A/N: Lucky no. 13! As promised: I'll fix this...

Chapter 13

"You're still here."

Alex froze, accidentally dropping the shoe she had just picked up off the floor. Olivia was awake. Had woken up before Alex had managed to sneak out. Shit.

"I... I'm leaving."

"Please don't."

What?

"Don't leave. Please." Olivia sighed, desperately trying to bring up the courage to look her friend in the eyes. "Alex... Do you still feel safe with me after... what happened last night?" The blonde was caught off guard by Olivia's question.

"What?"

"You heard me."

Silence.

Thoughts racing through Alex's head. That wasn't the problem!

"You ran, Alex. Again. Pushed me away. Again. And I know this time, it was my fault. But I need to know whether there's a way to fix this."

"I ran?I? When I came back from the bathroom, you were gone. You had closed your bedroom door. You had shut me out! I didn't even know whether I was allowed to stay here for the night, but I didn't know where to go and I..."

Realization dawned on Olivia's face. "Oh god. I'm so sorry, Alex! I thought your bathroom break was your way of telling me you wanted to be alone!"

Alex shook her head. "I didn't." She confessed. "I didn't want to be alone. That was why I came here last night. But I guess I shouldn't have..."

Olivia sighed.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because of you!"

The detective's eyes widened. "What?"

"Because of what you said last night!"

Olivia looked genuinely confused now. "I never said I didn't want you here!"

"... you didn't explicitly say it, but..."

"... but what?"

Alex gulped. Why was Olivia even asking these questions? She'd been here herself! She should know! "You said you'd never touch me" Alex whispered, hurt clouding her eyes.

What?

"Last night, before we fell asleep, I told you I was feeling dirty. Disgusting. I let you in, Liv! But then you said you'd never touch me, and I knew I was right."

Oh god.

"No, no, no, no, no! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Yes, you did!"

Olivia vehemently shook her head. "Please hear me out! What I meant was that I'd never touch you against your will. That I'd never force you. Never hurt you. Because from the way you reacted to my touching you when we were asleep, I figured you didn't want to be touched. I never meant to confirm all these horrible things you think about yourself! All I wanted to do is show you that no one has the right to violate you in any way. That it's your body, and that you're the only one who gets to decide what happens to it. You're not dirty, Lex. No matter what happened. No matter what you did or what he did. There's nothing wrong with you!"

Alex didn't respond, so Olivia continued: "I'm so sorry about last night. I'm sorry for what I did and said. I swear I didn't mean to push you away!"

The blonde bit her lip, still visibly conflicted.

"The question I asked you earlier..." Olivia started. "...your answer is really important to me, so I'm gonna ask it again: Do you still feel safe with me after what happened last night?"

Relief washed over Olivia's face when Alex nodded. There was so much more she could have said, so much more she could have revealed, but she was afraid she was going to ruin the moment, so Alex limited herself to a simple "I do, Liv."

Olivia paused. "Okay" She eventually continued. "Earlier, you said you didn't know where else to go."Alex frowned and eventually, she nodded slightly, so Olivia continued: "Do you feel safer here than in your own apartment?"

Alex froze, completely caught off guard by Olivia's question. She hesitated for a brief moment, before she nodded shamefully and mumbled a barely audible "Yes", avoiding the brunette's gaze and the questions she feared would come – questions she just wasn't ready to answer. But they didn't come. Instead, Olivia just gave her a half-encouraging, half-sad smile.

"Okay", she finally said, "Then stay" - as if it were as simple as that.