With the speed of a striking snake, she swooped down and arced up, planting a spectacular uppercut to Jason Jones's overinflated nut sac. The air whooshed from his lungs, and he dropped to the ground like a sack of wet meal.

"And that, ladies, is how you take a douche bag down a peg or three!"

"Holy shit!" X yelled, coming from around the side of the house. "What happened?" he shouted as he jogged over.

"Kenna-" Sheri choked.

"It's fine, Sheri. No worries." It's not fine. My heart has just curled up and died.

Alys and Lili pulled in ranks around me.

"What do you want to do?" asked Lili.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I whispered.

People were starting to take notice of the situation.

"I need to go home."

"We need to go now then," said Alys, also noting our growing audience. "Our stuff?"

"Living room," replied Lili.

"Hurry, before we're stopped," commanded Alys, grasping my elbow and yanking me toward the sliding glass kitchen door.

As one, we turned and booked it into the house. In the living room, we found our bags and grabbed them just as Mr. Deveraux came out from fucking nowhere.

"Hey, girls! I was just coming to..." He took one look at my face, and I didn't know what it was he saw, but he knew something was very, very wrong. "Are you all right?"

"It was a pl-pleasure me-meeting y-you, Mr. De-Deveraux-" Fuck! Can I please quit shaking for two minutes? For the love of all that's fucking holy!

"What has Philip done?" His voice contained that deadly ring that must be hereditary because I would hear it in Phil's voice at least five times a day.

Well, sir, your son lied to me. He told me the night we'd met actually meant something to him when not even an hour after we'd lost each other, he had gotten head in the back of a van by one skank before proceeding to bang her friend directly after. Now that I know this, I'm questioning everything I've put myself through these past six years, including a diabolical stint of self-imposed celibacy, all in the name of the love I carried in my heart for your son. I would like to escape this whole fucking situation, so I can figure out how I'm supposed to fuse the pieces of my shattered soul back together and continue on with my life.

"Uh..." Brilliant. Fucking brilliant. Med tech graduate, and all I can do is grunt. Wonderful.

"Don't go anywhere!" he told me, jabbing a finger in my general direction.

What the fuck is it with the men in this fucking family telling me not to fucking go anywhere?

"Philip!" Louis roared, stomping out of the room.

When he was out of sight, I hissed, "Go! Go! Go!"

We hauled ass out the front door. Halfway to the car, Alys clicked the unlock button, and we started running. Out of habit, Lili literally dived into the backseat, and I wrenched open the passenger door, only to find the seat so far forward that I could not get the fuck in.

"Lili, you absolute pygmy!" I cursed as I searched for the handle. I found it and forced the seat back.

Alys had the key turning in the ignition, and I was finally able to throw myself into the car just as the front door to the house exploded open with a crash, and Phil burst out.

"Kenna!" His voice thundered. Even from this distance, in the fading light, he saw my face distorted with raw anguish and naked fury.

I slammed the door shut.

"No!" he bellowed as he started to run.

Alys clicked on the automatic four-door lock and stepped on it just as Phil's huge hand banged on the car.

"Fuck, he's fast!" screamed Lili, flipping him the bird.

Alys gunned it. "Shit, that was scary!" she shouted. "And I don't even know why! It's not like he'd hurt any of us."

A hysterical giggle escaped out of Lili. "Shit, I feel like we're all in some serious, serious trouble."

"Right?" shouted Alys. She must be completely amped up on adrenaline. Usually, she never shouted for anything other than a good concert.

I was having a mental breakdown, dissolving into heaving dry sobs.

"Give her some air!" Lili cried.

Alys cracked my window.

"That bastard!" I cried. "That rat fucking bastard! He told me he'd been dreaming every day of being reunited when he couldn't even keep it in his pants for more than an hour after we'd gotten kicked out! He made me believe he'd been heartbroken all these fucking years when the bottom line was that I would have just been the chick in the back of the fucking van!"

"You don't know that, Kenna," said Alys, her volume returning to normal. It was probably an attempt to calm me.

When was the last time I was even in a fit of rage?

"You need to talk to him," Alys added.

"You have every right to be this upset, Kenna," Lili said.

Alys opened her mouth.

"Shut up, Alys! Don't downplay this!" snapped Lili. "Kenna, you did the right thing, getting out of there. Who knows what kind of scene you would've made if you hadn't? You just need to get your shit together and be calm when you do talk to him. That asshole! How dare he tag two bitches that night!"

"Right? Right! I went six fucking years without any fucking dick while he hadn't waited twenty-four fucking hours!"

"Kenna-" said Alys in a reprimanding tone.

"I'm not stupid! He's told me himself that he has no clue how many holes he's been in-"

"Ew!" barked Lili from the backseat.

"But to get sucked off by the Silver Tissue Slut and then fuck one of the other ones on top of it?"

"Good call on that recognition, Alys," Lili's voice chimed.

"For real," I concurred.

"Thanks!" chirped Alys brightly. "Kenna, Phil loves you. And you...you just ran away from him with no explanation-"

"What? Are you on his side now?" snarled Lili.

"Of course not! But there are going to be some serious consequences for this. I get it. You had to get out. But-"

"He won't see it that way," I finished miserably. "I know. I just couldn't face him right then-or now, for that matter. I'm...I'm fucking devastated, you guys. Of all the nights he got sucked and fucked...why that one?"

"You spared the both of you some serious embarrassment from a public airing of dirty laundry," Lili said, trying to comfort me. "And, Alys?"

"Yeah?"

"Beautiful nut-chuck. That was fucking brilliant."

Alys beamed, "Thanks."

"'And that, ladies, is how you take a douche bag down a peg or three!'" mimicked Lili.

We all started cracking up.

Then, I groaned in utter horror. "Oh, man, you guys...I'm in some serious trouble. I know it."

This was the second time in one day I'd left him. He could hardly forgive me for leaving in the morning to do yoga without waking him up to say good-bye.

I'm not the one who needs to fix this. He is.

"Oh, shit. Did any of you see his face?" I gasped.

"I did," replied Lili, her voice hushed. "He looked scared. He looked absolutely terrified."

"Oh, fuck. I am in trouble," I groaned.

Our house was eerily dark as we pulled into the driveway. A part of me had expected him to be waiting on the front steps. The world felt completely still as we exited Alys's SUV. It was like the quiet before a storm. Indeed, it was as though an ominous heavy cloud was hanging over us as we entered our home.

Lili shut the front door behind her. "I'm going to put on my PJs and meet you guys in Kenna's room. We'll hunker down for the night," she whispered.

I supposed she was being quiet in case he could hear us.

Hunker down? What? Are we at war now?

But Alys and I both answered with a whispered, "Okay."

I headed to the fridge and grabbed a few bottles of water, and then I trudged up the stairs.

It wasn't even eight in the evening, but we all put on our PJs. I put on my ancient NOLA's Junk T-shirt and a pair of old flannel shorts that really should have been tossed out. Threadbare and holey, the waistband had long ago disintegrated.

Out on the balcony, I took the papasan chair, Alys sat on the beaten-up ottoman, and Lili copped a squat on the floor as she pulled out a blunt.

It was starting to dawn on me. This could very well be the end.

Am I really so emotionally dysfunctional? I asked myself.

I had kept Brian at arm's length with the excuse of having feelings for Phil. As much as I'd cared about Brian, I'd never truly lost myself to him. I'd like to think that some part of me really believed Phil was coming back for me-which, evidently, he had been-and that was the reason for not giving Brian my all.

But what if this is just the same song and dance all over again? What if I am too fucking scared to go in too deep because I'm afraid of emotional pain?

Now, I was running from Phil because it hurt my feelings that he'd banged some tramps the night we met. The man I had secretly adored since adolescence fucking adored me back, and I'd freaked out when it didn't come up rainbows and unicorns.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

Instantly, it became so clear. I was a fucking hypocrite, telling Phil his past didn't bother me. If it hadn't bothered me, then whatever he did that night shouldn't have bothered me either. Either I was okay with it, or I wasn't, and I had to come to fucking grips with it.

I have so little experience with this sort of shit, I thought. I don't know what I should've done in this instance.

Of all the fucking nights and of all the fucking chicks, it was that night and those girls he ended up with.

And that plain fucking sucks!

The differences of how that night had ended for both of us seemed so sad and strange. Because of that night, I hadn't been able to let another man touch me for another five and a half years. The bottom line was that this was my fault. I couldn't blame Phil for my self-imposed celibacy. That wasn't fair to either of us. I needed to own that shit and be done with it.

I never expected him not to live the rock-star lifestyle. I would have considered it a bit off if he hadn't.

When I'd slammed the car door, the look on his face had been filled with fear and hurt and anger. I might have very well shut the door on our relationship. I might have very well killed- BANG! BANG! BANG!.

Lili shrieked, and Alys dropped the blunt.

"KENNA!" Phil's deafening heartbroken scream encased the whole house.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!.

His massive fist pounded on the door, and I swore I could feel the vibrations of it coming up from the walls below and through the balcony floor.

My heart was in my throat, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to throw up or piss myself. I honestly had no clue what to do.

"Oh my God, you guys!" gasped Lili, her face a mask of utter anguish. "I think I forgot to lock the front do-"

We heard the front door crash open.

Scrambling to our feet and into my bedroom, we heard pounding footsteps coming up the stairs. The rational part of my brain was insisting that I launch myself over the side of the balcony.

That's the part of my brain that got me in this mess in the first place!

Alys took my hand, squeezing hard. Lili closed her eyes and whimpered softly.

The door flew open with an almighty crash, and there stood Phil, so angry he was shaking. The look on his face as he stepped over the threshold fucking inspired fear. He looked ready to draw some blood.

Alys and Lili moved in closer to me. It was either to protect me or seek my protection. I wasn't entirely sure which.