's happened, how can you blame her?"

Caleb looked away.

"Okay, both of you are right," Tyler said, stepping in to the argument. "She should have told us, but we also didn't make her feel like she could."

"What do we do now?" Pogue asked, looking from one brother to the next.

No one had an answer.