I stared at Wes in disbelief.

"I don't mean to alarm you, it is only a hunch. I could be wrong." He said waving his hand dismissively.

"Are you ever wrong, Wes?"

"Not typically, no."

"Why do you think something is up with him?" I asked.

Wes rolled his chair out from behind his desk and walked across the room tidying things that didn't need it. "You told him of my ability to read people?" He asked and I nodded. "As I thought." He nodded. "I only say something because his thoughts seemed..." He trailed off.

I sighed loudly. "They sound what?"

"It's hard to explain. Like I said before, it is possible that I am wrong. His thoughts just seemed to be very guarded, like he was being careful of what crossed his mind. I've come to notice when people have something to hide, they try very hard to hide those thoughts from me."

"So you're saying you don't think I should trust him?" I asked sadly.

He clicked his tongue a little and avoided my eyes. "I'm only saying you need to be careful. You're instinct is what you should trust, and if it's telling you to trust him, then you need to listen to it. Even Garrett will sometimes try to guard his thoughts from me. Derrek could be simply hiding his thoughts for completely innocent reasons, so don't stress yourself. I just wanted to say something of it." He explained with a warm smile.

"Ok." I mumbled. Thinking of every one of the times I have been with Derrek, not once have I ever been suspicious of him. I still feel like I can trust him. However, I have made the mistake of trusting people that I shouldn't before.

Thoughts of my adoptive parents entered my mind now. I had been doing pretty well at convincing myself that I felt nothing, but the betrayal was beginning to sting more and more as time went by. I really wanted to go home, but I don't have a home now.

"You know you are always welcomed here, dear." Wes told me.

I smiled and thanked him, careful to guard my thoughts now. "I'm going to go get some air." I said as I left the room.

As I passed into the living room I couldn't help laugh at the sight.

Derrek was sprawled out on his back across the small couch. His hair was in a mess around his head and every second breath he took came out in a nasally whistle. I stayed in the doorway for a long while, just watching him. I was feeling pretty certain again that he was trustworthy. Until he gives me a reason to think otherwise, I chose to believe in him.

I jumped as I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Whoa, sorry." Garrett whispered to me. "Can I talk to you?" He asked pointing towards the other room.

I nodded my head to him and followed him out, leaving Derrek where he slept.

Garrett stopped midway up the hall and turned back to face me. "Actually, let's go sit on the porch."

He led the way to the small front porch. The air was thin and smelled like fresh cut grass. The sun was shining and the birds chirped their little songs all around the small garden that Wes kept in the front of his house. In the distance you could hear the shushing sound of someone's sprinklers pop on. Garrett held my hand and led me out to the little wooden porch swing on the edge of the porch. Garrett let me go and I sat down on the swing, while he leaned against the banister and looked down on me.

A mischievous grin pulled up the corners of his lips. "Nice outfit, by the way." He commented, smirking adorably.

I glanced down at what I was wearing and groaned. "Oh, well, you know I have had a few things on my mind other than my clothes." I was still wearing the soft checkered shorts I wear to sleep in at night and an old Def Leopard concert tee with my converse. "I had just gotten dressed for bed when those people called and told me they had you. I had to leave all my stuff and just bolt. I honestly hadn't even thought about the fact that so many people have seen me wandering around in my PJ's." I laughed.

Garrett laughed with me and for a moment it felt like the beginning of our friendship again. It was easy. "You were pretty worried about me, huh?" He asked with his eyes cast down at the wooden slats of the porch.

"Of course I was, Garrett. I felt so horrible that I left things with you on a bad note."

"Yeah," He said. "Me too." He watched as a car drove up the road and parked in its garage across the street. "You know, I actually did come back to tell you goodbye." He said still looking away.

"What are you talking about?"

He turned the full power of his gaze on me now. "At the airport." He said. "I was there. I was going to surprise you, apologize for everything again, and tell you that I wanted to still be part of your life, even if you were going to be living half the country away."

I was at a loss for words for a minute.  "I never saw you." I finally said.

There was a glistening in his warm eyes. "Yeah, I know." He said sadly. "I saw you, though. You and Derrek were skipping through the airport and laughing, holding hands...I just couldn't muster up the nerve to come over after I saw that. You looked so happy. Happier than I have ever seen you be. I told myself I should just let you go. Let you go and be happy with him." He paused for a moment. "I wanted to be the bigger man, just bow out and let you go." Garrett knelt down in front of me and his closeness made me have a little trouble keeping my breaths even. "I know that I should just want what's best for you. I am supposed to just be the guy that lets you go to someone else, just to get to see you happy. But, Cade, that's not me." He said firmly taking both my hands in his own. "I don't want to watch you be happy with someone else, I want to be the one making you happy. I knew right then, watching you with him. You are supposed to be with me. I let you go without stopping you that day because I knew there were things I needed to take care of first."

"Garrett, stop." I said weakly.

"No." He responded quickly. "I told her, Cade. I told Carrianne I can't be with her anymore. I told her that I won't go through with marrying her just because someone says we should."

I was totally surprised. "Well, what did she say?"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, she obviously wasn't happy about it." He said lightly, but then a sadder look took over his face. "I have to be honest about something though."

"What?"

"It's Carrianne...she...Look, she just isn't as much of a horrible person as you think." He said rushed. "Actually, she is a pretty bad person, but not all her fault really. I'd be lying if I told you I hate her. I know I've let you think that, but now that I know she is your sister, I don't want you thinking the worst of her. I've known her since we were pretty young, and she wasn't always the way she is now. I never wanted to be stuck with her as my pair, but I didn't always hate her as a person. When we were younger she was actually an alright person."

I was having a hard time picturing Carrianne as anything other than a raging witch. "Why the change?"

"I don't know for certain, but...I think it had to do with her mom in a lot of ways. Mrs. Montclair has always been terrible. Major stick up her you know what. She puts a lot of pressure on Carrianne."

"I guess I can understand that a little, but my parents were bad people too and I don't go around hurting people for fun." I countered.

"True, but like I said, she is still a kind of bad person, she just isn't all bad as you think."

"You really broke up with her?" I asked slowly.

His eyes bore into mine. "Yes, Cade."

"Why?"

"For you." He said like it was such a silly question.

I slid out from in front of him and walked towards the stairs. "Wrong answer." I said over my shoulder as I walked down to the sidewalk.

"Cade? What are you talking about? Where are you even going?"

"You should have left her for you, not for me." I called back. "You don't just stay with someone you don't want to be with until someone you actually like comes along. You should have left her because it was the right thing to do." I looked back up to the porch in time to see Derrek walk out lazily. He was rubbing his eyes as he looked between Garrett and back out to me. "Where you going, Cade?" He called.

"I just need some air and room to think about everything." I yelled back. "I will be back, you guys please just stay here."

Derrek nodded his head and called out for me to be careful as he walked back into the house.

Garrett however, ran down from the porch and closed the distance between us in no time. "Cade!" He yelled. "You don't get to be like that. You have no idea what you're talking about. Like you have mentioned before, I was born into this, unlike you. All I have ever been told since I was a freaking kid was that I was going to grow up and marry her. It's so easy for you to come in on this and look at me like I am some kind of trashy tool for staying with a girl I don't like. It's not like that. This is all I have ever known. Does that make it right? No. But it isn't like what you are trying to make it sound like."

"Whatever, Garrett." I said as I tried to turn and stomp off.

Garrett grabbed my arm, pulling me back to him and forcing me to look at him. "You know what I think?" He asked angrily. "I think you just want yourself to believe that I am no good."

"Why would I do that?"

"To make it easier on yourself." He fired back. "You want me, Cade. You have for just as long as I have wanted you. I screwed things up and you fell into that guy," He said pointing a finger back in the direction of the house. "And I guess now you have feelings for him too. You think it makes it easier if you just convince yourself that I am a bad guy, or just not the one for you, that way the choice between me and him is easier." He accused me. "And you know what? I think that is just as messed up as anything I have done. I won't let you just write me off like that. Not when I haven't even been given a fair shot." He stepped closer to me, grabbing both sides of my face. "I am here. Right now. Fighting for you. I want to be with you, Cade."

As he started to move his face closer and closer to mine, I realized that everything he was saying was the truth. I don't want to be the girl caught between two boys. That story is so cliché and played out, yet he was right. I have feelings for them both. I just didn't want to admit it.

After having waited what seemed like years, even though it had only been months, to know what it was like to kiss Garrett McDuffie, I was about to finally know.

He came in slowly, making sure I was allowing it to happen. He inclined his face to mine and I placed my hand on his cheek as his full lips finally covered mine. There was no ignoring the electricity between us. My whole body was on fire as his lips moved with mine.

I inched up on my tip toes to be closer to him and he wrapped his arms around my waist. My mind turned to mush.

I couldn't form a single thought, other than how perfect this kiss was.