There is heavy knocking at my door.

I check the time and I'm not expecting anyone so I ignore it. But the knocking becomes pounding and I'm guessing Mark lost his keys again or he is so wasted that he can't unlock. Annoyed I get up and head for the door.

"Mark I swear to God…" i say furious only to face a sobbing Rachel that falls into my arms with force. I can feel her tears wetting my naked torso.

"Whoa, hey, hey. What happened?" I hold her fragile face with my hands and lower myself to her. "Are you hurt?" The thought of that worries the hell out of me and I scan her with my eyes bit by bit to make sure she is ok. Her gray eyes are blotchy red and a bit puffy letting me know she's been crying for a while now. She shakes her head negatively and I can breathe again. I hug her and take her inside my room shutting the door behind us. I guide her to my bed and sit her down while I kneel in front of her rubbing her hands to comfort her. She keeps sniffling uncontrollably and her tears are running on her face like rivers.

"Please don't cry. Whatever it is we're gonna figure it out. Just, please, don't cry." I almost whisper to her with a steady voice wiping away her tears. She closes her eyes and I can tell she is hurting.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" I ask tugging her hair behind her ear.

"No. Not really." She says and her voice is hoarse.

"Ok. Whenever you're ready." I nod and reach for my mini fridge, giving her a bottle of water.

"Have some. You're gonna dehydrate." She takes the water and stares at the bottle looking so lost and emotionless and after a second or two she breaks into loud sobs again.

I'm at a loss as I don't know what to do and how to comfort her. It's breaking my heart to see her in this state. I sit next to her and I rub her back. She drops her head to my shoulder and continues to cry. I keep rubbing her back and her arm and it's only then that I realise she is wearing my shirt. Stupid thing to notice in a time like this but watching her wear my clothes in such a casual way, even when I'm not around gives me some kind of euphoria. Nevertheless she is still crying inconsolably. I sigh out loud and pet her hair.

"Baby you're scaring me."

The moment the words left my lips I froze. I didn't mean to call her baby, it just came out. She lifts her head and looks at me her eyes gleaming.

"What did you call me?" She sniffles and looks at me expectantly. I keep looking at her face and try my best to say something that's not too embarrassing. And then my phone rings and I'm literally saved by the bell.

"Hello?" I answer quickly.

"Noah, hey. Is Rachel with you?" A very worried Dan says almost out of breath. I grab the tissues I have in my night stand and pass them to Rachel.

"Yes. She is right here." I say looking at her. she mouths at me 'Danny?' and I nod.

"Oh, thank god!" Dan says relieved. "She turned her phone off and I couldn't find her. I must've called her like a million times. Dad too." I cover the microphone with my hand and turn to Rachel.

"Your dad is looking for you too."

Her bottom lip quivers at the mention of her father and her eyes are filled again. I shake my head no and stroke her hair.

"Yeah, Dan listen, she's very upset right now. Give her some time and when she is ready I'll make sure she'll call you." I say to him without taking my eyes off of her and I can tell she is silently thanking me.

"Yes,of course. Thank you, Noah."

"No need for that." I say to both of them. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe." I hear him sigh relieved again and I hope I took off some of the tension he must've felt.

"I'm grateful, man. I'll wait up in case she calls."

"Ok, bye." With that I end the call and look at her. "He was worried sick."

She lowers her sight and starts playing with a tissue she is holding.

"I know. I bet he called me like a dozen times." She says slowing.

"More like a million. Why did you turn off your phone?"

"Isn't it obvious? I didn't want to talk to him." She says and looks at me through her eyelashes,her lips forming a frown.

I turn my body to her and grab her hands.

"Did you two have a fight?" I can see her struggle with what to tell me. "You don't have to tell me, that's fine. But please call him. The poor guy is gonna lose his sleep if he doesn't hear from you."

She nods understanding.

"Fine, I'll call him later."

"Okay then. You're ok with sleeping here? I know it's not a palace but I think we can make it work. You can have my bed, I'll sleep at Mark's." And God help me I don't catch a disease!

"Where is he going to sleep?"

"Couldn't care less. He probably won't show up at all." I say shrugging my shoulders. For all I care he can sleep in the benches right out front, it doesn't matter to me. She is the only thing that matters.

"Why can't I sleep in the same bed as you?"

Yeah, I would really like that but given her state it would be like taking advantage of her.

"If that's what you really want ok. I just want you to be comfortable and I don't think the two of us cramming together on a single bed is gonna achieve that."

"I don't want to be alone," she almost whispers, her voice cracking, and her eyes are filled again with tears. My panic is rising within me and I move closer to her.

"No,no,no. Don't cry please. You're not alone, I'm right here," I say and hug her again. He melts into my hug and I stroke lightly her hair. "Come on, let's lie down." I rest my back on the head board and she lies down next to me, her head on my chest.

"Hey, Noah?" She says after of couple of minutes of complete silence.

"Hm?" I keep stroking her hair, playing with them and they feel like silk under my fingers and it's something so relaxing about that. I could stroke her hair all day long if I had to.

"Can I ask you something personal?"

I chuckle under my breath. She would do it anyway even if I said no.

"Okay."

"Was it hard when you lost your dad?" She says whispering. I did not see this coming. And then it comes to me.

"Wait, is your dad okay? That's why you are like this?" I sound worried but I know she loves her father way too much.

"No, dad is fine. I'm just wondering."

"Well, it was weird not having him around but my mom,she is a strong person, she raised me in the best way. She was both my mother and father and she made sure I wasn't missing anything even though that meant she had to work double as much. I owe everything to her." I say slowly taking a trip down memory lane. She signs shakily and hugs me even harder.

"That's what my dad did. He was always close to us every step of the way. I remember nights where he would stay up all night long when i was sick, he would come running in my bedroom when I was screaming my lungs out because of my night terrors to comfort me, he was there in every school play, every dance performance. And for Danny too. He could afford to have help but he choose not to. And mind you things were hard when she left. Danny was always so angry, always breaking stuff, screaming, crying, throwing tantrums all around but who could blame him? He was just seven years old," she sniffles once more and I can feel her tears again in my chest. I keep stroking her hair saying nothing. It's better to leave her be for a moment. "After that he became distant for a while. Not wanting to see neither dad or me. It took him some time to get used to new reality. And now…" she stops,and a loud sob escapes her lips. "Now, everything is falling apart again." She raises her face to look at me with tears all over her face and her eyes were telling how much this hurts her. She seems broken and I don't know what to do to make her feel better, to lift the burden of her shoulders so I can see her happy and giddy again. I move her hair off her face and wipe away some tears never leaving her eyes. "She came back, Noah."

Holy fuck!