I woke up and instantly looked around, not recognizing the room. Then I remembered I was at Matt's. Everything that happened the last time I was awake flooded into my mind. I ran my hands through my hair as I started listening to the conversation going on in the living room. The blood that was running through my veins froze as I caught onto the subject of the discussion.

"Are you sure she's okay," Matt said, sounding uncertain.

"Yes, she's perfectly fine," Brian assured. Matt was suspicious about my home life with Brian. But why?

"What she was saying in her sleep doesn't confirm that..." My heart rate increased. We're done. He knows. I know he knows. Brian knows he knows.

"You know her imagination, Shads. It was probably just her subconscious-"

"Syn," Matt said, cutting him off. "She kept begging 'please, Brian, don't' as if she was crying. You need to tell me why that would even be in her head." I hear sounds of the couch creaking before anyone says anything else.

"Ever since it happened, she's been afraid of everyone. I really don't know why." What a liar...

"Haven't you asked her about it?"

"Of course I have. She doesn't tell me anything." Because you know what's wrong with me.

"Maybe she should go see someone." Silence for a few seconds.

"What do you mean," Brian asked cautiously.

"I mean a therapist. It isn't healthy, especially not for someone her age."

"No, she's not crazy, I'm not taking her." Creaking on the couch again.

"Don't go wake her up-" Brian took on a more menacing tone.

"Then she better never learn about this conversation. The last thing I need is her thinking we think she's nuts." Footsteps. Door pulled open. Slammed shut. Matt sighed. Footsteps echoed through the hall and I lay back down. I acted like I was sleeping so he would have no idea I heard anything. He walked in and sat down on the bed.

"Courtney, I know you're up," he said tiredly. I didn't do anything. "I saw you. Through the mirror on the hallway wall. Your brother really screwed everything up for you." I sat back up slowly and looked at him.

"What do you mean," I questioned quietly.

"By him getting all defensive, I know he was lying." Oh. Shit. He continued. "You need to tell me the truth. What's been going on between you and Brian since your parents died." He made it sound like more of a statement or demand instead of a question. He was seriously freaked that something was going on.

"Nothing." Lucky for me, I lie perfectly.

"Are you sure?" I nodded. "You would tell me if he was hurting you in any way, right?" I nodded again so he let out a long breath and smiled. "Well then. I guess I should've believed you after last night." He got up, but my voice stopped him when he was at the door.

"What," I asked. "What happened last night?" He looked back at me.

"After seeing you leave your house without saying a word to Syn, I was suspicious. Last night, I put my arms around you as a test. If you tensed up, I would have known something was wrong. But you relaxed and you were fine." The lightbulb in my head clicked on. Everything made so much more sense now. He must've seen the look of understanding that covered my face. He smiled a little more. "Are you probably just gonna try to get some more sleep? You look really tired." I smiled and nodded, so he walked back out to the living area. I heard something vibrate and looked at the nightstand. Matt's cell phone. I looked out to where he was. He didn't hear it. I picked it up and pressed the OK button. It lit up and showed the '1 New Text Message' screen. I pressed OK again and it showed a text from Brian.

Is she up?

I bit my lip and looked down the hallway again. No sign of Matt. I started texting back.

No.

I sent it and put the phone on silent so he wouldn't hear it. I hid it under the blanket so he wouldn't see it, but I would be able to see if it lit up. I lay down and waited for a response. A minute went by before the screen brightened again. I brought it a little closer so I could read it, but kept it under the quilt.

So she doesn't know?

I rolled my eyes. Always so paranoid.

Nope.

I sent it and waited again. This time he replied instantly.

Good. Better stay that way.

Damn, was he being hostile...

K.

I waited again, but after twenty minutes, he didn't say anything back. I figured he didn't have anything else to say. I set the phone back on the nightstand and closed my eyes. Maybe I could really go back to sleep...

***

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" I jolted up, my heart racing. Yelling. Someone was yelling. Oh no. I turned my attention to the table. The phone was gone.

"I did not text you," Matt yelled. They were silent for a couple seconds before someone walked down the hall to the room. He stood in the doorframe, looking at me with an undescribable expression.

"Courtney, could you come out here for a second," he asked quietly. Before I knew it, my head was shaking "no" really fast. I was nervous. I was scared. There was no way I was going to face Brian. He nodded and walked back to where Brian was.

"I'll talk to her," Matt said. "You go home, and we'll talk." Heavy footsteps echoed closer and closer to the room. "Brian, don't-" The thuds stopped.

"I need to talk to my sister alone, Matt." Nothing else was said as Brian walked to the room. He saw me and glared. If looks could kill...

"Courtney," he whispered as he made his way to the bed. He sat down in front of me and the smell of Axe came on strong. He knew I loved Axe. He saw me inhale as deep as I could without it being too obvious. He smirked a little. "Did you use Matt's phone to text me?" I couldn't lie to him. I nodded. "So you heard my conversation with him earlier?" I shook my head. I flinched as he placed his hand on my waist and it slowly made it's way to my back. Brian stared at me and I couldn't do anything but stare back. He leaned forward and kissed me, and I had to kiss back. I yearned for his kiss, his touch, everything. He pulled away only seconds later and I was sure he saw the disappointment plain on my face.

"Come home whenever you want, okay," he murmured, pushing my hair back. I nodded and he kissed me one more time before leaving. As soon as he muttered a goodbye to Matt and the door shut, more footsteps came toward the room. Matt leaned against the wall and stared at me.

"You lied to me," he said.

"No I didn't," I said, sounding completely honest.

"What did I say to you earlier?" I shrugged. He jerked his head backward so I looked behind him and saw what he was talking about. What he said only a few hours ago enters my mind.

"I saw you. Through the mirror on the hallway wall."