Nearly everyone was home by the time we got back to the house, Virginia, no... Ma, had rushed off to find dad and tell him about our day and I had wandered into the kitchen finding May sat with Jazz and Matt.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I question sitting down with them. May sending me a reassuring smile, as i glanced around the table.

Matt grins, "I'm waiting for Jackson to get here, then I've got some stuff to do with him and Beau" he replies, watching with a grin as I glance around nervously. "Jack's not here yet" he laughs at me and I stick my tongue out at him.

"Jack has arrived!" I hear from behind me and spin in my seat to see Jackson and Beau stood behind me. May laughs at my expression, getting up to grab drinks and biscuits for us all and allowing Beau to claim her seat next to me, as Jackson pulls out the seat next to Jazz, who glares at him.

"Jackass" she greets him, shocking me, I had never heard her be rude to anyone, except of course her cousins. I watch as Jackson narrows his eyes at her, making her flush and realise what I am seeing. Jazz likes Jackson but doesn't want to like him and Jackson knows it.

"My Sweet Jasmine" he replies now grinning at her, all of us watching their byplay.

"What are you working on?" I ask Matt to break the tension but only seem to make it tighter as they all exchange looks over my head. I turn to look at Beau "Whats going on?" I ask carefully, not wanting to break the truce we all had.

"Matt is helping Jack and I with some computer stuff" he offers vaguely, not meeting my eye, and everyone else is current looking elsewhere too. I hope they are not up to anything that will get them in trouble, but my gut is telling me this has to do with me and Silas.

I scan his face, and can see the set of his jaw and just know, whatever he is up to, nothing I say will change it. "Beau, just don't get in trouble, not because of me... Please" I reply softly and am shocked by the change in his face as he smiles at me, and I feel my body flutter in response. Holy hell he was beautiful when he smiled.

"Baby, I promise to take care" he tells me softly and I gasp, he called me Baby! What the hell was going on. he just grinned at my look of confusion, his hand coming up to gently brush a lock of hair behind my ear. "Be good" he tells me with another blinding smile, leaving me silently gaping at him, before getting up and taking Matt and Jack with him out of the room.

I turn to Jazz, confusion raging through my mind, to see her looking at their retreating backs , her head tilted as she worked out whatever was going through her mind. Finally shaking her head she focused on me "Come on, lets go relax by the pool, you can tell me about your shopping trip with Aunty Ginny"

I followed her outside and dropped onto a lounger, turning her way, curiosity making me ask the question. "Whats the story with you and Jackson?" I watch as she fidgets under my gaze, then realise how rude I am being. "I'm sorry Jazz, just ignore that question, its nosy of me and its none of my business" I tell her.

Jazz laughs and relaxes back, "Anni, You are the nicest person I have ever met and you're not nosy, its natural curiosity" she laughs again. "Jack and I are complicated, we have been friends for years but typical high school friends story, he chose his way and I chose mine..." she trails off.

"And?" I prompt her.

"We may have hooked up a couple of times but our differences are bigger than what we share" she explained.

"So you like him?" I look at her and she nods, "And he likes you?" she nods again. "Then what exactly is stopping you, because I don't get it?" I say confused.

"He's popular, one of the IT crowd" she explains slowly, but I shake my head at her.

"And?" not seeing her reason.

"I'm not!" she hisses at me and its my turn to laugh at her.

"Shut up" she mutters, chucking a cushion at me and I just laugh harder, till her eyes narrow at me and she utters the words that stop me dead. "What about you and my cousins, they all like you and not as a sister. I saw the way Beau looked at you!"

"What!" I gasp out, feeling totally shocked at her observation. "What do you mean...they don't like me, they just feel guilty they misunderstood!"

"Hah, that may have been true in the past, they may have got it wrong about you before and thought they hated you for the wrong reason but that's all changed now. they like you" she watches my expressions flash across my face.

"Did you really not realise" she asked softly now and I shook my head, not knowing what to say. "Do you like them?" she pushed and I looked at her wide eyed.

"No" I denied but I sounded weak even to myself, "They hurt me" I added and she watched me silently as I shook at my thoughts. "They've always been mean, pushed me away and when I trusted them, they attacked me, they can't like me" I rushed out sounding as confused as I felt.

Jazz smiled softly in understanding "But?" she questioned.

"I do feel safe around them, I still fear them and can't allow myself to believe what they say, but... when Beau helped me, I trusted in him... protecting me". My gaze swung back to the house and up to where I knew Beau's room was. "I think about them, and I worry that they will get hurt in my mess, I'm not used to letting people in and I'm trying to find my footing within a new college, a new home, a new life" I pause and swing round to face her "For the first time in forever I have friends and feel comfortable that I can be me, but in the background my past keeps coming up to make sure, I don't forget its power over me"

"Hey" Jazz takes my hand in here's and squeezes "They were wrong and know it, they won't hurt you again, and we will all help you deal with the professor, and just try to keep us out, not now we have you as a friend" she tells me seriously and I nod, feeling the tears sting my eyes.

"Hey no crying, now tell me what you did with Aunt Ginny, where did you go?"

I grasped the opportunity to change the subject a little, knowing that the reason I was out was because of my mothers call this morning, but one huge positive came out of it. I told her briefly about my mother calling but not what she had said to me and about our shopping treat to get a new phone, then I had to tell her "I'm going to call her Ma" I told Jazz who grinned at me.

"I bet she loved that suggestion"

"I did" came Ma's voice from behind me, making us both jump.

"Hey Aunt Ginny" Jazz gets up and takes the tray of drinks she is holding out to us, saying. "Thank you"

"I came out to tell you we are going out for dinner to celebrate, Jasmine you are very welcome to come along" she tells us with a grin.

"What are we celebrating, have I missed someones birthday?" I ask confused, looking at Jazz to see if she knows what the reason is.

"We are celebrating you being our daughter, you calling me Ma and just you being here" she says pulling me into a hug as I blush furiously.

"Thanks... Ma" I whisper back emotionally, making her hug me harder as Jazz laughs at my stunned expression.

Ma lets me go and wipes her eyes, smiling at us both, "I love you girls, jazz are you coming?" Jazz nods her head, also emotional. "Good, be ready at seven, both of you" she instructs, before heading inside.

I exchange a look with Jazz, bemused by what just happened. "She really wants me" I state and Jazz nods, passing me one of the drinks Ma had brought us.

We spend the rest of the afternoon, relaxing in the sun, until Matt comes out to say goodbye. I watch as he shares some sort of silent communication with Jazz before waving my way and leaving. "We had better get ready or Aunt Ginny will be after us" she tells me with a smile and we head back inside, running into Jackson in the hallway as he was saying goodbye to Beau. I watched with interest as Jazz ignored him, but Jacksons eyes followed her, as she headed upstairs.

"Indiana?' he stopped me and Jazz froze on the stairs, turning to watch as he approached me. "Indiana, I'm sorry, I let you down at the party, I want to apologise to you and ask if you'll forgive me" he asked quietly, his gaze on mine, but as I nodded my response, I saw his eyes dart to the stairs.

"Be better in future" I told him with a look, wondering if he would understand my message, before leaving him with Beau and following Jazz up to my room.

"You forgave him?" Jazz asked as she looked in my closet for a top to borrow.

"Yes, I have realised recently, life is too short to hold grudges and hold people to blame when they didn't know the whole story. And he's helping now with whatever the boys are up to" I tell her, watching as her head pops out of the closet.

"What the boys are up to?" she questions innocently and I shake my head at her pretend surprise.

"I know its to do with my problem with the professor, just don't let them go too far... please" I tell her and she smiles at me.

"You continue to surprise me Anni, do you want me to stop them, do you want to know what they are doing?"

"Not if they are safe, if it makes them feel like they are helping, its okay, as long as they are safe" I reply and she nods, ducking back into the closet.

Jazz and I travelled with Dad and Ma to the restaurant, the boys following in Trent's car, and conversation was light and relaxed as we all sat down in the restaurant, Dad calling a toast once orders were taken and drinks arrived. I blushed and smiled back at my family and once again realised how far I had come, since arriving, as I accepted their love.

By the end of the meal I was feeling happy, relaxed and had all but forgotten my fears, telling Ma I was heading to the ladies room before we left, I waved away Jazz's offer to come with me and heading across the room, following the signs to the restrooms.

I looked at myself in the mirror as I washed my hand, liking the faint pink flush and smile I saw staring back at me, I dried my hands and opened the door. The hallway was dark and I felt the wall, wondering who would have turned off the light and where the switch was.

As my hand felt along the wall, I sensed a presence and turned, screaming as a hand grabbed me, my turning body preventing the cloth in their hands from covering my mouth. He grunted as I fought against him, I made as much noise as I could, I needed someone to hear me, to get help, screaming until, he finally pinned me down, his arm across my neck as his other hand moved the cloth into place as I breathed in, feeling everything fade around me, the echo of familiar male voices shouting my name being the last thing I heard.