See Me - 18. Chapter 18: A Sad Hope

Dani sat in the drivers seat of Dolph's car, they had found a place to park and had taken turns sleeping through out the night, he had figured striking at around early morning would be their best shot. It was then that he finally looked over at Dolph and he reached over and shook him by the shoulder.

"Wake up...it's time to do this." Dani said.

Dolph started to stir and his eyes opened and he looked up, hoping that this whole nightmare would turn out to be just a bad dream, that was just a sad hope. He pushed himself to sit upright. "We still haven't figured out..."

"Fuck a plan." Dani said, not caring anymore. "We'll just go in and shoot him."

Dolph almost wanted to laugh. "Shoot now and plan later?" He leaned closer to Dani. "That's like swinging your dick around while you're cumming...except blood, you can't bleach it out, might look like you did...but Daddy Cops can always find it."

He grinned and shook with the laughter that escaped and he brought a hand around the back of Dolph's head. "That almost makes you ring on my like radar...almost." He then brought his hand down to his shoulder and he shoved him back.

"It's Tyler's problem, he's the one that's probably been doing the cumming to keep Chase from leaving." Dani shifted the gear into drive and pulled off down the road and headed off and out into the country to make way for Tyler's house.

Dolph tried to hold back the urge to laugh at Dani's remark. "What are you going to do if the cops are still there?"

"Not a damn thing! Why are we going there? He doesn't have Chase!" He frowned. "Call him...ask him did Meredith get her breakfast! Then ask him does he have any idea if she knows who cooked it!"

Dolph shook with laughter and he pulled out his phone and went through his contacts and pressed his thumb on Tyler's name to call him and follow along with Dani's ridiculous instructions, that was some idea on the spot for code speak.

"I told you, officer. I had no idea he was being hunted...we were watching movies...and the school would likely try to keep that on the down low. Now...if half of everyone found out about it, doesn't mean everyone did, I didn't go running around in the halls."

Tyler heard his phone and held up his finger. "I better get that." He walked to the kitchen and unplugged his phone from the charge and answered it. "Hello?" He answered so innocently.

"Tyler...did Meredith get her breakfast?" Dolph looked at Dani.

Dani shook his head and pressed harder on the accelerator. "Put it on speaker, not like anyone can hear us."

Dolph sighed and put it on speaker.

"Yes, she did, she got it and it was so much food, she had to take some of it home with her." Tyler's tone remained low, despite the cover story.

"Does she have any idea who cooked it?" Dani asked in an angered tone.

Tyler ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "No, she has no idea. I cooked it just as good as mom did, she couldn't tell a difference. I'm glad I could do something nice for someone, maybe I'll build some skills in time for Thanksgiving."

"I'm not very thankful, Tyler." Dani frowned.

"Yeah, well I was really nervous that she wouldn't like it...but I tried and it turned out...well, better than it could of. I could of burned....it." Tyler looked around.

"Right, you didn't burn, you didn't fry." Dani shook his head. "Okay, I don't think you would have kept him all this time just to turn him in. Thanks for trying...just don't slip any of it, keep your mouth shut and a good story and remember the details, so long as you do that, you won't burn."

"Will do, I'll speak to Meredith if she asks, thanks...bye." Tyler quickly hung up and took a second to clear all his calls and then he turned his cell phone off and shoved it into his pocket, hoping the cops would leave soon, they had their man.

Dolph put his phone back into the pocket of his flannel shirt that hung open. "So, who do you think did it?"

"I don't think it was Jesse or Miki...I think they were way to nervous." His eyes narrowed. "Asia was the one going on about reward money."

"Yeah...but didn't they already pay her reward money for getting Mia's killer? I doubt they'd dish out for another crime, people don't exactly make a living off of being tipsters."

"How else do you explain it? Maybe the cops were desperate enough, maybe one of them dished a little green out of pocket, you pay a little to get that big promotion, it pays off in the long run."

Dolph sighed and he shook his head. "Maybe it's for the best, we could have gotten in big trouble. There would have been a mess in Tyler's house, clean or not, they always find it. We were going to be messy, we didn't have a plan, it would have been a big mistake."

"I don't care...I still wanted to put a round in his head." Dani's eyes narrowed. "You don't know who I am." He briefly glanced at Dolph. "I am Emry's half brother..."

He looked over at Dani and his eyes widened. "I had no idea...Does he?"

"He got the idea when I visited him." He sighed. "Long time ago, Lana was already born, her mom cheated on Cedric and so he got drunk and pissed off and decided to cheat with my mom, she got knocked up, left Texas and headed to New Jersey, that was her home anyway. Texas wasn't her place, she was just really passing through on some fun trip to Mexico, I think."

"Did Cedric know about you?" Dolph asked.

"Eventually, my mom didn't want any contact at first, then she would let me talk to him for periods of time, always under her supervision, we never gave away where we were and the calls were always pretty short, five minutes with her, five minutes with me. He could of had the police trace the call, ten minutes is long enough, he never bothered. I guess by then Emry was born and I was that cliche saying, unwanted middle child, red headed..."

"It's red headed step child, that one has nothing to do with being the middle child." He shook his head. "Sorry.."

Dani sighed. "Whatever the case, I always grew up feeling like the awful middle child, the middle, the second born, but not the last. It always bothered me. Then one day, I asked him if either of his other kids felt defective, because I did. It was more of a comment really, then he came out and told me that Emry, first time I heard of him, was narcoleptic and epileptic."

"And what happened?" He stared at him.

"Well, I could of been glad I didn't catch it, I could of been sympathetic, and I was for a second until I realized...he must get all sorts of special treatment, then I wondered just how the oldest sibling felt, how did my older sister feel, in a family where little baby youngest brother probably got showered with everything."

"Dani...you know, I have to say...I didn't know Emry all of his life and...Cedric has been a wonderful father, but he has had to be, especially to Emry, he has practically been forced to make him favorite child. Why? Because their mom is terrible to him, steals his medication, treats him like shit."

"And Lana? Well, she doesn't even treat her like a daughter, she acts more like her best friend, when she gets her way, which Lana is prone to giving her what she wants just to avoid bullshit. Of course, not if that meant hurting Emry."

Dani sighed and slowed down as he came back into town and hit the first stop light. "Yeah, well...I haven't even approached Cedric yet, I'm not entirely sure how to go about it."

He looked out the window and thought about it. "The more thought and wait you put into it, the more agonizing it might be." He looked at Dani. "If it feels agonizing, just saying that maybe, the quick, come on out with it, approach, might work best."

Dani drove through once the light turned green. "Maybe, I just know that I've been having so much fun at Asia's that...I haven't really cared to deal with it." He frowned. "I can't believe she would back stab me like that. I thought she was down, hardcore, I thought she could handle shit."

Dolph shrugged. "Maybe it's not that she couldn't handle it, like you said, she was talking about the money, maybe that just seemed more important to her."

He shook his head. "Well, I hope she enjoys whatever she got." He pushed on the accelerator and speeded through a yellow light and the car felt like it slightly lifted off the ground, at least until he slowed down and there was a light bump.

Sailor turned into the projects and he looked around. "Are you sure this is it?" He asked, driving around several of the complex buildings and he looked over at Jasper, slowing down a little and then he turned his eyes back to the front, not wanting to run over anyone.

"I'm sure, I saw him hitch another ride at the store and then I followed him and he went to some trailer park, I assume it was his dad's...and for whatever reason, he hid his duffel bag under the steps and then some other blonde kid came out, looked much younger and they went in and a little while later a jeep pulled up and they both came out and got into it, the driver looked uncomfortable, but it's Dani. Anyway...he drove them here and dropped them off and they went to one of the upstairs apartments."

"And then what happened?" He went around the curve.

"Well, soon after...the blonde kid came out, left Dani in the apartment and...I think something happened because one other guys helped him into some other guys car and they drove away." He quickly pointed. "There, I remember, the jeep pulled up near that pink convertible. It was that complex right there."

Sailor grinned and he couldn't help but to chuckle. "Sounds like a prostitution ring." He pulled into the parking space next to Asia's convertible and he looked up. "Which one was it?"

"Could be, wouldn't surprise me if Dani didn't try to make connections fast, hell...the person he hitched with could of been his connection and he connected." He shook his head. "Upstairs, left apartment."

"Any idea what you're going to say? You don't even know who is in there, or even how many people. It could be a gang house for all you know." He reached out and grabbed Jasper's arm. "You need to be careful."

"Hey, if that little blonde kid could go in and come out..."

"Yeah and some guy helped him into some other guys car? Maybe he survived a beating and then they helped him out the door and shut it behind him." He let go of his arm.

"No, it was more like...whatever happened to him hit at the bottom of the stairs." Jasper shook his head. "Just stay here." He pushed the passenger door open and climbed out of the car and headed on over to the stairs and climbed up the first flight, rounded the platform and then up the second flight until he reached Asia's apartment and then knocked on the door.

"Finally...I hope you have the money because I put a lot of..." Asia opened the door. "...good faith in you." She stared at Jasper. "And I normally distrust people." She crossed her arms. "Who are you? And what do you want?" She asked the kid, and he did look like a kid with that innocent face and wavy blonde hair that stuck out of his black beanie cap.

"Wow...you change moods quick." Jasper said.

"Yeah...I stay on permanent PMS, I have to take Midol daily, though it was funny when I told my friend Miki to go OD on the things."

Jasper slowly nodded, not being sure if Dani was outside or not, he decided to try playing a role. "Well..uh...I'm kind of messenger boy here, I have the money." He looked around. "Could you step outside? I kind of don't trust coming in someone's house."

Asia leaned a shoulder against the door frame. "Then don't come in...just give me the money." She held her hand out.

He sighed, this girl was frustrating. "Look...I need to talk to you and it's very serious." He looked past her. "And if he's in there...I can't tell you what I need to tell you."

Asia made a face. "Relax...he isn't in here, unless you're talking about my dad, but he's at his outpatient addiction treatment daycare." She shook her head and stepped outside and shut the door. "But I'll humor you."

"There are things about Dani that you don't know..." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Okay...first of all, my names Jasper and uh...well I'm his ex that followed him all the way here from New Jersey, except I'm not a psycho stalker, I swear, in fact he is the sociopath that I am tracking."

Asia's eyebrows lifted. "You chase him half way across the country and he's the sociopath and you are so totally not a psycho stalker." She spoke sarcastically and gave a shake of her head. "I'm following you." She gave a thumbs up. "Keep going, I'm waiting for the juicy parts..."

"Just hear me out, please, keep humoring me." Jasper sighed in frustration and stress. "Look...he killed his mom, he shot her dead with her boyfriends gun and got him framed and got away with it and got her life insurance money. She had so many domestic disputes with her boyfriend, the police reports, the history, the drugs...just everything."

He was counting off his fingers at this point. "So, it made sense to them. I know he did it because he forced me to move in with him after she died and he told me and he said if he ever got caught that I was an accessory because I know about it and didn't report it, he said he wouldn't let me report it either. We were just really basic boyfriends at the time, weren't deep in it at all."

Asia nodded and then she grinned. "Did you not realize that if you reported him, he would have gotten arrested right away and you wouldn't have been an accessory?"

Jasper stared at her. "He said by the law you have to call it in as soon as you know, and he wasn't taking his eyes off me."

"Dude...the cops would have understood, you were basically a hostage." She waved her arms out. "And I am still humoring you, by the way."

"Keep humoring then." He sighed. "As days went on, I got into the mind of Dani, he was into freaky, weird, scary shit. First it was odd, he would spy on women with his microscope. I thought he was all the way gay."

Asia started laughing. "Peeping Tom...can't wait to tease him with that one."

"You can't! If he has any idea that I've been here, that you know even an ounce of the real story..." He shook his head. "The only reason he didn't do me in was because he was only just starting to lose his mind and he had enough sanity left to realize how suspicious it would be. He was into rape porn, first it was just watching it and then..."

Asia quickly held up a hand. "Stop..." She frowned. "I think I know where you're going with this. He did a lot of bad shit to you, then he took off, came here, right? What I don't get...is why follow him? You should have bowed below the sky and praised God that he left you."

"God...and praising the lord." He looked down. "Kind of another sore subject to me. My parents turned religion into a hateful thing, hammering it in my head that Jesus would condemn me, that he would hate me. Then my uncle was a drunk, hypocritical Christian, he'd tell me God would laugh as he created cannibals to tear me apart and eat me, go on about how he wished I'd go to prison just for a little bit of time so I could see how much being gay hurts."

Asia squinted her eyes at him. "What an idiot...of course some guy in prison named Big Joe raping you is going to hurt."

"Yeah, well...it's hard to think of religion at all without all of those bad memories rising to the surface..." He looked up, tears staining his face by this point.

Asia thought about this, thinking about how willing Dani was to kill Chase, even how excited he was, how he kept trying to push her and Dolph into it when they each had their own moments of wanting to back out. "Maybe...I could stop humoring you." She looked up. "I just...he seemed so...fun."

"He will seem that way...and he can be fun, he's an awesome friend if you will let him be, he was a good boyfriend...at arms length, but once you let him pull you closer, once you go deeper, hit that next level, everything changes. Once you see the true face behind the mask...and lets just say his mask is a human face and his real face is a horrific clown, you're lucky to get out of that. Best you can do is make sure he thinks he frightened you enough, scared you to silence."

Asia looked to the side and quietly let out the hint of a laugh. "I don't play scare really good, I'd have to be a damn good actress, and I have this sense that he wouldn't believe me if I tried, he honestly thought I was as hardcore as him."

Jasper looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"A sort of friend of mine...he has narcolepsy, for one, it caused him to get raped and then one of his friends came over, angry, wanted to know if I had a gun, I usually pack some kind of heat. Dani was there, totally hyped about it. We got the guy calmed down and...I had to back out, not entirely because I was afraid to go there, but because I had a future to think about, for the first time in my life."

"Narcolepsy?" Jasper crossed his arms. "You just might be talking about Dani's brother. He came here because his father is here...and his two half siblings, he told me about them. That's how I knew where he was going, how I was able to follow him."

"Woah..." Asia's eyes slightly widened. "Damn...if he is crazy like that...I would not want to be Emry...lay there get chopped up."

"That's a horrid thought." Jasper said.

"Yeah, well...you better go, they could be back now at any time, hell for all I know, Dolph could have totally backed out, he might be dead, now that I know all this. I'll uh...figure something out, I always do, but if he knows that you're here or have been here, he'll know that I know what you know, which we know is a bad thing."

"Okay...just be careful...I uh...plan to go see Emry next, where do you think he will be?" Jasper asked as Asia ushered him towards the top flight of stairs.

"Uh...find the high school, hopefully he went to school today, he might not of." She grabbed his arm and jerked him back. "Wait."

Jasper stumbled and spun around and then he grinned. "Do you want me to leave or stay?"

"Funny.." She went through her phone and then turned it over to him. "See this guy? His name is Merit...probably the only picture we will ever take together in our existence, it was just a random shot we took while doing an assignment together. Ask him, if he can't find Emry, he can call him for you. It's Cedar Ridge High School." She then gave him a shove. "Now go!"

Jasper took a close look at the picture and made sure to store the face to memory, it wasn't difficult, the guy was rather hot, more attractive than Dani could ever dream to be. He then felt the shove and grabbed the railing as he stumbled down a few steps and rushed his way down, looking up to see Asia grab her keys and begin heading down the steps herself.

Jasper thought it might be a good idea if she did get out of dodge, maybe she was going to school too? It would be a safe place. He headed back over to the car and jumped in and looked over at Sailor. "We have to find the high school..." He said as Sailor pulled out and they drove off just as Asia walked away from the steps and headed towards that hot pink ride of hers.

Siera walked along with Merit through the trophy lobby just outside of the gym, the two seeming to take their time, not seeming in a hurry to get to class, though classes were starting late on this day for several reasons, as voting for prom king and queen were beginning and running for class president was coming up and students were given more free time to go about these activities.

"So, look...I know that you aren't the happiest with this situation, but given that we are here, where we're at..." She paused. "I mean, the situation...that is. I wondered if any names have gone through your head?"

Merit looked down and then he shrugged. "No...not really." He said, a saddened expression on his face. "It's just...this isn't the situation I pictured...even if I were straight."

"If you were straight?" Siera stopped and stepped in front of him. "When are you going to stop?"

He looked up at her. "What?"

"Stop making references like that? Stop identifying as gay? Stop saying things like...if I were straight? I mean, okay...excuse the melodramatics, because this will sound rather over dramatic...but, what if we got married? What would I tell our friends? Oh, we just have the one kid, it wasn't intended and uh...we won't be having anymore, maybe if my husband were straight..."

Merit looked up at her. "Okay...that is over dramatic, and if that were a real life situation, you would be doing it on purpose because over elaborating like that isn't necessary, if someone asked how many kids, most women...just say how many kids. In which you would say...oh, I just have the one."

Merit went on. "Now if the person asking pushed, then I could see that happening because it's a close friend who you tell that stuff too, unless it's someone you barely know, to which, you have rights to your privacy."

Siera sighed and shook her head. "And why do I always get the urge to laugh when these things happen?"

"Maybe because it's so crazy, it's just plain out funny?" Merit stared at her. Maybe because it was better than wanting to cry? That was a thought he would surely have to keep to himself, like many thoughts, but sometimes it just got really hard to hide the sadness, like in that moment when he felt the tears building.

"Siera!" Maiten ran up. "Just the one I was looking for!" He smiled. "Sorry...normally I am more self composed, but I am kinda happy that I found you and yet really concerned." He looked at Merit. "Can I borrow her for just a second?"

Siera recognized that accent so well, she looked at Maiten and grinned. "Self composed...translates to robotic? Are you sure you aren't autistic or something?"

"Well, I've never seen a shrink, I wouldn't know, but quiet and serious and a like for something I see as a profession one day is often seen as professional and dedicated, not autistic." He looked at Merit. "Can I?"

Merit didn't know if he could speak without his voice cracking up, and because of that, Maiten would get a nod and a smile from him and a small wave of his hand.

"Thanks." Maiten nodded for Siera to follow him as he walked a little bit away. "So, listen...I really enjoyed doing that project with Talia, thing is...I haven't been able to reach her. She doesn't answer my calls, I've never been to her place, she kind of thought it was funny to work at Principal Morris' house, thought it would score her some credit..."

Siera looked at him. "Oh...I don't think you know." She sighed. "Something happened, actually right here in this very lobby, something from the past came out and it really uh...shocked her, not just that but also someone else really got hurt and humiliated in the process and she kind of blamed herself because uh...the thing from the past, well she...it was a blocked memory and she had to be reminded and so she felt like it was her fault..."

Maiten slowly nodded as he listened. "I'm following, just keep being straight forward yet vague."

Siera slightly smiled, brief, but it appeared. "So, basically the girl that let the cat out of the bag, she decided to make a big bang out of reminding her of what she lost, leading to some ones humiliation and if she had just remembered and not blocked the memory...yeah, she thought it wouldn't of happened." She crossed her arms.

"Okay...and I assume this happened before I came?" Maiten asked.

"Uh...maybe, I think you came right after and...I don't think everything really set in right away and then it just hit her and so she left to go stay with her mom in Missouri, she didn't want to be around anymore." Siera shrugged. "Kind of upsets me, she was my best friend, only real girlfriend support I had for...my situation." She waved her hand. "Never mind that."

"I can be your girlfriend..." Asia walked up and she grinned. "So, the Princess ran away? How terrible..." She laughed. "I guess that means...with Kane gone...and Talia gone, no King and Queen, well...I was always second runner up for queen since one who has such a position has to be able to handle the power."

Maiten looked down awkwardly, figuring this had to be the other girl that Siera spoke of.

"Asia...please, don't start..." Siera looked down.

"Why not? I'm queen now...and if you want to be anyone, Miss Barbie, fake, plastic, blow up bitch, I suggest you bow down to me...or join the boys for chess." She paused. "Maybe I should steal the queen piece...kind of tacky that Emry did it, of course Trillian probably instructed him on every move he made. Sounds like an idea he would of given me."

Maiten looked up at Asia. "A true artist...makes her own work, and if she wants it to gain attention, she makes it one of a kind."

Asia looked over at Maiten. "Says the transfer student...good advice." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "What does your philosophy say about creating art by destroying art?" She grinned.

"If you would stop walking, I wouldn't be having such a hard time." Sailor followed Jasper, working on the bandana that had been rolled up and wrapped around his head, finally tying it when he bumped into him. "Damn...and now stop walking."

"There he is..." Jasper said, pointing towards Merit and then he reached up, making sure his bandana was tied right.

"Quit worrying about it." He grabbed Jasper's hand and pulled him down the hall and off into the trophy lobby where it opened up into a rather roomy hang out space.

"Merit.." Jasper spoke up and walked over to him. "You are Merit."

Merit had just been taking the moment to let himself cry, though at the sound of his name being called from an unknown voice, he quickly wiped his tears away and did his best to try and make himself presentable. It was at that point that he turned around. "Hi.."

"You okay?" Sailor asked.

"Allergies..." Merit blinked several times. "Uh...I don't know you guys, actually...I've never seen you here."

"That's because we're from some glamorous country like uh...Poland! Oh...but that isn't so glamorous...Siberia sounds more exotic, we came from there first..." Jasper grinned.

Sailor's eyes widened.

"What? I'm supposed to be dead serious the whole time?" He mumbled as he looked at Sailor.

He rolled his eyes at Jasper. "Yeah, then we like totally flew through Hollywood and tossed our billions around so that our nameless selves could put our hands in the cement."

"See? Isn't our life fun!" He smiled and looked at Merit.

Merit could only stare at them. "And now you just came to Texas...yeah...well, I really need to deal with my allergies..."

Jasper quickly moved in front of Merit as he turned to walk away. "Wait!" He sighed. "Okay, sorry about the stupid stories, I just love to make them up when I randomly meet someone...call it an impulse control issue. Thing is...we need to find Emry and we were told you knew how to do it."

Merit looked between them, already feeling his need to protect Emry taking control. "How do you know Emry and what do you want with him?"

Jasper looked at Sailor and then his gaze returned to Merit. "I know him because of..." He looked around. "Oh! Because of her!"

Merit looked over and saw that Jasper was pointing at Asia.

Asia looked up and saw Jasper and her eyes widened. "Get out of my way!" She suddenly shoved Siera aside and walked over. "What the fuck are you doing being where I'm at?! He might find your car and come in here...and I'm fucking here! Go to the cafeteria or something!"

"What the..." Merit trailed off.

"Uh...I don't think we can force Merit to relocate in existence..." He leaned slightly closer to her. "We just need him to tell us where Emry is, that's all."

"Asia, they said they know Emry because of you." Merit looked up at her.

Asia's eyes narrowed as she looked up at Merit. "Well, yeah...they are from his support group!" She threw her arm over Jasper's shoulders. "He has one because you, first..." She held up a finger. "First you fuck that blonde blow up bitch over there, of course Emry needs counseling!"

Sailor's eyes widened and he looked around and saw the blonde girl that Asia was referring to. Jasper looked over and saw the girl and then looked between Merit and Asia.

"That is ridiculous...you are the only one that calls her a blow up doll or ever references her as a blow up anything..." Merit said.

"Okay...maybe I exaggerated...but Emry was having a hard time understanding how a gay guy could live a straight life...and these are his buddies from group therapy!" Asia let go of Jasper. "So, tell them where he is...and you can go back to tending to your doll, protect her, make sure she stays pretty...and clean the cum out after each use!" She then walked off.

"Merit! I am about sick of her!" Siera walked over, Maiten followed after. "She just won't fucking stop!"

Jasper tried to contain his laughter. "Yeah...see, we're from his therapy." He nodded. "That's where my stories came from, sometimes I have hallucinations...schizophrenia and all. I can be in my living room and swear I'm walking in a jungle." He nodded.

Sailor simply took in the drama and he looked at Merit. "He's legit...I take care of him, sometimes he walks into walls, yeah...when you hallucinate like that, no boundaries. I also help guide the sessions." He paused. "Despite that girl...Emry really has been tending to sessions, though I can't discuss the actual content." He cleared his throat.

Jasper grinned. "It's snowing..." He held up his hand. "Don't you see it..."

Sailor almost wanted to punch Jasper in the shoulder, it was going to be hard enough to take such an idea and make it believable after everything that girl said, he wasn't making it look any more serious.

"Merit...forget them! I want to leave!" Siera screamed furiously.

"Hey...can you calm her down?" Merit directed his gaze towards Maiten.

"I'll try." He reached out and took Siera's hand. "Come on...over here." He lead Siera away from the trio of guys.

"I tell you what...I'm going to find Emry and go with you, I kind of just...really don't fucking trust you. I mean, you lie to me first, then you say you know him because of Asia, she was either poorly trying to make a story for you because she couldn't resist her own jokes or she actually was making a big joke and you are trying to cling to such a story and make it sensible."

Sailor grabbed Jasper by the back of the shirt and tugged him back. "Stop!" He mumbled firmly in his ear, watching as Merit fished out his phone and went through the contacts and searched Emry's name out, a single light tap of his thumb and he brought the phone to his ear as the round of rings began.

"Hello?" Emry finally answered his phone.

"Emry, it's me...listen, there are these two guys looking for you..." Merit started

Emry began laughing. "I'm going to have an attack. Guys looking for me? Are they dressed in black?" He grinned.

"No...they said they are from your therapy group, Asia said they were from your therapy group." Merit looked at them.

Jasper frowned, knowing Emry would blow the story right out of the water.

"Asia said that?" Emry sighed. "I didn't want..." He frowned, not wanting to lie to Merit, at the same time, he felt loyal to Asia and he was curious about these guys. "I'm at the library doing a favor for Asia."

"A favor? And what might that be?" Merit said.

Emry grinned, cutting a page in the libraries copy of the year book. "You will see. Just tell those guys...I'm in the library." He said.

"Fine, we'll be there." Merit hung up. "I know where he is." He pointed at them with his cell phone. "But, I'm coming...so give me a minute."

"Fine..." Sailor gave Merit the same tough guy stare. "Your sixty second minute starts now."

Jasper shook with the laughter that he tried desperately to hold in, covering his mouth with a fist.

Merit walked around them and headed over towards Maiten and Siera. "Listen, I have to deal with these guys. Why don't you two get to know each other? You should, we kind of need new friends around here."

Siera frowned, not looking happy at all with Merit. "Fine." She watched him walk off and then she looked over at Maiten. "No offense, it just gets on my nerves when ever he goes running to Emry's rescue."

"Who says it's a rescue mission?" Maiten asked.

"Well, obviously he doesn't trust those guys..It's at least a protection mission, he's supposed to be starting a life with me and...dedication to an ex like that...to the point where I get picked up and sat to the side like a bad glass of wine to a preferable glass of champagne..."

Merit headed over and slipped between the two guys. "Follow me." He spun around to look at them and then spun again to head off down the hall and the trio took off through the crowds that were slowly beginning to thin as the free one hour period was coming close to an end.

Emry grinned and took the cut out head and lifted it up and he grinned with amusement. "There we go." He shut the year book. "Guess the school will miss you...or maybe not." He shut the year book and reached into his bag to grab his bottle of glue and his roll of tape, sitting both items on the table.

"Emry..." Merit walked up with Sailor and Jasper in company.

He looked up, seeing Merit, then his eyes shifted towards Jasper and stopped on Sailor. "Woah...you're hot."

Sailor's eyes widened. "Yeah, you told me that...in group therapy...you always tell me that." He flashed a smile and slightly twisted his head to the side.

"Right." He looked at Merit. "Everything's fine...um...you should probably get back to Siera before she really goes into PMS mode...which she is prone to do...even when it's not that time of the month."

Merit looked down and shook his head. "You've rode Asia's bus a little too long." He turned around and headed out. He wasn't happy to be in the situation he was in with Siera, but he was tired of people talking bad about her, but then she had become moody lately.

Jasper sat down after Merit took off and he grinned. "Did you cut out someone's head?" He looked down at the year book.

"It's uh...for a project." He took the head and laid it face down on the table. "So, clearly we never met." His eyes shifted to Sailor. "And so, I never told you that before."

"Glad you told me that now..." He smiled and brought a hand down to Jasper's shoulder. "We're not together our anything, I just...made the trip happen for him."

"The trip?" Emry looked at Jasper.

That was when a serious look took over. "It's about Dani." Jasper said. "He may have told you that his mom's boyfriend killed her, that isn't true. He did it, he wanted her life insurance money, he found the policy. He's really crazy, I can't even begin to explain, I'm not even going to try to, just that I used to be his lover and he used to do some crazy bad stuff to me."

Emry's eyes narrowed at Jasper. "So, that explains the sixty thousand dollars in his duffel bag."

"Probably carries it around for the travel." Sailor said in observation. "Plans to make home here, get a bank account."

"Well, that won't be happening, I took the money for myself..."

Jasper's eyes widened. "Are you insane?" He tried to keep a hushed tone. "He will kill you for that money, and we kind of already know your conditions, imagine how easy that will make it."

"And how will he explain that to our dad? Which, by the way, he has naked pictures of him and some woman." Emry sat back and crossed his arms.

"He'll find a way." Jasper nodded. "And don't be shocked by the pictures, I said he was a crazy freak. He probably gets off on them, chances are, the woman is his mom. He used to look through a telescope into windows, watch rape porn, then started to rape me, the real deal, no fake shit about it."

Sailor quickly looked down. "You never told me that."

"There's a lot I haven't told you." Jasper mumbled. "He used to force me into master slave shit. If I didn't act right and accordingly, he would beat me up but he would never touch my face, maybe a slap, but that was it."

Emry sat there and he looked down thoughtfully. "He knocked on my door, I answered, he smiled and let fake blood seep out of his mouth and spit it on my step, then kissed me, claimed he wanted me to taste the cherry flavor and then revealed he was my brother."

Jasper shook his head. "Incest...wouldn't surprise me, that's the light fluffy stuff to him, merely an idea or a theme that might turn him on."

"Great." Emry shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "I already had my sisters boyfriend literally live out the boyfriend fucks sister's younger brother scenario, then he threw me away like trash, tried so hard to be nice about it. So, now...what? If he wants incest, I better do it or get beaten up?" He shook his head. "I can handle a beating."

"Not his kind." Jasper frowned. "He'll kick you, throw things at you, once he gets you down he will lash you with a chain, sometimes my whole entire body could be littered with bruises, but my face a perfect shine, so long as I completely covered up, no one would ever know it."

"You guys said you knew Asia.." He looked up. "I'm assuming you warned her first?"

"We were tracking Dani, followed him to your trailer park, knew we couldn't get to you with him there, so we tracked you to her place, but we couldn't get to you there either because those other two guys, so we waited, came back later. I took the risk to confront Asia and...thankfully he wasn't there. I told her...and now I'm telling you." Jasper explained.

"He doesn't even know we followed him, he left Jasper, assumed he put enough fear into him not to talk, I guess he had enough sanity left not to risk another murder, it was a loose end that he risked leaving." Sailor added.

"I have his duffel bag, he hid it under the steps, but if he's been back to the trailer since then, he'll know it's been moved. He could assume our dad did it, though he might wonder why he can't find it. We have this hole in the wall, something my mom did, I just had to tear it bigger to fit the duffel bag in and tie a string to it and then I took the small picture and changed it out for some big painting that mom had in her room to cover the hole."

"Do you have his number?" Sailor asked.

"Yeah, he put it in my phone on the way to Asia's."

Jasper snorted. "Probably copied all your contacts to his phone while he was at it. Of course he would of had to put the app on your phone. It's an app where you can take any kind of data from any phone and send it to another phone, like data email, then you open it on another phone and download it and it automatically goes right into place, kind of like backing up bookmarks on a web browser."

"I haven't seen any new apps." Emry reached into his back pack. "But then rarely do I slide over to the other screens, most of my stuff is on my main home screen."

"Just call him, you need to know what is going on." Jasper nodded.

Emry went in and found Dani in his contacts and then lightly pressed the screen with his thumb and he brought the phone to his ear.

"If he does anything to my dad...I will hate him forever, I can't live with my mom, I just can't...she is awful, and I hate my sister for more recent reasons and I never thought I would hate her." Emry took a deep breath, anxiously waiting for an answer.