Markos gave Misty one last squeeze then let her go. Misty pulled away and sniffled with a smile on her face. She felt so relieved to have her brother in her corner once again. She had felt so alone, with no one to truly lean on. Sure, she had Millie, but that was different. She had an obligation to look after Millie and be her mentor. It wasn't like that with Markos. He was a partner, a confidant, an equal.

"Omg," Misty laughed as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I've never cried so much in my life."

Markos laughed along and dried his own eyes. He felt just as relieved, if not more so. To know that Misty wanted him back in her life was the greatest gift. And it was the gift that kept on giving, because with Misty's forgiveness, soon would come Millie's. With Misty and Millie's blessing, they could be a family again.

"I know right?" Markos joked. "I'm exhausted. I feel like I need a vacation."

A smile spread across Misty's face and she got a twinkle in her eyes. A fond memory came to mind. A memory of sandy beaches and sunny skies. She remembered their carefree days on the beach when their mom would dance around barefoot to cheesy Jimmy Buffet songs and serve them virgin Pina Coladas. Their dad would pretend to be annoyed when in reality his love for her was the most apparent thing in the world.

"Do you remember that island that mom and dad used to take us to every summer? The one off the coast of Santorini?"

"Oh, man, yeah," Markos said, his own mind wandering back in time. "I loved that place."

They both smiled at each other as they remembered the good old days. What they wouldn't do to have those days back.

"We could do it, you know. Runaway and escape it all."

Markos was bewitched by the idea. He let the fantasy play out in his head briefly before pushing it away. It was a lovely thought, but reality had other plans for them.

"Yeah right," Markos laughed. "I think we should deal with the passed out drunk on our lawn before we start planning our tropical getaway."

Misty rolled her eyes and laughed at Markos's comment. She couldn't help but find it amusing that Markos was trying to play it off like he had nothing to do with Scottie's current state. It was so like him.

"I mean, is he passed out because he's drunk, or is he passed out because you knocked him unconscious?"

A half-smile curled on Markos's lips. Even though his smile gave him away, he was still playing coy.

"There's no conclusive evidence on that."

Misty smiled wider. She had forgotten that accepting her brother back into his life would also mean accepting his corny jokes. Strangely, she found it comforting. She worried that they had both changed too much to get back what they once had. But he was just as she remembered him. Boyish, slightly arrogant, and making jokes at all the wrong times.

"You're ridiculous," she said, but in the most loving way possible.

Misty shook her head and looped her arm through his. Then, they walked back to the apartment in perfect sync.

***

When they got back to the apartment, the fuzzy feelings quickly faded when Misty saw Scottie lying helplessly on the ground. It hit her that this wasn't a joke, this was serious. Scottie was really hurt and she was partially to blame.

Misty let her arm drop from Markos's and took a step back, breaking up their rhythm. Markos didn't really notice her shift in mood at first, he was focused on unlocking the door. He wasn't joking when he said he was exhausted. He was more than ready to head inside and call it a night.

Markos opened the door and gestured for Misty to go first. She swallowed hard, her mind on Scottie. She couldn't let him lay out there all night, could she?

"You go ahead. I need a minute."

Markos noticed that she was suddenly somewhat skittish and became concerned.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I want to decompress, that's all."

Markos was skeptical. She had been perfectly fine a moment ago, now her face was worried and conflicted. Markos thought of what could have changed, then he remembered the boy in their backyard. A sneaking suspicion that she had ulterior motives grew. He, of course, had his reservations, but if talking to him is what she needed to get closure, he wasn't going to stop her.

"All right, be careful."

"I will," Misty promised.

Markos hesitated for one more second, in case she changed her mind. When she didn't, he nodded his head and went inside. Misty waited until Markos was all the way upstairs before she went around back.

She walked over to Scottie and looked down at his many scars and bruises. Her initial gut feeling was guilt. Her stomach twisted in knots knowing she had let Markos take it too far. But then she remembered what happened that night, and her conflicted mindset returned. She didn't know what Scottie's motives were or what part he played.

Misty crouched down next to Scottie, knowing there was only one way to find out. She had to hear it from him. She felt she owed it to him to hear his side of the story. She never listened to Markos or tried to understand, and that only caused her more hurt. She wasn't going to toss people out in the cold without a chance to explain anymore. She was going to learn from her mistakes.

"Scottie," she said and gently nudged his shoulder.

He groaned and rolled over on his side. His eyes fluttered open slowly, revealing his sad brown eyes. His face was puffy and red and there was blood caked in his hair. Misty had to resist the urge to brush away his bangs from his swollen eyes.

Scottie pulled himself up enough to be able to rest on his elbows. He squinted into the darkness, unsure of what was going on. He blinked a few more times, clearing his vision. He saw Misty sitting on her knees beside him. Or at least, what he thought was Misty. After his conversation with Maddison, he wasn't so sure.

"Misty?" He said hazily. "Is that really you?"

"Of course it is, who else would it be?"

Scottie chuckled at her signature sass. Yeah, that was definitely her. Scottie tried to push himself up further and give her a smile, but he was too weak and sore. His arms gave out and he fell back down on his back.

Misty scooted closer to him and leaned over to see if he was okay. Her expression was soft and almost pitiful. His heart warmed at her slight affection, but his pride was embarrassed at how pathetic he must have looked to her.

"I'm sorry," he said.

He wasn't apologizing for anything in particular, rather everything at once. He was sorry for lying to her, sorry for hurting her, sorry for making her believe in him, and sorry for being such a sad excuse of a man.

Misty held her breath. She wanted to tell him it was okay, but it wasn't. Not yet anyway. She wanted a proper explanation before she decided what to do next. Maybe it would be okay, maybe it wouldn't. All she knew was that she had to give him a chance before she wrote him off completely.

"Why don't we go inside and you can tell me what happened."

Scottie's body lit up with hope and surprise. He wasn't expecting to get the chance to explain. He had accepted that she might not want anything to do with him, and he understood why. All he really wanted was to be able to say sorry. Her allowing even that was generous, so he was overwhelmed by her kindness.

"You'd do that for me?"

Misty looked at him, tears filling his remorseful eyes. Her heart tugged in her chest. From the look on his face, she had the feeling he didn't get many opportunities to have a sympathetic ear. Her mind was still not made up about him, but she was happy to give him the chance.

Misty took Scottie to the spare bedroom, the one Meadow had been staying in. She made sure Markos was in bed and the door was closed tight. Scottie looked around the room. He desperately needed somewhere to sit down, but the only place to sit was the bed. It felt presumptuous of him to sit there, so he hung back and continued to stand.

Misty saw his hesitation and the grimace on his face from trying to support his own weight.

"You can sit down," she said somewhat shyly.

She hadn't really thought about it as anything other than a place to sit. She didn't think about the potential implications, but Scottie clearly was.

"Are you sure?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded. When he still didn't budge, she realized she'd have to make the first move. She went over and sat at the end of the bed. Scottie swallowed then slowly, he joined her. He flinched a little as he sat down, but for the most part, he suppressed it. This wasn't about his pain, it was about Misty's.

"Can I start off by saying how sorry I am? Like, truly, I am so - "

"I don't want your apologies," Misty cut him off. "I want an explanation."

"Okay," Scottie nodded. "Fair enough. I can do that."

Misty shifted in her seat, turned to face him, and prepared herself to listen.