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I was the first to wake up from our nap, thanks to my cell phone vibrating on the floor beside me. With my arm that wasn’t under Morgan’s head, I reached around for it. Wrapping my fingers around it, I flipped it open. I held it up to my ear without having looked at the number.

“Hello?” I half groaned into the phone.

“Bay…Bay…”

“Mason? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” I was fully awake now. I could hear him sobbing heavily on the other end.

“Dad…he…and mom…a gun…and…the lawyer…Nick…”

“Whoa, Mase, calm down and tell me what’s wrong. You aren’t making any sense.” The word ‘gun’ had me panicking, but I couldn’t let him know that.

“This guy…he came to the house…and he asked dad for his money…something about crack and meth…I don’t know…then dad said he…he…he didn’t have the money,” Mason stuttered through his explanation as a new wave of hysterical crying took over him. “The guy shot moooooooooom.”

“Is this Mr. Nick Carter?” a deep voice boomed into my ear.

“No. This is Baylee, Mason’s cousin.”

“I need Mr. Carter to meet me at Mercy Hospital as soon as possible.”

“We’ll be there right away, sir,” I assured him before hanging up the phone. A single tear streaked down my cheek. I knew, pretty much, exactly how Mason was feeling. I just hoped Aunt Kristin was going to be okay.

“Baylee?” Morgan’s soft voice shook me back to reality. “Are you okay?”

“No.” I answered her quickly before getting up. “Nick. Wake up.” I came to his side and tapped his shoulder.

“Mmmm. Go away.” He shifted slightly, waving his hand at me.

“NO NICK WAKE UP,” I shouted and shook his shoulder with urgency.

“Uh, what is it Bay?”

“Mason just called. Aunt Kristin is in the hospital.” His eyes flew open as he sat straight up, causing Howie, who was leaning on him, to fall over and wake up, too.

“What? What happened?” I could see the panic rising in his face, as well. At least, I wasn’t the only one, now, who was going into full panic mode.

“I’m not really sure, Mason wasn’t making much sense but, evidently, some guy came to collect money from Uncle Kevin for crack and meth. Kevin said he didn’t have the money and the guy shot Aunt Kristin. Some guy, I think it’s their lawyer, needs you to go to the hospital right away,” I explained as thoroughly as I could.

“O my gosh,” Morgan clasped a hand over her mouth and looked at me with concern in her eyes. She came up to my side and gave me a half hug.

“Let’s go.” Nick ordered, rising to his feet and grabbing his keys from the coffee table.

“Do you want me to come, Baylee?” Morgan’s voice was soft and gentle. I know she wanted to be there, to be my strength. She can always tell when I am about to loose it.

“Would you?” I asked quietly, looking down at her. She grabbed my hand and walked with me, behind Nick, to his car. We all climbed in and started the journey to the hospital. The ride was silent. I sat shotgun, by Nick and Morgan sat behind me, rubbing on my shoulders. Anytime I am stressed or upset, she automatically does that…rubs my shoulders. I’m not sure if it’s to relieve tension or to, just, let me know that she’s there; either way, it always feels good and comforting.

“Call Mason’s cell and find out where we have to meet them,” Nick instructed as we turned down the street where the hospital was located.

“Ok,” I nodded and pulled my cell back out. “Mason? Hey, where do we have to meet you? We’re almost there. Yeah…uhuh…okay. See you in a few.” I snapped the phone shut and turned back to Nick, “They are going to meet us in the lobby.”

“Okay,” he sighed heavily as he pulled into the parking lot. It took a few minutes to find a parking space but once we did, we quickly exited the car.

“Should you call your mom and let her know that you might be late?” I held out my phone to Morgan who slowly took it from me.

“I guess, I should,” she nodded and held the phone up to her ear. Just as we reached the front doors, she handed it back and told me that her mother gave her permission to stay as long as she was needed.

“BAYLEE!” Mason cried, running towards me, as we walked into the lobby. He flung himself into my arms, which I wrapped tightly around him. This was hitting a little too close to home. Mason is only a year older than what I was when I lost my parents. It was a bit different because his father isn’t dead but he was lost to drugs and his mom is…well…it’s just different.

“You okay, Mase?”

“They don’t think mom’s gonna make it, Bay! And, they took dad away, to jail.”

“Everything’s going to be okay. You will be alright, I promise,” I assured him as I rubbed his back, not breaking the death grip, of a hug, that he held on me.

“How did you do it, Baylee? I’m so scared. This is all, my dad’s fault!” he whimpered into my shoulder. I was fighting back my own tears as Morgan stood a few feet away to allow us some room.

“I want to talk to Kristin before I sign anything!” I heard Nick’s voice shouting across the lobby. The other guy must have given in because Nick turned and gave me the ‘stay here’ signal. I nodded my understanding, before he turned and walked away with the other guy. Breaking the hug with Mason, I led him over to some of the chairs. Morgan had wandered into the gift shop, no doubt, to find a comforting gift for Mason.

“How long did it take before you got used to not having Uncle Brian and Aunt Leighanne?”

“I still haven’t gotten used to it, Mason. That’s not really something that you can get used to. You keep expecting to wake up and find that it was all a dream. You look at the door, expecting them to walk through it, but they never do. It’s a sucky thing to deal with, I won’t lie.”

“You’re supposed to be making me feel better!” He wailed as tears started streaming down his face again.

“By what? Lying to you? Come on, Mason, you know I won’t do that. But, I can be here for you to help you deal with it. There’s nothing that will take away the pain or make it all better, you know that’s not how it works.”

“I know. I just wish…” he sighed. Morgan reappeared in front of us. Her hair was all matted again because she fell asleep with her hair wet. It almost made me want to snicker, because it was almost cute, in a way. She held out a small book, to Mason.

“It’s a book about friendship,” she spoke softly as she kneeled in front of my cousin. “Friendship can help you through just about anything. You have already got Baylee, and I can be a friend too, if you want me to be. Having Baylee to lean on, has gotten me through a lot and we can help you through this, Mason, if you let us.”

“She’s right, Mase. I met Morgan, less than, a year after my mom and dad died, and I was still a complete wreck over it. You wouldn’t believe, even as new friends, how much she helped me cope. She has helped me through all the crap with Nick and stuff, too. It’s going to be rough, but we’ll help you deal. After all, we both can relate, to you, on some level. Morgan hadn’t seen her dad since she was like, what? Five?”

“Yeah. My parents got divorced and he left without saying ‘goodbye’.”

“Then, last summer, she found out that he died from a heart attack. We know how it feels, Mase.”

“Thanks guys. I would like to have you as a friend, Morgan. I know that Bay thinks a lot of you and you’re his best friend, so I know we’d get along, too.”

“Well that’s good to hear,” Nick’s voice startled us. “Mason, you’re coming home with us.”

“What?” the three of us said in unison, looking up to Nick.

“Because of the charges against your father, your mom has full legal rights. She had the lawyer draw up papers to make me a temporary guardian until she gets better. If, God forbid, she doesn’t pull through, then you will be permanently living with us,” Nick explained slowly and gently. He kneeled down in front of Mason and continued, “I know this is a lot to take in, Mason, but you can’t go back with your dad. He is in a lot of trouble and he needs help. Until he gets that help, you aren’t safe with him, okay?”

“Okay,” Mason sniffled as he kept his eyes locked with Nick’s. “When is dad going to get help?”

“I don’t know, Mason. He has to want that help. Just like you heard about Uncle AJ…he had to want to get better. If your dad doesn’t want it…well…he won’t get better.”

“Why didn’t mom send me to live with Grandma or something?”

“Your mom is afraid that they would let you go back to your dad, if he got out of jail. They don’t know that your dad has a problem…none of your family does, at least, not yet. For some reason, your mom thinks you are safest with me and Baylee. I asked her all those questions, too, but she insists, that this is what she wants, and she already signed all the papers, so…” Nick trailed off with a shrug.

Morgan sat next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder, as she waited with me, while Nick took Mason up to talk to his mom. Morgan and I had been sitting in silence for 15 minutes so far. I fidgeted with my fingers and was sure that Morgan had dozed back off, until her voice broke my thoughts.

“Baylee?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m proud of you,” she sat up and smiled at me.

“Why?” I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, ad I met her gaze. She looked down at her hands for a moment before looking into my eyes again.

“You handled things, with Mason, really well. I know that it’s killing you inside, but you are standing strong for him and that’s what he needs. You’re amazing with him,” she had looked away from me and was now staring at the floor.

“I don’t feel very strong.” I let out a long sigh. Every ounce of me just wanted to break down and cry.

“Well, you are. And later, when we get back to your house, we can lock ourselves in your room so you can just break down and cry. My shoulder doesn’t have any other plans for the night, so it’s all yours.” Okay…that was weird…she just, totally, read my mind! I should be used to it, by now, because she does it fairly often.

“Thanks, Morgs.”

“Never a problem, Bay,” she smiled sweetly and squeezed my hand. Just at that moment, we saw Nick and Mason step off the elevator. Mason’s cheeks were tear stained as they slowly walked towards us. Mason looked like the world just came to an end and my worst fears were confirmed when Nick, without lifting his head said…

“She’s gone.”