Sadie was being sucked into a downwards spiral. Everything that was remotely normal in this little girl's life was drawn into a vortex of havoc and chaos. Now, even the Pierce residence took a very literal translation to this out of control whirl of frustration and confusion. It was a disaster. Garbage and shattered objects were spewed from the main hall to the family room, from the kitchen, halfway up the stairwell. It was dim, the hallway's single light fixture was busted, a solitary shoe still resting in the glass corpse.

Sadie clutched to my upper body, shrieking for her mother in absolute agony. Every cry dug the already gouging hole in my stomach deeper and deeper. At any moment I felt I was going to lose the contents of what I had ate that night. With Lincoln's instruction I pressed towards the stairs, kicking a forcefully removed picket from the wooden staircase out of my path. Not feeling as though I could handle it I refrained from peeking into the kitchen where Lincoln disappeared into seconds earlier. A sensation of faintness began to cloud my mind. I focused on climbing the carpeted steps, keeping Sadie's frantic eyes on nothing but the crook of my neck.

Sadie had seen a lot in her three short years on this Earth, but she didn't need to see this.

My boots clicked against the wooden floor of the upper level. Over the sound of the tapping and Sadie's distressed calls to her mother I could hear Lincoln below. It was only when I opened and closed the door the Sadie's quaint little bedroom that I finally felt some peace flood my body. I felt much safer on the lowered single bed than I did anywhere else in this house at the moment. And I hoped Sadie did too.

Together we sat for what felt like hours on Sadie's pink sheets, me shushing and rocking her while her tiny cries pulled at my heart strings. Her thick quilt was pulled over the both of us, the preschooler curled in my lap. I don't even remember how long it took to get her to stop crying. My mind was everywhere, zoned out but processing all at the same time. Even when Sadie finally drifted off to sleep I sat there, staring at her bookshelf of movies. The material of my purple sweatshirt had darkened and was now speckled along the left sleeve. It was a sad reminder of what this family went through. Her tears came and left like the man that caused them.

Feeling about ready to let her go I slipped Sadie under her comforter, making sure to tuck her in at all sides like she preferred, before stepping outside of her room and into the hall. The upper floor seemed the be the only area of the house that wasn't touched. Down below was a different story entirely.

"You're seeing a doctor." Lincoln's voice drifted up from the kitchen. He was so confident, so sure in what he was saying. There was no room for objections.

"I will," came the shallow reply. Her voice was so soft I was almost unable to hear her response. "I promise. Just please, do not call an ambulance."

Frustration was evident in the rasp of his voice. "I don't know why you're making this so difficult for me."

"If you call for an ambulance the police are more than sure to follow."

"Good!" He exclaimed, "Maybe then he'll finally end up where he belongs. He can't keep doing this to you, to me. For fuck sakes he's messed Sadie up enough. I'm done with this. If you won't do anything about this than I will."

"Wait!" Amelia protested weakly. There was a moment of silence. Both of my hands clutched onto the railing, pining for what Amelia had to say. "I'm done too." She whispered, the heartbroken sound making my chest hurt. "I promise. I'm done."

"Then we need to call." Lincoln insisted, lowering his voice to a more gentle tone. Sobbing could be heard causing my tear ducts to sting in response.

"I can't. I'm scared."

"And you don't think Sadie is? As far as she knows you're passed out on the kitchen floor. In her eyes that's the equivalent to being dead. She doesn't understand the difference." He paused for a moment, a bit of shuffling was all that could be heard. "Now is as good a time as any. He broke into your house, and assaulted you and damaged personal property when you refused to give him money he isn't entitled to. Tell me how there's no way the bastard won't end up in jail."

"What proof do I have Lincoln?" Amelia responded, sounding put out. "When the police question me, what am I going to say? I've never reported anything against him before. I even denied the report you made against him when you were fourteen." Emotion rushed her like a tsunami. "And what if whoever trails me finds I've been an unfit mother because of all these secrets I've kept - because of all this abuse I've allowed you and Sadie to go through? I don't have the funds for a half-capable attorney. It's too unpredictable, there's too many risks Lincoln."

"We need to try-"

"Please Lincoln." His mother sounded broken. Completely shattered. "We cannot bring the police into this. I'm finally ready to leave this place. Even if we have to rent out a basement apartment for a little while. I promise you I'm done. We're going to get away from him."

"How are we going to get away?" Lincoln's voice rose, anger rising. "He knows where you work, where I go to school, where Sadie's daycare is... you tell me how we're going to get away when he'll aways know where to find one of us."

"We're going to work it out. But I need you Lincoln. I need you to promise me you won't go to the police."

"You said you'll go seek a doctor. What are you going to say happened to your face? That you fell against the house half a dozen times?" Lincoln bit back sarcastically.

I'll tell them I got mugged on my way home from doing the groceries, that I had missed the bus-"

"Now you want me to lie for you. Like how you lied for him that night the cops came to the door." From where I stood I could see Lincoln pacing in the kitchen. Not very much of him came into view but it was enough to witness the stress coming off of him in violent waves.

Amelia changed her mind. "We can keep this on the down low. I've been able to fix myself up at the hospital without anyone noticing before. I'll shower here, fix myself up over there, and sleep in one of the unoccupied rooms..."

Lincoln remained silent, not happy with his mother's plan.

Noticing her son's silence Amelia spoke again in a soft, meaningful tone. "You've been my rock through this whole thing. I hope you realize just how much you mean to me. You and your sister. I just need you to hold on a little bit longer, all right? It's about time I got you two out of this situation. We're never going to have to hear from him again."

Ignoring her heart felt speech Lincoln asked, "Am I driving you to the hospital now then? Or did you want to pack anything before you go? I doubt you'll be coming back tonight."

"You're not staying here either."

Automatically my feet began to move towards the stairs, leaving the safety of the upper banister.

"What?"

"I don't know if he'll end up coming back. He threatened me with getting the money he needed from you if I wouldn't supply him with the funds. I'm not taking that chance. You and Sadie are coming with me tonight-"

"They can stay with me."

Both Lincoln and his mother turned in my direction. Amelia could barely open her eyes to take in my frame standing in the threshold.

Swallowing thickly at the battered woman's appearance I continued, "Honestly, they can stay the night. Even a few if need be. My parents love company."

"Cali-" Lincoln seemed about ready to start his speech about being a burden for what felt like the tenth time.

"Please stay with me." I begged him with my eyes to agree. "It would make me feel better if you two had an actual place to sleep for the night." And to be frank it would make me feel safer as well. Having Lincoln nearby always comforted me.

"Then it's settled." Amelia agreed, slowly rising to her feet with the help of the island. "You're having a slumber party at Calista's."

* * * * *

Lincoln and I were situated in the front of Amelia's tiny little Subaru, Sadie still snoozing in the back. We had dropped Amelia off at the back entrance of her hospital no more than twenty minutes ago and the tension still hadn't dissipated from Lincoln's shoulders.

"Are you okay?"

Lincoln proceeded to stare out the driver side window and towards my house across the street.

"Lincoln?"

"I'm fine. Are you sure your parents will be okay with this?"

"Trust me. They might not even let you leave."

Feeling as if though that was enough reassurance Lincoln left the safety of his mother's vehicle. After grabbing Sadie's still sleeping figure from the back we headed across the street and up the drive. I hadn't warned my parents about our visitors for the night but I was positive they wouldn't give Lincoln any trouble. Especially not with the delicate blonde angel in his arms.

Drawing my keys out of my bag I propped the front door open, stepping inside with Lincoln trailing behind.

"I'm home!" I called, knowing my parents would hear me wherever they were in the house.

"You're later than usual." My mother responded from the family room. The light from the tv flickering in the dark room. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah, everything's fine."

The short stature of my mother's body appeared out of the shadows. "How did you manage to get home? Oh, hello. I didn't know you were bringing home company Calista."

As my mother made her way over into the brightened hallway I decided to do a quick introduction.

"Mom this is Lincoln Pierce and his little sister Sadie. I used to watch Sadie at the daycare."

"Is this the young man you're tutoring?" She questioned with a friendly smile over in Lincoln's direction. Sadie was automatically the fixation of her attention. "Oh, she's beautiful." Lincoln stood rigidly as my mother combed some of the little girl's unruly hair out of her face. "I'm Elizabeth by the way."

"It's nice to meet you Ma'am."

"Oh, none of that formal nonsense. I'm not an old hag yet." My mother joked openly with a laugh.

"Lincoln and Sadie need a place to stay for the night. I figured they could use the guest room?" I threw in, studying my mother to gage her reaction.

"Of course!" Came her response without hesitation. "Let me just go set up the guest room with fresh sheets."

"You really don't need to do that." Lincoln tried.

"Of course I do, who knows the last time those things were changed. It's no trouble at all. Just make yourselves comfortable and I'll be back in a jiffy." There was no room for Lincoln to argue with my mother's eccentric mannerisms and quick speech. "Calista, see if he'd like anything from the kitchen. I'll be right back." With that being said me mother raced up the curved staircase, excitement evident as she bounced along.

Lincoln's dark eyes were still trailing after my enthusiastic parent when I lightly tugged on the material of his sweater. "Come on."

Not waiting for him to pay attention to me I walked off towards the kitchen, ducking under the counter and pulling out the kettle. Lincoln wandered into the kitchen seconds after me. He stood just inside the doorway, Sadie still curled up and protected in his arms.

Amused by his unsure movements I bobbled my head towards the lengthy kitchen table. "You can sit down you know."

Wordlessly he followed my suggestion, slipping into one of the fabric incased chairs. Knowing the electric kettle would only take a few minutes to boil I propped myself up against the granite counter tops. Falling into a comfortable silence I watched as Lincoln zoned out, lost in thought. There was no doubt that tonight's events were still plaguing his mind.

"Peppermint?" I questioned when the kettle had beeped. Lincoln was thrown from his inner turmoil, snapping his head up in my direction.

"Sure."

I prepared both of our mugs. I personally wasn't too fond of peppermint anything so instead opted for camomile. With a steaming mug in each hand I inched towards the table. The porcelain mug covered in Dylan O'Brien's face clanked against the surface as I placed it in front of Lincoln. Almost instantaneously he furrowed his brows at me, but amusement enchanted the corners of his lips.

I would be sure to let Harper know Lincoln enjoyed her birthday gift to me.

"We can put her down in the family room for now if you want. This way you both are more comfortable." I suggested, motioning to his little sister.

"No, it's all right. I don't mind."

Nodding in acknowledgement I tucked my legs under me. Lincoln was too reserved for my liking. But I didn't have the slightest idea how to make him more comfortable. So instead of forcing him into a torturous conversation involving small-talk I allowed him to sit in silence. Hopefully the peppermint tea would work it's magic again.

I wasn't even a quarter of the way through my beverage when my mother came prancing into the kitchen.

"All right! It's all set."

"Are you sure you don't mind us spending the night?" Lincoln questioned once more.

"Of course not. Listen, I may not know why you need a place to stay tonight but I'd damned if I ever turned either of you away. I don't care what your circumstances are, you're always welcome here. Unless of course you're running from the law, that would be an entirely different story." Once again my mother laughed at her own joke, chortling before gently reaching out. Landing a delicate hand on Lincoln's sweater clad shoulder my mother continued. "Everyone needs someone and I'm glad Calista has been able to be that person for you."

"May I?" The palms of my mother's smooth hands were held open. I watched as Lincoln slightly hesitated before handing over his little sister. The smile on my mother's face beamed in delight with the small child wrapped up on her arms. "I remember when Calista used to be this small. This was about the age she was when cat food was her favourite sneaky treat."

"Mom." I groaned at the red-face inducing memory.

"To each there own." She waved off, still pleased with embarrassing me. "I'm going to take this little one upstairs to bed. The room is the last one to the left, all the way down the hall. Calista will show you the way."

"Thanks Mom." I called out still recovering from the humiliation.

Lincoln followed suit. "Thank you Mrs. Hale."

Without turning back to face the kitchen she corrected him. "It's Elizabeth, dear. Lizzy for short."

A few moments past before Lincoln uttered a word. "So... cat food, eh?"

"Oh, shut up and finish your tea."

* * * * *

Lincoln and I shared some brief conversation while we finished up in the kitchen. It was about half an hour later that I showed him to the guest bedroom upstairs. He entered easily, obviously beginning to feel more comfortable in my home, and checked on Sadie who had been stripped of her jacket and shoes. Not thinking much more was going to be said between us I left him, subsequent to pointing out the bathroom that he was more than welcome to use.

I was just getting comfortable in my own bed when a rapping sounded at my door. Thinking it might have been my mother coming in search for answers I propped myself up in a sitting position.

"Come in."

To my surprise it was neither one of my parents but rather Lincoln standing in the door frame. He swung the door open gently, one hand still on the knob.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Can I come in?" He asked, not moving without my consent.

"Yeah, just close the door." I didn't need either one of my parents knowing I had a strange boy in my room.

Soundlessly shutting the door behind him Lincoln wandered over to my double bed. He sat across from me, folding his legs. I took note of his warn sweat pants. They looked extremely warm and comfortable. Why couldn't more girls clothes be that soft?

However, taking note of his sleepwear only made me more aware of mine. The thin spaghetti strap shirt no longer felt like enough anymore and I was glad my colourful boxer shorts were covered with my thick quilt. It just occurred to me that this was probably the first time Lincoln was ever seeing me in something other than an over grown sweater.

"Did you need something?"

He seemed determined. Staring me down with his dark umber eyes. "You know everything there is to know about me. Now it's my turn to pry."

Unsure about his sudden interest I countered with another question. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

Offering a short laugh I said, "You're going to have to be more specific if you want anything meaningful. If not I'm going to go on about my undying love from blueberry flavoured bagels."

"What is it about you and your family?"

Not knowing whether to be offended or not I furrowed my brows at him in confusion. "Do we seem that odd to you? I swear my mother isn't crazy. Even if she does laugh at all of her own jokes."

"It has nothing to do with that... your mother's fine. You're both just too kind. Before I just thought it was how you were brought up, treat people like how you want to be treated and all that crap. But you both preach the exact same things."

"Like what?"

"Like that stupid phrase you always used to tell me. The thing about everyone needing someone. Talking about how not everyone can do things on their own. That's what that means right?"

I tilted my head. I found it sort of sweet that he'd actually been listening to what I said to him - that he was actually trying to make sense of it all. "Partly.

"Why is your family so keen on helping others? Your mother doesn't know shit all about me. For all she knows I could be some delinquent kid only coming around to take stuff I can sell later on Kijiji."

"You are some delinquent kid."

Lincoln's features transformed into those of the upmost seriousness. "I would never steal from you."

Channeling a playful grin onto my face I reached over to flick his chin. "I know, relax."

More tension oozed free from the man across from me. "So what is it then? What are you hiding California?"

"Is it so hard to believe that she was raised by her mother the same way she raised me?"

For a moment he seemed doubtful in his pursuit for answers. "I guess not. I just feel like there's more to your overbearing kindness. It just doesn't seem natural."

Feeling like I'd given him enough of a hard time I sucked in a deep breath. "It's not a very dramatic story." I started, causing Lincoln to look up at me. "My parents were what you would call high school sweethearts. They pretty much started dating a few weeks after meeting at orientation. The way my mom explains it my father pined for her attention the moment he laid eyes on her. My dad insists it was the other way around." A small smile found it's way onto my face due to the sweetness of it all. "Whichever way it actually happened my parents fell in love young. And I came along not too far after."

"Did they get married right after high school or something?"