The discovery of the dead teens, and the fact that they were the Satanists who had been terrorizing the town, was the most severe blow to the community of Sunnycrest yet. People were confused, they were shocked. They grieved the memory of the girls the team let them see, and struggled to wrap their heads around the girls as they actually were. Blame was assigned. And since the girls were dead, it was leveled at the anguished parents. Most of them would move away in the coming months, their families and hearts irreparably broken.

For a while, it was an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation at Sunnycrest's small police station. Lara's first chance to get away came a week after the discovery of the bodies. She took this opportunity to hold an overdue meeting in her apartment. In attendance was herself, Caitlin, Alicia, Lindsey, and Chase.

It was nighttime, and the moon was up outside Lara's small apartment window. At her stern request, they told her everything. Where Chase came from, how they had come to bring her in, and all that had happened since she arrived. By the time they were done, the moon had moved past the window, leaving only darkness and their faint yellow reflections on the glass.

“Jesus,” said Lara, when they had finished their tale. She crossed her arms over the blouse of her police uniform. “It's unbelievable...but it explains a lot.”

Chase sat on the couch, looking down at her knees. On either side of her were Lindsey and Alicia. Lara sat on a stool at the island in the kitchen, and had it swiveled around to face them. Caitlin was on the stool next to her. Though Chase was the one being interrogated, Lara couldn't help but be a bit scared. She was well aware she was feet away from a monster. Someone who could kill each and every one of them without breaking a sweat. The damage she had seen done to the volleyball girls made that clear. These stupid girls let a monster into their midst. A monster! But despite the dangerous nature of the situation, Lara felt safe with Caitlin beside her. Not that she needed Caitlin's protection, but because she knew if she needed to protect Caitlin herself, she was in prime position to do it. It was a safe feeling that would seem almost oxymoronic to anyone but a mother...feeling safe and reassured from being able to easily thrust one's own life into jeopardy. But to someone who valued their child's life more than their own, it made perfect sense.

“Go ahead, Chase. Say something,” encouraged Alicia, nudging her.

Chase had remained silent while her squadmates told her story, relying on their increased eloquence. Hearing her story told aloud made her feel ashamed. So many tales of violence had just been laid out before her...and even that was only what her friends knew about. What she, and Lara, had just heard was Chase on her best behavior. There was so much more.

She looked at Alicia, then at Lara, then back down at her knees. “Am sorry, Cait mom,” she said. “Not mean to lie.”

She had been withdrawn ever since that night. Aloof, lost in thought. Everyone noticed, but no one was sure what to do about it. Even Lara now noticed, and she had only met Chase a few times before this point. She wasn't one of Caitlin's friends who she'd known for years.

“Well, I see why you did,” Lara replied. She picked a mug of coffee off the island's countertop and drank.

“Am just a bad girl. Just bad and kill...” said Chase. Her voice trembled as she spiraled into sadness. “Am sorry...”

“Chase, that's not true...” said Alicia, taking Chase's hand and giving it a supportive squeeze.

“Yeah, come on,” said Lindsey. “We're trying to Caitlin's mom a good impression of you, remember?”

Lara sighed. “Don't worry about any of that right now. I just want to get the facts straight here,” she said. “Let's back up a little. About this case, the volleyball girls...what I don't understand is how the three boys fit into it. Were they part of this satanic cult as well?”

Chase looked perplexed. “Well, yes. Them bad guys too.” An expression of concern crossed her face. “Right?”

Lara looked at Caitlin, silently asking her the same question. Caitlin hesitated. The girl saw the worry in Chase's eyes, the rising guilt there, and she looked away. “Yes. They were.”

She knew, as she said it, her mom would instantly know she was lying. But Lara said nothing.

“Chase is good, Miss Boyd,” interrupted Alicia. “She's done bad things, yes, but she's done a lot to change. She's protected us many times. Deep down, she has a good heart, a heart that wants to grow and love instead of hurt and kill.”

“She does, mom. She does,” agreed Caitlin in a tender voice. “All she wants is to be reformed. And we've been helping her.”

Lara looked at her, tiredness in her eyes. “You don't really need to convince me of anything...I've already covered for her. Whether it was the right thing to do or not, I still don't know, but in that moment that's what I picked, and there's no switching sides now.”

“What do you mean?” asked Alicia.

Lara didn't answer at first, so Lindsey interjected. “If Chase goes down at this point, Caitlin's mom would go down too, for falsifying and tampering with evidence. For her own good, the story has to stick.”

Lara looked at Chase for a while. The girls expected, hoped, for her to say something to let them know she sympathized with Chase's position. Lara did not extend to them that comfort.

Instead the checked her phone, then stood up. “You guys can go now. I need to finish getting ready for work.”

As the cheerleaders got up to leave, she put a hand on Chase's shoulder. Chase jumped, and gave her a guilty look. “Yes?”

“Thank you, Chase,” said Lara. “Thanks for being good to Caitlin. And the others. For fighting so hard not just to protect them, but to change for them. Keep trying to do better.” Her expression became more serious, and her voice steeled. “But I've put a lot on the line here. What I did isn't right, but I did it for Caitlin...not for you. That means if Caitlin needs you, if she's ever in danger again...I need to be able to count on you. It means no matter what happens...you need to do whatever you can to protect her. And the others. I need you to prove to me...that this was the right decision, that it's better for everyone if you're outside of prison with us, rather than inside. And I think you'll feel better if you prove that to yourself, too.”

Chase pursed her lips. For a long time, she didn't speak or move. Then, she slowly nodded.

“Will do all for Cait and cheer,” she promised. “Will give all for friends.”

Lara nodded. Chase, Alicia and Lindsey exited, leaving mother and daughter alone. Lara drained her cup of coffee, then returned to the kitchen to refill it. However, she seemed to stall there. She set the empty cup down on the island, propped her elbows on it, and leaned forward, head in her hands.

Caitlin walked over to her and silently put a hand on her upper back. “Mom?”

Lara looked at her. “I don't know what's wrong with me, sweetheart.”

“What-”

“I screwed up so bad... I...I've done shit only bad cops do...”

She shed quiet tears, but her voice remained steady. “Innocent people, kids, are dead. Dead, and their parents will never know the truth. And...and I'm fine with it. Because it was to protect you, because MY daughter is safe...I did it without a second thought. I love you so much that if it's to protect you, I don't care. I...I didn't think I was that selfish. I didn't realize what kind of person I was until I faced that decision.”

Caitlin gave her a hug. “You're not selfish, mom. You're not. I'd do the same for you.”

“I hope you wouldn't.”

“Dad would have done the same thing.”

That quieted Lara. She thought about this. “Your dad was a good cop.”

“But he would have done the same thing.”

Lara felt her daughter in her arms. As she had every time she'd hugged Caitlin over the past week, she felt blessed just to able just to hold her like that again. To feel her warmth, to hear her voice in her ear. She knew how much you missed those little things, when a person left you. She knew the shape of the holes that were left behind, and how painfully they gnawed. The ones HE had left...still hurt. So terribly.

“Maybe he would have.”

Lara's phone rang. She picked it up off the counter, and checked the number. “I have to go, sweetheart,” she said, standing up. “Sleep well, okay?”

...........

Alicia and Chase dropped Lindsey off and returned home. Alicia tried to make light conversation with Chase during their drive, but this had been proving more and more difficult lately. Sure, Chase responded to her. She smiled when she ought to. Even gave a few short laughs now and then. But she still wasn't present. She still seemed to be...drifting. And she was drifting further and further away. Every time Alicia pulled her in with a joke or a topic which successfully engaged her friend, she felt hope. But then would come a lull in conversation which would pull Chase out to sea all the further.

Alicia drummed her pencil eraser on her open notebook. Her name was printed at the top of the page, but little other progress on her homework had been made. Her elbow rested on top of her desk, her legs crossed at the ankle beneath her chair. Her room was cold. A chilly breeze from the open window ruffled her hair and made her shoulders hunch.

She took another glance at Chase. The girl was still sitting there on the windowsill, leaning her back against the frame, staring out into the darkness.

Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. She closed her book and turned to face the blonde. “Chase, are you alright?”

Chase jumped a little, as if jerked from a trance. She looked at Alicia and smiled. “Yes Leash. Am good.”

Alicia doubted that was true. “What are you looking at out there?”

“Not look,” said Chase. She pointed at her ear, then turned it back to the night. “Just list.”

“Listening? What are you listening to?”

“Just dark,” replied Chase. “Hear hoot birds hoot and wind blow. Hear trees move, the branch creak. And all folks in bed, so no town noise. Just night sounds.”

“Hmm.”

Alicia stood up from her desk and pulled her chair over. She sat by the window, positioned so she was both facing Chase and outside.

“Are you bothered by what Caitlin's mom said?” asked Alicia.

Chase closed her eyes shook her head. When she opened them, her gazed refixed itself on something far away. “No. Cait mom right. Cait mom...much smart. Much kind. Do all for safe Cait. Safe Cait and safe Leash and Lin, that is most need. Safe Chase, glad Chase...not need.”

Alicia looked surprised. She put a hand on Chase's leg. “Chase, whatever gave you that idea? Of course you need that.”

Chase stared at her. “Course?”

“Yes. You need to be safe and glad. I'm happy you care so much about us, but you needn't be so selfless. You don't need to sacrifice your own happiness for us. We can all be happy together,” said Alicia. She smiled. “We are right now!”

After a brief silence, Chase turned back to the window. Her mouth said, “That true,” but Alicia could tell she was thinking, “If only it were that simple.”

Alicia stood and gave her a hug. “Well, even if you don't think you need that, Chase...” she said, “I need that. I need you to be safe and happy. That's what it means to have a friend like you, Chase. To care for someone the way I care for you means to only want the best for that person. I need you to be alright...the same way Caitlin's mom needs Caitlin to be alright. Do you understand?”

Chase was still for a moment, before hugging Alicia back. “Yes Leash. Yes. Leash and Chase...both all right.”

They separated, and Alicia gasped with surprise. Chase's eyes were wet with tears, and deep with an emotion unlike anything she'd ever seen before in the nature-hardened girl. “Thank for bring me here, Leash. For show cheer. Learn much. Love much. Feel...much good to know Leash. To be friend.”

Alicia didn't know what to say. The words were simple, but the volumes of meaning spoken by Chase's eyes left her speechless. She raised a hand to Chase's face, stroked her soft cheek, wiped away some stray tears, while she contemplated the puzzle of her eyes. But Alicia could muster no response that seemed adequate. She could do nothing more than brush Chase's bangs aside and kiss her forehead.

“Likewise, Chase. Likewise.”

….........

Alicia decided to put off the rest of her homework. Something told her Chase needed her this night. They stayed up late, talking and doing each other's nails (Chase was still learning, but she was getting good enough that Alicia could present her work with only minor touch-ups) with Parks and Rec streaming on Alicia's laptop as background noise.

Eventually, around one in the morning, they decided to call it a night. Chase got off Alicia's bed and crawled into her sleeping bag, folding the top snugly over onto herself. She pulled Douglas the Gargoyle close to her, and in the darkened room, she and Alicia said their goodnights.

When Alicia awoke the next morning, she was curled up in the fetal position under her blankets. She was freezing! The room was still dark, but the days were getting shorter. It wasn't unusual, at this time of year, for Alicia to start getting ready for school before sunrise. She looked at her alarm clock, and saw it was only five in the morning. The cold must have woken her.

She sat up. The first thing she saw was the open window. A frigid breeze roused the curtains the same way it had roused Alicia. They moved slowly, as if suffering from morning aches.

Did Chase open the window again? Alicia rose from bed and shivered in her pajamas as she slid her feet into her slippers. She quickly crossed to the window and closed it.

When she turned back to her warm bed, her eyes crossed Chase's spot on the floor. She let out a gasp.

The top flap of the sleeping bag was folded over on itself, wide open. Chase was not inside.