"I can't believe this has been going on for months, and you never told anybody," Abigail told me as we sat in the hotel room with my leg propped up. I could walk fine with just a subtle limp but the second I got released from the hospital, I was brought right to the hotel that was immediately booked upon my call to Abigail yesterday.

"He hurt a lot of people around me, and I didn't want you guys getting involved," I explained to her. "Lina tried tracking him down and he drove her off the road. I wasn't willing to risk that sort of thing happening to you guys."

"You should have at least said something when that sicko sent those fake pictures to us," my mom piped up too, still clearly very upset about the situation. She'd only been in town for eighteen hours, but she had been crying for most of them. As soon as I thought she was done, they'd start up again. I couldn't imagine what it was like for my family to hear all of these things all at once, so I tried to allow her the space she needed to release all of that anxiety.

"At that point, I don't think you even would have believed me," I informed her. "And this is something we can talk about later, but even if I did accidentally send you a picture of my boobs, barely talking to me for weeks was a complete overreaction."

"Let's talk about what we want to get for lunch," Abigail quickly changed the subject, which was probably a good call. I did need to have that conversation with my parents, but they were all still trying to comprehend the ordeal I'd been going through and I wanted to give them that time. "Joshua just texted me, they're almost done getting everything from your apartment."

I hated the idea of letting my dad, Lily, Joshua, and Claire packing up my apartment for me, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to get up those three flights of stairs to help and I also wasn't sure I could handle going back to that building. The last time I was walking through those halls, there was a gun pressed into my back and then I was carried out by paramedics covered in blood and traumatized from seeing Ron fall to his death. So letting my family pack up the apartment for me was really my only option.

"Do you have a game plan?" my mom asked me. "We can just drive the moving truck with your stuff back home. You can stay with us until you feel ready to find your next steps."

"I actually do have a game plan," I answered her. "I have a friend I'm going to stay with until I can find my own place."

"What friend? I thought Lina went back to Cleveland," she looked confused.

"A different friend," I continued to keep my answers vague so that I wouldn't have to tell her that this 'friend' was a boy and was more than just a friend. My mom had enough shock for the last 24 hours and I didn't want to add to that freak out by telling her I was going to stay with a boy for a couple of weeks, just until I could get a new apartment.

"I'm going to go pick up pizza for lunch," Abigail announced. "Can't go wrong with pizza."

"You're going by yourself?" I started to worry about the idea of letting her go out into the city by herself, despite the fact that I knew the threat was gone. I'd just gotten so used to worrying about every person that I cared about, wondering if somebody was lurking around the corner preparing their attack.

"Yeah, I can handle a couple of pizzas on my own," she assured me, not really understanding my immediate concern for her safety. "I'll be back in a little bit."

Once Abigail was gone and I was left with my mom in the hotel room, she started fluffing the pillows around me on the bed and asked, "You have the remote, right? In case you want to change the channel?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I assured her. "I'm not bedridden, you don't have to fluff my pillows."

"I just want to make sure that you're comfortable," she insisted, but did relent on the pillow fluffing. "It's my job as a mother to protect her babies, it just twists my stomach knowing that you've been going through so much all alone, and you felt like you couldn't tell me."

"I wasn't alone, there were people that have had my back," I promised her. "But Lina got ran off the road, David got his tires slashed, Manny literally got blown up. This guy shot somebody in cold blood, didn't even think about it. And if you, or anybody else, tried to get involved, you would have been in danger too."

"We could have helped," she said as her voice wavered and I could tell that she was about to start crying again. It was never easy to see a parent cry, and to know that I was the reason she was crying. Still, I didn't regret my decision to keep things from her because I'd rather see her crying than with any physical injuries that Mrs. Lamb/Ron could have inflicted if he felt like she was getting in his way.

"I feel like I made the best decision I could in an impossible situation," I tried to explain it to her as calmly as I could. "And everything is working out okay, so let's just be grateful for that and move on."

She wiped a few tears from the corners of her eyes and found her resolve. "Okay, I know. It's just hard to wrap my head around all of this. It was scary enough knowing when you left home to come to a city all on your own, but now knowing what kind of psychos are out here... I just never want to let you out of my sight again."

When my family returned to the hotel from moving everything out of the apartment, I felt like I had to have the same conversation over and over again because they were clearly in disbelief at the situation and that I didn't tell them what was going on. Especially when Joshua and Abigail visited for one of my shows while it was all going on.

No matter how many times I explained my thought process to them or tried to change the subject, it somehow always came back to how bad they felt about not being there for me and how they wish they would have known. Although I was glad to have my family with me, all together, which was a rarity for us, the whole day was so emotionally draining on me because not only did I have to deal with my own trauma and recover, but felt like I was at the front lines of theirs too and I didn't know how to help them understand.

"Okay, come on, you guys are smothering her," Lily protested at the restaurant dinner table as my mom began crying again when Joshua started talking about how dark and gloomy my apartment seemed because I had all the windows shut, my string of cans by the door, and my broken attempt at installing security cameras. "I know this is hard, but Maren is still recovering too."

I shot her a very thankful look from across the table and continued eating my pasta. Nobody seemed to notice that I skipped the gnocchi dish, what I would usually order at an Italian restaurant.

"I checked with the hotel this afternoon, and they said we could extend our stay for the week," my dad piped up in his usual, deep and gruff voice, in order to break the tension. "I don't know if the kids can stay for that long, but your mother and I will be here for you."

"We're staying as long as you need," Joshua assured me, Lily and Abigail nodding in their agreement.

"I love you guys so, so much. And I'm really so grateful that you're all there for me," I told him as a way to cushion what I was about to say, because I didn't want it to sound so harsh. "But I need you guys to leave. I know the past twenty four hours have been terrible for you, and so scary, but I have my own shit to work out and I just need to rest. I can't rest with you guys down my throat, and I mean that in the nicest, most loving and appreciative way possible."

"I can't leave you on your own again," my mom was quick to deny me with a shake of her head. "Not so soon, Maren. What about your leg?"

"I have an idea," Lily announced to the table. "I'll stay for the week, everybody else can go back home. I brought my work laptop, I can work from the hotel and make sure that Maren gets settled in and her leg doesn't fall off."

"I would accept that compromise," I quickly agreed, hoping that my mom would accept it as well. Lily was the only one who seemed to realize how taxing it was to have to handle my families emotional responses to my situation and was at least trying not to freak out as much for my benefit.

After a long conversation of 'are you sure's and 'swear that you'll call if you need us' kind of comments from my parents, Joshua, and Abigail, they agreed that Joshua and Claire would drive back to OSU while Mom, Dad, and Abigail would drive home that night. Lily would stay for the rest of the week to help me get my things into Sev's apartment and, as she jokingly put it, make sure my leg doesn't fall off.

I also trusted Lily with the knowledge of the fact that I would be staying with a very attractive boy rather than just a friend, so I felt very happy with that compromise. Although, it did take an entire hour of hugs and tears to pry myself out of my mother's arms and say goodbye to the rest of my family, thanking them all again for dropping everything to be there for me the night before and the whole day. As draining as it was, I really did feel grateful to have such a dedicated family.

"How are you really doing?" Lily asked me on the drive toward Sev's apartment. He told me I should come whenever, but I wasn't sure how long I'd be staying at the hotel with my parents. When I texted him during dinner to ask if I could move in that night, he eagerly agreed. I wasn't going to move in all of my clothes and furniture, but just a duffle bag of clothes, my guitar, and a book bag with my electronics and notebooks. The moving truck would store all of my other things until I could find a place of my own.

"I haven't really had a chance to sit and process things," I admitted to her. "But I think it'll take me a while to really be okay again. The detective gave me some numbers to call about finding some support networks, so I'll do that. Maybe get a therapist or something."

"That's a good move. I don't think anybody would be okay after going through all of this," she said. "But you're wicked strong, so if anybody can do it. It's you."

I didn't feel strong, to be honest. I felt like at any chance I had to fight back against Mrs. Lamb, I quivered and panicked. The only time I ever really did anything strong or brave was at the very last second when I attacked him with the plate and then knocked him over to avoid Sev getting shot. But for the months leading up to that, there wasn't a single second that I felt strong. Still, hearing Lily's encouragement did make me feel a little bit better.

"Before we go inside, I just want to warn you about one thing," I said quickly as we got out of the car, parked in front of Sev's apartment building. I'd only seen the outside, but Sev gave me directions on how to navigate the halls of the building to find his unit.

"Okay..." my sister looked concerned as I tossed the book bag over my shoulder and she grabbed the duffle bag.

"This friend is a boy," I warned her. "And he's not just a friend."

"Oh," her eyes widened a bit, but I could tell that she was trying to stay calm for my benefit.

"Don't make things weird, I just wanted to give you a heads up."

"I'm not going to make things weird," she promised me as we started walking into the building. Thankfully, there was an elevator that we could take up to the second floor. Although my leg could probably get me up one flight of stairs, it was still painful to attempt it. "How'd you two meet?"

Lily was so shocked by that news that I wasn't sure if I really trusted her not to be weird, but continued forward until we found Sev's door. "He works at one of the bars I play at."

"Cool," she exhaled as I knocked on the door.

"If you embarrass me, I'll never forgive you," I threatened her.

"A better heads up would have been nice," she defended herself just before the door swung open, and there stood Sev.

Immediately, I felt every muscle in my body relax at the sight of his face. We'd only been apart for the day, but I still felt like I missed him so much. I felt like I was regressing into a baby's mentality where I was losing object permanence. Like, if Sev wasn't right in front of me, I was convinced that I'd never see him again, or that he never even existed at all.

"Hi there," Lily extended her pale hand out to shake, her voice very high in pitch. "I'm Maren's sister, Lily. Just helping her carry up some things."

"Nice to meet you," he responded, politely shaking her extended hand before he swung the door open more to allow us both inside. "Come on in."

I knew it was so hard for Lily not to get overexcited about finding out that I had a more-than-friendly relationship happening, because I barely ever told my family about my dating life. The casual kind of dating I'd done in Cincinnati was nothing to write home about, so she probably thought I'd been celibate since high school.

The apartment was bigger, and cleaner than mine and surprisingly well decorated with a consistent industrial and scandinavian type of style. Natural wood tones, interesting wall art, and a large tan leather couch along the large open wall.

"This is a really nice place," I said, sitting the book bag down on one of the couch cushions.

"I'd like to take all of the credit, but my dad and sister did all of the decorating," he admitted with a small shrug.

"Well, I should go," Lily announced after she'd put the duffle bag down by the wall. "I'll leave you guys alone so that you can do... whatever it is that you do. I'll let you sleep in tomorrow, and we can meet for lunch."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I gave her a look. "I'm sending Luke the video of you trying to do The Dougie and then falling on your face in middle school."

"I'm going," she assured me quickly as she made her way toward the door, waving at Sev on her way out. "It was so nice to meet you."

"Text me when you get back to the hotel," I requested before I shut the door, because it was dark out and I didn't like the idea of her driving alone in the dark.

When it was just the two of us, Sev looked at me with a curious smile on my face and asked, "What was that about?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. "Just bickering sisters."

He nodded and then glanced over at my duffle bag. "Is this all the stuff you brought?"

"I packed light, I'll probably only be here for a week or two," I answered, walking further into the living room before inviting myself to fall down onto the comfortable couch.

"You can stay longer than that, Maren," he assured me, joining me on the couch as an episode of Breaking Bad played on the TV.

"Thank you," I smiled at him. "But I really like you, and I really want to give us a fair shot at like, a real relationship."

"But you don't think we can do that with you being here?" he looked confused

"I think over the passed few months, I've grown a sort of dependence on you. Like I can only feel safe if you're around," I admitted to him. "And I love that you're so dependable and always there for me when I need you. But I can't need you all of the time and I just think it would be healthier for me and my recovery if I have the space to work on getting my own sense of safety back rather than needing to rely on you, or anybody else. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it does," he said with a nod, leaning over to run his fingers through my hair, which was now clean thanks to the long shower I took at the hotel that morning. "So do you want to hold off on relationship stuff until you get your own place? I only have one bedroom, but I can sleep on the couch while you're here."

"No," I said quickly. It was actually embarrassing how fast and adamant I sounded when I answered his question, but I had been looking forward to kissing him all day. We cuddled in my hospital bed yesterday, but there was no kissing, as I worried that once we started, I wasn't going to want to stop.

Sev started to laugh at my quick response and then said, "Yeah, I am really hot and sexy, so it would be pretty hard for you to resist all of this anyway."

I started to laugh too, appreciating the way that he was able to get me to relax after the stressful and emotional day I had with my family. "Exactly. You're just too sexy."

I knew that spending time away from Sev would help me learn how to be on my own again, but I still couldn't deny how comfortable I felt in his presence. There was a sense of security that I felt that I never even had before all of the Mrs. Lamb stuff started, and I hoped that would never go away. He was solid and dependable, unless there was a gun pointed at him and then he would panic. But I was confident and hopeful that we'd never be put in that situation again.

Despite wanting to quickly find my own apartment, I knew that I'd really enjoy the time I got to spend with Sev at his place.

"You're pretty hot and sexy yourself," he responded with a boyish smile on his face. "But I could keep my hands to myself if I had to because, you know, consent."

Our close proximity was starting to speed up my heart, and it had been a while that I had that feeling without it being caused by life-threatening panic. Slowly, I leaned farther toward him while tilting my shoulders so that I was facing him more, rather than sitting beside him on the couch. "Not necessary," I assured him in a low voice.

"Are you sure?" he wondered as his eyes darted to the bandage on my temple. I probably looked like I was in a very fragile state and honestly, I was feeling pretty fragile. My body was still so sore from being thrown around the concrete, my chin hurt from getting punched and my leg radiated pain every time I moved it.

Placing my hand on his firm chest, slowly moving it up to his shoulder, I said, "For three months, I didn't get to choose who I talked to or kissed without worrying about some sort of punishment. Now, I can finally do whatever I want again. And I want you."

There was something deeper about this kiss than the one in the closet. It was slower, almost methodical as we explored each other in a way we never got to before. The closet kiss was rushed, as we only had a few moments, and I was nervous out of my skin because I knew that I was taking such a risk. This time, I wasn't nervous, I was just so, so excited. It wasn't a risk this time, and I knew I could kiss him for as long as I wanted, or he wanted because, you know, consent. And nothing bad would happen. I could touch him, I could feel his touch on me, and nothing bad would happen.

It wasn't long until my entire body was on fire for Sev. The way our bodies maneuvered together wasn't quite as romantic as I had been wanting it to be, due to the injury on my leg and the one on his arm. There were a few 'ouch, that hurts' moments for both of us as we figured out how our broken bodies could move with each other to become one broken thing.