She smiled, a sad, helpless little smile.

"My mom was... she is an alcoholic. My entire childhood, I've seen her wasted and passed out on the couch."

"Did she hurt you?" he asked, interrupting her. It felt important to ask that.

"No. She wasn't abusive. At least not physically. But she loved to scare us. She would throw things around, slammed doors as hard as she possibly could, yelled until the neighbors called the police. And then I would have to pretend everything was okay because she had told me what happened to kids who went into foster care. I believed her. Mostly because I was scared for my siblings. Lily had made me believe that foster care would take Dani and Jo away from me. I couldn't let that happen."

She laughed again, shaking her head.

"She was so fucked up."

"I'm sorry," he said.

She ignored him.

"How did you manage?"

She looked at him, eyes burning and a strange look on her face. A look he couldn't decipher. He held his breath. It felt important he didn't move as he allowed her to search his face.

"I worked. I found a job as soon as I was able to. Joanna's father used to send money. Mine did sometimes too. I survived my mother. I made sure my siblings did too but I ruined their lives in the process. Just like Lily had ruined mine. I wasn't able to protect them, especially Dani, like I wanted to. I should have considered foster care. Maybe it would have made things better for everyone. But I was too protective. I was too scared."

"It wasn't your fault. You were so young," he said.

His heart ripped with each of her words, her sorrow so suffocating, so raw even after all this time.

She inhaled shakily, staring in the distance, tears shining in the corner of her eyes. She blinked and a single drop rolled down and she wiped it off immediately before continuing.

"I promised myself I would never ruin my life like Lily had. Never dared to touch any sort of drugs or alcohol. Made no friends because that was a distraction I couldn't afford," she sighed.

"We grew up and we moved out. Everything was better. At least as better as it could get when you've had such a fucked up childhood."

"But then she called us a few weeks ago. Sounded so much better. She promised, fuck why did I believe any of her promises? She promised she wouldn't mess this up. I so desperately wanted to believe her so I went there. Everything seemed okay. Good even. I couldn't believe it but I allowed myself to hope. But then her boyfriend showed up, with that poison in hand, wrapped in pretty paper. Lily took it from him, so excited, like it was the thing she was waiting for so long. Not us. I don't know what that dinner was but it definitely wasn't Lily wanting to meet us. She was still where we had left her."

"I got angry. I couldn't think straight. I needed an escape and that had been my mother's escape. So, I thought why not try it as well. In the end, I couldn't do it. I realized I didn't wanted to be like Lily. I ordered only a mocktail. That's how I immediately knew something was wrong when I suddenly started feeling dizzy. I tried to escape but I couldn't. There were people blocking my way. I wasn't even able to push them away. My brain was starting to get hazy and I couldn't think properly. I could have called Daniel but he was too far away. I didn't trust the police because I have seen too many cases where people have lost their lives because our police force is not efficient or serious enough. I took a gamble and called the club. I wasn't sure if you would pick up or even come for me in the middle of the night..."

I would have come for you, he wanted to say but he held his tongue.

"But thank you for coming."

"You don't have to keep saying thank you. I would have..." he paused. It was not the right thing to say. "I would have done the same for anyone."

Her smile faltered but then he blinked and she had rearranged her expressions, a brand new smile against her slightly pink lips.

"What about you, Ethan?"

"What?" Ethan said, staring at her a little blankly.

"Your parents? Your family? Where are they?"

Ethan inhaled, suddenly feeling pricks and needles in his throat. He hadn't talked about his family, his life or anything related to him in so long. Nobody has ever cared to ask. Even if they did, Ethan had shut them out.

He cleared his throat. The pins and needles stayed. He could lie to her. Very easily. She wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

But the words spilled out of his mouth on their own accord, like they were sitting there at the tip of his tongue, wanting to be released from the cage Ethan had shoved them into.

And she was there, looking at him with such tenderness it did something to his heart.

Maybe it was the ice thawing.

"They... they died. A long while ago. Mum when I was nine and then dad when I was ten."

"I'm so sorry," she said and he felt warm and slightly relieved. "That must have been so hard."

He cleared his throat once again, shifting in his position.

"I had Olivia. She was my mother's friend. After my parents died, she was the one who took care of me."

She nodded, a small smile playing on her face.

It felt nice to tell someone about him. It was a very insignificant detail but it was a huge deal for Ethan.

He had worn a armor for as long as he could remember. It had protected him. But it had started to suffocate him somewhere along the way and he hadn't even realized it.

She had somehow broken through that armor. Barely a chink but Ethan found himself breathing a little easier.

But why her? He'd met millions of people. People who had tried to do the same thing but it had never worked. Yet here she was, making Ethan spill his well-kept secrets without even trying.

It unnerved him. It made him realize the gravity of the situation. That if he stayed with her, the armor would come off completely one day and he wasn't ready for it. The thought scared the shit out of him.

But would it truly be so bad? To allow someone to see you as you were. Without the wall of lies and pretenses you had built around yourself. To trust someone other than yourself and to surrender your truth to them.

He swallowed the thoughts. His truth would drive even the kindest of souls away. And he could never trust anyone with it.

"What about siblings? Do you have any siblings?"

He looked at her, at the way the blue of her eyes twinkled in the light of the rising sun, the way it made her skin glow. He tried to count the constellation of freckles.

His truth might have been liberation but the lies were protection.

"No."

She nodded and silence enveloped them once again. She kept her eyes on the window behind him, observing the way the sun peeked from behind the clouds.

She got out of bed and Ethan stood up immediately, following close behind to make sure she didn't lose her footing. She stopped in front of the little window, craning her neck to get the view of the sunrise.

"I prefer sunsets but this is beautiful."

He stared at her, a little awestruck. She was bathed in the soft golden light, glowing incandescently, like she was the one who had put the sun into the sky, gave it some of her light and she could destroy it in a million pieces should she wished. Her hair cascaded down her back and Ethan noticed the different shades of brown. Her eyes appeared softer, the sea hitting the shore lazily or the clouds with endless possibilities.

"It is." he said, but they were talking about two completely different things.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, turning to face him.

Ethan immediately looked towards the window, clearing his throat to find his voice back.

"Go ahead."

"Can you not call me Amelia?"

He frowned at the peculiar request, turning to face her.

"What do you want me to call you, then?"

"My siblings call me Am. You can too."

"I don't do nicknames," he said.

She giggled and the sound made his stomach twist.

"Why not? Is it another one of your stupid rules?"

He rolled his eyes. "Because our relationship is professional and nicknames would suggest otherwise."

"Oh," she said, the smile still intact. "And we wouldn't want that."

He could hear the teasing undertones in her voice but he ignored it.

"We don't."

"Of course. I will have to think of some other way around this then."

"Why do you not want to be called by your birth name?"

She shrugged. "Because I hate my name. There wasn't any thought put into it. I think my mother named me after the nurse that was in the room during my birth. The meaning is horrendous also."

He found himself smiling.

"What's the meaning?"

"Hardworking."

"It's not that bad."

"It is. And it's ironic because she made me work hard while she got to be a lazy ass."

The absurdity of the statement snatched a laugh from Ethan's lips.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him with mock offense, hands folded over her chest.

"I'm sorry." he said, lips drawn in a straight line.

"You should be. It wasn't funny." she said but she was smiling

He felt the smile trying to force its way onto his face and he allowed it to.

"It's a little funny."

She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I'll think about it but you'll have to do something for me in return."

She narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"You'll have to come live at my place until I'm sure that you're completely healed."

"What? No, Ethan, you don't have to do this. I'll be fine."

"It wasn't a request."

"You can't force me."

"I know. That's why I'm asking you politely."

"I'm completely fine. See?" she said, taking a step back with a flourish.

"Who do you live with?"

"I... what? No one. I live alone."

"That's why you're coming with me. Olivia can take care of you at my place. And I'm not even home most of the time so I won't bother you."

"Ethan." She pleaded.

"Amelia." He warned.

"I don't want to be a burden for Olivia. And I can take care of myself."

"She will be delighted to have company and I'm sure you can take care of yourself but you shouldn't."

She stared at him, like she was seeing him for the first time. Ethan turned away from her gaze.

"I'll talk to the doctor and get you discharged." he said before walking out the door.