"Why?"

Red was getting more and more curious. She knew the girl had been through hell, but . . .

“Don't tell me no one had given you a gift before?!?" ‘I guess it is a gift after all,' she thought.

With little warning, Jane was on her feet, her arms and hair braids wrapped around Red as the younger girl gave a hug that drove the air from her lungs. And Jane was crying again. Red had no idea what to do, so she just held the quivering girl in her arms and let her cry on her shoulder. Red and Talia locked eyes, and Red gave a ‘What the hell should I do?' look. Talia just shrugged, which earned her a helpless stare.

Talia figured it was time to say something.

“Jane, we look after our own down here. We won't let anyone hurt you a0

“I... I've heard that . . . buh . . . before," Jane sniffled.

“It's what people say right before they . . . they . . . do something bad to you."

Red was out of her element, but she wasn't without feelings. She held Jane gently and actually kissed the girl on the top of the head.

She wasn't sure why. She also wasn't sure why Jane had decided to cling to her of all people. After all, Talia had definitely been nicer to her.

Talia felt a little warm inside as she watched Red act with tenderness. ‘You make people feel safe,' she thought of her old friend. ‘Jane needs that.' Then out loud, "Jane, you and I have already talked about this, but you need to talk to the others. You can't let this eat you up inside."

Jane just stood there for a moment, then finally began to release Red from her grip. Talia was reading Red's face, and didn't think the woman necessarily wanted to be released. Then Jane sat down next to Red's feet.

"What . . . what do you want me to do?" she asked, looking first at Talia then up at Red.

The red-haired beauty sat down next to her young friend.

"Tell us everything . . . from the beginning."

“Start with something decent," Talia suggested.

“Tell us about your father."

Talia and Red had known a bit what to expect, though Red was hearing it straight from the horse's mouth for the first time. The rest of the small crew was able to feel disgust and outrage for the first time. But Talia noticed that the words got easier for Jane as she talked and she was able to meet her friends' gazes more often. From being molested by her stepfather through the Hollywood scouts, pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage, the porn movie, the used car salesman and the decrepit landlord, those few anxious listeners bit their tongues. And the entire time, Jane stayed close to Red.

Jane was emotionally exhausted after related her story, and she allowed Red to help her back to her temporary sleeping quarters. The rest of the group stayed behind, talking carefully for a while about what they had learned.

"That explains a lot," Arthur said.

"I wish you'd told me," he said to Talia.

"I couldn't. I figured it would be better if she told people. Only Red and I knew, and I had to tell Red so she wouldn't push Jane too hard."

"I know, but I still wish you'd told me," he said, standing to his feet and helping Mindy to hers.

“It's frustrating. I can heal the body, but the mind is still a mystery to me."