Darren brushed my messy hair away from my face. "Aly, it's gonna be okay. We'll fix Ted."

"But he's broken."

He looked down at the tattered teddy bear in my arms. "We'll make him all better."

"How?"

"My mom can fix him. He'll be good as new."

"Really?" I wiped my nose on my sleeve.

He nodded. "Yeah, baby. Let's put him in a bag so we don't lose anything."

I followed him from the bathroom and to the kitchen. He pulled a plastic bag from under the sink and shook it out.

"Put him in here."

I did as he said and carefully put all of Ted's parts into the bag. He handed it over for me to take.

"Let me get changed and then we'll go. I could use the fresh air." He led the way as we went to his room. It was bigger than mine and had a bigger bed than mine did. He walked to the closet and slid the right door so it opened, revealing his shirts and pants that hung from hangers. He pulled a gray t-shirt off a hanger and tossed it onto his bed. He pulled his shirt off and I was surprised to see he had muscles. Owen did, too, but his weren't as... obvious as Darren's. I knew he'd easily win in a fight against Owen if it were to get worse than this one did. He put the clean shirt on before putting a pair of tennis shoes on. "I have to put my shirt in the wash before we go."

I started to follow him from his room and to the laundry room but he stopped and turned to me.

"Can you get your shoes on for me?"

I hesitated but nodded. If it would make his life easier by me putting my shoes on by myself, then I wanted to try. After all, he's saved me twice from Owen.

I walked into my room and found a pair of shoes to put on. Luckily, I found a pair that I was able to slip my feet into that didn't require me to tie. As I was putting my second shoe on, I noticed the comb on the bed that had hardly been touched. I lifted my hand to my head and grimaced.

We still hadn't combed my hair out.

I walked out of my room and found Darren in the living room. He was picking up his keys from the floor. The same keys that I had thrown at Owen just minutes before.

"Are you ready to go?"

I bit the inside of my lip. Bothering him about my hair again was something that made me nervous. Would he react poorly to me asking again?

"Aly?"

"My hair's still a mess..."

He walked over and it felt like every nerve in my body was tightening. I knew he wasn't Owen but I couldn't shake the fear that was still inside. Owen had nearly attacked me just minutes before and I couldn't get it out of my head.

He gave me a sheepish smile that caught me off guard and stopped my nerves in their tracks. "I was going to ask my mom to help with that. She's better at it than I am. Plus, it might not hurt as bad."

I nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Are you ready to go then?"

I nodded.

---

Darren pulled up to a white house. It was small and the front of the house met at a point at the top. The black roof was a dark contrast to the bright, white siding but it worked. A small porch led to the front door with a wooden bench swing on one side.

It looked welcoming. If that were possible.

Darren got out of the truck and held the door for me as I scooted over. "Don't let my mom scare you. She means well."

I clutched the bag that held Ted to my chest and braced myself for what was about to happen. Would Darren's mom be as nice as he had been?

He knocked on the door before twisting the knob and letting himself in. "Mom, it's me!"

"I'll be out in a second." A woman spoke from a room in the distance.

Her home was really nice. The wallpaper was white with red flowers all over. The white carpet on the floor was soft under my shoes and made me feel bad for having them on still. We entered into the a living room. An old TV sat on a brown table with plants on either side. A window overlooking the backyard was behind it. The brown couch and recliner looked warn and had quilts over the backs of them. It smelled like vanilla and relaxed me with each breath I took.

The woman walked out from a doorway in the back of the room, a towel in her hands, and gasped as she took us in. She came over to us rather quickly and grabbed Darren's face with both of her hands. "Oh, my gosh. What happened to you?"

He gently pulled her hands away from his face. "Mom, I'm fine. I had an... altercation with Owen. I'll be fine."

"You need to see a doctor-"

"Mom, I'm fine. I promise."

She sighed and pursed her lips. "I don't like your confidence, Darren James. It's going to get you into trouble one of these days."

"I know, mom." He rolled his eyes.

She patted his shoulder before her eyes moved to me. They widened as she took me in. "You must be Aly. It's so nice to finally meet you."

I tightened my grip on my bag. I knew Darren said she was nice but I didn't warm up to new people easily.

"Take it easy, mom. She doesn't take well to strangers."

"I'm sorry, honey. Excuse my manners. I'm Evelyn." She said, her voice apologetic.

I looked up at Darren before back at her.

She gave me a smile before turning her attention back to Darren. "Darren, I'm quite ashamed of you."

His eyebrows rose. "Why?"

She held her hand out in my direction, moreso to point at me. "Look at this poor girl. She looks like a mess and... has she been crying?"

He sighed. "Mom, it's not what you think. I... We were just about to comb her hair out when Owen showed up. I was hoping you could help me with it, actually."

She pursed her lips. "I'll see what I can do."

"Oh, and her teddy bear got ripped. Can you help stitch him back together?"

This time, when she stuck her hand out, it was because she wanted me to take it. "Come on, sweetie. I'll fix everything."

---

Edited 4/5/2022