As I arrived at my house, I saw Link on the front steps. "Link, what are you doing here?" I asked, curiously.

"My dad kicked me out," he said. "I don't have anywhere else to go. My dad's a pastor and I grew up in his church, so everyone I know worships my dad and they'd never do anything that might anger him, and in turn, God."

I inhaled sharply. What kind of fucked up parent kicks a teen out for a supposed fling? And a pastor, too. Taking my keys, I unlocked the front door. "Come inside, it's freezing out here."

I glanced back at Link, who hadn't moved from his spot, his wide eyes staring into space. Slowly and instinctively, I took his hand in mine. His onyx eyes snapped to my dark brown ones, but to my surprise, he made no move to pull away. And somehow, for one fleeting instant, everything faded away. It was just us, and something about it just seemed so right. Like we were made for one another, like for once, I'm not alone.

A car sped past, and Link broke eye contact, quickly untangling his hand from mine. "We can't do this. My dad..."

I frowned. Right, his dad. I really hate the guy.

"Maybe staying here wasn't a good idea," he said.

"Like you said, you don't really have a choice," I retorted.

Reluctantly, he went inside and I shut the door, locking it. Directing Link to the living room, I quickly checked that I locked the door. A teen living at home alone for weeks on end is a big enough target by itself, but if Liam's out of prison...that's something else entirely. Oh, there's also the fact that I'm harboring a fugitive now. I mean, Link didn't exactly run away, but what if his dad comes knocking? And now that I think about it, how did Link even know I live here?

"So, do you want to talk about what happened?" I asked, plopping myself on the sofa beside him. The desire to close the distance between our hands was overpowering. But knowing that'd just push him further away, I sadly resolved to keep my hands to myself. For now.

"Do I have to?" he asked, warily.

"Kinda." 

"He saw me talking to you on the phone. I lied and said I was talking to Mike, but he took my phone and saw your number. And he just got so mad that I lied. He kept saying that I'm so stupid, and that you are just using me for sex."

"It seems like he blew things way out of proportion."

He looked at his lap. "I think he was just angry that I lied."

My chest tightened. God, he resembles me as a kid so much. I used to be exactly like Link. I did everything my mom and stepdad asked, did absolutely anything just so my dad would spare me a glance. But people like my mom and stepdad? They don't stop until they've sucked out every last ounce of positive energy in you. And for my dad, I've slowly grown to accept that you can't make someone care.

"Just one more thing...how did you get my address?"

"Oh, your phone number," he said, proceeding to go on and on about the way he had used my number to find my address.

I grinned, loving the way his voice grew louder and more confident as he continued.

"...and that's how I found your address," he explained. "What are you smiling about?"

"Just impressed by what a genius you are," I said, innocently.

His cheeks turned rosy red. "So umm...can you show me where I can stay?"

"Ya, totally," I said, smirking slightly at his attempt to change the subject.  Standing up, I led Link to my mom's room. I haven't gone in here much since she died. Dust and cobwebs have taken over the room, but the majority of the room looks just like I remembered it. Like everything else she owned, her room was very luxurious, with a king bed in the center and ridiculously soft carpet that you just want to sink your feet into.

"I'm assuming you didn't pack a bag, so my things are gonna have to do for now." He looked like he was the same size as me, and the majority of my things are unisex, so it works. Going to my room, I picked some oversized hoodies and pants, along with body wash, shampoo, and other essentials, and dumped it all on the sofa in my mom's room.

"Why don't you take a shower or something, and I'll go order some pizza for dinner?"

He nodded. "Thank you so much for doing this, by the way."

"No probs." Going to the living room, I order chicken taco pizza from Domino's. Spotting Vic's number in my contacts, I thought about calling her. Things with me and Vic used to be so uncomplicated. She was there for me when I was having a bad day, and vise versa. She's typically very logical, so this side of Vic's new to me.

Ding-dong. That was fast...putting down my phone, I opened the door and took the pizza box. Opening the box, I took a slice, biting into it and savoring the taste, any lingering thoughts of Vic forgotten.

After about 20 minutes of enjoying pizza and watching TV on my phone, I decided to check on Link. I do love taking really long, hot showers, so I'm not judging or anything, just a bit concerned.

Going into my mom's room, I knocked on the bathroom door. "Link? You okay?"

He didn't reply. "Link? You're worrying me."

Nothing. I twisted the doorknob, but it was locked. "I'm coming in now, Link."

Firmly planting my standing foot, I kicked the area just above the doorknob. My dad's gonna be pissed. I'm not exactly good with numbers, but I'm gonna assume it costs quite a bit to fix a kicked-in door. It was the right choice, though. Hopefully, Link's not just being an ass and ignoring me,  that'd make me feel like an idiot.

Stepping into the bathroom, I saw Link through the sliding door on the floor covering his body with his arms. "Oh...um, sorry?" I quickly covered my eyes, but not before catching a glimpse of his body.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"I'm sorry, you were taking so long and when I knocked you didn't say anything, so I thought something was wrong," I said.

Not saying anything, he pushed past me. As I uncovered my eyes, I looked at his watery-looking eyes and red nose, now fully dressed. "Oh."

Sensing that he was probably embarrassed, I decided not to push it. "There's pizza in the living room if you are hungry," I said before walking away.