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I collapse into bed, my hair matted against my forehead and my breathing ragged.

Delilah is getting a parole and coming out of jail.

How is that possible? And...How the heck does Jack know about it?

I sigh and hold the funeral deposit papers against my chest, as well as the papers that signed Delilah to jail in the first place.

I don't like thinking about her if I can help it. She's the reason my father is no longer alive, my mother is dead, and I am alone.

She ruined everything and then waltzed out of my life. Now she's coming back to do it all over again? Ha, I don't think so.

The thing that bothers me about all of this isn't the situation itself. It's Jack.

No one knows about my family situation or my current predicament, except Astrix who's bound to show up any minute now. How the HELL did he find out BEFORE me?

And why the HELL does he care? I literally met the guy three days ago. I don't KNOW him! Our only relation is that I'm temporarily babysitting his sister, but even then...That doesn't account for how well he seems to be educated on all this! It's completely uncalled for!

I bury my face into my pillow and furiously crumple the papers under my arm.

As I predicted, my apartment door suddenly bursts open and Astrix runs in, one hand carrying her purse and the other a bottle of Fiji water. She knows me so well...

She immediately sets her purse down and seats herself on my bed, thrusting the bottle of water towards me and commanding me to drink up.

"I heard everything. About Delilah, and Jack and...Are you okay?"

My left eye starts twitching.

"Am I okay? Oh, yeah...Of course, everything's just peachy-NO-I-AM-NOT-OKAY-DO-SOMETHING!"

I break down on my bed and wipe my eyes on my sleeves.

"I never anticipated this happening! Forget about the Jackass, what about Delilah? I'm not an official adult yet, so she'll try to claim me, won't she? I'll have to go back and live with her and it'll be HELL ON EARTH!"

I take a deep breath.

"Not only that, but she's going to probably move me to another state, and we'll be separated, and what if she does something...Bad? What if I need you? What if she decides to finish me off? What if she decides to fake an accident, and...And..."

Astrix slaps me across the face. I hold up a hand to my now throbbing cheek and open my mouth wide.

"What!?"

She puts a firm hand on my shoulders.

"Snap out of it Oaklyn. If you're going to do this right, you need to be sane. Think rationally."

I nod. "Right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"Okay, I'm not sorry."

Astrix raises an eyebrow. "Be sorry for apologizing, not not sorry for freaking out."

I shake my head. "Okay, whatever, sorr-I mean...Fine."

I take a deep breath and another sip of Fiji water.

"What do we know about Delilah's case?"

Astrix shrugs. "Well, what was it that she did? Drive your mom up the roof insane, and kill your dad? I don't think they're going to let her foster you even if she does get out. I mean...She's only on parole, right? There's still a trial and stuff."

I nod. "Yeah. But what if she manages to find a good enough lawyer and get out on basis of insane, under influence thinking? Or...Something equally stupid?"

Astrix shakes her head. "Interesting thought, but unlikely. Did you phone your lawyer?"

I nod. "Court case next month. I'm going to stop this parole.She can't get out so soon."

Astrix snaps her fingers. "But it's been 11 years. Is that what they're aiming for? That she served her time?"

I vigorously shake my head. "She deserves to be locked up for a billion years. And according to my calculations...It hasn't yet been a billion years!"

Astrix rolls her eyes. "That's not the way the court will think, although...In my opinion, she belongs on death row."

I nod. "She does. For people as bad as Delilah...Death row is the only option..."

Astrix sighs and leans back on my bed.

"But how are we supposed to convince the judges of that? Delilah is the least of your problems, because she's useless without definite proof of her innocence."

I scrunch my forehead. "But she's already proven guilty."

Astrix nods. "Exactly. She needs an outside source if her parole plea even stands a chance. Which it doesn't, by the way. You don't need to worry, Oaklyn."

I bite my lip. "But I do. You know what could happen to me if she gets out of jail?"

Astrix nods. "Yes. I've seen what she is capable of, and I know enough to deduce that she's bad news. But if she goes anywhere near you, I'm breaking out the high heels and whapping her upside the head!"

I laugh and my mouth tilts up in an appreciative smile. "This is the type of support I need in my life."

Astrix returns the grin. "That's what I'm here for."

My smile quickly falters and my mouth morphs into a hard line.

"You know what we need? Up until then and now...We need to collect information. We need to learn more about this stuff. Knowledge is power, and even though we're sitting here and Delilah's in jail...She has the upper hand."

Astrix nods. "Very true. You know anyone...Anyone...Who may have access to such information?"

She turns to me with a sparkle in her eyes, and I drop my head back onto my pillow, closing my eyes and simultaneously letting out a big, annoyed breath.

"Jackass."