Chione paced back and forth in the spare bedroom that she frequented while staying with Lynn and Paul. Her hands balled into fists as she tried to comprehend the events that had just occurred not five minutes before. She would glance at her sleepy daughter on the bed from time to time and only become angrier at the situation.

Why did she always have to be the victim? What had she ever done to anyone to deserve this kind of treatment? She never imagined love to be this complicated. The movies never depicted the ugly side and she was damn tired of having to continue to face it.

A soft knock came at the door and Justin's voice invaded her hearing, "Can I come in?"

He took Chione's silence as a yes and walked into the room. He sat down on the side of the bed, knowing that she needed her space at that moment, "What are you thinking?"

"What in the fuck do you think I'm thinking? Everything in my life is turning out to be one, big ass lie and I am sick of it! I'm sick of you, I'm sick of JC, I'm sick of all of it!"

Justin stood to his feet as she stood near the window, glaring at him like he was about to become supper, "Why are you sick of me? I haven't done anything."

"When did you find out that he hired those assholes?"

Justin swallowed hard as the realization began to sink in, "I over heard him on the phone a few days after I flew back to be with you."

"And you didn't tell me? Why?" She asked, tapping her foot on the floor as she crossed her arms over her chest."

"Let's not go into it-"

"I am sick and tired of being treated like a child!" Chione screamed, slamming her foot onto the floor, "I'm sick of you trying to shield me from the world Justin, it's my life! I had a right to know! I had a right to know what that prick had done to me and you just hid it from me like it never happened."

"I know baby, I'm sorry."

"Don't. I don't want to hear your fucking apologies because they don't mean shit. It's just one thing after a fucking another with you, isn't it? I mean fuck, I let that prick hold my daughter. I had sex with him, thinking that I finally had someone on my side after you had left."

It was silent between the two of them after that for a few minutes. Chione stood, looking out the window as Justin watched her from the side of the bed, "You should have told me Justin."

Justin breathed deeply as his gaze on her fell to the floor. Chione continued to stare out the window as she thought about her options. She could continue to be Justin's victim, just allow him to run all over her and ruin what little self confidence and happiness she had. Or she could stand up for herself and for Dionne, and refuse to let people hurt her.

She chose the latter.

She walked over to the bed and picked up her child, who had been jolted awake at the sound of Chione's angry voice. Chione grasped the tiny girl to her chest, trying to soothe her back to sleep as she walked past Justin.

"Trace?" She called as she walked down the stairs, her eyes searching around for her short friend.

"What are you doing?" Justin continued to ask as he followed behind her, the desperation beginning to seep into his body.

"Trace, I need you to take me home please." Chione said as she found him in the kitchen.

Trace didn't dare ask what the problem was; he was sick of being in the middle just as much as Chione was. He nodded his head and grabbed his keys, not saying a word as he walked out into the foyer.

"Chione, what are doing?" Justin asked, tears springing to his eyes.

"You're right, I can't trust you. I need to be strong for my little girl and I refuse to have her grow up and entangle herself with a man like you. I don't want to be with you, I just want you to be her father."

"What are you saying?" he whispered.

As much as she wanted to go back to the previous day, when they were making love in the moonlight, she couldn't. The final straw had been broken and there was nothing that could repair it, "You can pick her up on Fridays and I want her back with me before 6pm on Mondays, got it?"

She didn't wait for his answer. As soon as she finished speaking, she turned on her heel and walked to Trace who was waiting in the car. She fought through her tears as Justin stood behind her, begging her to reconsider. She brushed past him and plopped down in the passengers seat as she slammed the door.

She couldn't look at him as he pulled at the now locked door as Trace began to pull out of the driveway. Her pain ran down her face and fell onto her jeans as Trace whisked her away from the very source of all of her despair.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

"No, go home to your sister. I'll call you tomorrow." Chione said, sniffing a little and leaning against the door frame.

"My sis will understand. I'll stay and help you with Dionne tomorrow, okay?"

Chione smiled as she put her head down. Then, without reason, she fell into Trace, grabbing onto him for dear life as he hugged her back, "You're a good friend, you know that? I don't have anyone but you to depend on and that's pretty sad." She giggled.

"I know, that is sad when all you have is my pitiful ass."

////////////

Three months had passed. Justin's phone calls to Chione ceased after a few weeks and his attempts to try and talk to her failed. But he was there for Dionne, picking her up every Friday and dropping her back off every Monday. Justin and Chione kept it civil but brief, saying hello and goodbye when they met at the door. She kept Justin up to date with what was going on with Dionne but other than that, there was nothing between them anymore.

Chione slowly but surely got her life back on track, keeping her job at the gallery, picking up a late shift at a grocery store and finding time to go to school and entertain her budding child. Trace helped her as much as he could, lending out his babysitting services and pretending that he had no idea why a couple hundred dollar bills found their way into her purse on occasion. He kept up with Justin, made sure that he was doing okay and that he was continuing to go to his classes.

One beautiful spring night, as Chione sat in her living room, typing away on her paper for English, her phone rang. Glancing at it once, she returned her attention to her paper as the phone added a new soundtrack to her school session. She smiled at Dionne who was playing at her feet and prayed that the phone would stop ringing soon. She heard the familiar beep of the answering machine and was about to tune out the message when his voice flooded into her ears.

"Hey Chione it's Justin. Um, I know that you don't want anything to do with me on any level other than being Dionne's father but... um... I graduating from my rehab, I just found out tonight. I passed all of my drug tests and... fuck, I'm graduating," he chuckled, "Anyway, um... my graduation is next Friday at 7 at the same place we had the forgiveness sessions..."

And then he paused.

Chione sat up straight and stared at the phone as her mouth hung open. Why was he telling her this? Did he want her to go? Did he want to take Dionne with him, "Spit it out Jay!" Chione said impatiently.

"Listen, I know that I hurt you Chione, I've hurt you more than a person deserves to be hurt. But, I need you baby, I need you to survive. Not being able to touch you or kiss you or talk to you over these last few months has been hell and I know you want you space but... shit. It would mean the world to me if you came and watched me graduate because I'm doing for you and Dionne. If it wasn't for you busting in on me that day and showing me her picture, I'd probably be dead right now. I love you, please know that, okay? And I don't want to pressure you or make you feel uncomfortable but if you showed up, it would show me that you haven't completely given up on me. It would show me that we could at least be friends. I just want to be your friend, okay? I hope I see you, bye Chi."

She heard his phone click and then another beep, letting her know that he had hung up. Her chest rose and fell slowly, her mouth still agape. Dionne's broken English and the sounds from the TV were all she heard as her mind raced a million miles an hour. She didn't know what to do. Things were still, raw between the two of them, at least on her side of the deal.

Not being able to finish her English paper, she slammed her laptop shut, turned off the tv and grabbed Dionne. She stomped up the stairs, trying to keep from thinking about the message that Justin had just left her. She did everything she could, showered herself and Dionne, put Dionne to sleep, cleaned her bedroom and bathroom and other things to clear her mind but nothing helped. She plopped down into bed around one thirty in the morning but sleep wouldn't come.

Justin's voice played over and over again in her head, haunting her like a ghost that didn't want to leave. She tossed and turned like she never had before that night. She couldn't make up her mind, she didn't even know if she wanted to make up her mind. But something he had said haunted her the most. It haunted her the most because she knew that it probably was true. She rolled over on her side and sighed as she stared out of her tiny window.

If it wasn't for you busting in on me that day and showing me her picture, I'd probably be dead right now.

She had one long night ahead of her.