Crista was at more than a bit of a loss about any response at all that she could possibly give to the detective’s unspoken question. Trying to buy time, she glanced warily between Connor and the detective. She knew that she could technically explain how she was there but not really there to Connor, if she had to, but the detective was an entirely different story.

She really only had a couple of options here, and none were good. Either she denied being there, which would call anything else Phoebe may or may not tell the cops into question. And they needed Phoebe to help them put Curt away once and for all. Or else, she admitted to being there, at the risk of painting herself as being stupid enough to ever go near Curt willingly, at all; let alone going into his actual house, while he was on house arrest in it. Never mind the factor of the restraining orders that were deliberately in place to keep Curt far far away from any of his victims, and the fact that admitting to being there was, in essence, a lie on her part.

Even if she were the victim of the least of his crimes; her lover and soul-mate, Sky was not. And going near Curt was sure to put not only Crista and Sky, but the others they cared about in danger too. And Crista knew that all too well. But saying she was there would prove the opposite to the cops who were supposed to be protecting all of them from ever being in the same vicinity as Curt at all. And who knows how seriously they would continue to take that job if they thought Crista were dangerously sabotaging their efforts?

“Crista?” Calvert prodded her after another few seconds of silence.

With, a breath, Crista attempted to deflect once more, “is Phoebe ok?”

Calvert sighed, “first of all, did Curt hurt you?”

“Is she?” Crista pressed again, causing Calvert to sigh heavily at what she saw as the girl being obstinate, when really it was just a desperate attempt to avoid any lie or truth, neither of which would be good for Crista and the others she cared about.

Conceding to provide some answer to Crista’s seemingly sincere concern, Calvert responded, “she’s terrified to be in the same house as her brother at all. She insisted her mother take her to live with her grandparents until the trial is finally over and done with. Now, back to my question; are you ok?” she asked more firmly.

“I’m fine. So Phoebe is moving away? That’s it?”

“Temporarily going to stay with other relatives” Calvert repeated again, “but Crista?”

“And nothing else is happening to Curt?” Crista asked, voice breaking, her fear of that being the case obvious in her voice.

“And you seem terrified of him too, as you should be, which begs the question---” Calvert began again.

“So, Curt didn’t hurt Phoebe, then?” Crista dared.

Calvert sighed heavily, “did she tell you Curt hurt her?”

Crista swallowed again, “I saw her post” was the only response she offered then.

Another sigh from Calvert, “she doesn’t technically state that it was Curt that did that to her in that post. We have to hear it confirmed by Phoebe or at the very least, by someone else whom she told” Calvert explained with a bit of her own annoyance at that fact.

“Well, she never denied that it was him, did she?” Crista asked with further desperation.

“No, but ‘not denying’ and confirming are two separate things; especially when it comes to laws being broken” Calvert stated with a bit of defeat. “Now, again, you’re not hurt, right?”

“Right” Crista stated with a sad look down.

“And you actually were at the Spencer house tonight?”

“I’m not confirming that or denying it” Crista told her angrily as she turned and headed back up the stairs sadly then.

Calvert just sighed after the girl and looked back at where Connor had warily watched the conversation, “if this girl willingly went to Curt’s house...” Calvert just shook her head, “I just don’t want another victim, and she needs to understand how serious of a possibility that could be” she told Connor pointedly.

“You’ll get no argument here” Connor stated softly as he also glanced up the stairs after Crista with a worried breath.

“I can’t do my job if my victims go waltzing into that monster’s home!” Calvert stressed again.

“Again, no argument” Connor stated in the same quiet tone.

“If she’s here at your house, you’re in essence her guardian for the time she’s in your care. I don’t wanna ever have to come back to your house again, Mr. Vargas; for any reason.”

“We’re in agreement again” Connor assured with a nod. Calvert and her partner then sighed in frustration once more and then began heading back toward their car, leaving Connor to finally let out the breath he had been holding, and close the door behind them. A moment later, he hollered up the stairs, “Crista!”

At the top of the stairs, now whispering urgently to her three older companions, all four of them then looked back down at the sound of Connor’s shout up the stairs. They then each took a deep breath of their own to brace themselves to even try to begin any explanation for him then. Never mind how worried they all still were about their last effort to be rid of Curt somehow failing, yet again.

After a long drawn out conversation over dinner as they tried to explain the reasons they had for their psychic assaults on Curt over the last month, Connor and Brie just shook their heads at each other and the teens.

Connor finally spoke at the end of their rather long explanation, “so you decided to try and make an already unstable rapist... even more unstable?” Connor shook his head.

Star spoke first, as most of the psychic assaults had been her doing, “we wanted to make him so miserable he’d blow his own damn head off, not just triple the length of his rap sheet with ever new and more varied crimes” she mumbled.

Brie then returned shortly, “maybe you should look up the definition of unstable.”

They all sighed heavily then. Though Crista spoke up, “what we did tonight could have worked though; if only he hadn’t seen that post and made Phoebe so scared she ran instead of talked.”

“If only” Connor returned sarcastically, “and how many sentences can we begin that way these days?”

Crista sighed once more, called up Phoebe’s post, and added the comment ‘you have to tell. They’ll arrest him for real then. Help us all and please, just tell.’ She then looked up at where the others gave her a questioning look, “last ditch effort” she replied sadly as she put the phone away again.

Brie then mirrored the sound of discontent, but made herself get up once dinner was finished and move to the refrigerator. There, she retrieved a huge black birthday cake, complete with eighteen candles atop it. Kole just gave her an awkward smile as she set it on the table before him, “thanks mom” he allowed the slightest smirk, “almost forgot about how we’re all supposed to be celebrating, or some crap...” he finished with another sigh.

Sky then spoke, “we’re pretty sure Curt didn’t actually do more than just put that welt across her forehead though, right? I guess we sort of saved her. At least from that” Sky added more quietly as he sighed at the still unlit black candles.

“I just told her to run. Doesn’t feel much like saving” Crista mumbled.

Brie then cleared her throat, “ok, new birthday rule; no mention of any Spencer at all for at least an hour. Now which of you boys are going to give me your lighter?” she asked them pointedly as they just looked down guiltily.

Though, instead of producing a lighter Kole simply looked down at the candles atop his cake and all eighteen of them simultaneously ignited, causing everyone in the room to startle slightly. “Who needs a stinking lighter? Right?” he smirked, then looked up, “it’s not bad luck to light your own birthday candles or some shit, is it? Cause, we really don’t need any more of that” he added worriedly.

Sky then scoffed, “please, not like bad luck is a real thing. You act like someone tried to burn the house down with us in it on Friday the thirteenth or something” he added bitterly.

“Hey! Birthday rule!” Brie scolded her son as he just rolled his eyes. She then turned to her son’s, and daughter’s, lover and spoke, “now make a wish.”

“What so ever shall I wish for?” Kole replied sarcastically as they all just shook their heads and waited for him to blow out those eighteen candles at last.

As midnight closed the door on Kole’s birthday that night, Sky had made his way to the upstairs bathroom for a quick shower; or so they hoped that that was all he was doing in there. Crista was in Sky’s room, trying to get Phoebe to respond to her online, still. And Star had gone to her room to take her pill, Kole following as he moved to recline upon her bed while he finished his cigarette.

Star couldn’t help smirking as he took that place while she washed down the pill. Easily catching her dark eyes on him, “figured I was welcome, it being my birthday and all” he replied, managing to return a small smile of his own.

“It’s not technically your birthday anymore” she teased him as she sat at the edge of the bed to begin unlacing her high boots.

“That mean I should find somewhere else to sleep then?” Kole asked wryly as he took another drag.

“I didn’t say that” Star returned his smile, “and sleep, eh?”

“Well unless you’re planning another alien abduction. I do rather enjoy those, I must admit” he teased.

Star just bit back another smile as she finished removing her boots. She then pulled herself free of the leather jacket she had worn to school over a black lace corset that day. She then crawled across the bed to prop her head upon his chest, cuddling closer to him as she did.

Once he finally dropped the cigarette into the ashtray he had brought with him from Sky’s room, and reached over Star to set it on her bedside stand, she cuddled closer still, giving him a slight squeeze as she did. After a moment of Kole absently caressing her hair, Star moved her hand to begin tracing her fingers over the top button of his pants.

Kole smiled again as he looked down at her, “should I brace for space?”

Star just chuckled at the question before responding, “I was just wondering.”

“Is there more to that sentence?”

Star allowed another soft laugh, “I was just wondering, how bad did that hurt?” she said as she ever so briefly caressed him through the pants before returning her fingertips to the button to allow him to keep from being too distracted to answer.

“So many people curious about my metalwork this week” he smirked, “and let me guess, still trying to convince Sky to get some more of his own metalwork?” he teased.

Star laughed again then, “can’t a girl just be curious?”

“You are a curious girl” Kole teased her again. He then continued, “and how bad did it hurt? How bad is ‘a lot?’” he asked as he winced slightly at the memory.

Star just shook her head, “and you willingly did that?”

“Sammi looked it up and the facts about the effect of said metalwork on one’s partner intrigued her, to put it mildly. And as someone once said, ‘the things I do for love’” he added wryly.

“Shit” Star mumbled as she moved her hand gently over him once more. “What is with boys and pain?” she asked more quietly.

“What? Not like every straight or bisexual girl on the planet doesn’t endure some pain for a boy she loves, at least once, if not more.”

“More?” Star asked as she looked up at him.

“They agree to let us take their virginity, and then most agree to endure even worse pain later in life; some multiple times” Kole stated, looking down at the fact of even mentioning fatherhood, considering his own brush with that very real possibility less than two years earlier.

Star sighed quietly, “still, loss of virginity and childbirth aside, boys seem a lot more willing to endure pain a lot more often than girls do.”

Kole sighed, easily understanding the unspoken reasons behind her sad tone, “he’s still cutting, I assume. Judging by the scars I still see on him.”

“Every time I hear about whatever new shit Curt pulled, I can’t help thinking that that’ll be the time it really pushes Sky too far. That’ll be the time he cuts too deep” she sniffled.

“And it seems like you’re the person he’s cutting even deeper” Kole whispered as he gently moved to kiss her lips, both of them feeling the pain of each of those cuts in their own way; both worried about when the next cut will really be too deep for any of them to recover from at all.