I can't even respond. I'm embarrassed, but more than that, I'm afraid; not afraid of him, just afraid of finding out something I don't want to know about him; something he's hiding from me. But can I tell him that?

"You don't trust me, do you," he says, searching my eyes.

I don't know how to respond. Do I trust him? I don't think I know the answer to that question myself. I've been struggling to figure it out since the day we met each other.

I open my mouth to speak, but the knot forming in my throat prevents the words from coming out.

"You don't have to answer, I know you don't trust me. I know you're worried about leaving your grandmother behind with me."

I squeeze my eyes shut, letting a few tears escape.

"I'm guessing you saw the money, which I told you I stole. I didn't hide anything from you. I can understand why you'd have doubts about me. I know I'm not the most dependable person. I've ran away enough times for you to know that. But I'm here to stay this time, Sessy. I'm going to take care of your grandmother while you're gone. I promise, I won't let anything happen to her. And...I promise you, you can trust me. Ask me anything. I won't hide anything from you."

"Where did you get all that money?" I ask him with a shaky voice. "Who did you steal it from?"

He presses his lips together in a thin, straight line. He doesn't look angry, but I suddenly feel like he's a ticking time bomb.

I can't leave my grandmother in the hands of someone who could potentially have a target on his back. What if the people he stole from come for revenge? My grandmother could be caught in the crosshairs.

I can't leave my only family in the hands of an unstable person who may or may not have enemies out there looking for the ten grand he's carrying around in his duffel bag.

He sighs heavily and sits on the bed, burying his face in his hands. I'm just about to sit next to him when I notice him trembling.

"Tyler, I'm sorry I went through your bag," I finally say. "But you're right, I have doubts. My grandmother is all I have and I don't want to leave her here with you if she could be in danger."

"She's not in danger," he says quickly, looking up at me. "The people I stole the money from don't even care that it's missing. They didn't even report it."

"What? Why not? That's...a lot of money..."

"Not to them. It was only pocket change to them. They won't come after me because coming after me will mean the world will know their dirty little secret."

I blink a couple of times, starting to put it all together. "You stole it from your siblings....after your father died..."

He looks surprised that I caught on so quickly, but then he nods. "After he died, I felt like he owed me for the hell I lived through while he was living on easy street. His other children went to private schools and wore shoes that costed more than everything I've ever owned combined. When I took it, they didn't even try to stop me. They were just grateful I didn't expose their father's scandal. They will be taking over the family business soon and news of their father's affair with a prostitute, that resulted in a bastard child, would've ruined his profitable name."

I sit next to him, taking his hand into mine and lacing our fingers together. "I'm so sorry. I feel so bad for snooping."

"Don't. I should've told you all this a long time ago. No one will come after me. They don't even know where I am. They just want to make sure I keep my mouth shut. I just...I just don't want you to think of me as a thief and a murderer. I know it sounds that way, and I guess really, it is...exactly that way. But... it's not like I planned on doing what I did. It was all a string of irrational decisions I made when I was in a destructive state of mind. I would never do anything like that again. I would never jeopardize my relationship with you, for any reason. And that's why you can trust me."

He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me to his chest. "When I say you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, I'm not just saying it because I fell in love with you. You really are the best thing that's ever happened to me. You changed my life. I'll never be the person I used to be because of you. Do you really think I'd do anything to mess that up?"

"I'm sorry," I cry, not able to get another word out through my tears.

"Shhh," he whispers, taking my chin and lifting my face so our eyes meet. "You don't have to apologize to me. I was hiding something from you that I should've been honest about. But now you know everything, Cecily. There's no more secrets."

I nod, accepting his words as truth and forcing myself to let go of all the questions and doubts that plagued me before.

______________________

"Good morning, Cecily. Thank you for coming," Dr. Sturgis says when I enter her office.

"No problem," I smile, taking a seat in front of her desk; which is a mess right now. I've never seen her so unorganized.

I watch her shuffle a few papers around and stuff some files into a drawer before she turns her attention to me.

"I'm sorry for calling you on such short notice. I know you have a lot going on right now."

"It's fine. You know I'm always happy to help," I reply.

"Classes resume next Monday and as you know, I'm only working part time at the university. My wife needs me at home and I'm just not able to juggle my home life and work life the way I thought I could."

"How is the baby, by the way?" I ask.

"Oh, he's growing like a weed," she grins, taking out her phone. She turns it towards me and I smile when I see the picture of Dr. Sturgis, her wife, Melissa, and their beautiful baby boy, Bruce.

"Aww! Such a beautiful family!"

"Thank you," she chuckles. "Melissa and I are still navigating our way through parenting, and it's a day by day process."

"I can imagine," I reply, discreetly checking my watch. I'm supposed to be meeting Tyler for dinner soon, so I'm hoping to get this meeting over with as quickly as possible.

"The reason I've asked you to meet with me is because I'm looking for someone to take over the support group this year," she finally says.

"Oh. Well, I'm moving to Baltimore tomorrow, so..."

"Yes, of course. While I would love for it to be you who takes over, I know you won't be around, so I wanted to get your opinion on a possible candidate."

"Okay..."

"You seem close with Tyler Battle," she starts, and just the mention of his name makes my heart leap.

I nod, not sure where she's going with this.

"The others have told me that he's working for Child Services, but they were really hoping he would take over for me since you will be leaving," she goes on.

"Oh...that's great..."

"So I need your honest opinion about him. Anything you say stays between us."

She gives me a look as if she expects me to tell her he's no good; that he could never lead a group of people who are probably nowhere near as broken as he is.

"Tyler is truly the best person for the job," I reply honestly. "He can relate to them, which is exactly what they want, and what they need. He's a caring, selfless person who always thinks of others first."

She looks puzzled, though she quickly recovers and forces a small smile. "Okay. And do you think he's...trustworthy?"

I blink a couple of times, caught off guard by her question. I've been struggling to figure that out myself lately, but I've come to the conclusion that he is trustworthy. He finally has love and support in his life, something he felt he had always been missing. Now that he has that, he can be that for others too.

"Yes, he's trustworthy," I reply. "I'm leaving my grandmother in his care while I'm in Baltimore, so I can vouch for him. Have you...offered him the job yet?"

"No, not yet. I've just spoken with Walker and Oakley, who both seem to think he's the right person for the job."

"I agree. He's definitely the right person for the job. But...do you mind if I talk to him first before you offer it to him? I just want to make sure he'll be able to commit. Between work and my grandmother, he's going to be stretched pretty thin."

"Well, I certainly don't want to overwhelm him. It would just be one night a week for an hour or so, but I will understand if he can't make it work. I know what it's like to have too much on your plate."

"Does he know he's being considered for the job?" I ask her.

She presses her thin pink lips together and shakes her head. "Not yet. I don't really know much about him and before I made any kind of offer, I wanted to get an outside opinion. He's new to the area, right?"

"He just moved here a few months ago."

"Well, the group seems to love him. They say he's a nice guy and he's always smiling. He never really spoke much in our meetings, so I never got to know him like I wanted to."

I smile, happy to hear something like that when I know what Tyler has been through. "He's definitely a charmer. But he's also compassionate and kind. He'd be great for something like this, if he has the time to take it on."

"So you're leaving for Baltimore tomorrow?" she asks, stuffing some files into her briefcase.

"Yes ma'am," I reply. "My fight leaves tomorrow night."

"If you need any glowing recommendations while you're there, please let me know. I'd be happy to give you one. You're one of the brightest students I've ever had the pleasure of teaching, and I know you have a wonderful future ahead of you," she smiles.

"Thank you, Dr. Sturgis. That really means a lot."

After I leave her office, I call Tyler up on my way out to my car. We're supposed to be meeting soon for dinner and we still haven't decided on a place yet.

"Hey baby," he answers.

"Hey, where are you?" I ask him.

"Just leaving work. I was just about to call you. Where do you want to eat for your last night in the Big Easy?"

Wow. I haven't even considered that this will the last time I will be able to get my hands on authentic Cajun cuisine for at least a few months.

"You know what? I think I want Dejavu. For old times sake."

"Then Dejavu it is. Want me to come pick you up?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving Dr. Sturgis' office now."

"Dr. Sturgis? What did you go see her for?" he asks.

"Um, she was asking me about a possible candidate to take over the support group."

I pause when a young woman carrying a baby seems to keep following me at ever turn. When she stops when I stop, I look at her and raise a brow.

"Can I help you?" I ask her.

"What?" Tyler asks.

"Hold on," I tell him, muting the call.

"Are you Cecily Martin?" she asks.

"Um...yes?"

"I was told you could help me locate Tyler Battle," she says, making my heart drop.

But then I remember Tyler is a social worker and this could be one of the people he's worked with.

"Can I ask why?" I ask, just to make sure.

"This is why," she says, nodding to her blue eyed baby boy. "He got me pregnant a couple of years ago and just bailed on us."

I swallow hard.

He got her pregnant a couple of years ago, but he swore to me he was a virgin. Now I feel stupid for ever believing that. He lied to me. And if he lied to me about something like that, I know he would lie to me about his past.

And I was about to leave my grandmother with him.

I study the baby closely, but I don't see any resemblance to Tyler. He looks just like his mother- blonde hair, blue eyes and a dimple on his chin.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you," I say, hurrying to my car.

"Please!" she calls out to me. "We're desperate! I came all the way here from Colorado because I really need some help."

I stop, forcing back the tears I feel coming. I have to get over my feelings and do the right thing, no matter how hard it is to do.

I turn around and take a deep breath. "Tyler should be here soon."

She furrows her brows in confusion, but I don't give her a chance to ask questions. I hurry to my car and get in as fast as I can. Not giving myself time to talk myself out of it, I drive away in tears.

I can't make sense of any of this. Has he been a really good liar all this time? Did he play on my sympathies just to use me? And why was he so eager to get me to Baltimore?

So many questions...so many conflicting emotions.