Nick opes his eyes slowly and blinks in confusion at the bright light and white ceiling.

"Nick!" someone to his left cries. He turns his head and blinks again at Joe. "Oh my god, Nick, you had us worried sick."

Nick tries to sit up a little but winces in pain. He sinks back down onto the bed.

"Wh—what happened?" he wonders, his voice hoarse from lack of sleep. "How long—how long have I been out of it?"

"Two weeks, Nicholas," his mom says from his other side.

Nick looks over at her, his eyes wide. "Two weeks?" he whispers. Then his eyes widen more and he struggles to sit up. "Demi!" he says. Joe pushes him back down, and Nick turns to him. "Where's Demi?"

"She's right down the hall," Joe starts.

"Is she okay?" Nick interrupts him. "Can I go see her?"

Joe shakes his head. "No," he says.

Nick frowns. "But why not?"

"Because she's really scared, Nick," Joe replies. "And that's putting it mildly. She won't let anyone touch her, not even the women nurses. She hasn't said anything since you and I found her, and that was two weeks ago. I went and sat with her for a while, but she curled up on her bed and started to cry. I think..." He stops and looks down before looking back at Nick. "I think her dad really screwed her up, Nick. She won't eat, she's not sleeping. She needs therapy, but she's so scared of everyone that there's no way she'd be comfortable talking to someone she doesn't know."

"Then let me see her!" Nick says. "She knows me. She loves me. I can get through to her. Please!"

Joe looks over at their mom, and she shakes her head. But Joe shakes his head at her and looks at Nick once more.

"Okay, Nick," he relents. His mother lets out a heavy sigh. "But the minute you start to feel dizzy or sick, we're coming right back here so you can get some rest. Okay?"

Nick nods as Joe helps him up. "Wait, what happened to her father? And Zac?"

"They're in jail," Joe tells him. "Both of them are. They're waiting for their trials, but the police think there's a good chance that at least her dad could go to jail for the rest of his life."

Nick furrows his brow. "Not Zac?"

Joe shakes his head. "That's the first time he's done that, as far as the police can find out. And Demi's not talking, so we don't know if he's done that to her before or not. The police are trying to find other rape cases that Zac has been involved in, and if they do find some, Zac could be going away for a long time too."

"He deserves it," Nick replies as he gets out of bed shakily. "He hurt Demi so bad. He deserves exactly what her father gets. I can't believe I was ever friends with that creep."

Nick starts to take the IV out but Joe reaches over to stop him, shaking his head.

"You need that, Nick," he says. "It has medicine in it that you need. Okay?"

Nick sighs and nods. "Okay," he finally agrees.

He stands up but as soon as his feet hit the floor, he nearly collapses.

"Nick," his mother says, worried as Joe catches him before he hits the floor, "stay in bed, please."

"No," Nick replies, holding onto Joe.

"But Nick–"

"Mom," Joe cuts her off. "He needs to do this. You know he needs to do this."

"But–" she says again. Then she sighs and nods her head reluctantly. "Yeah, I know."

"Come on, buddy," Joe says to Nick, slipping an arm around his waist. He grabs the IV pole and pushes it along with them as they walk out of the room.

Nick is silent as they walk to Demi's room, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. When Joe stops, Nick looks up at him.

"There's...something else you should know, Nick," he starts.

Nick frowns. "What is it?" he wonders.

"Demi..." He stops, unsure how to say what it is he needs to say.

"Demi...?" Nick prompts, starting to worry.

"She—she tried to kill herself, Nicholas." Nick's eyes widen and Joe nods. "When she first got here. She's tried it a few times, and eventually, the doctors had to restrain her to the bed so she wouldn't. I just wanted you to know what you're in for when you see her."

Nick looks up at Joe again and swallows a little, nodding his head. "Okay," he says quietly.

Joe puts an arm around him again and they walk to Demi's room. He stops outside the room and opens the door for Nick. Nick takes a step into the room and then stops, his eyes widening at the small, emaciated girl lying on the bed. Joe stops behind him and puts a hand on Nick's shoulder. Nick looks up at him once more.

"I know, buddy," he says quietly. "I know."

Nick walks over to Demi's bed and sits down in the chair next to it. Joe stands behind Nick, a hand on his shoulder again. Nick looks at Demi and sucks in a breath as he looks at her arms, at the many scars and bruises and burns covering them.

"Oh my god," he breathes, a hand flying to his mouth.

"Her back is even worse," Joe tells him.

Nick blinks up at him. "Her back?" he repeats.

Joe nods. "When she was first admitted, the nurses tried to get her into a hospital gown, but she wouldn't let them touch her. So they asked me if I could try calming her down because you were in a coma, and I was the only one she knew. So I helped them, and I saw her back when I did. We figure—we figure it was a belt or something that made those marks."

"Oh my god," Nick says again. "I'm going to be sick."

Joe squeezes his shoulder. "But she'll be okay," he replies. "She's away from that monster now, for good, and she'll be okay."

Nick looks up at Joe once more, tears in his eyes. "But now they're going to take her away from me."

Joe kneels down next to Nick. "I know, Nick, but this is what's best for her. You know that, right? I mean, would you rather her be with you and still be abused and raped by her father, or would you rather her be safe, even if that means that she's away from you?"

Nick opens his mouth to say something but then he sighs. "You're right," he says. "This is what's best for her. This is what she needs. I'm going to miss her so much, but now she'll be safe. And that's all that matters."

Just then, Demi opens her eyes slowly and looks over at Nick and Joe. Her eyes widen and she tries to move away from them, but her wrists are restrained to the bed and she can't move.

"Demi, Demi," Nick says soothingly. "It's me. It's Nick. Okay? I'm not going to hurt you. Sh."

He reaches a hand out for Demi but she squeezes her eyes shut and turns her head away from him, letting a small sob escape from her mouth. Nick immediately pulls his hand back. He looks back at Joe.

"Can you give me a minute?" he asks.

Joe nods. "Okay. I'll be right outside if you need me."

He stands up and walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Nick looks back at Demi, taking in her appearance up close for the first time. He shakes his head.

"That bastard deserves to die," he says to himself. "He deserves to burn."

Demi jumps slightly from the tone of his voice and Nick sighs.

"I'm sorry," he tells her, speaking soothingly again. "I'm sorry."

"He reaches for Demi's hand again and she squeezes her eyes shut once more. But Nick doesn't pull his hand away. Instead, he holds it tightly. He needs to let her know that he's here for her, that he's not going anywhere. He needs her to know that he's never going to hurt her either.

"I love you," he says, still speaking softly. "I love you, and I am always going to be here for you. I hate that you're terrified right now, and I hate it even more that you're scared of me, but I love you and I'm going to be here for you, no matter what, forever. I just want you to know that." He gives her hand a squeeze, and after a second, Demi squeezes back. Nick looks back at her.

Demi swallows a little. "I love you too," she whispers, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I love you too."