Dano’s cellphone rang and she quickly checked who it was. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise when the call display flashed a name she wasn’t expecting. “I’ll be right over hear.” she said and walked over to the side while the rest of them tried to relay what had happened to Mrs. Bearclaw.

“Madison?”

“Dano? Are you OK?” the voice sounded frantic.

“Yeah I’m fine don’t worry. Are you OK?”

“I heard what happened and I was so fucking scared.”

“Hey it’s alright. We’re all fine… Wait… what do you mean heard?”

“They called everyone. All of Trent Street saying that they wasted you and Gideon and Ashley and Aiden and I fucking flipped out.”

“Who exactly is ‘they’?”

“I don’t know! One of the girls called me and told me that someone called her boyfriend and… just… fuck Dano I thought I’d lost you.”

“You can’t lose me. You never will.” Her eyes drifted over to her parents and friends, noting their readiness to get the hell out of there. “Listen, I’ve gotta go but I’ll call you later alright?”

“Alright.”

She wanted to say it, but she knew she shouldn’t. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

The night held no sleep for Ashley. She stayed up watching Spencer float around aimlessly in her dreams or listened to the sounds of the night in the Carlin household. Clay didn’t move much when he slept, Glen on the other hand tossed and turned like he was on fire. Arthur was a chronic snorer but that only added to the validity of his dad-motif.

The noise was calming. It indicated a house full of life and love unlike her own house that was deathly silent unless her mother brought home some male hookup for the night. She could get used to a place like this even if Glen was a perpetual jackass. The girl in her arms made even his antics worth standing.

Spencer, true to her word had taken care of her when she arrived at the doorstep the day before. Cooking her dinner, fluffing her pillow, always asking if she was ok, if she wanted to talk about it. It annoyed her that her girlfriend, someone who had been raped and who needed all the support she could get was stuck fussing over girlfriend who was perfectly fine… sort of.