Kevin tossed and turned in bed. He had been home for 3 days and had only slept 10 hours all together. He couldn't get Faith and Tarah off his mind. He had fallen for Tarah right away and he was starting to fall for Faith. He finally drifted off to sleep around Midnight. *~Ring, Ring~* "Hello?" Kevin rolled over and yawned. 'Who could possibly be calling at 3 in the morning?' "Kevin? It's Faith." He hears crying over the other line. "Faith? Are you okay?" "No, I need a place to stay." "Well, you can always come here." "Are you sure you're okay with me staying with you and Tarah?" "Ya, I have a hug house." "Good, because, I'm only about 2 blocks away." "Okay, I'll be ready for you." "Okay." "Bye." "Thanks Kevin." "Your welcome." "Bye." "Bye." Kevin sat down the phone and fell back on the bed. 'She was crying, what could possibly be wrong?' He figured he'd find out when she got there. He didn't realize it, but he feel asleep/ He woke up when the door bell rang. He walked down the stairs and answered the door. He realized it was snowing. Faith's hair was speckled with snow flakes. Her eyes were red from crying. "Faith! Come in!" He pulled her in by the arm. "God, you're freezing, let's get you changed into some dry clothes." "T... Thanks." Faith's teeth were chattering. She had Tarah wrapped under coat. The coat was drenched but Tarah was nice and warm and asleep. They laid Tarah down in a bed in a guest room. "Um... where's your stuff?" "I had to leave really fast. I was only able to get Tarah's dolls." "I guess, you can wear a pair of my sweats and a shirt." They walked into Kevin's room. He tossed her some sweats. She went into his bathroom and changed quickly. His pants were too big and really baggy. His shirt fell loosely on her. She came out and smiled weakly. "Thanks, so much for letting me stay here. I had no where to turn." "What about your family?" "My mom's dead." "Oh, I'm sorry." "She's in a better place. I'd rather have her up there.." She pointed towards the ceiling. "Then down here on earth." "Did she have a bad life?" "Kinda, ya." Kevin got the feeling she didn't want to talk about her family, so he changed the topic. "Do you want something to drink?" "Yes please." "Do you like hot chocolate?" "Yes." "Okay, come on." He led her downstairs to the kitchen. "Kev?" Kevin turned and looked at AJ. "Ya?" "Who's here?" "No one, go back to bed?" "Okay." AJ turned and went back to his room. "Who was that?" Faith was small enough to hide behind Kevin. "That was AJ, he's staying out here for Christmas. We take turns. Last year, we all went to Florida." "Oh." "Okay, let's get that hot chocolate." Faith followed Kevin into the kitchen. He made her some hot chocolate and they went into the living room. Kevin sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him/ She sat shyly by him. There was still enough room for someone to sit between them. "You're pretty shy, aren't you?" "Kinda." "Is it just around guys, or all people?" "Mostly guys." "Why?" "I just am." "Oh." "I'm sorry Kevin, I just don't want to tell anybody anything yet." "That's okay." "Okay." "Merry Christmas." "What?" Faith looked at him strangely. "It's Christmas." "Shit!" "What?" "I don't have anything for Tarah." "Um, well, wanna go to Wal-Mart?" "Now?" "Ya, it's a 24 hour store." "But what about Tay?" "You go, I'll stay." "No, you go, I'll stay." "Okay." Kevin grabbed his shoes. "Um, Kevin, you might want to get dressed." He looked down and realized he was still in his boxers and shirt. "Ya, I might." Kevin turned to go upstairs, but then he turned back to her. She was standing at looking at him. "What?" "Are you okay?" He stepped towards her. "Ya." "You sounded upset on the phone." "I was just confused. I wasn't sure were to go." "Oh." Kevin pulled her in for an embrace. He was surprised that she didn't pull away. He moved his hands down her back and she jumped back and screamed. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" "No, I just, no, I don't know. You better go to Wal-Mart before Tay wakes up." "Okay." Kevin walked up to his room, he was puzzled. He hadn't done anything bad. He hadn't kissed her or roamed his hands inside her shirt. He wanted to, he wanted her in every possible way. He dressed quickly and ran back downstairs. He ran out of the house and went to Wal-Mart. He walked down the aisles. Not quit sure what to get a 3 year old for Christmas. His mind was on so many things. He just couldn't figure out why Faith had pulled away so fast. It had felt like she liked the hug. Maybe he had just guessed wrong. After picking out a few gifts, he paid for them and left. He drove as quick as he could. The snow was now falling harder. He shivered to think Faith had been out in this weather. Homeless and helpless. He pulled into his drive way and went inside. Faith was on the couch. She was asleep. He sighed at the gentle figure rising slowly up and down as she breathed in and out. He pulled a blanket from the other couch. He thought about letting her sleep on the couch but he knew AJ and Jane would wake up and see her. He picked her up and headed upstairs. Gently, he laid her in the bed in his room. As he laid her down, he saw her roll on her stomach He shirt went up a little in the back. He went to pull it down but then he saw something. A scar ran down her back, he saw just the end of it. He had lifted her shirt all the way. Scars where all over her body. They were everywhere. Long slashes that were permanently carved in her back. There were new ones too, fresh blood was seeping from them. His shirt had blood on it too. He went into the bathroom and grabbed a wash rag. Gently, he dipped the wet rag on her back. She rolled a little and Kevin pulled his hand away. "Kev?" "Ya?" "What are you doing?" Again, he began to damp her back with the wet rag. "I am cleaning off your back. Where did you get all these scars?" "Um... ouch... ouch..." "Sorry, but these need to be cleaned." "I know, I was gonna clean them when I took a shower." "I don't mind cleaning them." He touched a part of her skin that wasn't cut. She shivered and closed her eyes. There was something about Kevin's touch that made her feel different. "You don't have to Kevin." "I know, but I want to." "Why?" "Well, they look painful." "They are." "How did you get them?" "I don't know." Kevin knew she knew, but he took that as a sign that she didn't want to talk about it. "You're in my bed. Do you mind if I sleep with you?" "No, I don't mind." "Okay." Kevin pulled her shirt back down and pulled the blanket on her shoulders. He changed back into his other shirt and pulled his pants off. Then he walked to the other side of the bed and climbed in. He moved closer to her. He wasn't sure if she was still awake. She was on her side. He moved very close and put his arms around her stomach. He pulled her closer. "Kevin, I'm not ready for a relationship with anyone right now." "That's okay, I can wait." "Really." "Ya." "Ya." Kevin moved a little closer and rested his head on her shoulder. He wasn't sure what it was about her but there was something calling him to her. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't diving to get in bed with him. She wasn't with him because of his popularity, in fact, she wasn't even with him. They both drifted off to sleep. Soon they were awoken by someone jumping on the bed. "Santa Came! Santa Came!" Faith rolled over and looked at Tarah. Kevin was awake, but he didn't want to move. he wanted her to stay in his arms forever. She struggled to get free. She realized Kevin was awake and holding her back. "Kevin! Let me free!" "I don't want to." He whispered in her ear. "Please! Or you'll pay!" "How?" Faith stuck her hand under the blankets. She grabbed his length and tugged it. He moaned and let go of her. She jumped out of the bed. "Told ya." "God girl... man." Kevin climbed out of bed. "Santa came!" Tarah ran back in the room holding one of the dolls that Kevin had bought the night before. He had had them professionally wrapped. "Hey, um, Kev. I think you have some explaining to do." AJ and Jane looked strangely at Kevin, Faith and Tarah. "Oh, AJ, this is Faith..." "Oh! You're Faith!" AJ stuck out his hand and shook hers. "And this is her daughter Tarah." "Hi." AJ dropped down to Tarah's level. She looked up at Faith. "He nice?" "Yes." "We like?" "Yes." Tarah smiled and handed AJ her doll. AJ laughed and handed the doll back to her. Faith was amazed that he knew to hand it back. "And, this is his girlfriend, Jane." "Hi." Jane shook Faith's hand. She looked at Kevin, than at Faith. She realized Faith was wearing Kevin's clothes. Faith saw Jane looking at her out fit and spoke up. "My clothes were left at a bus station in Georgia. When I got here, my clothes were really wet and Kevin let me borrow his." "Oh."
