A phone is ringing in the distance, slowly making its way into my unconscious mind. The ringing stops.

Slowly I wake up, immediately feeling how stiff I am from having spent the night on the floor. Damn. Not the best idea. The phone starts again and I sit up, remembering the day before.

I frown. I fucked up. I shouldn't have lashed out at him just because he guessed some of what had happened to me. Just because he's trying to help me.

The ringing starts again and I slowly get up and make my way downstairs to find my phone. I see it on the counter, my heart dropping when I see Luke's name on the screen.

Should I answer? No. It would be best for the both of us if I just leave it alone. He didn't deserved to be talked to that way and I don't deserve someone like him in my life.

I silence my phone, and decide on a shower. I grab some clothes and head to the bathroom in my parents room. Turning the water on as high as it goes, it burns my skin as I get in. I quickly wash my hair and myself.

Not ready to face the world yet I slowly set down in the shower, letting the water wash over me. He was right about one thing, though. I truly have nobody here. Eva is at uni and I would never want to weigh her down with what I've got going on here.

The loneliness that has slowly been creeping up on me is finally settling in. I'm truly realizing how alone I am, and I just managed to push away the only person who was reaching out to me. Great. Just add that to the list of my fuck ups.

A loud bang downstairs makes me jolt up, my heart thumping.

"Manny?" The yell comes from just outside the door, so loud that it startles me enough I lose my footing, falling head first towards the faucet.

"Fuck!"

The door swings open, "Manny?"

I lean up, clutching my head. Frantically making sure the curtain is still closed. I know that voice. "Mr. Richards?"

"Manny? Are you okay? I heard a thump!"

Oh god, why is he here?! I'm naked, for Christ's sake! "Mr. Richards? What are you doing here?"

I hear him sigh. "Finish up your shower, we'll talk when you get out." The door closes behind him.

I let out a breath of relief and try to ignore the headache that is now trying to make itself known.

I turn the water off and open the curtain. I see a towel laid on the sink, knowing I didn't do that before I got in.

I smile a little, before realizing that I don't have any clothes in here. And the last thing I want to do is go out there with Luke and have no clothes on. My face immediately reddens at the thought.

I jump at the knock at the door. "Manny? Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I wince at the squeak in my voice. "I just, uh, don't have any clothes in here,"

I think I hear a faint chuckle. "That's what the towel is for. I didn't see any clothes in there but I didn't know where you kept yours. Is the towel not enough?"

Panicking, I realize I'm just gonna have to man up. "Yeah, yeah," I agree as I wrap the towel around my waist. "It's okay.    I'm—oh god!" I yell as I look in the mirror and see the red streak running down the side of my face.

"Manny?" The voice is suddenly much closer to the door. "What's wrong?" He gives me about two seconds before he throws open the door. I immediately forget about the wound and clutch my towel tighter around me. "Jesus Manny! What happened?"

"I just, uh, I just need some clothes," I stammer as I try to walk past him. His arm shoots out in front of me, blocking my way.

"No. Hop on the counter, I'm going to clean that up for you." After studying the stern look on his face, I decide to not argue and manage to carefully maneuver myself on the counter without flashing him my man bits.

He starts rummaging through the cabinet behind him and pulls out a small first aide kit. "What happened?"

My blush deepens, embarrassed by my clumsiness. "I, um, well you startled me when you yelled so close. I didn't know anybody was here. And so I slipped and hit my head on the faucet."

He frowns. "That was going to be my next question. Why don't you lock your doors?"

I shrugged, "It never crossed my mind last night."

His frown deepens. "That's going to change. Next question, where did you sleep last night? None of the rooms have a bed put together besides this one, and it's still made up."

Oh god. If he knows I laid on the floor and wallowed all night he's gonna think I'm some huge baby. "Well I actually couldn't sleep, so, um, I just sat around all night."

His eyes dart to the towel in the floor, bunched up. I must've unconsciously grabbed it in my sleep. "Hmm." He says nothing else and we sit in silence as he cleans my face. I wince as he dabs the cut with alcohol. He leans back, studying my face. He eventually seems satisfied and begins to put away the kit. I go to hop down, but he places a hand on my knee, holding it in place.

He turns back to face me fully again. "I don't appreciate being lied to, Manny. Now tell me, did you sleep on the floor here?"

I sigh, my shoulders dropping. "Yes."

"Manny..."

I jerk back from the pity in his voice. I push him back and jump down, stomping towards my room.

"Manny! Where are you going?"

I slam the door in his face and lock it. "I'm changing!" I'm fuming by this point, angry that he thinks I want his pity. I jump at the sudden banging on the door.

"Manny. Open the door. We need to talk."

I scramble around to find some clean clothes, growing nervous at his tone. Swallowing, I decide to answer. "No. I think you should go. We said everything we needed to yesterday. I've got a lot going on and I really need to get working on it. So if you don't mind..."

"I do. Now open."

Bracing myself, I decide to bite the bullet. Opening the door, I meet his eyes as he stares at me. "What?"

He narrows his eyes. "Let's go for a drive and get lunch, assuming you haven't eaten yet."

His words cause me to realize that I hadn't ate anything since the day before yesterday. "Uh, no, I haven't." I look around for some shoes, grabbing them and slipping them on as I head for the stairs. I hear him close behind, but then stop as I open the front door. I turn toward him, "You coming?"

"As soon as you grab a jacket. It's chilly out there."

I roll my eyes and head to the hallway closet. I pick the thinnest one and put it on as I walk back to the door, where he is now standing and waiting. "Happy?"

He ignores me and starts toward his truck. "Lock the door behind by you."

"Yes dad," I mumble under my breath. Turning the lock over I follow him to his truck, rolling my eyes again when I see him standing in front of the truck, waiting to see if I needed help to get in. Managing to pull myself into the seat, he gets in after and starts the truck.

"Where do you want to go for lunch?"

"Anywhere is fine. I haven't really been around town since I've been back. Too busy trying to get everything cleaned up."

"Alright. How about Sal's diner on 34th?"

"That place is still open?"

"Of course, it's a staple here in town. Still stays pretty busy."

"That's surprising."  He doesn't answer and we fall into a semi-uncomfortable silence. The tension from yesterday's fight still hanging in the air. I fidget in my seat, not knowing what to say.

"Listen Manny, let me start off by apologizing to you for what I said. I should have never-"

"No no no no, let me say sorry. You have nothing to apologize for. I was the one who got mean, and I'm sorry for what I said, I shouldn't have-"

"Manny, you don't have to.."

"No. I need to say this. You've been nothing but kind to me and I should have never said that. You are the one person around here that has been nice to me since what happened and I say thank you by lashing out and trying to hurt you. I.. I.." I take a deep breath. "I think I need some help. You were right, I did sleep on the floor last night, and it was because after you left I felt so alone. And I had no reason to, it was nothing major. I should have been able to deal with it and carry on like a normal person would. But instead I felt like my world was ending." I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat and make myself continue. "I had some issues in high school, mostly because of my parents and how they treated me once I came out. I thought all that was behind me but I don't think I'm processing their death well. I don't know how to feel, how I should feel, or how I want to feel and it's frustrating as hell." I breathe deeply, glad to finally get this off my chest.

I look over and he is studying me, compression so prevalent in his gaze it almost makes me tear up. If only because it's not pity I see there.

"Do you feel better now? Now that you've open up a bit about it?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Bottling this shit up isn't good for you Manny. Anything you feel towards them is valid and reasonable and there is not textbook way to handle your childhood or their death. But you gotta talk, at least go me or Eva. So that you're letting it out."

Deciding to keep confiding in him, I continue. "I, uh, actually used to have a therapist, Dr. Matthews. We talked until a little bit after I moved away. He helped some. I've thought about calling him."

"I think that's a good idea." He pauses, seeing how draining this conversation has been for me. "Ready to go eat?"

I finally notice we're parked in the diner parking lot. And my stomach makes itself known with a loud grumble.

"Well that's a yes if I've ever heard one. Let's go get some grub!"