"He can't even look at me," Mandy said.

"That's probably because you look like h.e.l.l," Ally said. "No offense, but try brushing your hair, girlfriend."

"Oh, G.o.d."

"I was just joking," Ally said, running her hand down Mandy's snarled hair. "You look fine. Great even."

"He thinks I'm ugly now," Mandy sniffed. "Look at me. I'm just this awful pajama creature he's been forced to take care of against his will."

"That is not true," Ally protested. "He wants to take care of you."

"No," Mandy countered. "He feels guilty. I think he was going to break up with me before the explosion. That's why he didn't want to go to the party. I've been thinking about it, and it makes sense."

"Didn't he show up at the party and apologize?"

"Only because he felt guilty," Mandy said. "He's been planning this for months, I think. He's just too nice to tell me the truth."

"I think you're completely blowing this out of proportion," Ally said. "My brother loves you. I'm not sure about a lot in this life, but I am sure of that."

"He doesn't touch me," Mandy said. "He stays as far away from me as he can. He tries to pretend like everything is okay, flirting from afar when I force the issue, but he's done. I know he's done."

Mandy was practically wailing now, the noise causing Ally to shift uncomfortably. The perky brunette was not used to being the stable one in their friendship. "Have you tried talking to him?"

"He won't talk to me," Mandy said. "I'm a burden to him. It's like he can't bear even being around me."

Ally didn't know what to say.

"He's not sleeping," Mandy said. "He sleeps as far away from me as he can possibly manage. He's so far away he could fall off the bed if he sneezes. He's trying to figure out a way to let me down easy. I know he is."

"Honey ... ."

"I catch him looking at me when he thinks I'm not looking," Mandy continued. "He pities me. He's mad at himself for what happened. That's the only reason he's here right now. In another week, when I can take care of myself, he's going to let me down easy and then walk away."

"I don't think that's right," Ally said.

"It is right," Mandy said. "I'm the one here. I know what I'm seeing. I'm too much work. He wants his old life back. That's what that whole fight-night thing was about. That's why he doesn't want to look at houses with me. He tried a relationship and he got bored with it. Now he's forced to pretend it's not over until I'm better."

Ally rubbed the heel of her hand against her forehead. "You're a little manic, sweetie. I think you need to relax."

"How can I relax? He's going to leave me. Heck, he's already gone. He just hasn't told me yet," Mandy argued.

"Yeah," Ally said, getting up from the couch. "How about a nice, long bath? I think that's exactly what you need."

"I don't need a bath."

"Well, you're taking one," Ally said.

"You don't believe me," Mandy said, her voice bitter. "Or maybe you already know he's going to break up with me and you're taking his side because he's your brother. Of course you're going to take his side. He's family."

Ally let loose with an exasperated sigh. "You're my family, too. If I actually believed for a second that anything you were telling me was true, I would definitely be on your side."

"You're just placating me now."

"No," Ally said. "Now I'm drawing you a bath. Once you've soaked in it for at least a half hour, we're going to talk again. I just want you to relax and think about things again. Just ... think, okay? Just do this one thing for me."

Mandy squared her shoulders, yanking her gaze from Ally's concerned face. "Fine. Whatever."

"Okay," Ally said, pushing Mandy into the bathroom. "Just draw a bath and try to relax. Do it for me."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go and talk to James," Ally said.

"No," Mandy said, grabbing Ally's arm desperately. "He'll just think I'm pathetic."

Ally pried Mandy's fingers from her forearm. "I'm not going to talk to him about you," Ally said. "They want me to answer phones next week. I'm going to talk to him about that. I promise."

Mandy didn't believe her. "Fine."

"Take a bath," Ally said, shuffling toward the front door of the apartment. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Just take a bath and relax. This is all going to be okay. I promise."

Mandy watched Ally leave the apartment, waiting until she heard the woman's footsteps on the stairs leading down to her brother's office before she sprang into action.

Instead of going into the bathroom and doing as Ally asked, Mandy instead headed into the bedroom and retrieved her cell-phone from the nightstand. She punched in a number and held the phone up to her ear. When the individual on the other end answered, Mandy fought to keep her voice even.

"Can you pick me up? I need a ride."

Nine.

James stared at his computer screen, not focusing on anything in particular as his mind drifted. He was worried about Mandy. She was better, but she was acting odd.

James wasn't acting much better. He knew that. He just didn't know how to do anything else. Every time she moved, her face registered pain. Every time she leaned back on the couch, she grimaced. Every time he shifted while in proximity to her, she cringed.

Things were improving, but James wanted his life back. He wanted his blonde back. He wanted their easy repertoire and sa.s.sy conversations back. He wanted everything back. He just didn't know how to make it happen.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs drew his attention to his open office door. Ally had only been upstairs for about a half hour. There was no way she was done with her visit already.

When she strode into his office, her long hair flying, James was taken aback by the fury on her face.

"What is wrong with you?"

James leaned back in his desk chair, wracking his brain for the meaning of her question. "I think you're going to need to be more specific."

Ally stalked over to his desk and planted her hands on it, palms out, as she leaned over and fixed him with an ornery look. "What. Is. Wrong. With. You."

"I'm. Not. Slow." James was being purposely obnoxious. "I just don't understand what you're asking." G.o.d, it felt good to be able to fight with someone.

"Have you taken a good look at your girlfriend upstairs?"

"I look at her every day," James said. "I haven't been able to look at anything else for a week."

"Well, she's a mess," Ally said.

"I've noticed."

"Why aren't you doing something about it?"

"What do you suggest I do?"

Ally's mouth fell open. "Seriously? Tell her you love her or something."

James frowned. What did that have to do with anything? "What are you talking about?"

Ally straightened up, glancing over her shoulder for confirmation that she really was having a conversation with her brother and she hadn't fallen into some weird alternate dimension. "Mandy thinks you're going to break up with her."

"What? That's ridiculous," James scoffed.

"It's not ridiculous," Ally said. "Well, it might be a little ridiculous. She believes it, though."

"Why would she possibly believe that?"

"Well, for starters, she says you won't touch her," Ally said.

"She's a walking bruise," James argued. "The doctor warned me that any touch even a minor one would cause her pain. I'm not causing my girlfriend pain. That's not my thing."

"Have you told her that?"

"I should think it was pretty obvious," James said.

Ally tilted her head, her frustration evident. She moved back to the office door, shutting it to give them some privacy. She doubted Mandy would eavesdrop but the woman was so upset she wasn't putting anything past her right now.

James watched Ally, curiosity washing over his face. "What are you doing?"

"Just being careful," Ally said. "I think we need to have a serious talk."

"Were we doing a comedy routine before?"

Ally ignored the sarcasm. "Mandy has convinced herself that you've already got both feet out the door, and that you're just waiting to break up with her until she's better."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," James argued. "Why would I possibly want to break up with her?"

"Well, she seems to think you find her ugly now because of the bruises and ... the other stuff," Ally said.

"What?"

Ally held up her hand to still him. "She thinks that you were planning on breaking up with her before the explosion."

James felt like he was caught on repeat. "Why would she think that?"

"She's convinced that you purposely forgot the party because you were trying to distance yourself from her," Ally said. "She thinks you only came to the party because you felt guilty. She told me that you're bored being in a relationship, and you want your old life back."

"Where would she even get that?'

"Well, she's going a little stir crazy," Ally said. "That much is obvious."

"It's only been a week."

"It's been a week of sleeping in the same bed with a man who refuses to touch her," Ally said. "She says you sleep as far away from her as you can get."

"I haven't been sleeping," James said. "I keep jerking awake. I don't want to jostle her. She's getting fewer pain meds now. If I jostle her, it will hurt her."

"Why haven't you been sleeping?"

James shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"It obviously matters," Ally said. "Tell me."

"I keep having nightmares," James admitted. "I keep seeing the explosion. This time, though, she dies. Every time she dies, and I wake up in a cold sweat when I can't save her. I don't want to freak her out."

"Well, good job," Ally said. "She's now moved past being worried because you're not sleeping to being terrified that you're done with her."

"I think you're exaggerating," James said, although worry niggled the back of his mind. "She couldn't think that."

"Well, she does," Ally said. "She thinks you're just waiting to break up with her."

James pushed his chair back from his desk, getting to his feet slowly. Something about Ally's words struck a chord with him, causing things to shift into place. "She wanted to ... you know ... this morning."

"Yeah, she told me that, too. She says you don't find her attractive anymore and that's why you didn't want to have s.e.x."

"Hey, I always want to have s.e.x," James argued. "What I don't want is to hurt her."

"Well, in your efforts not to hurt her physically, you've managed to crush her heart," Ally replied.

James shoveled a hand through his hair. "I don't know how to fix this."

"Just be honest."

"I'm scared to be honest," James said. "Dr. Fitzgerald said that she should be kept still and quiet. I don't think he had a big emotional blowout in mind when he gave me those instructions."

"She's healing, James," Ally said. "Her body is recovering. Her mind is a different matter. You need to ask yourself one simple question: Is following the doctor's orders more important than making that woman up there feel safe?"