"Then let me tell you a story." Noah's words surprised himself, but he continued while taking a step forward. Everlyn made a confused face and shook her head.

"What?"

"You think you are a lost cause?" he watched as Everlyn opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "You're right. I don't know anything about you. You don't know anything about me. So let me tell you a story."

Everlyn still looked confused, but nodded anyway. Noah took in a deep breath. "Once upon a time,"

"You can't be serious." she cracked a smile.

Noah smirked.  "Very. Now, be quiet." he cleared his throat before continuing. "Once upon a time, there was a young boy. He was only six years old. Short and scrawny, with hardly any friends, but he was happy. Ecstatic, actually, because he was soon to have a little sister. His parents had already named her- Cecily Jane Foster."

"That's a pretty name."

He frowned at the memory. "Yeah, it was." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he licked his lips and searched his mind for his next words. Everlyn frowned at him, gently taking his hand and taking a seat at the table. "Everything was perfect." he closes his eyes. "Then, one day, it wasn't."

"The little boy turns nine years old. Little Cecily is almost three years old. Mom and dad decide to go on a vacation, to where, I don't really remember. But they never come back. Little Cecily is five years old when she is adopted. The boy is eleven when his sister is pulled away from him."

Everlyn made a small gasp, but he didn't stop. "Fourteen years old, the boy isn't so little anymore, and gets pulled into the wrong crowd. Influences that shouldn't even be around him are so, and he is pulled into drugs. At fifteen years old, he is so angry." his eyes sting with unshed tears and his gaze slowly find her eyes.

"At sixteen years old, he tries to kill himself."

Everlyn now had tears falling down her cheeks, and he made a small smile. It took all of his self control not to reach out and wipe her tears away.

"But he doesn't die. A man saves him and takes him to the hospital. He helps the boy when he's recovering, and the two grow close. Then, the boy is adopted. That man helped him when he relapsed. He was there when he felt scared to be alone. And he will always be there for him."

"How old are you now?" Everlyn whispered softly.

"Twenty one. And during those five years, I could always count on him to be there for me. Even when times were rougher than usual."

He felt her hand take his. "And Cecily? Did you ever see her again?"

Noah felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of his sister. "No." he said softly. "I never saw her again. I was moved so often I can't even remember where I was when she was adopted."

Everlyn's bottom lip trembled. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." he sat straighter. "But now do you understand? No one is a lost cause. I almost died. I..." he took in a deep breath. "I almost killed myself. I thought no one in the world could help me. Literally everyone I cared about was gone. Taken away from me the times I needed them most. I was a lost cause. Until someone else showed me I wasn't. I wouldn't be here here today if someone hadn't helped me. So now, I want to help you."

Noah waited for her response. No matter what she said, he would convince her to turn whoever had done this to her in.

He wouldn't let her get hurt again.