Jimmy glared at each family member, his hand perched protectively on Lisa's shoulder until Brian Sr sighed and glanced over at his two other children. Their faces were almost emotionless, yet he could see Brian was holding Lizzy's hand tightly in his. Tyler was nowhere to be found, and Jimmy could guess that Lacey had taken him off with Brian Sr's new girlfriend to go find some ice cream or play in the garden while the grown up's sorted out this whole mess they'd suddenly become involved in.

"Tell me the truth. Tell how I got here" Lisa demanded quietly, and for the first time since she'd walked down, Lizzy looked at her. She was surprised how much of Lizzy she saw in herself. They had the same colour eyes, though that really ran through the family, and the same shape of face.

Their personalities were not so different ether- both were headstrong and determined to do something for themselves, and took things very much to heart when it hurt. They both found it hard to trust people, but when they found someone they cared about- they cared with every fibre of their being.

Brian Jr was the first one to speak, because he, as Jimmy knew only too well, had been the first person to bring Lisa into their family.

"I found you, aged two, backstage at one of our concerts. Your mom must have snuck past security or whatever, because she left you hidden under my leather jacket in our dressing room. When I found you, I took you onto the bus, because at that point I didn't know you were my sister. By the time we found out you were, I was so mad with Dad that I took you home and promised everyone I'd look after you" he said slowly, and though no one moved an inch, Jimmy could take in every emotion just from his position by his goddaughter.

Brian Sr looked so guilty, all he needed was the word 'hypocrite' written all over his lined face, and it would make the message clearer. Lizzy looked miserable, and he guessed that was half of what was happening now, and half of what had been happening before. No one had told her that they weren't going to tell Lisa, from what Jimmy remembered that had been a decision purely between Brian Sr and Brian Jr. They'd tell her when she turned sixteen, they'd always said- but Jimmy had pretty much blown that clear out of the water.

His best friend had always been a little difficult to read, but Jimmy knew his Brian well enough to know that the man was experiencing some serious guilt at this point. Even embarrassment, as the tips of his ears were starting to go red, just the little parts that stuck out of his black spiky hair.

"We didn't let Dad near you for almost a year. When he had a heart attack, and we feared the worst, we still didn't let you near him- we didn't trust him at all. It wasn't until Brian had his stomach pumped, that we knew we couldn't keep you away from him forever. And then we let you into his care, where you've stayed ever since" Lizzy explained, not even moving from her grip on Brian's hand. It was comforting to know that he was there to support her- and Jimmy knew right from when they were kids, she'd always depended on him.

"Why didn't you tell me before? Why did you all lie to me?" Lisa whispered, and Jimmy could see tears starting to prick in her eyes, as her family looked guiltily down at their feet. Her Dad hadn't said anything, as usual left Lizzy and Brian to pick up the slack, and suddenly Lisa knew.
She didn't want to be a part of this family anymore. She was too late- the best had all happened and now she was the aftermath- something nobody really paid any attention too.

She turned and ran, back upstairs, to the solace of her bedroom, where she flung herself onto her bed, forcing herself not to cry. Hearing someone running after her, and almost falling into the bedroom, she heard Jimmy curse behind her and she looked up, wiping away the tears.
"Sweetie, don't cry, it's OK. They made a mistake, but trust me, Lizzy and Brian were only doing what they thought was best for you..." Jimmy said, wrapping his bony arms around her body.

She didn't want to stay here in this house anymore. She'd much rather live with Jimmy and Jamie- and be with a family that really wanted her.
"Jimmy?"
"Yeah sweetie?"

"Take me away. Take me with you"

***

Later that night, as Anna sent his phone bill to high heaven by talking to her mother on the phone about how stubborn and obnoxious Zacky was being by not agreeing to do half the things she wanted him to, his own cellphone buzzed against his jeans pocket. He smiled when he saw the person who was texting him was Lizzy, and opened the message, knowing he had at least an hour before his fiancee came back in.

It's all going to pieces. Lisa wants to move in with Jimmy- did u know B&D didn't tell her how we found her?

He processed the message for a moment, wondering why his friends family had to be so damn complicated. Lizzy and he had finally patched up their relationship and the two had been texting a lot, even if it was just to mend the broken strings of their previous friendship. Neither of them had talked about how they'd left things, or the breakup all those years ago- but then again, neither of them had wanted to ruin things. They both knew they were treading on very thin ice that could way beneath them at any minute.

No idea. How are you doing today?

What are you my therapist? Lord knows I could use one. I'm OK. A little lonely. Brian and Lacey are cuddling- I feel bad interrupting them

He felt bad at her being all alone tonight. She was vulnerable, and the last thing she needed was to watch a happy couple fall in love with each other all over again while she looked on, wishing she had something close to that. He'd done that many times with his friends, and every single time, he'd told himself that he used to have something like that with Lizzy- but he'd ruined it. Maybe one day...
Suddenly he had an idea.

Give me twenty minutes. I'm gonna be your midnight caller

He sent the message and got up out of his chair in his office, where he'd been perched for the last hour. Without making a sound, he grabbed his jacket and his keys and slowly slipped through the hallway, praying that from the bedroom where Anna was, she wouldn't hear him leave. He'd had enough of her for one night- in fact to last him a lifetime, and as he jumped over the gate and unlocked the car he'd left outside of his drive, he knew one thing.

Tonight he was going to go to Lizzy.

And tonight he was going to kiss her.