Cate heard raised voices as she approached Bug's apartment. She paused in front of the door.

"You just took my necklace and sold it!" Lux said angrily. She'd just noticed the necklace Ryan had given her was missing.

"Yeah, because you're the only one of us who isn't working. I just took what you owed us," Bug shot back.

"Tasha's not working," Lux said, her voice small.

"Tasha hasn't been going to school. She's been helping us," Gavin said defensively, getting in Lux's face.

"Helping you what? Steal car stereos? Sell pot?" Lux demanded.

"We're doing what we have to do to take care of ourselves. Not everyone has new parents who appear out of nowhere to take care of you," Tasha said, her tone harsh.

"What? You think you're better than us now?" Gavin demanded.

"No!" Lux cried out. "I just, I don't want to drop out."

"Why? You think you're gonna go to college?" Bug snickered.

Lux stared at the ground.

"You're not gonna get into college. Your grades may be better than Tasha's but that's not saying much. How many schools have you been in and out of?" Bug continued.

"I hope being a jerk to me is making you feel better," Lux muttered.

"I'm just telling it how it is," Bug said harshly.

Gavin nodded in agreement. "What? You think because you have parents now you'll go to college and fit in with all those stuck up rich kids?"

"You won't. You're damaged goods. None of them will want you," Bug said, his tone menacing.

They all looked up when they heard a knock on the door.

"Baze?" Tasha guessed.

Bug tore open the door and was surprised to see Cate standing on the other side. "No, the other parent," he remarked to Tasha before backing away.

Lux moved toward the door.

"Hi," Cate said. "I wanted to talk to you. Do you want to go shopping?"

Tasha snickered in the background.

"Now's not really a good time," Lux replied, knowing that if she left with Cate it would only make her friends angrier.

Cate grabbed Lux's arm, pulling her toward the door. "I need to talk to you."

Lux allowed Cate to pull her toward the elevator before jerking her arm away. "What's so important it can't wait?"

Cate met Lux's gaze, her expression grim. "Does he talk to you like that often? Bug?"

Lux sighed. "You heard."

Cate nodded. "It was kind of hard not to. Does he?"

"Sometimes," Lux admitted. "Usually when he feels insecure."

Cate frowned. "You deserve to be treated better than that."

"Bug's a good guy," Lux said defensively. "He just has a bad temper."

Cate's eyes narrowed. "The way he was talking to you back there…that's not OK," she said firmly.

"I love him," Lux said quietly.

"If he really loved you, he'd treat you better," Cate insisted, her expression pained.

Tears stung Lux's eyes. She knew Bug should treat her better. She hated when he acted like this. She avoided Cate's gaze.

Cate struggled to make eye contact with Lux. "The things he said to you, that's not love."

"Like I said, now's not really a good time," Lux said coolly. She didn't have it in her to argue with Cate about Bug. Not when she knew she'd be under attack as soon as she returned to the apartment. She was so tired of fighting with everyone. She started to turn back toward the apartment.

Cate grabbed Lux's shoulders, forcing the teen to face her. "I want to help you out with money."

"I can't take your money," Lux said, shifting uncomfortably.

"I want you to," Cate insisted. "How much do you need?"

Lux hesitated.

"How much?" Cate demanded.

"Rent is just over a thousand plus about two hundred in utilities divided by four," Lux mumbled, frowning in thought as she tried to do the calculations in her head.

Cate did the calculation easily, but her brow furrowed in confusion when she came up with the amount. "Only three hundred?"

Lux raised her eyebrows. "Only?"

"It's just, you told the judge you had three thousand in the bank. It hasn't even been a month. What did you do with the three thousand?" Cate said.

"Gavin stole it," Lux admitted. She didn't include the fact that he'd spent her savings on drugs.

Cate frowned. "I'll help you out with living expenses, but you're not living with your friends anymore."

Lux rolled her eyes. "I told you, I don't want to live in a studio by myself."

"What am I supposed to do, Lux?" Cate asked desperately. "Give you money so that Bug can verbally abuse you and Gavin can steal from you?"

"You said you were here for me if I needed anything," Lux said, her tone accusatory. "I didn't know that meant you would only be here for me if you approved of what I needed."

Lux stormed away, back to Bug's apartment.

Lux's friends glared at her when she entered the apartment.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" She asked Bug.

Bug followed her. They walked to the beach and sat down on Lux's favorite bench.

Lux swallowed. "Do you love me?"

"You know I do," Bug said.

Lux shook her head. "No, I don't. I don't know how you can say the things you said to me if you really love me."

Bug made a face. "This is coming from Cate."

"Cate has nothing to do with this," Lux said. She fought back tears. "You called me damaged goods. The things you said…"

Bug sighed. He cupped Lux's face in his hands. "I love you. I want you. I didn't mean any of the things I said."

"Then why did you say them?" Lux asked angrily.

Bug stared at Lux, at a loss for words.

Lux shook her head furiously. "Sometimes you act exactly like-"

Bug stood up abruptly, his face contorted with rage. "Don't say it!"

"Your dad," Lux finished quietly.

Bug grimaced, his hands balling into fists. He looked downright scary.

Lux's eyes widened in horror and she backed away from him, cowering on the corner of the bench.

Bug's expression changed from one of rage to one of sadness, as he remembered his mom reacting to his abusive dad the same way. "Are you afraid of me?"

Lux stared at him, trying to gauge his mood. "I don't want to be, but the way you're acting…"

Bug's expression was grim. "I don't want you to be afraid of me. I don't want to be that guy with you."

"Don't come home tonight," Bug said firmly.

Lux opened her mouth to protest.

"I mean it! I can't be around you tonight," Bug said, his tone menacing.

Lux fought back tears, trying desperately not to cry. She didn't want Bug to see her crying. The moment she was far enough away from him, tears began streaming down her face.

Lux walked along the shoreline. She didn't know where to go.

Her first thought was to go to Cate's, but she remembered their argument and knew that wasn't an option.

Cate would want to know why Lux wasn't staying at Bug's apartment that night. Cate would only become more adamant that Lux move into a studio if she knew what had just happened, Lux knew.

Maybe I should move into a studio, Lux thought miserably. She was beginning to question whether or not Bug really loved her.

It was hard for her to face the possibility that he didn't. He was all she had.

Lux could go to Baze's. He probably wouldn't press for information, Lux thought hopefully.

Lux started walking toward Open Bar. She second guessed herself when she arrived. She caught sight of her reflection in the window. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

Baze hadn't pushed her for information in the past, but Lux didn't know he would react if he saw her like this.

Lux was about to leave when Baze opened the door.

Baze stared at her in shock. He hated it when girls cried. He really hated that his kid looked like she'd been crying her eyes out. He didn't know what to do.

"I thought I heard the beer guy," Baze mumbled.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Lux said. "You're busy. I'm just gonna go."

Baze grabbed Lux's arm to stop her from leaving. "I'm never too busy for you. What's going on?"

Lux swallowed. "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Of course." Baze nodded.

Lux went up to the apartment, Baze following close behind. He kept darting glances at her, afraid she was going to burst into tears at any second.

Lux went into the bathroom to wash her tear-streaked face.

"Crap," Baze muttered, as he remembered Cate had wanted to spend time with Lux this afternoon.

Lux emerged from the bathroom.

"Do you need anything?" Baze asked gently.

Lux shook her head. "I just want to lie down."

Lux curled up on the couch. Baze crept back downstairs and dialed Cate.

"This is Cate," Cate answered her phone.

"Cate, this is Baze," Baze said.

"Hi," Cate said dully.

"I know you wanted to spend time with Lux this afternoon, but she just showed up here," Baze said, his tone apologetic.

Cate sighed audibly. It wasn't a good time when Cate wanted to spend time with Lux, yet she managed to make time to hang out with Baze.

"I wasn't expecting her," Baze said defensively.

"It's OK," Cate said, though it really wasn't. "Have fun playing putt putt, going to the arcade, bowling…whatever it is you two do."

"We're not doing anything fun," Baze assured Cate. "She's napping on the couch."

"She came over to take a nap?" Cate asked, wondering what had happened after she left. "Is she OK?"

Baze frowned. "I don't know. It looks like she's been crying."

Baze hesitated. He hated to admit he needed Cate's help, but he didn't know what to do when girls cried. He was out of his element and needed reinforcement. "Do you, uh, want to come over? I don't know what to do."

"What happened?" Cate demanded when she found Baze behind the bar.

Baze shrugged, running a hand through his wavy brown hair. "She showed up. It looked like she'd been crying. She asked if she could stay here tonight and then she fell asleep on the couch."

Cate sighed and sank down onto a barstool. "I went over to see her. I could hear Bug and her friends screaming at her from the hallway. They want her to drop out and work. She's sixteen!"

Baze frowned. He grabbed a beer for himself and offered Cate one.

Cate sipped it gratefully. "The things Bug said to her…he was verbally abusive."

"What did he say?" Baze asked angrily.

"He called her damaged goods," Cate said sadly. "I talked to her in the hall. I tried to tell her she deserved to be treated better."

"She does deserve better," Baze said firmly.

"She wouldn't listen. I told her I'd help her out with living expenses, but not if she stays in that apartment and she got mad at me," Cate said. She took a long pull from the beer. "Maybe I should just give her the money either way."

Cate felt Baze's firm hand close over her own. "No. You did the right thing," he reassured her.

Cate smiled slightly, grateful Baze was on her side. Now she just had to convince Lux she was only trying to do what was best for her. Cate sighed, knowing it wouldn't be easy, and finished her beer.

"Want another?" Baze offered.

Cate shook her head. "Where's Lux?"

"Sleeping on the couch upstairs," Baze replied.

Cate sat down in the armchair across from the couch, watching Lux sleep.

Lux stirred. She looked disoriented as she sat up. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. She noticed Cate. "Cate?"

Cate nodded and moved over to the couch, sitting beside Lux. She met Lux's gaze. "What happened after I left?"

"I told Bug I deserved better," Lux said.

Cate smiled, proud of Lux for standing up for herself. "And?"

Lux sighed. "We fought."

Cate looked at Lux quizzically.

Lux averted her gaze. "I just didn't want to go back there tonight."

Cate nodded. She hesitated. "Why did you come here?"

Lux looked up, instantly understanding what Cate was asking. "Instead of your house?"

Cate nodded sadly.

"I didn't want to talk about it," Lux said truthfully.

Cate smiled slightly. "And I would've made you talk about it?"

Lux nodded.

"But Baze didn't?" Cate said knowingly.

Lux shook her head, smiling slightly. "He didn't know what to do."

"You know how guys are when girls start crying," Cate said, stroking Lux's hair.

Lux rested her head against Cate's shoulder. Cate smiled down at her daughter.

This wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind for quality time with Lux, but it felt good to be close to her daughter.

"You know what makes everything better?" Cate said.

Lux looked at her expectantly.

"Retail therapy. Do you want to go shopping tomorrow?" Cate asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Lux replied, offering her mother a smile.

Cate returned the smile, excited to do something fun with her daughter.