“Lara, what are you doing here?” Dana asked sympathetically, starting to walk towards her. Alice grabbed the tennis player’s hand to keep her in place by her side.

“I, uh…” another sob rose out of Lara’s throat and she wiped the tears from her eyes. “I really need a place to stay, and I didn’t know where else to turn.” She whimpered, trying to stifle her crying long enough to explain.

”What happened to you?” This time Alice spoke, suddenly noticing that Lara’s cheeks were slightly purpled from bruising, along with several places elsewhere on her body. A trace amount of blood dribbled from her bottom lip, and a little bit of dried blood was pooled underneath her nose.

“I, um… Gabby. Gabby happened.”

Dana and Alice both exchanged shocked looks and Dana stepped forward again, except this time Alice didn’t stop her.

“What do you mean? Did she hit you?”

Lara just nodded silently, tears falling down her face again, her windpipe closing and opening sporadically to match her awkward breathing.

“Oh, my fucking god.” Alice whispered.

”Of course you can stay, Lara.” Dana whispered, pulling her ex into a hug, and, though she knew it was wrong, Alice felt a twinge of jealousy run through her.

“Carmen!” Shane pounded on the door for the umpteenth time, each time yelling Carmen’s name. Carmen’s neighbors had recognized Shane from the other night and buzzed her in. Finally, the door opened and Carmen stood there, shaking her head sadly. “Carmen, Lacey doesn’t mean anything to me, I…”

Carmen quickly silenced Shane with a finger to her lips, and, despite her quivering voice, spoke with a quiet authority.

“I overreacted. I snapped at you, and I’m sorry.” She swallowed hard and continued, “I’ve just been having a really rough time lately. My sister told everybody that I was dating you again, and now no one in my family, especially my mother, will speak to me. All that shit with Lacey did was agitate me to a point that… that I didn’t want to be at, but I never meant to snap at you, or hurt you. You have to understand that.”

Shane stepped closer, pulling her into a hug.