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regaining his composure and bellowing, "Don't you know how to knock?"
    "Ace of Base?"
    "I'm catching up on this Century," he groused.
    "But Ace of Base?" I simply could not get past this.
    "I like the beat. It makes me feel young again."
    I stood there, mouth agape, staring at him as though he'd turned into a flying spaghetti monster.
    "Shut your mouth before the flies get in, young lady. And shut the damned door," he thundered.
    My body automatically responded to the authority in his voice and I closed both my mouth and the door. "I have much better music that you could listen to."
    "I've heard your music and it's enough to drive me to suicide. Why you feel the need to listen to depressing music in your situation is beyond me." His nose rose an inch in the air as his haughty demeanor returned.
    "Not all of my music is depressing. I'll bring you a mix tomorrow. If you have any care for me at all, you'll listen to it and realize that anything is better than… that ,” I waved my hand around to indicate the aural monstrosity I’d just been subjected to. “And… and next time, leave a sign on your door. I think I'll be scarred for life from what I saw."
    Suddenly I was enfolded in strong arms attached to his vibrant warm body. I don't know what happened to my composure or what even caused this unexpected display of affection but it opened the floodgates and within seconds his shirt was soaking wet as I sobbed in his arms.
    I'm not a pretty crier. My eyes get puffy, lots of water leaks from my eyes and any mucus currently residing in my sinuses takes it as a sign that it's time to escape the confines of my face.  Before I could pull away, he was covered in tears and snot.
    "I'm sorry," I hiccupped. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
    He patted my back awkwardly.
    "I generally don't cry like this," I continued.
    He made murmuring noises and rubbed a few times, before his body tightened in what felt like an attempt to escape. It's unfortunate for him that it wasn't going to happen. Now that the floodgates were open, they weren't closing until I'd worked through this.
    We shuffle walked over to his seating area, untangled my arms from his waist and sat me down. "Tell me what happened."
    So I did.
    His eyebrows rose in surprise as I told the story of Hope and Drew's betrayal. Well, they raised more with the discovery that Hope was alive. Less so when he learned that Dylan was his grandson. There may have even been a hopeful gleam in his eye. I shoved that thought down for a later time when I could examine why this would make him happy.
    Finally - when I'd finished - he leaned forward and patted me on the knee. "I need to take care of a few things, dear. Will you come back and visit me later?"
    "What the hell! I just got here."
    "Yes yes and I'm happy to see you. But there are things to tend to."
    "Zeus, you haven't seen me in three months and I have training that needs to be done and Rifts to create and damn it - you need to teach me how to port."
    "We have instructors here for that dear," he answered distracted. "I'll let someone know to enroll you in some of the beginner classes."
    "Beginner classes? Zeus, I'm in my thirties. I can't take classes alongside pre-pubescent snot balls. I'll…I'll be a laughingstock."
    "Yes, dear. I'll take care of that right away."
    I could tell that he wasn't even with me mentally anymore. I had the strangest conversations with this man. He was infuriating. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my Mother chose him. Oh, right. He was gorgeous. Adonis didn't get his looks from his mother.
    "Fine," I huffed. "I do need to speak to you though. So please summon me when you have some time."
    "Of course dear. Have a lovely day." And with that, I was dismissed.

Chapter 5
     
    “Hey, new kid!” The voice - just past puberty if I was right - came from behind me. “You can sit with us.”
    “Dude,” someone else whispered. “She’s old enough to be my mom. You can’t let her sit with