A/N: More chapters to come today, so be ready!

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(L P.O.V)

"How could you lie to me, L?" Wammy demanded. "I told you to keep away from Derek, I told you he'd end up hurting you in a way you could never take back! Because of your absolute foolishness Mello is in the hospital!"

"I'm sorry." I replied quietly. "I didn't know he'd do any of this…"

"Yes, you did." He reminded me. "Because he's done so in the past and now it's affecting your loved ones! Maybe Mello shouldn't have stood up to him, but the fact that he defended you – a ten year old boy defending an adult, I might add – should tell you how much you don't need him."

I'd never seen Wammy more upset with me. I admit there were times he was stern, but he never reprimanded me like this. He was always kind to me, no matter what. But as soon as Derek came back…

He sighed heavily. "You won't have any more contact with Derek, L. Mostly because he's been taken in and might serve a few years in prison for what he did to Mello."

"How is he, by the way?" I asked, truly upset over the blonde being hospitalized.

Wammy took a breath and calmed down. "Mello is fine. A fractured collarbone will take a few weeks to heal, but it's the trauma I'm afraid of for him."

"I wish it'd been me." I said morbidly, hiding my face in my knees as I sat. "It should have been me."

"No, it shouldn't have been anyone!" Wammy started up again. "When Derek was abusing you the way he did, you said nothing to us! You hid it away and allowed yourself to be beaten and used by him on a daily basis. What I want to know is why. Why would you let him do this to you? Why would you let him back into your life knowing he could hurt someone you care about?"

I hugged myself as tightly as I could. "I don't know."

"L, talk to me." He demanded again. "Obviously you feel as though Derek was something to you, and so…"

My phone rang at that instant and I answered it right away not caring to look at my caller I.D. Wammy was not pleased.

"Yes?"

"Ryu! Oh my god, what a relief!"

I knew the voice instantly. "Derek?"

Wammy went to grab my phone, but I dodged him. "What's going on? You went back to the orphanage?! I told you I was in Japan!"

"I went to move my stuff back in, but that little blonde girl got in my way! Listen, just… bail me out or something! Use your connections to get me out of this mess and we can be together!"

"You sent Mello to the hospital!" I yelled at him, finding a shred of confidence in my being. "What did you do to him!?"

"Hey! Don't you DARE speak to me that way! If you've forgotten, it's ME that calls the shots here! NOW COME GET ME!"

"You'd better tell me right FUCKING now what you did to Mello, or I swear I will castrate you and shove your balls so far down your throat you'll be pissing them out by morning! WHAT HAPPENED!?"

There was silence over the phone, and in the room. Wammy couldn't believe my attitude towards him at the moment. I'd bet this was something he'd dreamed I'd say to him at some point.

Derek finally spoke. "Like I said, he got in my way…"

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

He grumbled a bit. "When he jumped on my back I picked him up by the throat and threw him across the room. He landed into a shelf and that old man Roger Tasered me. I dropped like a sack of bricks and after he cuffed me that little red headed kid kicked my head."

For the first time in a long time, I was furious. Everything he told me… how he'd done that to one of my successors… to my brother… it made me want to burst with anger.

"Look, babe…"

"If I find you anywhere near my home again… if something ever happens to Matt or Mello… I will find you… and I will make you suffer a slow and agonizing death. Believe me, I have this power, and I have the power to make sure you are repeatedly raped in that prison for the rest of your life. And if it wasn't for my current case, I'd happily make sure you never see the light of day again." I could just feel the fear emanating from the phone now. "And one more thing, Derek…"

I heard him swallow audibly. "Yes?"

My nostrils flared. "Stay out of my life."

I hung up on him without waiting for an answer. When I turned to Wammy, he was smiling proudly.

"Not the confrontation I'd wanted you to have with him. But better than nothing."

I put the phone down and hurried into a hug with him. "I'm sorry, Wammy. I didn't know what I was thinking. I just… I thought I needed him."

"Why would you think that?" He asked me softly. "After everything he's done to you? The bruises, the mental abuse, the demands… how could you possibly think you needed any of that? You have so much more and deserve so much better."

Although I did not like showing emotion to anyone most times, Wammy was my one exception. Him I could cry to.

The tears came flowing down. "I just want to be loved, Wammy. Not like the way you and the boys love me. I want a partner, someone I can share my life with and be happy."

"But you weren't happy." He reminded me. "You just believed you were because he told you. And now look at the mess that's happened."

I nodded. "I know… but…" I couldn't find the words.

"But what, my son?"

More tears. "But it's not fair." I spoke my mind. "Why are others happy when I'm miserable? Why can others have someone and I can't? Why can't someone love me?!"

He hugged me tighter, helping me to make sure I knew I was loved. "You'll find someone, L. Maybe not today, but someday."

Right as I was about to argue with him, my phone rang again and I almost didn't answer it…

Until I saw the caller I.D.

I flipped my phone open instantly. "Light?" I answered, keeping my voice level.

"Hey! Is everything alright?! You ran out of the coffee shop so fast I barely had time to ask questions."

I shook a bit, finding my voice and wiping away a few tears. "It's nothing. Everything's taken care of. There was just an emergency at the Wammy house, the orphanage I told you about, but it's been resolved."

"Oh my god, is everything alright!? What about the kids? And your brothers?"

"Fine. Everything's fine. Mello just… erm… he got hurt. But he'll be fine. If anything he's going to enjoy the extra attention."

He sighed in relief. "Well, I'm glad to hear everything's alright. If you need someone to talk to, just name a time and place and I'll be there! I can't stand to hear one of my friends is going through something on their own. It's better to have someone to talk to about all this than dealing with it on your own."

I grinned a bit. "Really, Light, everything's alright. Thank you though, you didn't need to call and check on me."

"I'd rather I did and make sure you were okay. But I'm glad to hear everything's fine. I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?"

I nodded to myself. "Yeah… sure…"

I hung up and looked towards Wammy who was smiling cheekily at me.

"My mistake." He said. "Apparently you did find someone today."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Light's not… well… he's into women. Not… me."

"Well, if he didn't care, would he have called you?"

"That's not what I said. Believe me, I don't have a chance in hell with him. Not with his many fangirls all dropping to his feet begging for him to notice them. What makes me so special from them?"

Wammy took the phone from me gently, I suppose so that he may switch out this phone for a new one with a new number so Derek couldn't call back.

"You don't drop at his feet." He replied. "From what you tell me, he's someone who works for what he wants. Where's the work when people fall in front of him begging for attention? If anything, you have the highest chance out of all of them."

I scoffed at him. "It's not happening, Wammy. As much as I'd like it to, he doesn't have any interest in me. I'm just his friend… nothing more."

He pulled me into a hug and I accepted it happily. "But that's what makes you so perfect for him. You two are friends. In a relationship, if you aren't friends with your partner, how can you expect to live happily?"

I scoffed yet again. "He's not interested. He's straight as an arrow and just as sharp. I have no chance with him and I've come to accept that. Let's just leave it alone."

I let go of him and made my way to my laptop. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to call up a certain blonde and beg for his forgiveness in all this."

Wammy chuckled. "The boy took a beating for you. I'm sure he'll accept your apology."

"Maybe, but I think I'll send him a basket of chocolate bars to help him forget about all this. He deserves it."