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Gerry poked his head into the tree house. Al was seated in the corner reading the large magic book propped on her thighs. She glanced up. "You're back early."

"Unfortunately." He climbed the rest of the way inside. "What about you? You got back from camp, what, twenty minutes ago? Did you spend any time at home?"

"Nope." She flipped to another page. "How was Grandma's this weekend?"

He perked up. "Better than usual."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, that girl, Kenzie from next door..." He smirked. "She's my girlfriend now."

"Isn't that the chick you said was kinda wild?"

"Yeah, but it's cool. This is going to be great. I finally have something more to look forward to each week!"

"What base are you on?"

Gerry frowned. "We held hands and we almost kissed."

"Almost? Sounds like she's jerking you around."

"No. I was the one who chickened out." He sniffed and stared out the window.

Al laughed. "You are the world's worst fourteen year old. How do you chicken out of a kiss?"

Gerry crossed his arms. "I was scared alright! I didn't wanna mess up and drool on her or something. Besides who are you to judge- you've never kissed anybody!"

Al scoffed. "Excuse you, I got to third for the fourth time at camp this week."

"Bullshit. It's an all girl camp- unless you're counting getting molested by a greasy, old counselor."

She rolled her eyes. "Go fuck yourself, Gerry. All the staff are women too."

"So, what did you do? Sneak a guy in?"

"God you are fucking dense." She sat her book aside and scrounged through her purse. She produced a few photo booth pictures. "Her name is Cat, she's sixteen."

Gerry looked over the pictures. "But this is a girl."

"Duh."

"Girls don't count."

"Then you should quit worrying about Kenzie- seeing as she's just practice for the man of your dreams."

"You know what I meant. And if this chick is such a big deal , why haven't you mentioned her before?"

Al sighed. "Because it isn't a big deal. We just fool around. What's to mention? Do you want me to rub it in your face every time I touch boobs?"

"It only counts if you're in love." He said firmly.

Al snatched the pictures back and stuffed them back into her bag. "Jesus Christ , Gerry, I didn't think it was a fucking competition." She looped the strap over her head and descended the ladder.

Gerry shuffled his way back into town. He kept to the tree line as he passed Al's house. It was just one of the many precautions they took to keep her stepfather from finding the tree house. He was readying to bolt across the street when the door flew open and Peirce staggered out onto the yard.

"Alberta!" He bellowed. "Alberta!" He paced around. "It's after curfew Alberta!"

Gerry eased back into the foliage to avoid being spotted.

Peirce wobbled on his feet a little. "Tear that little bitch's ass up when she gets home..." He muttered to himself. "Disrespect me like this."

Gerry waited for the man to reenter his house before moving. He had better give Al a heads-up before she walked into that mess. He hurried back to the tree house as the sun began to set. There was a light up there, good they hadn't missed each other. He quickly scaled the ladder.

"Hey, Al-"

She gasped scooting back against the wall, every last inch of her skin bare. Gerry quickly dropped down a few rungs and stared down at the ground.

"Why are you naked?!"

"I-I went swimming. I was letting my clothes dry."

Gerry shook his head. "I just wanted to tell you that Peirce is on a rampage-"

"You can come on up."

"Do you have something to cover up with?"

"It's nothing you haven't seen before."

He thumped his forehead on the ladder. "That was like five years ago. There was less to see then."

"I don't care alright. Just get up here please."

He frowned at the way her voice had warbled. "Al... are you crying?" He asked peeping back inside.

She had pulled her arms and legs in covering herself and her eyes were red and puffy. That wasn't all that was swollen however, most of her face was.

"Al, what happened?"

"I ran into some rocks while swimming. It really hurt." She muttered.

Gerry looked her over, her cotton candy frizz looked so strange heavy with moisture. "Did you already go home?" He asked.

"Could you just be a friend right now?"

"What do you want me to-" He froze as she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest.

"You need to get used to women anyway." She whispered.

He exhaled slowly allowing himself to relax. "Why are you so weird?"

She shrugged weakly. "Just the way I'm wired..."

"I was so worried!" Helen yelled. "For all I knew you were in a ditch somewhere!"

Gerry shrank back. "I was just at a friend's house-"

"Oh God!" She cried looking as though she might faint. "You spent the night with that awful Bell girl didn't you! I'm entirely too young to be a grandmother!"

Gerry grimaced. "Mom. No. Just No."

"I asked you not to associate with that little harlot!" She shook her head. "Those little homely girls are all the same, they get desperate for male attention-"

"Helen." Ranjay broke in with a slight warning tone.

"Her stepfather sent her to an all girl camp, said she was acting out- what do you suppose that means!?"

Ranjay patted his wife on the shoulder. "It probably means he wasn't prepared for all the emotions a teenage girl can have. Maybe he wanted her to spend some time with other girls her age. Must you always assume the worst?"

Her lower lip trembled. "I just don't want her corrupting our little boy."

"No one is corrupting anything. Go on. I'll take care of this."

She took a deep breath and nodded. Ranjay watched her retreat to their bedroom before turning to Gerry.

"Call next time." He said firmly, then smiled and left the room.

Gerry let out a puff in relief. He started toward his own room when the phone rang, he was only a few steps away from the kitchen's handset, so he picked up.

"Is Gerry home?"

He frowned. "Kenzie?"

"Oh! Ha! Sorry, you and your dad sound just alike on the phone. Say, you wanna hang out today? I bribed my brother into driving. We can hit the mall, see a movie, I dunno whatever we want. Unless you've got plans..."

"Nah, I've got nothing important going on. I do have to ask though. Hold on." He pulled away from the phone. "Dad, can I hang out with Kenzie and her brother today? I'll be sure to call and check in."

His father peered around the corner. "Run while you can." He said.

Gerry grinned. "My dad said it's cool."

"Awesome, see you in about an hour!"

He hung up the phone smugly, but felt a sudden panic. "Oh God, I have to take a shower. What am I going to wear!?" He darted off to his room.

Al checked her watch again. Seven P.M. She stared over the railing of the bridge at the water swirling below.

"Yeah, I'll meet you at five." She mocked Gerry's voice. She kicked a small chunk of concrete off the edge. It's splash was barely audible over the rushing river. "I guess he's not coming." She muttered to herself. She pushed herself up and turned to leave, but she stopped short. Shadows blocked her path.

Gerry nearly spilled his drink when his phone rang. He fumbled to find it in his pocket. "It's my folks."

Kenzie rolled her eyes, "Didn't you tell 'em we'd have you home by ten? It's only eight."

Gerry answered. "Hey Dad, what's up?"

"Gerry, have your friends drop you off at your grandmother's house."

He arched an eyebrow. "Grandma's? Why?" The line went quiet. "Dad?"

"I don't really know what's going on right now, but there was an incident in town. I think it's best you stay away for now."

"You don't know anything?"

"I'll let you know when I do Gerry. Okay?"

"Okay." He hung up and looked over at Kenzie.

She took a swig of her drink. "So, we gotta rush you home?"

"No, he wants you to drop me off at my grandmother's house instead."

"Sweet!" Her brother shouted from the front seat. "Saves gas!"

"I imagine you're eager to get home." Gerry's grandmother said as she turned down the dirt road that led into town. "Poor dear, stuck with an old woman all week."

"Grandma, stop. I had a great time. It was more like a vacation."

She smiled and nodded. "I certainly enjoyed the company." Her face fell slightly as they entered town. "Oh my..."

Gerry scooted forward in his seat trying to see what had gotten his Grandmother upset. The only change he noted was a for sale sign in the yard of the third house on the road.
"Someone moving?"

She shook her head. "People only leave a community like this if something is wrong."

They passed three more homes for sale and seemingly abandoned on the way to his house.

His grandmother dropped him off and he hurried inside. He found a note explaining that his parents were at a town meeting, not to worry, but it might take a while. He sighed.

"I wonder if Al's home, I bet she knows what's going on."

Alberta's home was just as empty as his, so he trotted into the woods. He climbed up in the tree house and found Al, her nose buried in the old magic book.

"Did you forget my number?"

Gerry frowned. "What? No, what's going on around here?"

"Why didn't you meet me at the bridge?"

"What? Oh, shit." He brushed his hair back. "Kenzie called-"

"Why didn't you cancel with me?"

"I forgot okay. It's not like I don't see you every fucking day." He snorted. "Anyway, what's with all the real-estate?"

"Five of your favorite people were banished." She said simply.

"What did they do to finally get the boot."

Al sighed and lowered the book that had been obscuring his view of her. Both of her eyes were blackened, her bottom lip donned three stitches , bruises and scrapes dotted all of her visible skin, and her right arm was in a sling.

Gerry just stared speechless for a moment before whispering. "That's bullshit..." He stood then balling his hands into fists. "That's bullshit!" He shouted. "I can't even count how many times they kicked the shit out of me and they get you once- boom- banished. What the fuck is that?!"

Al narrowed her eyes on him. "They got caught with me and I had no problem telling the entire town exactly what they had done."

"Why couldn't you do that for me?" He demanded.

"I offered to. Several times. You made me promise not to tell! Why are you mad at me anyway?!"

"You got me in trouble! Then as soon as I get back I walk in on this?!You acting like this is somehow my fault that you finally got your ass kicked! You don't even try to act normal! You attack people, you dress weird, and you constantly shoot your stupid mouth off! My mom was right you're a bad influence, I don't need to hang around a little whore like you."

Al blinked. "Your mom called me a whore?"

Gerry shrugged. "Harlot, same difference. It's fucking true. You were just bragging about licking all over strange girls at camp that you don't give a shit about."

"You and your mom can both choke on your own vomit." She stood then. "You think you're better than me Gerald?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on Al, don't act like you didn't know you were trash, you were always just the least horrible trash to hang out with in this hell hole town."

Al stared up at him hard, her eye twitched. "I'm sorry I wasted my time." She hooked her foot behind his ankle yanking it out from under him.

Gerry toppled over backwards just barely managing to catch himself from plummeting through the hole in the floor. He clawed desperately at the wooden planks to pull himself up. "What the fuck Al! Help me up!"

Al glared down at him. "I've never broken a promise before, but you're a terrible friend. Only my friends are allowed up here. You should forget you ever saw this tree house, if you ever come back here I will make you forget."

"Al, Al, I'm sorry-" He struggled to somehow right himself as she hoisted her book on to her shoulder with great difficultly.

She staggered back over with the huge tome. "And you know what Gerry, you can just fix your own goddamned problems!" She shouted slinging the book down on to his stomach.

The blow knocked the air from his lungs and he lost his grip. He smashed into the dirt several feet below with a heavy thud. He curled up into a ball gasping for breath. Al took the opportunity to slam the hatch shut and shove the chest atop it.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Gerry shouted up at her. "You are fucking insane! You could have killed me!" He picked himself up slowly. "Well, fuck you too. I don't need you! I've got other friends!"

"Good! Go be their problem!" Al screamed back.

He huffed and brushed his clothes off. Al watched from the small window as he left the woods. She gave him a long head start before she too went back into town.

Peirce was waiting by the front door when she came in. He didn't say a word, just held the door for her. He waited until the door was closed to speak. "The council finalized everything at the meeting today. They're sending a healer over in the morning and we can put this whole messy business behind us."

She just gave a nod.

Her stepfather sighed and rested his meaty hand on her shoulder. "Well, we both know things won't be exactly the same. People are going to treat you differently now, but that's on them. You understand?"

"I really don't care what people think." She muttered.

"You've been very brave this week. I think it's time I gave you this." He led her toward the master bedroom. She waited awkwardly in the doorway as he rummaged around the cluttered room. He stood at last producing a short staff, her mother's. "Here, take it. I know she wanted you to have it one day. It won't do a talent like yours much good, but you could always whack someone with it."

Al smiled sadly taking the staff into her hands. Even after years in the liquor filled room it still had the faint smell of her mother's perfume and of countless herbs. Before falling ill, she had used it to infuse potions. Al had never been any good at it, her talents likely came from her father, whoever he was. She thanked Peirce for the gift and retreated to her room.

It would be over a month before she would hear from Gerry again.

Al stared sleepy eyed at the caller ID. It was lucky Peirce was at the bar, he wouldn't take kindly to Gerry calling after midnight. Al rolled away at first, but the ringing persisted. She groaned and snatched up the phone.

"What is it Gerry?" She frowned at the unintelligible sobbing on the other end of the line. She did catch 'Kenzie'. "Gerry, the thing about not being my friend is that you don't get to cry on my shoulder when your girlfriend dumps you-" She strained to understand his reply. "What did you do Gerry?" She squeezed her eyes shut. "How bad is it? Do I need to call 911?" She rested her forehead in her hand. "No one is going to lock you up, I don't care what your mom said-" She shook her head. "I can take the car, but that's still a long drive- will you be okay? Just apply pressure, okay. I'm on my way. Don't do anything else stupid."

She hopped out of bed and jerked the book out of its hiding place under the bed. "I guess I'm glad I didn't burn you after all." She whispered.

Description
Gerry poked his head into the tree house. Al was seated in the corner reading the large magic book propped on her thighs. She glanced up. "You're back early."

"Unfortunately." He climbed the rest of the way inside. "What about you? You got back from camp, what, twenty minutes ago? Did you spend any time at home?"

"Nope." She flipped to another page. "How was Grandma's this weekend?"

He perked up. "Better than usual."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, that girl, Kenzie from next door..." He smirked. "She's my girlfriend now."

"Isn't that the chick you said was kinda wild?"

"Yeah, but it's cool. This is going to be great. I finally have something more to look forward to each week!"

"What base are you on?"

Gerry frowned. "We held hands and we almost kissed."

"Almost? Sounds like she's jerking you around."

"No. I was the one who chickened out." He sniffed and stared out the window.

Al laughed. "You are the world's worst fourteen year old. How do you chicken out of a kiss?"

Gerry crossed his arms. "I was scared alright! I didn't wanna mess up and drool on her or something. Besides who are you to judge- you've never kissed anybody!"

Al scoffed. "Excuse you, I got to third for the fourth time at camp this week."

"Bullshit. It's an all girl camp- unless you're counting getting molested by a greasy, old counselor."

She rolled her eyes. "Go fuck yourself, Gerry. All the staff are women too."

"So, what did you do? Sneak a guy in?"

"God you are fucking dense." She sat her book aside and scrounged through her purse. She produced a few photo booth pictures. "Her name is Cat, she's sixteen."

Gerry looked over the pictures. "But this is a girl."

"Duh."

"Girls don't count."

"Then you should quit worrying about Kenzie- seeing as she's just practice for the man of your dreams."

"You know what I meant. And if this chick is such a big deal , why haven't you mentioned her before?"

Al sighed. "Because it isn't a big deal. We just fool around. What's to mention? Do you want me to rub it in your face every time I touch boobs?"

"It only counts if you're in love." He said firmly.

Al snatched the pictures back and stuffed them back into her bag. "Jesus Christ , Gerry, I didn't think it was a fucking competition." She looped the strap over her head and descended the ladder.

Gerry shuffled his way back into town. He kept to the tree line as he passed Al's house. It was just one of the many precautions they took to keep her stepfather from finding the tree house. He was readying to bolt across the street when the door flew open and Peirce staggered out onto the yard.

"Alberta!" He bellowed. "Alberta!" He paced around. "It's after curfew Alberta!"

Gerry eased back into the foliage to avoid being spotted.

Peirce wobbled on his feet a little. "Tear that little bitch's ass up when she gets home..." He muttered to himself. "Disrespect me like this."

Gerry waited for the man to reenter his house before moving. He had better give Al a heads-up before she walked into that mess. He hurried back to the tree house as the sun began to set. There was a light up there, good they hadn't missed each other. He quickly scaled the ladder.

"Hey, Al-"

She gasped scooting back against the wall, every last inch of her skin bare. Gerry quickly dropped down a few rungs and stared down at the ground.

"Why are you naked?!"

"I-I went swimming. I was letting my clothes dry."

Gerry shook his head. "I just wanted to tell you that Peirce is on a rampage-"

"You can come on up."

"Do you have something to cover up with?"

"It's nothing you haven't seen before."

He thumped his forehead on the ladder. "That was like five years ago. There was less to see then."

"I don't care alright. Just get up here please."

He frowned at the way her voice had warbled. "Al... are you crying?" He asked peeping back inside.

She had pulled her arms and legs in covering herself and her eyes were red and puffy. That wasn't all that was swollen however, most of her face was.

"Al, what happened?"

"I ran into some rocks while swimming. It really hurt." She muttered.

Gerry looked her over, her cotton candy frizz looked so strange heavy with moisture. "Did you already go home?" He asked.

"Could you just be a friend right now?"

"What do you want me to-" He froze as she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest.

"You need to get used to women anyway." She whispered.

He exhaled slowly allowing himself to relax. "Why are you so weird?"

She shrugged weakly. "Just the way I'm wired..."

"I was so worried!" Helen yelled. "For all I knew you were in a ditch somewhere!"

Gerry shrank back. "I was just at a friend's house-"

"Oh God!" She cried looking as though she might faint. "You spent the night with that awful Bell girl didn't you! I'm entirely too young to be a grandmother!"

Gerry grimaced. "Mom. No. Just No."

"I asked you not to associate with that little harlot!" She shook her head. "Those little homely girls are all the same, they get desperate for male attention-"

"Helen." Ranjay broke in with a slight warning tone.

"Her stepfather sent her to an all girl camp, said she was acting out- what do you suppose that means!?"

Ranjay patted his wife on the shoulder. "It probably means he wasn't prepared for all the emotions a teenage girl can have. Maybe he wanted her to spend some time with other girls her age. Must you always assume the worst?"

Her lower lip trembled. "I just don't want her corrupting our little boy."

"No one is corrupting anything. Go on. I'll take care of this."

She took a deep breath and nodded. Ranjay watched her retreat to their bedroom before turning to Gerry.

"Call next time." He said firmly, then smiled and left the room.

Gerry let out a puff in relief. He started toward his own room when the phone rang, he was only a few steps away from the kitchen's handset, so he picked up.

"Is Gerry home?"

He frowned. "Kenzie?"

"Oh! Ha! Sorry, you and your dad sound just alike on the phone. Say, you wanna hang out today? I bribed my brother into driving. We can hit the mall, see a movie, I dunno whatever we want. Unless you've got plans..."

"Nah, I've got nothing important going on. I do have to ask though. Hold on." He pulled away from the phone. "Dad, can I hang out with Kenzie and her brother today? I'll be sure to call and check in."

His father peered around the corner. "Run while you can." He said.

Gerry grinned. "My dad said it's cool."

"Awesome, see you in about an hour!"

He hung up the phone smugly, but felt a sudden panic. "Oh God, I have to take a shower. What am I going to wear!?" He darted off to his room.

Al checked her watch again. Seven P.M. She stared over the railing of the bridge at the water swirling below.

"Yeah, I'll meet you at five." She mocked Gerry's voice. She kicked a small chunk of concrete off the edge. It's splash was barely audible over the rushing river. "I guess he's not coming." She muttered to herself. She pushed herself up and turned to leave, but she stopped short. Shadows blocked her path.

Gerry nearly spilled his drink when his phone rang. He fumbled to find it in his pocket. "It's my folks."

Kenzie rolled her eyes, "Didn't you tell 'em we'd have you home by ten? It's only eight."

Gerry answered. "Hey Dad, what's up?"

"Gerry, have your friends drop you off at your grandmother's house."

He arched an eyebrow. "Grandma's? Why?" The line went quiet. "Dad?"

"I don't really know what's going on right now, but there was an incident in town. I think it's best you stay away for now."

"You don't know anything?"

"I'll let you know when I do Gerry. Okay?"

"Okay." He hung up and looked over at Kenzie.

She took a swig of her drink. "So, we gotta rush you home?"

"No, he wants you to drop me off at my grandmother's house instead."

"Sweet!" Her brother shouted from the front seat. "Saves gas!"

"I imagine you're eager to get home." Gerry's grandmother said as she turned down the dirt road that led into town. "Poor dear, stuck with an old woman all week."

"Grandma, stop. I had a great time. It was more like a vacation."

She smiled and nodded. "I certainly enjoyed the company." Her face fell slightly as they entered town. "Oh my..."

Gerry scooted forward in his seat trying to see what had gotten his Grandmother upset. The only change he noted was a for sale sign in the yard of the third house on the road.
"Someone moving?"

She shook her head. "People only leave a community like this if something is wrong."

They passed three more homes for sale and seemingly abandoned on the way to his house.

His grandmother dropped him off and he hurried inside. He found a note explaining that his parents were at a town meeting, not to worry, but it might take a while. He sighed.

"I wonder if Al's home, I bet she knows what's going on."

Alberta's home was just as empty as his, so he trotted into the woods. He climbed up in the tree house and found Al, her nose buried in the old magic book.

"Did you forget my number?"

Gerry frowned. "What? No, what's going on around here?"

"Why didn't you meet me at the bridge?"

"What? Oh, shit." He brushed his hair back. "Kenzie called-"

"Why didn't you cancel with me?"

"I forgot okay. It's not like I don't see you every fucking day." He snorted. "Anyway, what's with all the real-estate?"

"Five of your favorite people were banished." She said simply.

"What did they do to finally get the boot."

Al sighed and lowered the book that had been obscuring his view of her. Both of her eyes were blackened, her bottom lip donned three stitches , bruises and scrapes dotted all of her visible skin, and her right arm was in a sling.

Gerry just stared speechless for a moment before whispering. "That's bullshit..." He stood then balling his hands into fists. "That's bullshit!" He shouted. "I can't even count how many times they kicked the shit out of me and they get you once- boom- banished. What the fuck is that?!"

Al narrowed her eyes on him. "They got caught with me and I had no problem telling the entire town exactly what they had done."

"Why couldn't you do that for me?" He demanded.

"I offered to. Several times. You made me promise not to tell! Why are you mad at me anyway?!"

"You got me in trouble! Then as soon as I get back I walk in on this?!You acting like this is somehow my fault that you finally got your ass kicked! You don't even try to act normal! You attack people, you dress weird, and you constantly shoot your stupid mouth off! My mom was right you're a bad influence, I don't need to hang around a little whore like you."

Al blinked. "Your mom called me a whore?"

Gerry shrugged. "Harlot, same difference. It's fucking true. You were just bragging about licking all over strange girls at camp that you don't give a shit about."

"You and your mom can both choke on your own vomit." She stood then. "You think you're better than me Gerald?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on Al, don't act like you didn't know you were trash, you were always just the least horrible trash to hang out with in this hell hole town."

Al stared up at him hard, her eye twitched. "I'm sorry I wasted my time." She hooked her foot behind his ankle yanking it out from under him.

Gerry toppled over backwards just barely managing to catch himself from plummeting through the hole in the floor. He clawed desperately at the wooden planks to pull himself up. "What the fuck Al! Help me up!"

Al glared down at him. "I've never broken a promise before, but you're a terrible friend. Only my friends are allowed up here. You should forget you ever saw this tree house, if you ever come back here I will make you forget."

"Al, Al, I'm sorry-" He struggled to somehow right himself as she hoisted her book on to her shoulder with great difficultly.

She staggered back over with the huge tome. "And you know what Gerry, you can just fix your own goddamned problems!" She shouted slinging the book down on to his stomach.

The blow knocked the air from his lungs and he lost his grip. He smashed into the dirt several feet below with a heavy thud. He curled up into a ball gasping for breath. Al took the opportunity to slam the hatch shut and shove the chest atop it.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Gerry shouted up at her. "You are fucking insane! You could have killed me!" He picked himself up slowly. "Well, fuck you too. I don't need you! I've got other friends!"

"Good! Go be their problem!" Al screamed back.

He huffed and brushed his clothes off. Al watched from the small window as he left the woods. She gave him a long head start before she too went back into town.

Peirce was waiting by the front door when she came in. He didn't say a word, just held the door for her. He waited until the door was closed to speak. "The council finalized everything at the meeting today. They're sending a healer over in the morning and we can put this whole messy business behind us."

She just gave a nod.

Her stepfather sighed and rested his meaty hand on her shoulder. "Well, we both know things won't be exactly the same. People are going to treat you differently now, but that's on them. You understand?"

"I really don't care what people think." She muttered.

"You've been very brave this week. I think it's time I gave you this." He led her toward the master bedroom. She waited awkwardly in the doorway as he rummaged around the cluttered room. He stood at last producing a short staff, her mother's. "Here, take it. I know she wanted you to have it one day. It won't do a talent like yours much good, but you could always whack someone with it."

Al smiled sadly taking the staff into her hands. Even after years in the liquor filled room it still had the faint smell of her mother's perfume and of countless herbs. Before falling ill, she had used it to infuse potions. Al had never been any good at it, her talents likely came from her father, whoever he was. She thanked Peirce for the gift and retreated to her room.

It would be over a month before she would hear from Gerry again.

Al stared sleepy eyed at the caller ID. It was lucky Peirce was at the bar, he wouldn't take kindly to Gerry calling after midnight. Al rolled away at first, but the ringing persisted. She groaned and snatched up the phone.

"What is it Gerry?" She frowned at the unintelligible sobbing on the other end of the line. She did catch 'Kenzie'. "Gerry, the thing about not being my friend is that you don't get to cry on my shoulder when your girlfriend dumps you-" She strained to understand his reply. "What did you do Gerry?" She squeezed her eyes shut. "How bad is it? Do I need to call 911?" She rested her forehead in her hand. "No one is going to lock you up, I don't care what your mom said-" She shook her head. "I can take the car, but that's still a long drive- will you be okay? Just apply pressure, okay. I'm on my way. Don't do anything else stupid."

She hopped out of bed and jerked the book out of its hiding place under the bed. "I guess I'm glad I didn't burn you after all." She whispered.